Niko remained where he was, just inside the threshold of the room, his bag resting at his feet as he took in the space without moving to unpack it. The faint hum of the apartment carried through the walls, quieter than the city, quieter than the school, but not silent. It was structured, predictable in a way that made it easier to process, each source of motion distinct rather than layered into noise. The room itself still held traces of its previous use, the arrangement of the walls and the way sound settled suggesting a space that had once been occupied differently. It did not matter. It would serve its purpose.
Behind him, footsteps approached, unhurried and familiar in rhythm. Aizawa stopped just outside the doorway, not entering, but not leaving either.
"It's not much," he said, his tone flat. "But it's functional."
"That is sufficient," Niko replied.
There was a brief pause, then Aizawa shifted slightly, as if deciding whether to leave or continue. He stayed.
"Since you're here long term, there are a few things you need to know," he said. "Nothing complicated. Just how things work." His voice carried the same blunt efficiency as before, but without the earlier edge. "Kitchen's down the hall. You can eat when you want. We don't keep strict times, but if someone cooks, you show up. If you take something, you replace it. Don't leave food out."
From somewhere behind him, a second set of footsteps approached with far less restraint.
"And the good snacks are on the top shelf," Present Mic added as he leaned against the doorframe, appearing over Aizawa's shoulder with an easy grin. "Important detail. Very important."
"They're not 'good snacks,' they're just snacks," Aizawa said.
"They're good if you get to them before he does," Hizashi replied.
Aizawa ignored that and continued. "Bathroom's shared. Keep it clean. Laundry runs when there's enough for a load, not one item at a time. Trash goes out when it's full. Don't wait for someone else to deal with it." His gaze flicked briefly to Niko. "Noise stays down at night, even on weekends. Past midnight, keep it minimal."
Hizashi shifted slightly, still leaning in the doorway, his tone lighter but more intentional now. "Dinner's usually flexible," he said. "Sometimes we cook, sometimes we grab something on the way back. You're included either way. No need to ask."
Aizawa's expression tightened faintly at that wording, but he did not contradict it.
"This is a standing arrangement," he said instead. "You will be here for the foreseeable future. Treat it accordingly."
Hizashi glanced at him, then back to Niko, the corner of his mouth lifting just slightly. "What he means is, you're part of the household now," he said. "So don't just hover in your room all the time. It's a shared space."
Niko's gaze shifted between them, not lingering long on either. The dynamic was clear in ways that did not require explanation, their movements and voices aligning without conflict despite the difference in tone. It was structured, but not rigid. Controlled, but not restrictive.
"…Understood," he said.
Aizawa gave a short nod, as if that was all he required. "Good. Get settled. We'll handle the rest tomorrow."
He turned and stepped away from the doorway, already done with the conversation.
Hizashi lingered a moment longer, pushing off the frame with an easy motion. "I'm putting something together in the kitchen," he said. "You should eat. First day deserves that much."
"Yes," Niko replied.
"Good," Hizashi said, satisfied, before heading off down the hall.
Niko remained where he was for a moment after they left, the quiet of the room settling back into place around him.
Down in the kitchen, Aizawa and Hizashi settle into the familiar. Namely, both of them autonomously helping the other prepare dinner. Such was their routine, as the two had always done in their relationship. The quiet was comfortable for Hizashi, who knew Aizawa well enough to know he had something to say.
"You're being too open with him," Aizawa said after a moment, his voice low and even, not sharp but carrying weight that suggested the thought had been sitting with him since earlier.
Hizashi glanced at him briefly, then back to what he was doing, hands already busy as he sorted through ingredients. "I said hello and pointed out the snacks," he replied. "If that counts as too open, we've got bigger problems than a first day."
"That's not what I meant," Aizawa said, slicing cleanly through shiitake without looking up. "You're treating him like he's already settled. Like he belongs here." His tone remained controlled, but there was a faint edge beneath it, something guarded rather than irritated.
Hizashi's hands slowed for a fraction of a second before continuing, the rhythm never fully breaking. "He does," he said simply. "He's living here. That's not something you ease into over time, it's already happening." He shifted slightly to the side, making space without thinking. "You don't get to treat that like it might not stick."
Aizawa's expression tightened slightly, though his pace did not change. "He's a teenager with a history of violent behavior. A villain." he said. "I don't have the luxury of assuming that ends cleanly because he walked through the door." His voice stayed level, but the caution in it was unmistakable.
Hizashi let out a quiet breath through his nose, not quite a sigh, more like acknowledgment. "Former," he said. "He's a former villain. That distinction matters, even if you're not ready to rely on it yet." He adjusted something on the counter, aligning it absently. "He turned himself in. Nobody forced that. He chose to go through the system and accept what came with it."
Aizawa finally glanced at him, brief but pointed. "And that makes it enough?"
"No," Hizashi said, just as steady. He met his gaze for a moment, something firmer settling under the usual ease. "But he still chose to stop. He turned himself in and contributed to the arrests of his gang. That's a lot more than most people in his position ever do."
The kitchen fell into a short stretch of quiet, filled only by the continued motion of their work, the sound of preparation steady and uninterrupted. Aizawa did not argue immediately, but there was a shift in him, subtle but present, the tension not disappearing, only settling into something more controlled.
"I'm not saying he shouldn't be here," he said after a moment. "He is here. That part's already decided." His voice dropped slightly. "I'm saying I don't trust it yet."
Hizashi nodded once, as if that answer had been expected. "You don't have to," he said. "That's your role in this. You watch, you evaluate, you make sure nothing slips past you." A faint smile touched his expression. "Mine's different."
Aizawa raised an eyebrow slightly. "Is it?"
"Yeah," Hizashi said, easy and certain. "I make sure he knows he's not walking into a place where everyone's waiting for him to mess up." He shifted his weight, continuing his part of the work without pause. "If he's going to live here for years, then we treat him like he's living here for years. Not like he's one bad step away from being thrown out."
Aizawa was quiet again after that, the space between them filled only by the steady continuation of their work. "You're assuming a lot," he said eventually, though the edge from earlier had dulled.
Hizashi shrugged lightly. "So are you," he replied smoothly.
Aizawa's gaze flicked toward him briefly, then away again. "He intervened today," he said. "Without instruction."
"Oh yeah?" Hizashi replied, his head tilted to the side in curiousity.
"One student attacked another. Niko used his quirk to nullify the others, preventing the attack."
"You say that like it's a bad thing, Shouto."
"That doesn't make it acceptable, Zashi..." Aizawa said, growing irritated.
"No," Hizashi agreed. "But it tells you how he thinks." He paused just long enough for that to land. "And that's something you can work with."
Another quiet stretch followed, less tense this time, the earlier friction easing into something more balanced as they continued preparing the meal together. The conversation had not resolved, but it had shifted into something steadier, neither of them pushing further than necessary.
"You're going to keep pushing him," Hizashi said after a moment, his tone lighter again, though still grounded.
"Yes," Aizawa replied.
"And he's going to push back."
"I suspect so."
Hizashi nodded once, a faint smile returning. "Good," he said. "That means he's still choosing things for himself."
Aizawa huffed quietly under his breath, not quite a laugh, but not disagreement either, his posture easing just slightly as the tension bled out into something more familiar.
The two fall back into silence, and the kitchen is filled with the sounds of knives cutting vegetables, meat frying and pots bubbling.
Upstairs, Niko moved away from the door, having heard all of their conversation. His expression was unreadable, and he placed his hand on the wall, nullifying all vibrations from all four walls, the window, door, cieling and floor. Now, he could no longer hear anything from outside this room.
The blue haired boy sat on the bed, looking down at his hands, rough and scarred from a rough and scarring life.
His thoughts were his own.