A/N: Sorry it's short. Hopefully the next chapter will be longer

______

Hitoshi didn't sleep that night.

Not like anything out of the ordinary, he never really slept anyway in non-hostage situations. But this time was different.

After Yamada left, the isolation in the dark room had started to break down his walls, allowing terror and paranoia to take over. He was too scared to even close his eyes for too long, which meant he couldn't sleep even if he wanted to. He was on constant high alert, hyper-aware of the sounds around him. Yamada would've gone home by now, but Hitoshi was certain he could hear someone walking around upstairs, which only fueled his fear. Was that Yamada, or someone else? At this point he wasn't sure which answer he preferred.

At some point he tried again to get the handcuffs off, but there was no hope. They were on too tight to pull his hand through, and now his wrists hurt even worse than before, so he gave up and slumped back with a tired sigh.

After what felt like hours, or even days, Yamada swung the door open wearing his hero costume, holding a glass of water and a small bento box. "Morning, Hitoshi! I'd ask whether you slept well, but we both know the answer to that now don't we?" He paused as he got a good look at the boy's face and chuckled, "Hm, no sleep at all, huh? What...scared I'll kill you in your sleep? That's ridiculous, I need you alive for my game! It'd be no fun if you died straight off the bat"

Hitoshi didn't answer him. He just stared blankly as the man crouched in front of him and smiled as if nothing was wrong. As if he hadn't just kidnapped him and was threatening his life.

"Oh man, you should've seen Shou last night when he heard the news. He yelled at the police officers for almost an hour until they opened the case . They were so scared. He looked like he would murder someone if they hadn't agreed to do it" He leant up and removed the makeshift gag from his mouth, letting it sit around his neck, "I bet he'll be in a bad mood all day today, I wonder what his class will think- oh! I wonder how they will react! This is gonna be sooooo much fun!"

Hitoshi frowned. Class 1A would notice his absence and ask about him, right? They'd notice he was gone. Of course they would. Midoriya would probably demand to help on the case, or do something reckless once again when told not to. Kaminari would likely attempt to help him. Both of their friends would join in too. This class was notorious for not following orders when a classmate was in trouble, so they would try and help, even if he had only been in their class for a few months.

...Right?

"I'll get to see how they cope with it today, and maybe I can tell you all about it. I'm sure you'd love to know. Now," Yamada picked up what looked like fried chicken from the box using chopsticks, and held it to his son's mouth "eat"

Hitoshi, however, clenched his jaw and looked away refusing. He did not miss how Yamada's smile fell.

"Hitoshi"

After the teen refused a second time, he was met with a slap and a fist balled in his hair, "I don't have to do this you know. You won't starve to death in 5 days. However, out the kindness of my heart I have decided that you at least deserve some regardless. So, eat it!"

Hitoshi whimpered in pain and fear as his cheek and scalp stung, and stared at the man. Aizawa had once told him that fighting back can often make these types of situations worse. Perhaps if he could find and exploit a weak spot...

"Dad...dad please, just let me go. I won't tell anyone, I swear! I'll help get rid of evidence, whatever, just let m-"

Another slap, this one harder than the last one cut him off, "You're really pissing me off now, Hitoshi! I'll say this one more time, you're not leaving this room until either Shouta find you, or you run out of time. Got it?"

Hitoshi nodded slightly trying to fight back tears as he stared at his lap, feeling the grip from his hair loosen and the loud hero stand up checking his watch, "Great, now I'm running late for class. I'll be back to check on you later"

The teen slumped over shaking, but attempted to put on a brave face as he watched him head towards the door, holding back tears. Yamada and Aizawa had saved him from his abusive household, but now Yamada reminded him far too much of his biological dad. It terrified him.

The villain paused at the door, tuning back to him with a faint dangerous smile, "Y'know, I was considering opening the window to the door to let more light in, but I think you need to be a taught a lesson!"

"N-no! No, please!" Hitoshi instinctively cried out. He didn't want to be left in the dark again. Why was he doing this?

He could've sworn he saw something cross the other's face, but it vanished as fast as it came, "I thought you were stronger than this, Toshi. You've only been here 10 hours and I've already broke you? That's pathetic...I'm disappointed"

His son bit his lip, tears now freely falling down his face, unable to hide the fear and betrayal pent up inside anymore. How had someone like Yamada become this? Surely, he wasn't the same man that held Hitoshi as he cried after a nightmare about his last home, or the man who attempted to make his favourite meal when he was having a particularly bad episode. Surely he was an imposter.

The door slamming shut echoed through the room, leaving Hitoshi to sob quietly.

"Dad..." He whispers to the empty room, "Please come save me"

______

Kaminari was leant back in his chair, looking at the unread messages when Iida marched over to his desk.

"Where is Shinsou, he is 5 minutes late for class and Mr. Aizawa will be here any second!"

"Huh? I haven't seen him all morning and he hasn't read any of my texts since last night. Last time I talked to him was..." He glanced back down at his phone at the messages, "4:50"

"That's just over an hour after school. Does he usually message you around this time?"

"Well, yeah. He had training with Aizawa yesterday, but he responded when was heading home and we talked until he stopped looking at my messages. It takes him half an hour at least to get home, so I thought he was just busy but...It's morning and he still hasn't seen them" He glanced up at Iida, who now looked slightly concerned, and smiled "I'm sure he's fine though! He might've finally gone to sleep and ended up running late. I'm sure he'll come in with Mr. Aizawa, or later on today"

"Hmm, yes, I suppose you're right"

"Although...maybe I'm just overthinking it but...does anyone else have a feeling that something is off?"

A few people looked over.

"Come to think of it, I feel it too" Kirishima nodded.

"Yeah. I hope everything's okay" Midoryia frowned, but Uraraka put her hand on his shoulder and offered the class a smile.

"I'm sure everything's just fine! Mr. Aizawa will tell us why he's not here, and it'll be ok!"

There were a few murmurs of different opinions, but most people felt slightly less anxious about the whereabouts of their classmates. That was, until their teacher walked in.

Aizawa looked more awful than usual: His hair was messier, his eyes were slightly bloodshot and had darker bags underneath. They saw his eyes shift over to Shinsou's empty seat with a frown, before he walked over to his desk without a word, noticing the confused staring at the door when Shinsou didn't come in after him. These kids were too perceptive. Before he could even greet them and pretend everything was ok, Kaminari's hand shot up as he called out.

"Um, Mr. Aizawa? Where's Shinsou?"

The minor flinch at the boy's name caused the class's anxiety to grow further. Now they knew that something really was wrong.

"Sir?"

"Shinsou...will not be in class this week" Their teacher said carefully, looking across the worried students in front of him. Should he tell them? Would it even be safe to do so? When Bakagou was kidnapped, five of them had gone to save him, despite being told not to. It didn't feel like it would be any different here, despite Hitoshi's short time with them. This class easily made friends and formed connections, and they would happily do something reckless in order to save someone in need. It was one of the things that made him proud of them, despite how much it angered him that they put themselves in danger so often.

"Why? What happened?"

"Is he ok?"

"When will he be back, ribbit?"

"He..." Aizawa hesitated with a frown. Just lie to them! Don't freeze up.

And then, Midoriya shot up in his seat, "Sir, did something bad happen? Do you even know if he's ok, or where he is?"

That was very observant of him. "He went missing last night on his way home from school, but we're doing everything we can to ensure his safe return home" It was a white lie. After all, if he told them the truth then things would just escalate for the worst.

Kaminari leapt to his feet this time, "Missing?! Like he ran away or got lost? You don't think he's been taken do you? He suddenly stopped responding to my texts last night! He always replies! I can show them to you if it will help narrow down the timeframe!"

"Shinsou wouldn't run away, but he's strong enough to hold out against an attacker right?" Kirishima piped up, "I'm sure he just wandered off or got lost somewhere! I'm sure he's on his way back now!"

The different reactions strike an aching inside Aizawa's chest. Some are worried that something bad happened, while others were still holding onto the hope that maybe he was ok. How he wished it was latter. It didn't surprise him that they had immediately sensed that Hitoshi was not ok. It was almost as if they had a shared sixth sense.

"I won't share any details due to past events," He started, giving Midoriya and the other four involved at Kamino a look, "however, I assure you that he will be back by the end of the week. I guarantee it. We're doing everything in our power to find him, and we will bring him home safely"

Most of the class relaxed at his words, although Kaminari and a handful of others still looked worried. Not wanting to look at their faces any longer, Aizawa turned to the board and started writing.

Aizawa, although looking more of a mess than he usually was, seemed to be handling the situation rather well for the sake of his students. Yamada however, stood at the front of the class looking as if he'd break down at any given moment. Although only a few people actually knew that Hitoshi had been adopted by Aizawa, Class 1A knew about the marriage between him and Yamada. So of course, he was their best bet for information.

"Present Mic! Do you know anything about Shinsou's disappearance?" Kaminari asked immediately as their homeroom teacher had left. The hero froze, and smiled sadly.

"Eraser didn't tell you what happened?"

"He said he went missing, sir. Last night?"

Yamada looked at Iida, then shook his head sighing as he turned to the board. "I don't know if I should tell you"

"Please, Sir! We need to know!"

He held back a chuckle as he leant against the desk. Oh, this is perfect. Now was his time to shine!

Turning back to the class, he put a hand to his head and put on his act, "Shinsou was kidnapped by some evil villain, yo! They sent us a letter and only gave us 5 days to find him, but if we don't manage it in time then he'll be killed! Who knows what horrors he's going through right now!"

He watched Midoriya's expression change as he shot to his feet, "We have to find him! Let us help you!"

"No, no little listener! This is some important pro hero stuff. It's too complicated for some students such as yourselves, but I appreciate the offer!"

"So what, we just do nothing and let him suffer?!" Kaminari yelled, slamming his fists on the desk, "That's my friend, I can't let him go through this! What kind of heroes would we be if we did that!"

"I understand your concern, but you have to think logically. You'll get into trouble, and could potentially get hurt if something goes wrong. We still don't know who it is or why they've done this. I'm sorry. But I swear I'll keep you updated on the case. Now, lets start the lesson"

Yamada thrived in attention. Many people joked about it, but most of the people close to him knew well enough that it was true. So when his class did not drop the subject, he just opted to answering more questions and having them 'comfort' him, while he gladly soaked it all up. By the end of the day, he felt oddly ecstatic due to the excess attention he was receiving.

He met his husband in his class and they both made their way down to the police station nearby to check on the progress that the police had made on the case. Aizawa marched in front of him determinedly, obviously worried about Hitoshi, while Yamada trailed behind and kept up his act. Secretly, he was just eager to find out what they had discovered. The police should've been able to find some evidence at the crime scene that would lead them in the right direction, although Yamada was worried that the police hadn't even found the place he was abducted yet. They always were incompetent. That's why he enjoyed focusing on getting Eraserhead's attention, other than the fact that he enjoyed challenging his husband.

Aizawa marched straight up to the desk and asked for the man in charge of Hitoshi's case, scaring the poor girl with his intense glare. His husband walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder, before smiling at her as an apology, and piping up when she said he was coming before Eraser had a chance to scare her further. Being an underground hero meant that he was not widely recognised, so Yamada had half a mind to believe that she probably thought he was a criminal.

"Shou, please calm down. You can't keep doing that" He sighed gently as he tried to calm him down, but only received a grunt as a response. The two stood in silence until the lead detective walked in with a smile, and broke the heated silence.

"Good evening, Present Mic, Eraserhead. Follow me" He greeted and lead them back where they could talk more privately about the case. Aizawa seemed agitated, but complied with a small sigh and Yamada took his hand. They walked into a small room and sat down.

"We haven't found much since last night, however we do have a few witnesses from last night who saw him on his way home. We have talked to them, and they all told us the same thing. That he was walking in the direction you said he usually takes, appearing to be fine with no sign of anything out of the ordinary. And no one saw him being followed"

There was an annoyed sigh from the erasure hero, but he didn't say anything. The detective glanced at him before he continued, "However, the owner of a small ramen restaurant was the last to see him in the area when he disappeared, and may have actually witnessed it. Would you like to talk to this man?"

"Yes. If that's possible"

"Very well. I'll have someone bring him in" The detective left the room, and the two heroes sat in silence once again. Aizawa was playing with his scarf, a habit he had when he was nervous or upset (and one Hitoshi had also managed to develop), while Yamada was glaring down at the table. The detective hadn't mentioned any evidence found there, when. That idiot, did he not do what I asked of him?

The silence between the couple had been frequent since last night, and although Yamada had anticipated it due to the fact that his husband had problems with dealing with his emotions, he hadn't expected it to effect him so bad. In 4 days he may lose Shouta forever. Although it was best to accept the distance now rather than later, he wanted to hold onto his company as long as he could. He still loved him, even if he was putting him through this pain.

"Hey, Shou?" He tried.

A bored grunt.

"I love you"

Aizawa's tired eyes finally made their way onto him for what felt like the first time in ages, and Yamada stared at the scar under the right eyelid that reminded him of his husband's devotion to these kids. It took a few seconds, but the underground hero sighed shutting his eyes as he leant back on the chair and moved his hands from his scarf. "Love you too"

Mic smiled, before a man around his late 50's walked in nervously and caught their attention. "Eraserhead, Present Mic" he greeted, before sitting down on the chair opposite them.

"Good evening, sir. We were told you have information on the disappearance of Shinsou Hitoshi?" Aizawa started as he sat back up. He watched the man nod slowly.

"It was around 4:53 when I saw the boy. My son was due to come home soon and there was only a handful of customers, so I stood by the window waiting for him as it was getting dark. That's when I saw young Shinsou walking down the path, but before he passed my restaurant he stopped and looked down the alleyway beside it. I think he must've seen or heard something, because he started to walk in after a few seconds. I thought it was strange, so I waited to see if he'd leave but I never saw him come back out"

Aizawa frowned and sat up, "He walked into an alleyway when it was getting dark? Why would he do that?"

"Yes...you see, I thought it was strange too. He was in his UA uniform, and surely a hero in training would be more aware? So I waited for a few more minutes before investigating, and found that he had disappeared. The strange part is that there's not way out of that alley, other than the way he came. There's a wall halfway through. Either he climbed it, or his captor had the ability to fly or teleport"

"Did you see anything suspicious in the alley?" Yamada asked crossing his arms. There should be something. I told him to leave evidence.

"Yes...a wet cardboard box. It seemed to be placed there a few minutes before I had gone to look- but I had also put the bins out an hour before and it wasn't there then. There was also a blood stain on the floor, not very visible but it was definitely there. Nothing else that I could see though"

"A cardboard box..." Aizawa wondered out loud. He wasn't sure what connection it could have with the crime, but if it was only recently placed when the kidnapping took place then surely it had some significance.

"I know it sounds weird, but I know it had only shown up before Shinsou went missing. It may mean nothing, but I want to give as much information as I can" The old man frowned, before he seemed to remember something as he perked up, "Oh! Forgive me, but I also found this"

He placed a school bag on the table, one that looked exactly like their son's. Eyes widening, Aizawa leapt forward to take a better look, "You touched this with your bare hands?"

"Yes- oh. Oh dear I'm dreadfully sorry! I hope this doesn't mess with the investigation!"

"Not to worry, sir! It should be fine!" Yamada gave him a reassuring grin as his husband used his scarf to grab the bag and look through it. Hitoshi's books, pencil case and phone -which still worked but had cracked slightly- were still inside. He sighed as he zipped it back up, not finding anything missing or anything new.

"Thank you for your information, if you find anything new, please don't hesitate to contact again"

The man stood and bowed deeply, "Of course. I wish you well, and I hope you find your son"

"How did you-"

"My boy tried to run away once, I know the look and the behavior of a worried parent anywhere" With a sad smile, the man left the room, leaving the two heroes alone once again. Aizawa immediately turned to his husband.

"I want to investigate the alleyway. He might have missed something important, or could be hiding something. I need to see for myself"

"Woah, Shouta honey! It's really late and I think we should wait for the police to finish their own search of the area before we intervene! I'm sure they wouldn't miss anything important"

The underground hero shot him a look that only expressed how much he didn't have much faith in the police. Too many times they had missed something important, or had just not bothered to investigate something further. Shouta knew firsthand that it resulted in the numerous death and disappearances of children in need, all because the police hadn't listened to him. He wasn't going to let Hitoshi become part of that number.

"Zashi, we have just over four days to find our son, I'm not sitting around waiting for a new lead!"

"I know hun, but let's just let them do what they have to do. We can investigate it first thing in the morning if we don't get an update by then. Ok, baby?" The loud hero shuffled closer and pulled him into a hug, earning a small sigh and a hug in return. He knew Shouta wouldn't be too happy about it, but it had to be done. After all, not all the pieces had been moved yet.

"Fine...I guess you're right. Tomorrow"

______

When the door creaked open to the cell, Yamada found Hitoshi fast asleep -or maybe passed out- in the chair, face red and wet from crying, causing the villain to frown. Truthfully, he really did love the boy. But he had to detach himself from him. Once this was over, Hizashi would either have to run away and abandon this life, or he would lose Hitoshi forever. The heroes were close to discovering this identity, and this was his way of going out with a bang, that also had the potential to give his husband a great headline. It worked both ways.

"I told your class what happened to you since Shouta kept details to a minimum. Kaminari and Midoriya were quick to offer help, but we both know that's a bad idea after last time they tried to save a student. I do wonder, what would they do? Would they manage to do better than the police? Than Shouta? I just think it's sweet how much they care for you, even though you've only been in their class for a few months. What was it you said? You had no intentions of becoming friends?" He sat down in front of Hitoshi and stared at him to try and figure out if he was really asleep, or just pretending. It didn't matter either way. "Isn't this the first time since middle school that you've had friends? You never told me what happened to him. Maybe one day you can tell me"

There was no reply, though the faintest twitch gave the teen away. "It's nice isn't it? The change? Everyone used to hate and fear you for your quirk, especially your own parents. But now people see you as an equal, someone worthy of friendship. I wonder if you'll survive to cherish that bond again, but at least you'll die knowing you were loved and you'll be remembered. At least now you won't fade away and have no one remember you even existed. You're so lucky to have them Toshi"

Still silence. He wondered if Hitoshi's previous home had managed to given him the ability to pretend to be asleep.

"As Shouta said, you don't need many friends at all. In fact, I only had 3 best friends and that was enough!"

After he received absolutely no response, Yamada pushed himself to his feet with a sigh and headed towards the door, lingering in the doorway. He glanced behind him at his son, heart twisting in some unintelligible way before he shut the door behind him. After a brief hesitation, he slid the panel open to allow more light in. Perhaps it was too cruel to use his trauma against him so early.

Hearing the door click shut, Hitoshi slowly opened his eyes again and blinked against the dim light radiating from the panel on the door as he listened out. Instead of footsteps heading away from the room, he heard another set heading towards it. This person had a light step, so it definitely wasn't Yamada. But that begged the question: who was this?

"Did you do what I told you to do?"

Hitoshi did not recognise the voice that responded. They sounded like a man around the same age as Yamada, though they sounded anxious. "Of course...but are you so sure about this, Hizashi?"

"Duh, when have I been wrong? Don't worry yourself, it'll work out in the end. We've always made a great team, haven't we?"

There was a brief silence before Yamada broke it with a laugh, "Oh, don't give me that look! Come on, I've gotta go home. Can I count on you to tend to him in the morning? Shou wants to check the alleyway in he morning so I can't get here until after school"

"Sure. Ok"

The two started to walk away from where Hitoshi was, leaving him with all sorts of questions. Who was the other man, and why was he working with Yamada?