Shouta's POV

We're here. We're finally here.

I hardly slept last night. When you're away from someone for so long, you just want to see them again.

After the discussion last night, Hizashi, Nemuri, and I went to Hizashi's dorm the figure out a plan. With any other place, we could sneak in and out as much as we want. However, since Izuku runs the place, we're assuming tight security. That makes things difficult, but we're hoping that Izuku will be busy enough to let us slip by. He don't believe he will have his technological advantage. The only thing that may ruin the plan is if Izuku has someone with a quirk that can track us. We don't think that's likely.

Our overall plan is to integrate ourselves with the place as people who were forced out of their apartment by villains. It's far from the best cover story, but we don't need anything complicated. I then sent Hizashi and Nemuri out to get lower quality clothes so they can blend in better. While they were doing that, I looked up Izuku's place to see if I could learn anything about it. There wasn't much, surprisingly. There were high praises about the place and a couple articles claiming that it is a cult, but that was it. It's surprising that there was no interviews with Izuku. In the long run, it's probably a good thing for him.

When they got back, we tried to sleep, woke up, took care of our classes, and left in the afternoon. We wanted to arrive during the day to attract less attention. It also allowed us to set everything up for the students in the morning.

And now, we're in front of Izuku's shelter.

"Only Izuku would name a shelter The Motel," Nemuri muses, "But it does look nicer than a shelter."

"It was originally a motel Izuku stayed at. He just brought it and turn it into this," I explain.

"Of course he did."

I turn my attention to Hizashi, who hasn't said a lot, "Are you okay?"

Hizashi gives me a shaky smile, "I'll be okay. Hopefully I don't start crying when I see him." I take his hand and squeeze it. I can't imagine how Hizashi feels considering he was the last one to see Izuku. I might be with him on his reaction.

Nemuri bumps her shoulder into Hizashi's, "If you cry, we'll just say you're crying from the trauma." Hizashi huffs a laugh.

"For once, you don't have a bad idea!"

"Hey!"

Hizashi would already be walking inside, causing me to follow after him since he won't let go of my hand. I ignore Nemuri's rebellion and enter The Motel.

Since this is something that involves Izuku, it's more than one would expect. It's clear that Izuku put thought into every detail possible. The place is clean but comfortable. It genuinely looks more like a home than a shelter, from the colors of the flooring and walls to small furnishing like the furry rug he has in the middle of the room. The only thing that gives off that it is a shelter is the front desk and signs. Not even the groups of people change how the place feels because everyone is interacting.

It's amazing what Izuku has pulled off here.

"Damn, this is a luxury hotel more than a shelter," Nemuri says in awe when she catches up with Hizashi and I. I simply nod in agreement. As much as I can appreciate the place, we're here to find Izuku. Hizashi seems to have already scoped the place since he looks back at me and shakes his head. I am not surprised. We shouldn't have expected this to be easy.

Hizashi nods toward the counter, "Shall we check in?"

"Probably. I am not in the mood to carry my stuff," Nemuri answers as she makes her way to the counter.

Luckily for us, there isn't a line there. At the counter, there would be a guy and a girl. The guy looks up from what he was reading and scans us for a moment. Then, he looks back down and continues reading. I wouldn't be surprised if he used his quirk on us to check us for something. Izuku would be prepared like that.

The girl at the desk gives us a smile, "Hello and welcome to The Motel! Are you three together?"

Nemuri leans against the counter as she signals at Hizashi and I, "Those two are together. I just happen to be the third wheel."

"Oh, I'm sorry. We can put you in a different setup from them if you would like to avoid the awkwardness?" The girl offers with a smile. Is that Izuku's doing, or did Izuku hire someone who happens to be willing to do this?

Nemuri huffs in amusement, "Nah. This has been going on for 15 years. It's completely okay."

"Alright!" The girl exclaims as she stands up and bends down behind the desk for a moment. Then, she pops up and offers us two keycards, "Alright, so this is super weird, but bear with me here. Both of these cards will let you into your rooms. Inside, there is two bedrooms and one bathroom. Each card is to one of those bedrooms. This is for safety purposes because we do put strangers together in those units sometimes. Got that?"

Hizashi steps up beside Nemuri to take one of the cards and inspect it, "That's a pretty good idea. Who came up with all this?"

"That would be the owner Mikumo! He's a bit of an oddball, but he genuinely cares. You'll probably see him around. Oh, and before I forget, we have a bunch of events that happen here! You can check the board over there to see what is going on," She explains as she signals to the pin board by the door, "It looks a bit unprofessional, but that's because Mikumo lets people do what they want here to some extent. If they have a good idea, they can set it up."

Nemuri raises an eyebrow as she takes the card, "That does not sound like the smartest idea."

"You would think that, but it's actually organized and wholesome. Like tonight, they are doing macaroni art for the kids. The worst thing that has happened there is Bingo, and Mikumo insists we keep holding them."

"Awe, that's sweet."

"Yeah. This is just a great place to be- Oh, sorry! I didn't mean to keep you here! Is there anything else you wanted to ask or do you just want to rest?"

Before Hizashi and Nemuri decide to bother the girl for more details, I intervene, "We'll just rest, thanks."

"Alright! You should have no problems finding the room as long as you keep walking down the hallway. If you get lost, there's touch screens that are scattered about that you can use to locate the room you need. I hope you guys have a great stay!"

We tell the girl goodbye and head off to find our room, and, of course, it's nice and clean.

Once we set our stuff down, we begin our investigation on Izuku.

- - -

Mikumo's POV

Ugh, I hate waking up. I hate naps too, but I have to take them unless I feel like collapsing, waking up, and explaining my slowly impending doom to everyone who saw that.

For clarification, I don't feel like doing that.

I need to get up. I have shit to do, and the shit won't do itself. Well, someone would do it for me, but I am not going to shove my burdens on someone else. That's unfair on them.

Eventually, I sit up, and the first thing I do is use my quirk to check on the place. Call me paranoid, but when you live in a villain infested town, you got to do what you got to do. Who knows what those bastards are up to?

Everything seems the same until I come across three people that I recognize but know aren't apart of this community. This is not to shit on newcomers before anyone calls me out on that. If they were regular people, they would be completely fine. The issue is that they're not. They're heroes.

How do I know that? My quirk says so.

My quirk is really weird when it comes to heroes. I am not sure if I mentioned this before, but my quirk does remember shit that I don't. For some reason, my quirk seems to know every hero in existence currently. I don't know what past me did, but I all I can say is that he gives off stalker vibes for knowing all these people. I don't even give a fuck about heroes, and I have no clue what happened between then and now.

Either way, I have heroes that are staying here, and these aren't broke heroes either. They are out-of-town heroes. What are they doing here? They literally have other shit to do. Is there something going on that I don't know about? Is there someone who is causing trouble here? Are they investigating the cult allegations?

I don't know, and I don't like this. Who knows what the fuck is going on? It doesn't help that there are three of them. One, maybe two, is just a casual little thing. Three means shit is going to go down. Three is a bad number.

I need to figure out what is going on.

After fixing myself up, I head out and go to my front desk people. They may know something. Not likely, but they can tell me when they got in at least. I say that is certainly something.

I strut to behind the counter, go between the two, and lean on the table, "Heyyyy."

Uketsuke grins, "Oh, Mikumo, you're up! How'd you sleep?"

"I say relatively good all considering."

"...you want something."

"Bingo!"

My male receptionist, which I just realize that I have not revealed his name yet, Ugokasu, grunts, "Of course. What do you want?"

"Have you two checked in anyone while I was asleep?"

"I haven't."

Uketsuke intervenes, "I have! Three people. Why? Did your quirk show you something?"

"Oh, them. Yeah. Before you ask, they are looking for someone." Well, that's not good.

I straighten up and tilt my head to Ugokasu, "All three of them?"

"Yeah."

"Huh. Alright then."

"Hey, you haven't told us why you are asking!" Uketsuke points out.

"Oh, whoops. Well, all three of them are established heroes."

"Uh, they're probably just looking into the cult allegations."

"You could do that with one person! It's not like they are facing John Cena here! I'm literally sick here. I'm sorry, but I am getting sus vibes from this."

Ugokasu groans, "Bro, you're just dramatic. Just let them see that this is not a cult, and they will leave within a couple of days. We'll keep an eye on them. Just please, chill the fuck out."

"And what if they paid you to say that?"

"...you've lost it."

Uketsuke sighs, "Mikumo, we have it covered. You focus on what you need to do, alright? Don't stress yourself out over some stupid heroes."

I don't immediately respond. I really don't want to let this go, but I don't think I have much of a choice. I just hope to god there isn't another issue that I don't know about. I suspect there is one, but I don't want to be presumptuous or paranoid.

"Alright."

All I can say is that they better disappear soon or else I will confront them.

- - -

Shouta's POV

"Izuku really knows how to set people up nicely," Nemuri comments as she comes out of her room, "It's nothing too fancy, but it's enough to feel safe."

Hizashi and I don't say anything as we come out of our room, but she isn't wrong. It makes me wonder where Izuku got the capabilities to pull this off because I don't think he has a hospitality degree. However, he probably would manage to get one in a short amount of time, so who knows with him?

Nemuri sighs, "You guys just want to see him, huh?" Both of us nod, "Then let's go. Let's see what this place has to offer and hope he comes by."

In agreement, we head out and find ourselves in the recreational room. It's a logical room to be in at this time, and us discussing at the side wouldn't attract attention.

And we wait. The entire time, we watch, hoping that Izuku comes in only for that to not be the case. It eventually got to the point where we needed to leave and get something to eat.

We make our ways to the dining hall to find the place packed. However, the people behind the window seem to be passing out the food relatively fast. Like Izuku, the food is beyond decent quality. He has a handful of choices to choose from, and all of it is nutritional.

After we grab our plates, we sit down at eat without a word. Nemuri seems to have given up trying to talk to us because she is quiet now as she eats. Hizashi is still looking out for the kid at high alert. I have chosen to focus on eating quickly.

Then, Hizashi suddenly kicks my leg and presumably Nemuri's given the curse that escapes her, "Hey, what's that-"

Hizashi cuts her off with a headnod to the side, "Look."

Following his directions, we both turn and freeze.

At the doorway stands Izuku. He leans against the doorway as he chats with a few people that come right up to him. It's clear that he is getting along with them given the laughs that are escaping them.

And Izuku...he looks off. It's clear that he is happy. I can tell by the light in his eyes (and probably a smile that his mask is hiding), something I haven't seen in so long. However, he isn't hyperactive. He's tired. His choice of clothing is off too. He isn't wearing something decent but instead black sweatpants and a hoodie, both of which seem loose on him. Izuku doesn't like loose.

What is going on? Izuku is happy, but he isn't well. What is going on behind the scenes?

My thoughts are interrupted by a sniffle. When I turn toward where it came from, I see Hizashi in tears. I quickly move to his side and wrap my arm around his waist. With my other hand, I take his hand and squeeze it.

"He's...he's alive...he's alive..." Hizashi struggles to say. I understand his reaction. He was the one who last saw Izuku. He was the one watching over Izuku while I was out. If I was in his position, I would probably be worse.

Nemuri reaches over and takes his other hand while she watches Izuku when she suddenly looks at us, "He's watching us." What?

I shift myself towards Izuku's direction, and I force myself to stay still when I lock eyes with him. It takes a moment to recognize what is going on, but Izuku has just lost his memories, not who he is.

Izuku is wary of us.

It doesn't make sense. Izuku shouldn't know who we are unless he has something going on that we don't know about. It's either that or Izuku is remembering something, but I don't think that's the case. He knows something that we don't.

For what seems like forever, Izuku is forced to break contact to talk to someone.

I turn back to Hizashi and Nemuri, "He knows something."

Nemuri sighs, "Of course he does, but how? And why did it look like he was trying to threaten us?"

"He probably has something set up, and I would not be surprised if he was."

"That's not good for us. Who knows what he can do here?"

"I deny he will do anything. At most, he will ask us to leave. However, I don't think he will do it right now."

"But we don't know when he will do anything either."

Hizashi interrupts us suddenly, "What if Izuku still has Ragdoll's quirk?"

That stops our conversation for a moment. When Izuku was found, we assumed that Izuku was quirkless again. Ragdoll's quirk is a highly valuable quirk that All for One would want back. There would be no benefit for letting Izuku keep it unless...

"Doesn't that imply that Izuku is probably working for him?" Nemuri questions.

"I...I don't want to think about it," Hizashi says hesitantly, and I don't blame him. Izuku as a villain would be a game changer and not in a good way.

"It's still something to consider."

"Well, if he is, then why is he here doing this?"

"Who knows? There's too many dead ends with him. It's cool seeing him do it to other people but to us? I understand why so many people hate him."

Hizashi leans against me, directing his next question at me, "What should we do, Sho?"

I sigh, "I don't know. I know staying here won't get us anywhere if Izuku is going to be moving around like this, but I don't want to leave him either."

"I don't see why we can't say here longer," Nemuri points out, "We were expected to stay a couple days anyway. The worst that can happen is that he kills us." Hizashi and I both look at her.

"That's not likely. If he is doing something like this, I deny he is going to kill anybody."

"What if he plans on killing everyone here?"

"If he was going to do that, he would have done that already. You know that he could have pulled that off by now."

"...yeah, that's true."

"Either way, I know there's no bad intention here. This is Izuku's work: not someone controlling him."

Hizashi nods, squeezing my hand at the same time, "I agree. If this was all a scheme, Izuku would have done things differently."

"Exactly...I think we should stay. If Izuku is on their side, it might not be willingly, and I want to help him."

"I'm more than willing to help."

Nemuri smiles, "Knew it."

I roll my eyes and finish my meal, "Finish eating so we can leave before we catch Izuku's attention again."

- - -

Mikumo's POV

I am a simple boy, and I like simple people.

When I say simple people, I mean anyone that is not a hero or villain. Sure, the simple people may be weird, but those categories of people are a whole different species.

Why am I bringing this up?

Well, the heroes are still here. I was told that, after a couple of days, they would leave. Why are they still here? Surely, we should have proved to them that we are not a cult by now. It's not like we do cult like things. We are literally just vibing.

Anyway, after careful consideration, I have decided that I am unwilling to sit around and wait for them to leave. Something is going on, and I am going to get to the bottom of it despite literally everyone's advice.

After sneaking past the front desk (since they would have stopped me), I use my quirk to locate their room. Probably not what my quirk was meant to be used for, but too bad, so sad, and it's time to kick some ass.

I now stand in front of their room. Should I plan on what to say or is it better to go for it? What do I even say?

'hey my quirk allows me to see people and you people are heroes, bye bye please?'

Yeah, that's likely to get me arrested.

Whatever, I'm just going to knock and hope for the best!

I knock on the door-

WAIT, WHERE ARE YOU GOING?! COME BACK! WE'RE JUST GETTING TO THE JUICY STUFF!