THE WIND IS COLD AND SHARP UP HERE. The sky is picture-perfect, glowing pinpricks of stars and a full moon against a pitch backdrop. He can see his breath cloud in front of him and disappear within the next second. Some of it condensates on the inside of his flipped-up visor.

His back pops when he stands and stretches, the satisfying kind that makes him feel loose and flexible. Staking out targets isn't exactly fun or mobile, and he can't help but think of the homework left half-finished on his desk that should have been filled out, checked, and doubled checked by now. Can't dwell on shoulds or woulds, he thinks and snorts. Hoshiko is rubbing off on him, but he's pretty sure that's more of a good thing than bad.

The comm in his helmet crackles. "Diamonds?" Speak of the devil. "You still there?"

He flexes his stiff fingers and flips the visor down. "Still here, Spades. No sign of him." The sky turns darker through the tinted plastic as his eyes adjust. Without the icy air against his bare face, his nose begins to prickle at the sudden warmth. "Any updates?" He peers over the edge into the alleyway below. It's clean and perfectly ordinary, unassuming, just like the building he's been huddled on top of for the past hour. Just like the building across from him.

If there's one thing Izuku knows, it's that appearances can't always be trusted.

"He just passed through the intersection two blocks from your position. I'm coming your way, Diamonds. Get ready." He nods to himself and tightens his gloves, his vest (every day he's thankful it's lightweight, being bulletproof is so not worth carrying anything more than three pounds), checks his tazer and staff. It's fidgeting, really, but it always helps to make sure everything is in place and prepared. He'd hate to be caught unawares (idiot, half-brain, why can't you get it right-) and screw everything up.

There's a shift in the air beside him. When he turns his head, a tall figure stands at the edge of the roof, arms crossed and head tilted in focus. Izuku can't see her expression, hidden under a sleek black helmet identical to his, but he's sure her eyebrows are furrowed and her mouth is set in a hard line. He can almost imagine her freckles glowing brighter against the galaxies that live in her skin as she watches the streets below. "Did Eraser say anything?" he asks.

She nods. "He said to protect your chest. Our target likes to break as many ribs as possible." Izuku cringes and plays with the pocket flaps of his cargo pants. Broken ribs are a pain. "We'll have to be quick. Eraser probably has suspicions. Clubs is distracting him right now, but he'll be trying to check on us to make sure we're not ..." She waves a gloved hand in dismissal. " ... getting into trouble."

Yeah, right. Izuku has never done anything wrong, ever, in his life.

After a few minutes of silence and shifting around, he hears a jaunty whistle and the jangle of keys. Hoshiko crouches at the roof's edge and he follows, watching as a man with a halo and tattoo-like symbols on his face strolls into the alley. The man unlocks a faded door at the very end, looks over his shoulder, and steps inside the perfectly ordinary building.

They share a glance, and together they slip into a faintly glowing portal.

―――

"—arrested for possession and distribution of the illicit quirk enhancer called Trigger." The newscast trickles into his area of focus, and Izuku barely manages to finish the last question on his homework before his attention is torn away. The television displays a mugshot of the man with the halo and face markings before cutting away to a shot of the police escorting him out of a freshly crumbling building, a pair of Quirk-suppressant handcuffs clapped around his wrists.

Izuku nods firmly and turns his gaze back to his homework.

"Where are you going?" he calls out without looking up.

There's a squeak and a muffled curse, followed by the clatter of a fallen chair. "C'mon, Zu, I haven't been out for three days!" A head of silver-white hair pops into his peripheral vision, wisps floating out of a loose braid. Izuku yanks his pencil away before she can snatch it, and the would-be runaway responds by tackling him off his chair.

They tumble into the coffee table twice and Izuku smacks his head on the couch at least three times, but eventually he gets an arm around her neck and a firm grip on her wrist. She taps out and laughs when he releases her, slightly flushed, though it's hard to see with her complexion. Even now, he can see it fade away as her Quirk regulates her blood flow.

"See, this is why I need to get out!" she says breathily, swiping at the hair in her eyes. "I can't just keep sneak attacking everyone in the house!"

Izuku brushes off his pants and sets the chair upright. "It's not a sneak attack if you're in their line of vision, Wren." His homework is crinkled and the corner is torn off, but that's fine. His teachers have gotten used to less-than-pristine assignments, waving it off with the assumption that his papers get crumpled up in his backpack. "Alright, ways out of a chokehold. Go."

Wren rolls her eyes at him and perches on the arm of the couch. "Tuck your chin to reduce air blockage. Keep your fingers between their arm and your neck to free up pressure. Dig your elbows into their soft and squishy parts." Something akin to mischief slips into her grin. "Jam your heels into their kneecaps and steal them."

He sighs and gives her a thumbs up, not even bothering to argue the point that they're not legally allowed to steal kneecaps. He's already asked. Eraser shot it down before he could even finish the question, probably because Wren would not hesitate once she had permission. He just likes to suck the fun out of everything, he thinks before Wren drapes her arms over his shoulders and slumps against him, whining "please" over and over. Izuku gives it a full minute before he pinches her elbow and drops her on the couch. "Fine, fine. We'll go out tomorrow after school."

She throws up her hands and starts to cheer.

"But first, you have to finish your homework. All of it. Hoshi said your history grade is dropping."

Her cheers cut off into a groan.

Izuku smiles and returns to his assignment. Just to make sure he got everything right. Then he'll help Wren with whatever she'll inevitably have trouble with. And if they're lucky, their siblings will get home before they can fall asleep on the couch again.

(They won't, and they will, and the older two will sigh at the younger two before tucking them in with the softest blanket in their stash.

"Why can't they ever go to sleep in their own beds?" the oldest will grumble, blank white eyes crinkling with fondness and exasperation.

"Because you're a softie, Ryo," the other will whisper with a smile brighter than the stars on her cheeks.)

context? no <3

i thought i'd try what authors say you should do and start in the middle, not the backstory (kind of like what i did with static), which means not describing the characters like it's his first time ever meeting them jdkafjlakdsfs.

i was gonna leave ryo out but since i mentioned "clubs" back towards the middle i decided i should give him a brief mention before he shows up in other chapters.

if you're having trouble following this, don't worry i will explain things eventually.. i just dont want to introduce the characters who are already established parts of izuku's life and then dump a bunch of backstory on the first chapter.

ok bye love y'all <333