Sounds of relief filled the room as Ectoplasm announced the end of the time allotted for the exam, dismissing them from the class and from Yueii entirely. Most of Izuku's classmates wasted no time in gathering their belongings and heading for the door. The few that weren't in such a hurry, including Izuku, who took a moment to tuck his notebook into his bag, followed behind a few moments later.
The mathematics exam that they had just finished marked the end of the second day of exams. Yesterday had been reserved for English and Modern Literature, the exam for Modern Hero Art History had been held today before Mathematics, which left physics and Heroics to finish things off tomorrow.
So far, as per his expectations, Izuku hadn't had any issue with the exams. The material that they covered was certainly a bit more advanced than what the entrance exam had contained, but not by much. He wasn't entirely sure how the rest of his class was faring, with the exception of Ochako, who had told him that with a few exceptions, she was able to answer everything with relative ease, but so far he'd had a few of them mention that the tests were easier than they had been expecting.
He supposed that-that meant the study session had been somewhat successful. Or at least that some of his classmates were attributing their success to it.
Whatever the case, the second day of exams had concluded, and now Izuku had to do something that made him feel some measure of nervousness where the exams had failed to do so.
Today was the day that he and Rei had scheduled to have the interview with the social worker in order to determine both whether the two of them were fit to be foster guardians and whether the apartment was a suitable environment for such a thing.
Well, nervousness might not be the most accurate word. He wasn't worried about the possibility of failing the interview, as the chances of that happening were incredibly slim. He and Rei had already spent a not-insignificant amount of time going over every possible direction the interview could go in and any questions that might be asked of them, ensuring that they were both prepared for anything. And Izuku had taken great care to ensure that the apartment was prepared for any amount of scrutiny the social worker might bring, including converting his office into a bedroom and hiding away everything related to his vigilante work within 'Hotbar.'
He was, however, excited that he might soon be adding another person to his family. Any anxiety he actually felt, which wasn't much, was simply a result of him hoping that he would do a good job of providing enough care to Iona. That mixture of excitement and slight anxiety brought a small smile to his face as he moved through the hallways, as he was beginning to realize it had a tendency to do.
As per their usual, Ochako found her way to Izuku's side as he made his way towards the exit.
"So today's the day, huh?" She started. "Are you nervous?"
"Not particularly." He answered. "Assuming they don't ask anything completely unexpected, we shouldn't have any problems. And they would have to ask something really unexpected for us to not be prepared for it."
Okay, so maybe Izuku's tendency to overanalyze and overprepare combined with Rei's tendency to support whatever he did caused them to go a bit overboard with the preparations. But so long as it meant that the two of them would make it through the interview without issue, then he wouldn't worry about it.
"That's good. Maybe soon you'll be able to adopt that little girl you told me about."
"Mhm."
Glancing over and seeing the excited grin on Ochako's face, he raised a hand and placed it on her head, ruffling her hair just a bit as the corners of his own mouth curved upwards to match.
When Rei and Izuku had discussed the possibility of adopting Iona with Ochako, before Izuku had even submitted the paperwork to be registered as a foster guardian, she had surprised them both with how excited she was at the idea. Evidently, she'd always wanted a younger sibling, but her family's financial situation made that impossible. So, naturally, the prospect of finally having the chance to have someone that she could act as an elder sibling for had her seeming more excited that Rei and Izuku combined.
It made sense though, Ochako being more excited. Izuku's excitement came primarily from being able to spare someone from living the same sort of life he and Rei had: completely alone and lacking anyone to care for them and protect them from the world. Iona had lost her parents, in a different manner than Izuku and Rei had, sure, but one that was just as, if not more traumatizing. She was completely alone, as indicated by her now living in an orphanage, and to top it all off there was a chance that she was still a potential target of The Triad.
Izuku had the opportunity to alleviate some of that. And the fact that he was getting closer to doing so was what had him excited.
Rei's excitement no doubt came at least partially via association, as a result of Izuku's. Though, mostly, Izuku imagined it was because she was getting the opportunity to expand her family and be surrounded by more people that she could love and who would love her back, something she had been denied for most of her life.
For Ochako, on the other hand, her wanting a younger sibling most likely wasn't as deep of a desire as Izuku and Rei's reasons for being excited. It wasn't something that had shaped her as a person, but was something that she had directly wanted and wished for-for a good part of her life. It was something that had more directly occupied her thoughts rather than influencing her as a defining character trait. As such, when that desire was fulfilled, it brought her more outright excitement.
"You said that you were planning to spend the afternoon with Tsuyu, right?" Izuku asked, dropping his hand back down to his side.
"Yep! We're gonna be heading over to her house. I'll be back in time for dinner."
Izuku nodded. "Alright. Just let me know if anything changes, or if you want me to come pick you up afterwards."
"Sure thing!"
With that, she turned away just as they exited the building, moving over towards where Tsuyu was waiting for her.
"Bye Izuku!" She called, waving over her shoulder. "I'd say good luck but I know you don't need it."
Izuku waved after her for a moment, before spreading his wings and launching himself into the air. Once he was high enough, he directed himself towards the apartment and set off.
With Izuku's overanalyzing nature and Rei generally only ever encouraging him, directly or indirectly, to go further, and the two of them feeding off of each other, as soon as they had scheduled the meeting Rei had dug around to find out the identity of the social worker that would be conducting it. And once they knew their name, the two of them made a point of learning as much about them as possible.
The social worker was a man by the name of Tomeo Inai. Thirty-seven years of age, married for sixteen, with three children, fourteen, twelve, and eight years old, the youngest being adopted. His quirk was named 'Second Mouth,' and gave him a mutation in the form of an extra mouth on his right hand, that could eat, breath, and speak. He had been working as a social worker for just over ten years.
It was essentially stalking, and some of the methods they had made use of were illegal, but the more information they had, the better. Anything they could use to their advantage to ensure that they succeeded would be helpful. Little bits of information like how Inai grew up in an abusive home, which likely had some impact on him becoming a social worker, and which would likely make him more sympathetic towards Izuku and Rei, who went through a similar situation, and therefore more likely to support them wanting to do something to help.
Regarding Izuku and Rei's official story, in the eyes of the law, Izuku had always been an Etsumi. Rei had long since gone through and manipulated and forged all the legal documentation to ensure that-that was what anyone looking would find. As far as anyone would ever be able to tell, especially with her father locked away in a mental institution and her mother having dropped off the face of the Earth entirely not long after it happened, she'd always had a little brother named Izuku.
If it were to come up in the interview, the two of them had already decided what they would and would not reveal of the more specific details of their lives. Obviously, nothing about Izuku's actual reason for being on the streets, or his quirk, would be told, nor would the specifics of the majority of the hardships they experienced at the hands of other people, homeless, criminal, or otherwise evil enough to harm children. They would leave everything as generalized as possible. If it became necessary, they would explain that they lived on the streets for a while after running away from their abusive parents, which Rei was willing to explain if necessary, though she would do so in as little detail as possible. Beyond watering down the reality of their situation though, they would keep it fairly close to the truth. They would explain that after a while living like that, Izuku had begun to educate himself while Rei worked, that as a result of their combined efforts, they managed to forcibly improve their lives to the point that they were at now.
Obviously, this would mean revealing that he was Deku, but he'd already revealed that he was a quirk analyst as a part of the initial paperwork he submitted, which had required him to describe his employment. Anyone with half a brain would be able to work out that he was Deku looking at the information he'd provided.
He didn't mind revealing a little bit about himself—and neither did Rei, for that matter—if it ensured that he would be successfully make it a step closer to his goal.
Rei greeted him as he arrived back home, entering into the living room from the door that led to the balcony. She had switched back to a normal sleep schedule so she could take part in the interview, and assuming they got through it without issue, she would maintain that normal schedule.
There were still a number of specifics that would need to be worked out if and when they would finally manage to adopt Iona regarding their schedules and routines, but they both figured that it would be easier if she was awake during the day. With Izuku always awake and able to address anything that should happen to occur at night, it would be best if they were both awake and able to take care of anything that might come up during the day. Plus, with Rei transitioning from school to a job—she had chosen to pursue the opportunity offered by All Might—she would need to be awake during the day anyway.
Of course, that meant that she wouldn't be able to provide the same amount of assistance as Phantom when he went out as Oni, but that wouldn't be an issue. He had already decided that he would ease up on the amount of time he spent out each night, compensating for that with increased effort in that shorter time of course, so that he would end up spending more time at home. And besides, Rei would still be able to help him for a bit before she would need to sleep.
And in the end, Izuku's plan had already been to eventually halt his vigilantism. That's why he was even attending Yueii, so he could help people legally, saving his illegal methods for if a bit more force or violence ever became necessary.
With how early Yueii had dismissed its students because of the exams, it was still an appropriate time for lunch when he got home, and there was enough time before the interview for him to fix something for himself and Rei to eat. Nothing too complicated, just some ramen, but certainly good enough for lunch, especially since it was still cooked from scratch. Izuku had briefly considered cooking something a bit more complex and offering some to Inai, but decided against doing so.
They were mostly silent as they ate, simply enjoying each other's company while they waited for Inai to arrive. There was nothing for them to discuss at the moment. They were already completely prepared for the interview, all that was left was to wait.
Eventually, after the two of them had finished eating and Izuku had cleaned up, the man did arrive. Rei noticed him first, as his entering the building sent an alert to her phone, where she proceeded to watch him through the cameras in the building's lobby as he entered the elevator. Izuku noticed him a few moments after that with 'All Sight,' watching as the elevator neared and eventually stopped at their floor.
The moment Inai was close enough for Izuku to see him, Tamako jumped to the man. As a part of their preparation for the interview, Izuku had asked Tamako to switch over to and watch Inai from the inside. They would keep an eye out for anything even remotely suspicious, and would report to Izuku if they noticed anything, including if Inai thought that Izuku and Rei were unsuitable or that they might not become foster guardians. If that were to happen, Izuku would have to consider resorting to an alternative method.
As the man stepped out of the elevator, Izuku rose from the table to wait by the front door. He watched as the man stopped in front of it, standing a scant few feet away, and checked something on his phone, before finally reaching a hand up to knock.
Izuku tilted his head a bit, counting out an appropriate delay, before opening the door.
"Good afternoon!" The man greeted cheerfully, with an almost blinding smile. "Are you Izuku Etsumi?"
Izuku nodded, his mouth curling up into a smaller, but no less friendly smile. "Indeed I am. May I ask who you are?"
"Of course!" Came the response, along with an extended hand, his left one, leaving the one with the mouth at his side. "My name is Tomeo Inai. I'm the one who's been assigned to your case, the application to become a foster guardian."
Izuku took the proffered hand, shaking it before backing away slightly and gesturing into the apartment. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Please, come in."
Izuku might find speaking with other people exhausting most of the time—assuming he wasn't close to them, he could spend hours talking to Rei and Ochako—and he might not fully understand social etiquette, but he knew how to talk to people. It wasn't hard, all one had to do was speak clearly, politely, and with confidence. And if one also knew what they were going to say before they said—which Izuku had made a habit of doing long ago, his enhanced thought processing speed allowing him to do so—and could add in a bit of charisma, which Izuku knew how to do after being Oni for as long as he had, then it wouldn't matter if that person wasn't social, because they would be able trick everyone into thinking that they were.
Izuku gestured to Rei, who had risen from her spot at the table, as Inai entered the apartment. "This is my sister, Reiko Etsumi."
"Please, call me Rei." She greeted, reaching out to shake his hand.
"It's a pleasure to meet you both." The man said, still with that blinding smile. He gestured at the only chair set at the table, the one normally reserved for Ochako. "May I?"
"Please do." Izuku answered as he and Rei settled back down at the table, directly across from Inai.
"Thank you for agreeing to hold this interview in your home." Inai said as he got settled. "It does speed things up a bit if we're able to confirm the suitability of the home in the same meeting as the interview."
"Of course. Anything we can do to make things easier for you. So, where would you like to begin?"
Inai folded his hands together on the table in front of him. "Right. I suppose we might as well start with the most pressing question we have for you. After we looked through the paperwork you submitted, which we found no issue with, by the way, we ran background checks on both of you. They both came back completely clean in regards to criminal records or anything else suspicious, so there were no concerns on that front. However, in the process, we noticed something else that did raise a concern, actually it was really the only concern we had."
"As we were looking through all the records for you and your family, everything checked out properly through around your," he gestured at Izuku, "fourth birthday, and around your," this time he gestured at Rei, "tenth. However we noticed a bit of a gap starting somewhere around that time where there is no new or updated documentation or records for either of you. That gap extends until about four years later when Izuku has documentation marking his completion of the course-material equivalent of Grade One education, with the grades after following closely behind at a rate never before recorded, at least in Japan. And at the same time, we found documentation showing that Rei was hired to work at a restaurant."
"This, the apparent disappearance of two children for a few years, raised some slight concerns, and we were wondering if you would be willing and able to fill us in on anything you might know about this. We have our own theories, as this follows certain patterns that we've seen before, but we would like to avoid jumping to incorrect conclusions."
Izuku resisted the urge to sigh. Addressing their life story right from the start. Not unexpected in the slightest, but it was a bit unfortunate that they had to get into this already. He glanced over at Rei, silently letting her know that she was up.
She shifted, leaning forward a bit. "I imagine that your theories are correct, as there aren't but so many explanations for the gap in records you explained, with very few of them good."
She paused for a few seconds, though it was mostly for Inai's benefit, to add to the story. "Our parents were abusive."
Inai looked down at his hands. "I see… I suspected as much. I'm sorry."
He looked back up at them a moment later. "I'm guessing that around the time that I mentioned, you ended up running away? And that-that was the reason for there being no record of either of you for so long?"
"That's correct."
He nodded. "I'm sorry to ask this of you, but would you be willing to talk about it? Both the nature of the abuse and what took place during the gap?"
"I'd prefer not to talk too much about it." Rei said. "The basics of it are that they were abusive, exclusively verbal for a time, until our father eventually crossed the line and became physical. Eventually I made the decision for us to run away."
"Oh yes, of course!" Inai said, raising his hands up in front of him. "You don't have to go into detail at all if you don't want to. Forgive me, my reason for asking that of you was just so that we could understand the circumstances as much as possible."
"It's no issue." Rei said, reassuring him. "I would simply rather that remain in the past. And we're still willing to fill in the missing details of what happened after. I imagine that would be a bit more important to you anyway."
"Please do. I would greatly appreciate it."
Izuku leaned forward. It was his turn again.
"We were homeless for those four years, and for a short time beyond that." He explained. "For much of that time we were simply trying to survive, because as you can probably imagine, it's not exactly easy for two children to survive on the streets. Eventually, Rei found a job in an attempt to improve our situation. Around the same time, I discovered that I have an aptitude for learning, and began making use of a public library to pursue my education. Not too long after that, we were able to move into the cheapest apartment we could find. And from that point on, our lives took on something of an upward curve. We continued to work to better ourselves and our situation until…" he gestured around himself, "we ended up here."
"I see… How did you manage to survive that long? Though there haven't been many, I've not heard of a single instance of a child, or children, living on the streets ending well."
"A combination of luck, and being just intimidating enough, despite being children, to ward off most who would be a threat to us."
Inai's eyebrows scrunched up. "You scared people away?"
"Consider our mutations." Izuku said, gesturing down at his tail, as his wings shifted on his back. "The two of us weigh in at several thousand pounds each. Even as young as we were, we weighed more than anyone who didn't have a similarly extensive mutation, and our tails could exert more force than anyone that didn't have a strength quirk. Assuming no other quirks or weapons were involved, the two of us would have the upper hand in almost any potential confrontation. All we would have to do was get on top of someone, or wrap around them with our tails, and it was over. Taking into account the enhanced strength that I also have, and we were able to defend ourselves."
Inai nodded. "That makes sense. I saw a nature documentary recently about Anacondas, that showed how they crush their prey. Applying that to a human-sized version… I can see how people would be too scared to try anything. And I recognize you from the sports festival. Even if your strength was much less as a child, it doesn't surprise me to hear that you would've been able to defend yourself."
"Though, if you don't mind me asking," he continued, "why, after running away, didn't you attempt to go to the police for help?"
"Because we were children." Rei answered. "We didn't exactly have the best judgement at the time. We didn't want to risk being returned to our parents. And with the two of them being pretty much the only adults that we ever had any exposure to, they didn't exactly instill in us a huge amount of trust in adults.
"Right. I figured that would be the case. I've seen far too many cases that bear similarities to yours, and in a great deal of them, it's always heroes and police that are finding the children in question instead of them seeking out help, because they don't think that the heroes and police can be trusted."
He paused for a moment, before speaking again. "I apologize for jumping right to the hardest part of this interview. As I said, it was simply the biggest question we had for the two of you, and I felt it would be best to get it out of the way."
That made sense to Izuku. The whole purpose of the background check that had revealed the issue in the first place was to ensure that he and Rei had no criminal records, and that they had not engaged in anything that would make them unsuitable to be foster guardians. A four-year gap in their records and documentation, even with the two of them being as young as they were, was four years where it was impossible to confirm what they had or had not been involved in.
"On that note though, let's move on to some easier questions, shall we?" Inai asked, attempting to lead the interview onward.
"To start us off: the reason you submitted the application, though given the explanation the two of you have just given me, I feel as though I now know the answer to this. There are a number of reasons why someone might want to attempt to foster or adopt, some benevolent, others not so much. What prompted the two of you to make the decision?"
"Because we want to help." Izuku answered, almost immediately. "As we've just explained, we know what it's like to struggle through life, to not have the love and support of parents. We fought our way up from nothing, and now that we are where we are, now that we have the ability to do so, we want to be able to help prevent anyone we can from going through what we did, even if it's only one person."
Inai had a small smile on his face as Izuku finished speaking.
"I'm glad to hear that-that's the reason." He said. "I've heard a number of different responses to that question, from only wanting the financial assistance that we offer, to wanting to start a family. Nothing makes me happy quite like hearing that someone wants to foster for no other reason than to help, and give a home to someone that needs one."
He gave his head a small shake. "But in an effort to not get off-topic, onto the next question. Based on the income records you sent in with your application, it seems as though you should have no issue with affording to take care of a child. The documentation described your job as being a 'Quirk Analyst.' Would you mind going into a bit of detail about what all that entails?"
"Of course." Izuku answered. "I'd be happy to."
"Most analysts will follow a similar pattern in how they operate. There might be some deviation between them, especially when comparing teams of analysts working as a company against freelance analysts, but most of the time they're fairly similar. Some way or another, most will receive quirks to analyze, whether that be through contracts that they hold with official organizations, such as training facilities, police and military academies, and even hero schools, or through individual requests through a website. How much information an analyst requires in order to complete a request varies from person to person. Some prefer to see the quirk in-person, while others might request a video, and some need nothing more than a written description. Whatever the case, when they have what they need, they'll usually write out everything they can come up with from the information they were provided. This includes things such as how a quirk functions, potential uses or methods of using it, and ways to improve upon it. Then that analysis is sent back to the person that requested it."
"Now, the way I do it follows this pattern. I work on my own, so I have a website where people will send in requests along with any and all information they can send. I don't require any certain type of information, but I make it clear that the more I'm sent, the more in-depth my analysis will be. I write out exactly what I just mentioned, making sure to include things such as training facilities and publicly accessible support companies that they can look into if it's applicable to the request, and I send it back. The way the payment is set up for mine, is that when they send in their request, they include the money along with it, then when I send the analysis back to them, that money is then transferred to me."
"Fascinating." Inai said. "I never knew what all quirk analysis involved. But, wait. I saw your income information. You make as much as you do as a freelance analyst? I figured that you worked with a company of some sort."
"Nope. I do indeed work alone. I find myself having to make this revelation increasingly often as time goes by, but I actually do my analysis work under the pseudonym Deku."
"Ah, I see. No wonder you make so much. You aren't just an analyst, but the most well-known analyst in Japan."
"Indeed. My job as Deku was a key part in the two of us getting to where we are. It has afforded us the ability to live a comfortable lifestyle and for Rei to pursue her education and for me to pursue mine. And over the years, I have stockpiled enough money that should something happen that halts that income, this comfortable lifestyle would be able to persist for some time."
"Actually, you mentioning your education brings us to the next topic I'd like to discuss: the matter of time and your schedules. Your application listed that you're currently attending Yueii, and even if it hadn't, as I said, I recognized you from the sports festival. Between your analysis work, and attending Yueii, and with Rei pursuing her own higher education, would you be able to handle the time requirements that come with fostering a child?"
"I don't foresee us having any difficulty on that front. With the increased movement speed that my quirk grants me, I'm able to handle all of my analysis work within the space of about two hours, give or take a few minutes. And the only affect that attending Yueii has on my schedule is just the time that I'm required to be at the school. The workload poses no challenge to me, and I generally have any work done before I leave alongside everyone else. And if it ever becomes necessary to alter my schedule to accommodate a child, I could most likely do so without issue. I'm friends with Nezu as a result of being Deku, so he would probably be willing to assist me with that."
"And regarding Rei's education." Izuku continued. "She has actually completed her final year since we submitted the application."
Rei nodded along. "Yep. I've graduated, and once the summer's over, I'll begin working for the legal team at Might Tower. Though with that I'll primarily be working from home, so I'll be available here most of the time to handle anything that comes up."
"Very good. You two definitely seem to have considered things thoroughly. That's good to see. Though, while we're on the topic of your education and careers, have you considered the risks that come with pursuing heroics? There aren't too many Pro Heroes with families, because not only do they put their lives on the line but because their families would be at risk as well."
"I have considered it." Izuku said. "And I've decided that I would still like to foster."
Izuku knew the sort of statistics that surrounded heroes with families. They weren't exactly pleasant to look at, between the number of families left missing a member because of the death of a hero and the number of heroes that have had their family taken from them because some villains saw an easy target. He'd already experienced something of the risks associated with heroics just through his vigilantism. It wasn't nearly to the same extent though, as it was easy to separate his identity as Izuku from his identity as Oni and got easier all the time with the quirks he acquired, from being able to completely change his appearance to, more recently, being able to move from his apartment to nearly anywhere in the city without leaving any physical trace. Not to mention Oni's reputation of being extraordinarily violent, sending nearly everyone he faced to the hospital, and even further than that, for those that knew enough about him, the promise of an immediate and an even-more-violent-than-usual retribution against anyone that dared to attempt to track him back to his home.
As an actual hero though, it would be considerably harder to deal with such things, unless he chose to reveal his true quirk so that he could make use of his entire arsenal as he could as Oni, which wasn't likely to happen. He couldn't even do what All Might did and hide his identity, as his snake tail would be fairly recognizable. His primary method of warding off any potential threats would likely end up being overwhelming strength; being strong enough to scare people away from even targeting his family. Of course, even if there was anyone foolish enough to target them, there likely wouldn't be a second, because his response to such a thing would be exactly the same as both Izuku the hero and Oni the vigilante. The only difference would be that the aftermath of his hero identity's retribution would be much more public.
"It likely wouldn't have been obvious during the sports festival," Izuku continued, "but my physical capabilities are comparable to All Might himself. That combined with the enhanced healing factor that comes as a part of my quirk means that it would be incredibly difficult to kill me, or even injure me for longer than a few seconds. And as far as any potential threats to my family… Well, I would say that I feel sorry for anyone who might threaten them, but then I'd be lying to you. And though it's likely impossible to ensure that they are completely protected at all time, we have taken measures to ensure that they are protected as much as possible."
He gestured around himself. "Though it may appear perfectly normal, this apartment is nearly a bunker. The windows are bulletproof, and each of the doors contain pneumatic deadbolts. We have access to the buildings security cameras, among other things, and knew the moment that you walked in through the doors. Furthermore, Rei and Ochako's phones both contain a custom-built program that acts as a panic button of sorts. When pressed, emergency services are notified and a notification is sent to my own phone, containing the location."
"Once again, I am impressed by the amount of thought and consideration you seem to have put into this. May I ask what led to you making some of those decisions? I definitely see the value of doing that for when you become a Pro Hero, but why put some of these measures in place so early?"
"A mixture of paranoia leftover from our time living on the streets and a desire to ensure that we are kept safe after the invasion at Yueii's USJ."
"Oh yeah, I remember hearing about that. The news said that there was a class of students involved, but that Yueii hadn't released any names. I'm guessing that your class was the one they were talking about?"
"That's correct. We were there when the villain invaded, and had to deal with them. Afterwards, we decided to take measures to ensure our safety just in case any villains decided to target us specifically, and outside of Yueii property."
"That makes sense. Were I in your position, I'd probably want to do the same."
"Now, going back to something you said. You mentioned an 'Ochako.' The application you sent in mentioned a third person currently living here. Are they the same person?"
Izuku nodded. "She is. She's one of my classmates at Yueii. Her family lives in another city, too far to commute back and forth every day, and they struggle just a bit financially, so they couldn't afford to have her stay in a decent apartment while she attends. So I extended an offer for her to stay here, at least until we graduate."
"Since that would mean that she'd be living here when you two choose to adopt, where does she stand in this? In terms of her opinion and mentality and what role, if any, she would play."
"Oh, she's almost more excited than either of us at the idea." Izuku answered. "She's rather excited at the prospect of having someone she can act as an older sibling to, which would be the role she'd play. Obviously Rei and I are prepared to handle any and all expectations and responsibilities that come with fostering, but having a third person here, whom both of us know to be responsible and reliable, will likely be quite helpful."
"I see." Inai said, nodding. "That makes sense. Based on just my own experiences, it'll be good for you to have another adult in the home that you can rely on."
He paused for a moment, before nodding again. "I think that covers everything that we wanted to address." He said. "It wasn't a terribly long interview, but my purpose in coming here was mostly just to get a feel for what kind of people you both are, and to address the single concern we had with your past. Aside from that, and taking a look around your home to make sure everything is in order, this interview was almost nothing more than a formality; the two of you had basically already passed before I even came here."
At both Izuku and Rei's looks of slight surprise, he continued. "Along with the application paperwork you sent in, we also received reference letters from Nezu, the principal of Yueii, and surprisingly, All Might himself, on the same day. In them, they testified to both of your characters, and what sort of people they found you two to be. And Nezu explained in some length that he believed that you two would make excellent foster guardians."
"Now, obviously we wouldn't simply approve an application on the opinion of someone else alone, we pride ourselves far too much on our performance and the care we take to ensure that the children that have become our responsibility are kept safe to do anything like that. That being said, however, Nezu's word carries quite a bit of weight in a great many areas, and it goes without saying that All Might's does as well. These letters have, and will tilt opinions in your favor quite considerably when it comes to the final decision of whether you two are fit to be foster guardians."
Izuku was slightly surprised to hear that Nezu had sent in such a letter, and that he had evidently praised both him and Rei to such a degree. He was even more surprised to hear that All Might had evidently done the same. Nezu must've had him do it, though knowing the rodent, Izuku wouldn't be at all surprised if he didn't know what exactly he was writing it for, especially since Inai only mentioned Nezu's letter specifically talking about his and Rei's potential as foster guardians.
He supposed he ought to be thankful though, as it seemed like that letter had greatly increased their chances of success. Maybe he would finally tell Nezu about his quirk classification system as a show of thanks. He knew that Nezu would absolutely love to discuss something like that.
"With that said, unless the two of you have any questions for me, would it be alright if I take a look around your home?"
Izuku smiled. "Be my guest."
Inai looking around the apartment took longer than the actual interview, but not by much. He was mostly just looking for anything that might pose any danger to a child, and Izuku had already checked everything rather thoroughly. The only things left that even remotely qualified as dangerous were the oven and stove, and the electrical outlets scattered through the apartment. Even the balconies, which Inai had thought to be the greatest risk, presented basically no danger at all with the sturdiness of the glass and the electric locks that a child like Iona wouldn't be able to work.
He avoided taking more than a short look at the three occupied bedrooms, not wanting to invade their privacy, but did spend longer in the bedroom that used to be Izuku's office than he did in any other room. He saw no issue with it though, and determined it to be suitable, both in safety and in its quality as a bedroom.
Izuku and Rei had furnished the room as much as they could, which unfortunately wasn't very much. They had included all the necessities, such as a bed and other pieces of furniture, but they didn't want to go too far in decorating it without Iona present. They would leave more specific things for later.
Once Inai was satisfied, he left just as quickly as he arrived, and with a promise to see that the rest of their application be judged as quickly as possible, so that they would get the results as soon as they could. According to him, they'd be hearing back within days.
Izuku and Rei were excited to say the least. Excited that it seemed as if they would finally be able to follow through with their plan to adopt Iona. The two of them spent much of the afternoon discussing plans for how they would proceed, including when they would move forward with actually attempting to adopt. Obviously, the sooner it happened, the better, but there were things they needed to take into account. For starters, even if they were fairly confident that they would be approved as foster guardians, they didn't know exactly how long it would take for that to happen. There was also Yueii to think about. Even if the workload was essentially nonexistent, he still needed to be present for a good chunk of the day. If and when they would be able to bring Iona home, if Izuku could help it, he would like to be able to be present as much as possible in the initial days, and preferably weeks.
So, largely just for that reason, Izuku and Rei planned to take action the day after Yueii let out for the summer, in just over two weeks. Though obviously they would see about contacting the orphanage much sooner than that, to see what steps would need to be taken in order to take the final step and actually adopt.
Their conversation lasted into the early evening, until it was time for Izuku to begin cooking dinner. Not longer after he got started, Ochako returned, keeping true to what she had said. They informed her of what had transpired as soon as she entered the apartment, and as expected, she shared their excitement, immediately asking what they would be doing next and rekindling the discussion that had already gone on for hours.
After going over everything in length once again, bringing Ochako up to speed as they ate, and after the sun had set, Izuku set his sights on something else that needed to be address, though which still related to Iona.
Or rather, Oni set his sights on it.
Something that had slipped his mind since the night he had rescued her, is that Iona could potentially still be a target of The Triad. She had a sentient, maybe even entirely sapient quirk. For an organization of quirk traffickers, something like that would be quite the prize. He knew that she was still safe at the orphanage where she'd been living, as he and Rei had been keeping an eye on the place recently, mostly to keep track of whether or not Iona had already been adopted. Izuku suspected that between the orphanage being almost directly in the center of Musutafu, which remained entirely clear of The Triad through Oni's efforts, and the havoc that Oni had wrought throughout so many of their locations, she likely wasn't as much of a primary target. Though whether that was because they were busy attempting to repair the damage Oni had caused or because they didn't want to risk him going any further was anyone's guess.
He couldn't recall seeing her or her quirk mentioned in any of the records he had retrieved and memorized, aside from the one that had initially marked her for capture. And while that further reassured him that she might not actually be a target, it wasn't a guarantee, nor would he treat it as such until he knew that The Triad no longer existed. Though while that likely wouldn't happen for a while, he could certainly do what he could to further reassure himself.
Oni took a deep breath as he stood on the balcony, enjoying the cool breeze as it caught in his wings.
Ever since the night he'd lost control of himself, Oni had taken a bit of a break in going after The Triad. By now, they might've even lulled themselves into a false sense of security, thinking that he was done with them.
Oni's face split into a rather unfriendly grin, and the air around him shivered as he pulled on his quirks. He would show them how mistaken they were. He had just over two weeks until he might be able to bring Iona home. He would raze as many locations as he could get his hands on in that time, all to guarantee her safety.
For if all went according to plan, she would soon be a part of his family, and he would not allow anyone to lay a hand on his family.