ECHO (Original)

Chapter 3

Izuku sat in the hospital-like room, staring at the wall in thought. His legs kicked gently as he hummed a tune under his breath, eyes unfocused and glazed. Disociatting because of his thoughts was something common that happened to him, especially if he was extremely anxious or nervous. Right now, it was the former.

'I really don't want to be put into foster care,' Izuku thought, biting his bottom lip. 'Statistics have shown that kids who go into foster care are more likely to be abused than cared for, and I would prefer the latter. There's no way that I would be able to find a good home in the first few houses, and there's no telling of what's going to happen if I live there! I might meet people worse than Kacchan and the others at the school, and the thought of that is... just completely uncomfortable to even be thinking about!

'I really miss her. I don't want to have to leave the apartment and my mom behind, but there's no way for me not to do that! Maybe I should try to stay under Auntie's care...? Wait, no! That would just give Kacchan more room to push me around. As much as I love him like a brother, he's not the type of person that I want to see in my house on a day-to-day basis.

'Mom really didn't have many close friends like Aunt Mitsuki,' he thought sadly. 'I wonder how she's reacting. She and mom really were like sisters. I hope she's okay.

'Maybe I could try running away from the system? The moment that they place me in a house, I could run away and hide out in the red light district or even the slums. It might not be a safe solution, but it's better than being stuck in a house with no way out. I just have to make sure that I don't let the Detective know.'

"That's a good idea and all, but don't you think it would be better to not say your plans out loud?"

Izuku screeched in surprise, jumping and pushing himself as close to the wall as possible. Meanwhile, Tsukauchi had entered the room once more and had clearly heard all of what Izuku said, visible by the amused smirk on his face.

"S-sorry! I didn't hear you come in!" Izuku stammered, a heavy blush rising to his face. "I-I promise that I wasn't actually thinking about doing it! At least not for real! It would be too dangerous, of course, and I really don't want to be in trouble-"

He was cut off once more by Tsukauchi attempting to smother his laugh. This only caused Izuku to pout in response.

"Don't worry, Midoriya-san. I trust that you won't sneak away from anyone," Tsukauchi smiled. "Besides, according to this paperwork," he paused to lift up the small pile of papers in his hands, "you won't be going into the system!"

Izuku froze for a second. "E-excuse me?"

The detective hummed. "Yeah, it looks like someone wants to adopt you. So, they've already filled out their part of the paperwork. All we need now is your signature."

The paperwork found it's way into Izuku's lap along with a thin blue pen. He quickly flipped through the few pages just to get an overview but stopped when he saw the signature.

"You're adopting me sir?"

No reply.

"Why?" Izuku's voice broke, fresh tears coming to the surface. He looked up at the detective to see him sitting down with a soft smile on his face.

"Why not?" Tsukauchi countered, raising an eyebrow as a challenge. "You're a kid. You don't deserve to go through so much trauma at this age and you need someone who's actually willing to take care of you instead of doing "charity work" to get money from the government. I am a person who is willing. Now, will you let me or will you try and find someone else?"

Izuku bit his lip in thought. This would be hard for him to deny. The Detective actually wanted to take care of him, so why should he say no? It might get him away from Kacchan, and there probably is nothing left of the apartment. Maybe this would be a good change for him. He took a deep breath before answering.

"Okay."