Chapter Text
“Izuku. Give. Me. The. Phone. NOW,” All Might ground out darkly, the wooden frame of the door cracking in his grip as he glared at the phone in Izuku’s hand.
Izuku, still stunned by what Kaachan had just told him, simply stared at his mentor with wide, disbelieving eyes.
“Don’t give him the phone, Deku!” Kaachan yelled from the other end of the line.
“Izuku.” All Might didn’t raise his voice—he didn’t need to. The deep growl of his tone made the hair on the back of Izuku’s neck stand up. He’d only ever heard All Might sound so dangerous when Shigaraki had attacked their class at the USJ. To have that intensity directed at him…
Izuku was frozen, hand clenched around the stolen phone in a white-knuckled grip.
“Don’t you dare hang up!” Kaachan’s voice filtered in through the cell’s tinny speakers.
“Izuku, hang up the phone, and give it to me,” All Might demanded.
A trickle of sweat trailed down Izuku’s spine. “I-I—” his voice cracked. What was going on? Why…Why was All Might acting like this? There was no way what Kaachan said was true—it couldn’t be true! “W-What?”
All Might released the door frame with a loud snap, the sound making Izuku jump just as much as the sight of his mentor storming towards him did. His feet backed up automatically, skittering away from the angry adult in front of him.
“Deku? Izuku?! What’s going on?!” Kaachan sounded a bit frantic on the other end of the line. “Talk to me!”
Izuku had never felt scared of All Might before—the very idea was ridiculous! And yet he couldn’t help but cower as his childhood hero trapped him in a corner, glaring down at him with fierce disapproval. The phone was plucked from Izuku’s numb hand.
“I’m afraid Izuku has lost his phone privileges for a long while, young Bakugou,” All Might spoke with a voice of steel. “In fact, don’t expect to hear from him again for a very, very long time.”
“LET HIM GO!” Izuku heard Kaachan scream from the other end of the line. “WHERE IS HE?! YOU LET HIM GO RIGHT—”
“Goodbye, young Bakugou,” All Might cut him off.
The dread in Izuku’s stomach burst forth and he leapt for the phone with wide eyes. “No! W-Wait! Kaacha—”
His fingers barely brushed the phone before All Might crushed it into bits, letting the small shards fall at their feet as Izuku stared at them in shocked horror. The air felt electric, like a warning before a lightning strike; All Might’s presence heavy and oppressive. Izuku saw movement from the corner of his eye and flinched—
A massive hand gently cupped his chin and tipped his head up to look at the man in front of him.
“Izuku.”
Izuku gulped. All Might’s tone was no longer hard, but a note of darkness remained.
“I expected better of you. Much better. You broke your promise to me again. You broke the rules. Not only that, but you stole my phone.”
Izuku couldn’t help but wilt in shame.
“I am so incredibly disappointed in you. How could you go behind my back like this and break my trust?”
Izuku’s heart clenched and his eyes squeezed shut. The guilt he had carried since stealing All Might’s phone washed over him tenfold. But…But…
“Is it true?” he asked, voice barely more than a whisper.
His only answer was a silence that reigned for so long he opened his eyes again. All Might was looking down at him, face closed off.
Izuku licked dry lips and scrounged up the courage to speak again. “Is it?” he pressed. “Are you really…Was Kaachan telling the truth?”
“Changing the subject isn’t going to get you out of trouble, Izuku,” was all All Might said.
“It’s not changing the subject!” A flicker of frustration joined the desperation burning in his chest. He had to know if what was said was true. He had to know more than anything. “If it isn’t true it should be easy to say so!” His voice raised in pitch with each word. “So tell me! There’s no way you’re doing what Kaachan said! TELL ME IT’S NOT TRUE!”
“DO NOT raise your voice with me, young man,” All Might scolded, using his grip on Izuku’s chin to shake Izuku’s head—the action still done terribly gently despite the situation. “I am doing everything I can to keep you safe.”
Tears welled in Izuku’s eyes at the continued avoidance of the question. His disbelief warring with the horrible conviction that Kaachan was right. “JUST TELL ME!” he pleaded, tears spilling over.
Calloused fingers wiped the tears off his cheeks, and All Might looked at him almost…sadly. “I never wanted you to have to deal with any of this,” he said softly. “You are far too young, and I am tired of watching children lose their light and innocence so early in their lives.”
“Please,” Izuku begged as both of All Might’s hands moved to cup his face, practically cradling his entire head due to their size. “Don’t let it be true! It can’t be true! You can’t do this! You’re the symbol of peace!”
All Might shook his head. “I haven’t been the symbol of peace since I retired. And technically, I’m still retired.”
“B-But… But you’re back now.” Izuku couldn’t believe it. He didn’t want to believe it.
“Yes. And I’m back because there was a need. But not for the symbol of peace. This is a new need, for a new era, and a new symbol.” Thumbs pet across Izuku’s cheeks soothingly as All Might spoke. “And at first, I thought you would be that new symbol; you would rise above and become someone great.”
“I can!” Izuku’s voice cracked as he protested brokenly. “I can be that someone! Like you always believed in! I can be great!”
“Shhh. I still believe in you, my boy. You could absolutely be great. The very best.” And usually All Might’s praise would make Izuku’s heart flutter with joy, but right now it felt like a bitter stab.
“Then why—”
“Because,” All Might cut him off, “I can’t let you be that new symbol. I won’t let you.”
Izuku stared at him searchingly, trying desperately to understand.
“Our society is rampant with evil,” All Might continued. “The war has brought out the worst in all of us. It needs to end, and I will end it. There is a need for a symbol of justice, and I will bring that justice. I will be the judge this society needs.”
For a long minute, they simply stared at each other, Izuku’s heart breaking more with every passing moment.
Eventually, All Might sighed. “I’m a very selfish man, Izuku. Being a symbol of justice isn’t going to be pretty; it’s dirty work. And I won’t let you take that on. I won’t let you take up that mantle and burn yourself out until there’s no light left in you.”
“You… Y-You—” Izuku tried to force words past his numb lips, unable to stand listening to this any longer.
But All Might spoke over him, voice hardened with conviction. “I will make this world a better place for you, and I will keep you safe until then. Then, and only then, can you shine properly. In the new society that arises, that’s when you will come forth and tell the world that you are here.”
All Might leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to Izuku’s forehead.
“Why?!” Izuku cried, despaired by All Might’s promises.
“Because I care for you,” All Might said simply. “You are my student and my successor, but I have come to love you as my son.”
Just a few hours ago, hearing those words would have made Izuku scream with joy. But now they soured his gut, weighed on him like shackles.
“What parent wouldn’t want to give their child the best world they could?”
Izuku was on the run.
After the incident yesterday, All Might had stuck around for the rest of the day to keep an eye on him. But Izuku had had a hard time processing the whole revelation, and didn’t know how to feel about All Might, or what to say to his (former?) mentor. So he had shut himself away in his bedroom and refused to come out, ignoring all of All Might’s attempts to talk to him again.
He knew All Might couldn’t stay and watch him forever, and so the next day when Izuku peeked his head out of his room and realized All Might was gone? He ran.
But it was just like the last time he had left the safe-house: an endless stretch of forest that he was only getting lost in. However, unlike the last time where he had been searching for All Might, this time he was trying to hide from the man. He wasn’t sure where the safe-house was located. He only knew it was out in the middle of nowhere, and that finding his way back to some sort of civilization would be difficult.
Especially once All Might realized he was gone and came looking for him. And Izuku wasn’t sure when that would be. All Might usually came back in the evenings, but would occasionally pop in at random times to check on him. Given that sort of unpredictability, Izuku knew he’d have to find a really good hiding spot if he didn’t want to be found.
All Might would definitely be relentless in his search once he discovered Izuku was gone, but even he couldn’t look for Izuku forever. At some point he would need to take a break, and in those breaks was when Izuku would continue to run, and hopefully come across…something. A town, or another house maybe—even just a road to follow would be fine.
But currently, Izuku was beginning to tire. He had been running for what felt like hours (though without a phone he didn’t know for certain), using the last embers of One For All that were still in him to boost his speed. He had run away on impulse as soon as he’d realized the coast was clear, and as such he hadn’t thought to take any food or water with him. Something he was greatly regretting. Hopefully, he would come across some sort of stream or pond before he became too dehydrated.
Deciding to rest for a bit, Izuku searched around for a hiding place. It took a while, but eventually he found a small hallow inside the trunk of a tree that was hidden behind thick bushes. It was practically unnoticeable unless one deliberately paused to scour intently through those bushes. With an entire forest to search, there was (hopefully) little chance All Might would find him anytime soon.
Izuku felt like he had only just closed his eyes to rest, when something wrapped around his waist. His world tilted when his eyes opened, and his stomach met with something hard. Blue, red, and white filled his vision, and dread simmered in his gut at the easily recognizable costume. He braced his hands on All Might’s back, attempting to push himself up from where he had been slung over the man’s shoulder.
“Don’t struggle, Izuku,” All Might said shortly.
Izuku didn't get a chance to protest before they took off, All Might able to use One For All at a speed faster than anything Izuku had ever managed with the quirk.
They were back at the safe-house within a minute, All Might sliding Izuku off his shoulder and holding him out in front of him the way one might with a wet cat. Izuku resolutely avoided eye contact as he dangled from All Might’s grip, still unsure how to react to the man after yesterday’s revelation. At least All Might didn’t look mad. Frustrated and upset, yes, but not angry, which was a relief.
“Running, my boy? Really? What were you expecting to accomplish while so unprepared?” Heavy disappointment coloured All Might’s tone, and Izuku winced.
“I…” He didn’t know what to say. How did All Might find him so quickly? Even with One For All, there was no way he should’ve been able to pinpoint Izuku’s location that fast.
“Nothing to say for yourself?” All Might raised a brow, carrying Izuku inside as he spoke. “I hope you realize that all you’re doing is sabotaging your own safety by leaving the house. Please do not compromise yourself, Izuku. You need to stay where it’s safe.”
“I don’t want to stay here anymore!” Izuku protested. “I want to see my mom and my friends again!” He crossed his arms as he was set down on the couch. “You have One For All back now,” he said bitterly. “All For One won’t care to target me anymore. So this is all unnecessary.”
“Your safety is not unnecessary,” All Might said firmly. “I know how frustrated you must be, but I will not be lenient on this subject. You will stay here until I have made things safe for you again.”
Izuku ground his teeth together. “You can’t keep me here against my will! That—That’s kidnapping!” Strange to think there would come a day when he would accuse All Might of kidnapping.
“It’s not considered such when I’m your legal guardian,” All Might replied.
Izuku blinked, taken aback. “What?”
All Might sighed, brows furrowing and eyes looking…concerned?…as he crouched down before Izuku. “You are aware that your mother listed me as your legal guardian in the case of anything happening to her, correct?”
Izuku nodded slowly, a pit forming in his stomach at the implication that—
“Your mother…is currently missing.” All Might tried to break it to him softly, but Izuku’s breath still caught in his throat at the news.
He opened and closed his mouth a few times, but no words would come out. Tears began to sting at his eyes.
At his lack of response, All Might continued, “With her missing, that means that right now, I’m your acting legal guardian. So as much as you don’t want to be here, it isn’t kidnapping for me to keep you here.”
A sob escaped Izuku’s throat, and he slapped a hand over his mouth. His mother…
“I just want you to be safe.” All Might reached forward and tugged Izuku into his arms as Izuku began to cry.
“M-Mom…” Izuku whimpered. “Where—?”
There was a long pause before All Might heaved a sigh, as if he didn’t want to say what he was about to say. Izuku shook in his arms.
“All For One took her,” All Might admitted.
The strangled noise that left Izuku was one of fear and despair. He clung onto his childhood hero and sobbed into his shoulder.
He knew what that meant. His mother was likely dead.
All Might stuck around the safe-house for the next few days, not leaving even once. Izuku didn’t know why. Perhaps All Might was worried he would attempt to run away again? He wouldn’t. Since he’d learned his mother was dead missing, Izuku hadn’t been able to scrounge up the will to even leave his bed.
Now that he considered it, perhaps it was his listlessness and depression that was worrying All Might. Usually, Izuku would have been raring with determination, ready to run out and rescue his mom himself right away.
But what could he do now? He didn’t even know where he was. All Might had…had betrayed him. He was being kept captive hidden away for his own safety, so how was he supposed to save his mom when he couldn’t even save himself? The embers of One For All were practically gone from him now.
He was back to being stupid, quirkless, useless Deku.
A knock sounded on his bedroom door.
“Go away!” Izuku demanded, voice slightly muffled from where he had wrapped himself up in blankets like a burrito.
The door opened anyway.
Izuku sighed in annoyance and rolled over to face the wall. All Might had been coming into his room multiple times over the last few days to check on him. Despite how many times Izuku had requested to be left alone, All Might never listened, saying he was concerned about Izuku’s health.
In the past, All Might’s singular, undivided attention made Izuku giddy with delight. Now, it weighed on him heavily. All Might had promised he would do everything in his power to save Izuku’s mom, so what was the hero doing hanging around the house constantly? He should be out looking for Inko, not fretting over Izuku like a mother-hen!
“My boy?” All Might called as he approached Izuku. “I brought you some lunch.”
“I don’t want it,” Izuku said shortly, burying his head further under the blankets.
“Come now, you missed breakfast; you need to at least eat lunch. You have to keep your strength up after all,” All Might cajoled him.
“What for?” Izuku snapped, feeling bitterness rise up in him. “What’s the point of keeping up my strength when you’ve locked me up in the middle of nowhere? It’s not like I have anything to do.”
“Oh, Izuku, it isn’t like that at all—”
“Then what’s it like?!” Izuku sat up abruptly. All his grief and worry and resentment coming to a head of anger. “You tricked me, confined me here, and now you’re hovering around me like some annoying gnat rather than spending your time looking for my mom!”
All Might looked very taken aback. Which made sense, as Izuku had never snapped like that at his favourite hero before. The man only sighed, though, setting a plate of food down on the nearby nightstand. “I am doing everything I can right now to—”
“No, you’re not!” Izuku cut him off. “You’ve been hanging around here for days, not doing anything to look for my mom!”
“Taking care of you is just as important. I know this has been a big adjustment, and with the bad news you’ve received I—”
“Well, I didn’t ask you to! I can take care of myself!”
All Might crossed his arms, his lips thinning. “Stop interrupting me, young man,” he warned. “I am simply worried about you.”
Despite his anger, Izuku still couldn’t help the way something inside of him withered at being the source of All Might’s disapproval. He crossed his own arms defensively, huffing. “Yeah, well, you don’t have to be. You’re not my dad or anything, so stop acting like it.”
All Might tilted his head, looking considerate. “Is that the problem for you? I can fix that then.”
“What?” Izuku did a double-take, but All Might was already leaving the room.
“Eat your lunch, my boy. I’ll be home in time to make you dinner, and I’ll be very disappointed if you haven’t eaten your lunch when I return,” All Might called back as he shut Izuku’s bedroom door.
Izuku sat there in confusion. All Might was leaving so suddenly? After days of hanging over his shoulder? And for what? He was going to be back too fast to make progress on searching for Izuku’s mom. So what could he possibly be doing?
To the empty room, Izuku repeated, “What?”
He had managed to eat about half of his lunch by the time All Might returned hours later. He truly hadn’t been feeling very hungry lately, his stomach all knotted with anxiety, but he also didn’t want to face more of All Might’s disappointment by not touching it at all. As much as Izuku hated to admit it even to himself, a part of him still craved the approval of the person he had looked up to the most for his whole life. All Might’s disapproval made him feel…small.
That was why he was back to being curled up in his blankets, his back to the door, when All Might entered his room. He heard the man take a few steps in, then sigh as he clearly spotted the half-eaten plate. But the hand that suddenly landed in his hair was a surprise, making Izuku jolt as All Might gently ruffled it.
“Half is better than none. Well done, my boy,” All Might praised.
Izuku pretended that the praise had no effect on him. He did his best to remind himself of who All Might was now. Not a hero. Not a symbol of peace. Not even a vigilante.
A villain.
One that had kidnapped him and was holding him captive. He had to remember that. He had to. This man was no longer the idol of his childhood.
The hand withdrew, and Izuku blinked back to awareness, realizing All Might had been talking the entire time.
“Crazy how fast you can get things done when you decide to actually call in favours and use blackmail,” he was saying. “Of course, I made sure all the paperwork is legal and was done through legal means just for you, my boy. But usually such processes would take weeks or months to complete and go through the system. I never realized just how quickly you can speed things up by applying a little pressure—”
“What?” Izuku blurted out, then winced when he realized he’d interrupted All Might again.
Thankfully, All Might chose not to mention it. “The paperwork, Izuku. I told you I’d fix the problem.”
Still confused as to what All Might was going on about, Izuku untangled himself from the blankets and sat up to face him. “What are you talking about?”
“Earlier.” All Might smiled down at him, though it was a bit sheepish. “You seemed upset by my words. And I realize now that I might have offended you by overstepping boundaries, so I decided to fix the problem. I am no longer your acting legal guardian.”
Delicate hope bloomed in Izuku’s chest, his eyes widening. “You found my mom?” he asked desperately.
He must have! All Might only had authority to act as Izuku’s legal guardian in the case of his mother being gone, so All Might had to have—
All Might winced. “Ah, er, no. I apologize, Izuku, I’m still working on that.”
Izuku wilted.
All Might held out a small stack of papers that one hand had been keeping behind his back without Izuku’s notice. “As I was saying, you seemed upset earlier about me overstepping my boundaries of legal guardian and going into parental territory.”
Confused, but also feeling a faint sense of dread for some reason, Izuku took the offered paperwork. His eyes widened the further they skimmed through it, his jaw dropping.
All Might continued as if he didn’t notice, “So I redeemed a few favours I have with some notable government figures, and now I am no longer your legal guardian.”
“…What,” Izuku whispered. It wasn’t a question. He already knew the answer.
All Might gave his signature smile. “I’m your father now.”
Izuku could…could see that. On the papers right before his eyes. A hysterical giggle bubbled up in his throat. “Y-You can’t—you can’t just do that!”
“I can and I did. You seemed rather upset earlier that I’ve been acting like your dad while not being your dad, so I decided to fix that for you.”
“For me? For me?!” Izuku couldn’t even describe the cocktail of emotions coursing through him in that moment. “You can’t just erase my biological father’s existence like that! He’s not dead, you know!”
“You said yourself that you haven’t seen Hisashi in over ten years,” All Might pointed out, as if that excused anything. “He’s never tried to call you or even send you a letter. He’s as good as dead to the family for having abandoned you and your mother, and you deserve much better.”
“And ‘much better’ is you?” Izuku asked, voice strangled. “The one who kidnapped me and is holding me captive?!”
“I am doing neither of those things. You are staying in your father’s house for safety during a terrible war. There is nothing wrong with that,” All Might said.
Izuku made a bunch of high-pitched, wordless noises, feeling like his brain was short-circuiting. This was—this was absolutely insane! What was All Might thinking?! Who did this kind of thing?!
It felt…strangely violating, in a way, that All Might would betray him again go behind his back and just change all of Izuku’s legal documents to wipe Midoriya Hisashi from his life and replace him. Izuku held no strong feelings about his birth father. It was true that he hadn’t seen Hisashi in so long he could barely remember what he looked like. But this… But this…
The fact that Izuku had come to view All Might as a father figure actually made it feel worse. Izuku had looked up to him. Had secretly wondered what it would be like to have All Might as a dad. Ever since Todoroki had asked him about it during the sports festival, Izuku had found himself thinking about it.
Though, after the phone call with Kaachan, learning that All Might was now considered a villain, and being held captive in this house, Izuku hadn’t thought he had any real trust left in All Might for him to break.
He’d been wrong. This stung. It maybe wasn’t even all that important in the big picture of things, but it stung.
“My boy?” All Might’s voice was laced with concern as he crouched down, large hands reaching out to wipe away tears Izuku hadn’t noticed beginning to drip down his cheeks. “What’s wrong?”
Izuku only let out a wobbly breath, trying his best not to sob. He couldn’t even begin to answer the question. Everything felt so jumbled up inside of him that he wasn’t sure how to express himself properly. And considering everything else going on, he felt a bit foolish for letting something like this bother him so much.
When he didn’t respond beyond shaky breathing, All Might’s brows pinched in sympathy. “I’m sorry, Izuku,” he apologized softly. “I didn’t think it would upset you so much. I should have considered how many big changes you’ve had to go through recently, and waited for a better time to tell you about this. I was just very excited and I let that override my rationality. I apologize for upsetting you like this. It’s never been my intention to harm you, but clearly I have. I’m so sorry.”
Izuku just cried (it seemed like all he was able to do these days), full of hurt and grief and anger. But he made no move to try and push All Might away when the man engulfed him in a hug. He told himself it was because he wouldn’t be able to get All Might to let go even if he did struggle.
“Mom,” Izuku sobbed, feeling pathetic and ashamed for acting like a little kid as he called out for her. “I want my mom.”
“I know, my boy. I know,” All Might soothed him as best as he could, holding Izuku close. “I’m working on it. I’ll bring her home safe, I promise.”
Izuku allowed the words to console him, taking a strange hope in the fact that All Might spoke the promise so confidently, as if it wasn’t highly likely his mom was already dead. And as All Might continued murmuring comforting words, Izuku found himself slowly calming down, his body having an almost pavlovian response to the reassuring catchphrase that had defined his childhood.
“Shh, it’s alright, Izuku, my dear son. I am here.”