Chapter Text
Izuku walks in between Todoroki and Iida, feeling tired from the fight. It doesn’t stop him from smiling though. He’s finally back with his friends and they’re heading home. Aizawa walks in front of them, hands in his pockets, shoulders sagging.
Izuku’s friends are all silent behind him, probably just as tired as Aizawa looks.
When they reach the dorms, they find All Might waiting there, along with principal Nezu and someone else. Izuku’s eyes widen at the sight of her, and he immediately breaks out into a run, ignoring Aizawa’s yell of, “Hey, Midoriya!”
“Mom!” Izuku exclaims, running toward her.
“Itsuki!” His mom exclaims back, opening her arms for him. Izuku practically barrels into her, and he hears his mom huff as he reaches her. “Oh honey!” His mother exclaims once more, wrapping her arms tight around Izuku. He all but buries his face in her shoulder, relaxing as he’s held by his mother.
Inko pulls away to inspect her son for any injuries. She holds Itsuki’s face in her hands as she inspects him, “Are you hurt anywhere? Did they do anything to you? Are you alright?” She doesn’t find anything on Itsuki besides bruises. Although she’s relieved that her baby isn’t seriously injured, the sight of bruises still send her heart racing. She finally relaxes once she’s sure that her son is alright.
When she first heard the press conference she couldn’t believe her ears, her son had been kidnapped by the League of Villains . She had been so worried that she was reliving her worst nightmare all over again. She was terrified that she was losing her child again, and she couldn’t do a thing to protect him again.
As she had listened to the press conference, she had felt nothing but anger. U.A. had promised to keep her son safe, but look what had happened to him! He had been kidnapped by the very villains that followed the man who had been her husband! The heroes had failed her, had failed her son, her Itsuki. She had half the mind to go storm down there and yell at All Might and principal Nezu herself. She wanted to demand why she had to find out that her son had been kidnapped through a press conference . However, the more logical side of her brain told her that the heroes were doing everything in their power to find Itsuki.
And lo and behold, after the press conference was over, she received a call from All Might that they had found Itsuki, and she was welcome to meet him at the school.
Inko presses a kiss into Itsuki’s hair, finally relaxing as she holds him in her arms. This type of living is quite stressful, if Inko’s being honest. And she won’t lie, she had considered pulling Itsuki out of U.A., taking him away from anything and everything that could hurt him. She’s already lost him once, she can’t handle losing him a second time.
But then she heard about how his classmates all went after him, even after they were told not to. She was told about all of the pro heroes and teachers going to bring Itsuki back, and Inko realized pulling Itsuki from U.A. would’ve been a mistake.
After letting go of her son, Inko makes eye contact with All Might and Itsuki’s homeroom teacher, Aizawa. The two heroes stand side by side, both looking emotional. It’s obvious on All Might’s face, but it’s a little harder to see from Aizawa. However, Inko can recognize that paternal softness anywhere.
She marches right up to both heroes, steeling her gaze and staring at them for a few seconds. All Might looks nervous under her stare, fidgeting slightly. “U-Um...Midoriya-san..?”
Without further prompting, Inko whacks them both on the arm, hard . All Might winces and goes to rub the spot she whacked him in. Aizawa barely flinches, but she sees his eyes widen a bit.
“M-Midoriya-san?!” All Might exclaims.
“That’s for hiding that my son was kidnapped,” Inko tells them. She then pulls the two heroes into a hug. All Might feels stiff in her grip, as does Aizawa. They both seem afraid to reciprocate the hug, as if the action is unnatural to them, or maybe they weren’t expecting the hug in the first place. “And this is for taking care of him.” She tells them quietly.
From the corner of her eye, she sees Itsuki standing off to the side, looking pensive. Inko gives her son a smile and waves him over.
Still feeling a bit pensive, Izuku makes his way over to the three most important adults in his life, and his mother pulls him into the hug. Izuku immediately relaxes in the hug, feeling warmth and paternal love.
From the side he hears Todoroki mutter, “Midoriya has three parents now?”
Todoroki’s comment and the laughter of his friends reminds Izuku that they have an audience and with a scarlet face, he pulls himself out of the hug, raising his arms to hug his face in an attempt to cover his blush.
“GROUP HUG!” Ashido suddenly shouts, and before Izuku can blink, he’s being pulled back into the hug, his friends joining.
He can’t help but burst into laughter as he hears Bakugou shout, “HEY! WHY THE HELL AM I GETTING DRAGGED IN?!”
Everyone is laughing and smiling, and Izuku has never felt more at home than in this moment. He feels someone put their hand on his shoulder and he looks up at All Might. The retired hero is looking at him with a warm smile, “Welcome home, my boy. Welcome home.”
“Y’know what this means, right?” Kaminari questions the class once they all separate.
“Party time!~” Hagakure exclaims.
“Oh yeah, we should totally throw Midoriya another welcome home party!” Kirishima realizes.
“Let’s do it now!” Ashido declares.
“Have you all forgotten what you’ve done?” Aizawa suddenly asks, whirling on the group. The cheery mood that had slowly been building comes to an alarming halt as Aizawa stares at all of them. “I specifically told all nineteen of you to wait at the dorms and not to get involved , because the pros were handling it.” He says, and Izuku watches as his friends all hang their heads in shame.
Part of Izuku is glad he’s not on the receiving end of Aizawa’s scolding. He’d be hanging his head too, as Aizawa scolding them sounded very much like a parent scolding their child who just stole candy from the shelf.
“Yet you all got involved anyways, and you’re all extremely lucky no one got seriously injured tonight!”
“But sensei...we have our provisional licenses! We technically didn’t do anything...wrong?” Kirishima tries to argue.
Aizawa narrows his eyes at the boy, “You think you didn’t do anything wrong? You disobeyed your teacher, license or not. Had the circumstances been different, I would’ve expelled all nineteen of you.” He sighs, “I think you all understand the consequences of your actions. The issue’s been swept under the rug for now, but let me say this. You aren’t pros, you’re still children. Reasons and license aside, you all betrayed our trust. From this point on, if you follow procedures and behave properly, you might be able to regain our trust.”
The air is thick and heavy with tension. Everyone’s staring down at their shoes, and Izuku can feel how stiff they all are.
“That being said, it’s late and you all have class tomorrow. Head inside and go to bed.” Their homeroom teacher turns around and enters the dorms.
“He expects us to go to bed after that ?!” Uraraka exclaims, Ashido and Kaminari nodding their agreement over how ridiculous it seems.
All Might looks at all of them, “While I’m in agreement with Sho--” He cuts himself off with a cough, “Aizawa-kun, I think things would have been more challenging if you all weren’t there. I’m proud of all of you. But...try not to make getting into trouble a habit.” He says, eyeing Izuku. With that, All Might bids them all goodnight and the class is left standing outside the dorms.
Slowly, one by one, everyone starts heading inside. Izuku turns to his mother, seeing her hiding a giggle behind her hands. “Mom?” He questions, confused as to why she’s giggling.
“Sorry, I don’t mean to laugh.” His mother replies, “It’s just...those two sound so parental .” She smiles at Izuku, “It makes me happy to know you’re so cared for.” She pulls her son into another hug, “It’s late, and I don’t want you staying up longer than you have to. I’ll see you over the weekend.”
Izuku hugs her back, fighting back a yawn as he does so.
“Good night, Itsuki.”
“Night, mom.”
After heading back into his room, Izuku lays in his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He reflects on the events of the day, thinking about how crazy everything has been. Being kidnapped by the League, Toga impersonating him, being rescued by his classmates. As crazy and eventful as the day had been, there’s some normalcy with his friends again. Izuku’s missed that normalcy with them, and he’s incredibly happy that it’s returned.
As tired as he may feel, Izuku just can’t go to sleep yet. His brain is just going and it won’t stop. He has a lot of thoughts about what he’s experienced and about the people around him. He has a lot of questions about his father, but he isn’t sure if those will ever be answered.
Izuku’s thoughts trail to Todoroki. His mind keeps replaying the scene back at the warehouse. It felt like such a relief to see Todoroki there in front of him. He could feel the warmth from the other’s stare and the memory of it makes an involuntary smile tug at his lips. He finds himself going through all of their interactions over the past few months, the memories bringing a nervous heartbeat and flushed cheeks.
He’s always known that there was something there for Todoroki, there is something there for him. However at the time, Izuku had been so wrapped up in his father’s grasp that he pushed the mere thought of what could’ve been aside. He thinks back to their conversation all those months ago.
“When you feel deserving, let’s talk about what I said.”
Izuku pauses and really thinks about that. At the time, Izuku still hadn’t forgiven himself for what he did. He had felt that there was so much he had to do to make up for what happened. He had felt that he had been let off easy, that he had to prove himself to be deserving of everything he had.
He’s confronted the demons he can face, and he’s learned to accept what he did, and he’s made up for it. At least, he thinks he has. He’s helped people, saved people. He’s truly becoming a hero, he really is! And now? Now he’s becoming a hero for himself , not to prove his father or Shigaraki wrong, or to right his wrongs. Izuku’s becoming a hero because that’s always been his dream .
Because underneath all the corruption and misteachings he’s dealt with, Izuku has always wanted to become a hero. Not because heroes had cool quirks or cool looking costumes but because they saved the day with a smile.
To put it simply, Izuku wants to do just that.
And he will.
Izuku sits up, glancing at the clock. It’s late, but he has a feeling Todoroki will be awake. He leaves his room and heads to Todoroki’s. He knocks on the door and he doesn’t have to wait long. Todoroki opens the door, and Izuku sees surprise on his face. “Midoriya?” Todoroki questions, “What are you doing here?”
“I uh...wanted to talk.” Izuku replies, glancing up at him before looking down at his hands. He fidgets with them nervously. “About...what you said…”
It’s silent for a few seconds, and it’s only making Izuku more nervous. He glances up at Todoroki again and he sees a warm expression on his face. He looks hopeful, and it makes Izuku’s heart soar. “Do you want to come inside?” Todoroki questions, side stepping so that Izuku can walk into his room if he wants.
“Ah, no. I won’t be long.” Izuku politely declines. “I’ve been thinking recently and...and I think I’m ready...I’ve confronted all the demons I could, and I think...I think I’ve finally forgiven myself. But um…” He trails off, and he thinks he sees Todoroki’s shoulders sag a bit. He quickly continues, “Before we start anything...I think there’s one last demon I have to face. Then, I’ll be ready for sure.”
Todoroki looks at him, a look of understanding in his eyes. “Okay,” He says.
“I’m sorry to keep you waiting for so long…” Izuku apologizes.
Todoroki shakes his head, “You have nothing to be sorry for, Midoriya. I understand.” He then leans down and freezes for a moment, as if he’s rethinking whatever he’s about to do. Izuku waits, heart pounding in his chest. Todoroki then continues, pressing a gentle kiss against Izuku’s forehead. “Get some sleep, Midoriya.”
Izuku trails behind All Might as the retired pro hero leads him through the large doors of Tartarus. The place is buzzing with security, and both Izuku and All Might needed to have their identification cards on them to get into the building.
A group of security surrounds the two as the head security man leads them to their destination. “You won’t have long to speak with him. Please refrain from giving him any information about the outside as it is restricted.”
Izuku nods as the man speaks, glancing at All Might every few minutes for reassurance. The man nods at him the few times they make eye contact, a gentle smile following. Having All Might by his side puts him at ease.
Eventually, they are met with a giant set of doors. Izuku feels anxious, breaking out in a cold sweat. His palms are a bit sweaty, and he rubs them against his jeans to remove some of the sweat. All Might places a gentle yet reassuring hand on his shoulder.
The doors open and they reveal a figure sitting in a chair further inside. Cameras hang on every wall, and the figure is bound to the chair, arms tied down, and unable to move. As they enter inside, Izuku’s breath gets caught in his throat.
“F-Father…” He stammers. The villain sitting in front of him is not the man he’s grown up knowing. His father has curly black locks and green eyes with freckles on his cheeks. This man in front of him has none of that. This man, villain , has scar tissue covering his eyes and he has no curly black locks. In fact, he has no hair at all. He has an oxygen mask covering his mouth, hooked up to a machine behind him.
“What a pleasant surprise, Izuku.” His father hums, and Izuku thinks the man is looking at him, but he isn’t sure. “And All Might…”
All Might gives Izuku a gentle push to one of the two chairs in front of the glass wall separating the three of them. Izuku sits down in the chair, All Might sits down beside him.
“So tell me, son, why are you here?” His father asks. “Here to catch up with your old man?” He inquires with an amused smile.
“I’m going to become a hero.” Izuku blurts out.
“Hm?” His father hums, looking at him.
“I’m going to become a hero,” Izuku repeats, “But not for you. I’m going to become a hero for myself, no one else. I’m not going to fulfill your legacy.”
“Is that so?” The villain questions. “Did you really come all this way just to tell me that, Izuku? I’m disappointed.”
“Someone close to me gave me really good advice...and I’m here because I’m acting on it.” Izuku answers. “I’ve confronted every problem you created for me...and now it’s time to confront you.”
“Confront me?” The villain echoes.
“I grew up practically in your shadow. My whole life was about impressing you, proving myself to you, but in the end I couldn’t do it. I realized I was chasing after the wrong dream. I never wanted to be praised by you, I just wanted acceptance. I was always the odd one out, no quirk, no mother, no friends. The only world I knew was you and that house.”
“I see, so you’ve created this idea that I truly was your enemy the entire time.” His father muses.
“I didn’t create the idea, I was exposed to it.” Izuku shoots back. He lets out a soft sigh, “Things probably would have turned out differently if you hadn’t put me in U.A. But you wanted information on everyone so badly, you ignored the risks.”
“It was simply a sacrifice I was willing to make.”
“No, father, I think you meant I was the sacrifice you were willing to make.” Izuku calmly notes.
“Is that all? Or do you have more to say?”
Izuku lets himself smirk, “I thought you wanted to catch up?”
“Three minutes.”
The smirk promptly falls from his lips and he levels his father with a frown. “Why? Why did you do all this, father? What was the point of all this?” Izuku asks.
“Well my dear son, if you had the ultimate power...wouldn’t you use it to do as you please?”
He shakes his head, “No. I’d use it to protect those around me.”
“Ah...of course, how could I have forgotten how foolish you are. I did everything in my power to ensure that you wouldn’t grow into one of those hero types, but you were still exposed to the false hopes of heroics. One of my greatest failures, truly.” All for One states dryly.
Izuku frowns. He leans forward in his seat, “Was it worth it?” He finds himself asking. “After everything is said and done, your plan failed. You landed here in Tartarus, and I’ve destroyed your legacy. You lost .”
“Was it worth it...” His father hums. “You always were so perceptive, my boy.” The words make Izuku cringe, “I guess in your mind I have lost, yes. I’m here in this cell, and I’m sure All Might is still loved and revered by everyone. But, there’s something important you’re forgetting.”
“Which is?”
“Tomura.” All for One says, and it’s enough to make Izuku stiffen. “When playing a game of cards, one can never truly foresee the outcome. While yes, you have a wild card, you always keep the ace up your sleeve hidden away until the moment is right.”
Izuku falls silent, thinking. He thinks back to the first time he met Shigaraki, and then their recent encounter. “He’s your ace…”
“There it is!” The villain exclaims. “I knew you’d figure it out!”
“But why?”
“‘Why?’ What an interesting question, son! See, I always had a feeling you wouldn’t fulfill the job I had for you. No matter how much I taught you, how much I conditioned you, it would mean nothing. So...Tomura was the answer to that.”
“Who is he, really?” Izuku finds himself asking.
“Ah, I’m so glad you asked.” His father says, sounding pleased. “Tomura was a...surprise for later, if you will. See my boy, the funny thing about surprises, you never know when they’ll be received.” He chuckles. “Tomura’s real name is Shimura Tenko, he’s the grandson of All Might’s teacher.”
Izuku hears All Might’s sharp inhale and he can practically feel the man tense up beside him.
All for One chuckles, “You look upset All Might, how sad.”
All Might looks horrified at the news he’s just received as he whispers a hoarse, “No…you’re lying…”
“Come now, my son is your successor! The unbelievable is believable , All Might!”
“Time’s up. Please exit the cell All Might, Midoriya-kun.”
The two of them stand up, and Izuku pauses as he stands. He looks at the man sitting in the chair before him. He then looks away, “I tried to hate you.” He admits. “I tried so hard , and I think I should hate you, but I don’t.” Izuku tells him. “Even after everything...you’re still my father...and you provided for me growing up. But I don’t love you, can’t bring myself to do that either.” He takes a breath, looking at his father, “I’ve thought about it a lot and I realized that I pity you.”
He doesn’t say any more and turns to walk out of the room with All Might. He feels lighter, as if a huge weight has been lifted off his chest. However, his shoulders feel heavy as he and All Might carry the truth about Shigaraki. Learning the truth feels almost like All for One finally landed the last punch, maybe even had the last laugh.
All Might is silent the entire walk out of Tartarus. Izuku sneaks glances at him once in a while, and the expression on the man’s face makes Izuku frown. He can’t imagine how his mentor is feeling right now, how conflicted and troubled he must be.
Izuku tries to find the right words to say, tries to find a way to make things a little bit better. No words come to mind, he can’t think of a solution.
“A-All Might,” He stammers, “I’m sorry…” He apologizes, because he doesn’t know what else to say.
All Might stops to look at him, and Izuku can see the conflict in his eyes. He raises his hand and gently pats Izuku’s head, “It’s not your fault, my boy.”
“I-I know but…” Izuku trails off, staring at the ground, “I can’t think of a way to help…”
Toshinori stares at the boy in front of him, and suddenly they are not in the middle of the street. They are on a rooftop, and Izuku is not in U.A. just yet, he doesn’t even have a quirk. This boy in front of him is just a child looking for someone to tell him that he can achieve his dreams, that ‘yes, you can be a hero.’
The memory surprises him a bit, as he wasn’t expecting it. However, the memory also causes a hint of a smile to appear on his face. Toshinori wraps an arm around Izuku and hugs him to his side, “You’re a good kid, young Izuku.” He says, allowing the smile to appear on his face.
Izuku looks up at the man beside him in awe. After all these months of training under All Might, Izuku still looks up to him, still admires him. They’ve become more than mentor and student (father and son, perhaps?). He smiles bashfully at All Might.
“I’ll be fine, my boy, because you are here .”
It’s a typical day for class 1-A. Satou and Bakugou are making breakfast as people slowly filter into the common room, uniforms on. Ashido and Kaminari beg people for last minute answers to Present Mic’s English homework, while Yaoyorozu enjoys a cup of tea with Jirou, the latter writing down something in a notebook.
The room is filled with chatter even though it’s so early in the morning. Everyone is cheerful and some are more awake than others. Bakugou even yells at a few people (Kirishima and Sero), demanding they stay awake and eat the food he wasted time making.
The elevator doors let out a soft chime as they open, and everyone’s heads turn as Izuku steps out. He has one of his bookbag’s straps on his shoulder as he holds a notebook in one hand, chin in the other. He’s muttering things to himself, making sure he has it memorized for an upcoming test.
Instead of the room quieting, the volume only grows louder.
“Deku-kun!”
“Yo, Midoriya!”
“Midoriya-san, good morning!”
“Good morning, Midoriya-kun! I hope you’re ready for Ectoplasm-sensei’s test today!”
Izuku looks up from his notes, seeing everyone’s eyes on him. “Ah, good morning!” He replies, smiling. He’s met with smiles in return.
“Midoriya-kun, you come eat. There’s plenty to go around.” Satou offers, smiling.
“Thank you!” Izuku says gratefully, heading over to the table. He sits down between Iida and Uraraka, notebook in front of him.
A plate is practically slammed down in front of him, and he looks up to see Bakugou scowling. He knows there isn’t any real anger behind it. Izuku gives the other a smile, “Thanks, Kacchan!”
“Tch,” Bakugou grumbles before walking off.
Izuku listens to the chatter around him as he eats, flipping through his notes as he does so.
Uraraka leans in as she sees him hastily flipping through the pages, “Whoa, Deku-kun, are you alright?”
Izuku stops to look over at her, nervously chuckling, “A-Ah well...I’m just worried about the test…” He tells her.
“Perhaps we can have a study session before the test!” Iida suggests, hand chopping through the air. “It’ll be a good refresher, and we can work through any confusion together!”
Izuku brightens up at the suggestion, “That’d be awesome!” He exclaims with a smile.
“Great idea, Iida-kun!” Uraraka exclaims as well, clapping her hands together.
Iida smiles and pushes his glasses up onto his face. He’s about to say something when his eyes glance over at the clock. He shoots up, “Everyone! We should start heading to homeroom! Please put your dirty dishes in the sink! Kirishima-kun, Asui-san, Aoyama-kun, you’re on dish duty tonight, please don’t forget!” He announces, and one by one, everyone starts finishing up breakfast.
Izuku joins his friends as he puts his plate in the sink and ties his shoes. With Uraraka and Iida by his side, he heads to school. Uraraka and Iida carry the conversation with Izuku adding his two cents.
When he feels someone tap his shoulder, he turns and sees Todoroki. “Todoroki-kun!” He slows his pace so Todoroki can walk beside him.
“Good morning,” Todoroki replies, and Izuku grins at him.
His grin turns softer and more bashful as he shyly takes hold of Todoroki’s hand and grips it. He can tell Todoroki is a bit surprised by this, but he feels the other grip his hand wordlessly in response. It makes his grin brighten.
Their hands stay intertwined throughout the walk to school.
It’s a typical day for class 1-A, and Izuku can’t be happier. The start of the year was rough, but he made it through. He’s reunited with his mother, and he’s learned to live with what he’s done. He’s on his path to becoming a hero alongside his friends and he’s loving every second of it.
It’s a typical day for class 1-A, and Izuku feels right at home.
“Dreamer, come home.”