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“It is not flesh and blood, but heart which makes us fathers and sons.”
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Toshinori stepped into the classroom, warmth filling his scrawny chest with the chorus of cheerful welcomes the class of 1-A gave him. Months after his battle with All for One and the reveal of his true self, it still amazed him how his students could look up to him even now in his broken form. He gave them a grin but his greeting came out less enthusiastic than he meant as he noticed a head of unruly green hair missing from among his students.
“G-good afternoon class! I see young Midoriya is absent, is he sick today?”
A few other students looked towards his desk in confusion themselves. “He was in all our morning classes.” Uraraka spoke up right as Iida’s hand shot perfectly straight into the air.
“Sir! As we were walking to class a few minutes ago he received a phone call. I reminded him that cell phone use in school is not permitted but he insisted on taking the call he so stepped outside. I apologize for his tardiness!” Toshinori couldn’t help but smile at Iida’s overzealous behavior and also in relief that nothing was wrong with his successor.
“That’s quite alright young Iida, thank you for informing me. I’ll go ahead and start on what today’s training is about.”
The overview of the lesson was quick and enjoyable, the training that day was to focus on stealth and tracking but the whole class quickly grew excited over the idea of a large game of hide-and-seek, which was essentially the basic idea of the exercise. He dismissed everyone to change into their hero outfits and meet him at the training grounds, smiling in fondness as he overheard bits of their conversations as they joked around and chatted enthusiastically about strategies already. Glancing at the clock, the smile faded and a small knot of worry formed in his chest as he realized Midoriya still hadn’t shown up. He knew the boy would never willingly miss class, especially hero training.
Toshinori stepped out of the classroom and almost ran straight into Aizawa who would be joining him in the day’s lesson.
“Just heard from the office. Midoriya won’t be attending class today, probably for a few days.” The tired looking man said bluntly, expecting the question forming on Toshinori’s lips.
He swallowed down the blood bubbling in his throat, struggling to stay composed. “What happened? Is he alright?”
“He’s fine. He received word of a death in the family and will be taking some time off for the funeral. He’s packing right now to go home.” The words filled Toshinori’s heart with dread.
A death in the family… did something happen to the boy’s mother? Inko Midoriya was the only family Toshinori knew of. His student had never mentioned a father, grandparents, or siblings. Nor could the retired hero remember seeing any family pictures up besides just the mother and her son. She was all the boy had.
And Toshinori himself.
He clenched his fists at the thought of his student facing something like this alone. “I’m sorry, but there’s something I need to take care of, do you mind covering the training by yourself this afternoon?”
The man gave Toshinori an unreadable expression and the blonde had to fight the urge to fidget under that unblinking stare. While Aizawa was unaware of the truth behind their shared Quirk of One for All, he wasn’t sure just how much the fellow teacher knew about their personal relationship outside that of a typical UA teacher and student. The man had sharp eyes despite their perpetual dryness.
Eraserhead shrugged. “I figured as much, I already checked in with Present Mic and he can fill in. Midoriya should still be in his room, but his ride will be here soon.”
Toshinori gave a grateful nod and walked quickly down the hall towards the exit. As soon as he was outside he broke into a run, hoping to catch Midoriya before he left.
Midoriya, my boy. I hope you’re alright.
Thankfully he didn’t come across any other faculty or students as he labored the short distance between the main building and class 1-A’s dormitory. His breathing was ragged and uneven as he waited impatiently for the elevator to take him up to the 2nd floor to Midoriya’s room. After his run over, he didn’t have the strength to attempt the single flight of stairs. Pathetic. He coughed blood into his stained handkerchief.
The elevator doors finally opened to the 2nd floor with a soft chime as Toshinori managed to get his breathing back under control. He walked stiffly down the hall, both from the pinching pain in his side that his dash over had aggravated and nervousness of what to expect.
“Young Midoriya?” He asked softly, knocking on the door. “Are you still in?”
No voice replied but he heard a quiet thud as something fell to the floor inside. He tried the doorknob and found it to be unlocked. “I’m coming in.”
He briefly noted the garrish red, blue, white, and yellow colors and numerous All Might merchandise before shoving that aside as his eyes found Midoriya sitting on the edge of his bed, a red sneaker laying sideways on the floor between his feet where he must have dropped it on Toshinori’s knocking.
“A-All Might! What are you doing here?!” The hero in training was turning redder than his favorite shoes as he shot a quick glance around his shrine to the man now standing in it. “Shouldn’t you be running class right now?”
“My boy, I heard you’ll be leaving school for a few days. How are you?” He gently closed the door behind him and walked over to take seat at the desk so he could look his student in the eye.
“I-I’m fine. It’s nothing really.” Midoriya said quietly, giving a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.
The retired hero shifted in his chair, trying to be tactful in case he had the situation wrong. “Oh, I heard you had received news about your family. I just wanted to see if you were all right.”
The boy dropped his head, hiding his expression. “M-my dad is dead.”
Toshinori bit back a bloody cough of surprise even as relief rose as well. He was glad Inko Midoriya was all right, he had a fondness for the woman who had raised this boy he had grown to care for so much and she had a kind heart that reminded Toshinori of his own teacher.
But the father. Midoriya never spoke of him, none of the boy’s paperwork for school registration had his signature and the man was even absent from the school’s emergency contact list. Instead Toshinori’s own name was listed underneath Inko Midoriya’s. Toshinori had assumed the man had died years ago.
“I’m sorry young Midoriya, I didn’t know-”
He looked up quickly to meet Toshinori’s gaze. “I didn’t mean to hide him or anything! It’s just he works-worked abroad and was hardly ever home, that’s why you never met him or heard about him before!” He quickly dropped his head again. “He died suddenly too, a car accident from what my mom told me.” Toshinori noticed the boy seemed tense, was he trying to suppress his tears? The young hero in training had always been the type to wear his heart on his sleeve and express his emotions openly, was he trying to control his crying in front of his mentor?
Toshinori heaved himself up and crouched down on in front of the boy, knees creaking in protest. “I’m so sorry for your loss. It’s never easy losing someone you love. You don’t have to hold it in, it’s okay young Midoriya.” Green eyes looked up to meet his and the former hero continued. “It’s okay to let it out, forget what I said about the waterworks.” He gave a small smile as he reached for his successor’s hand.
It was quickly jerked back and balled into a fist on his leg. “I-I don’t, I don’t know how to feel about it! I should feel sad right? But I’m not, even though he’s my dad!” Toshinori could only gape in shock. That was not the outburst the man expected.
“Midoriya…” He started, unsure himself what he was going to say before the boy cut him off.
“It’s been over four years since he was last home, and that was for just a few days. I usually just got a card on holidays and birthdays, a phone call if I was lucky.” The curled fist tightened. “How can I be upset over the death of someone I barely knew? It’s like… like finding out you didn’t win a prize in a contest you didn’t even know you were in and had no way of winning anyway. It’s so remote, so removed from you.”
Midoriya finally looked up into Toshinori’s eyes. “And how... what kind of person am I if I can’t even be sad over the death of my own father? How can I be a hero of the people and a symbol for peace? Why can’t I be be upset over this!”
My poor boy. He couldn’t help but feel a stab of resentment towards this absent man who had left such little impact on his own son’s life.
Ignoring his aching knees, Toshinori leaned forward and pulled his student into a hug, one hand gently guiding the boy’s head against his bony shoulder. “You’re someone who cares deeply and passionately, I’ve seen you put your own life on the line numerous times to save both friends and strangers. Whatever your feelings are about your father, they are real and valid and in no way affect the amazing hero I know you’ll one day be.”
Midoriya sank into the embrace, one hand carefully grabbing a fistful of Toshinori’s shirt. His voice was quiet and stilted as though fighting back tears. “But why didn’t he want me?”
All Might closed his eyes and clutched the soft green curls tighter as a vice clenched around his own heart at those grief-stricken words. “I can’t say young Midoriya.” The next words came out before he could consider them. “ I am here and I promise I won’t leave you.”
Midoriya stiffened against him and the older man mentally cursed at himself for his lack of tact. Who was he to offer himself as replacement father figure, especially so soon after the actual father’s death?
A sob broke out against his shoulder. “As a kid I-I imagined my dad was really a hero that had to keep his family secret to keep us safe. I even…I even hoped he was actually you, All Might, even though you two look nothing alike.” The hands gripped his poor shirt tighter as though afraid the man wearing it would disappear. His shoulder was growing wet where the boy still had his face pressed against it. “And after I met and got to know the real you, as you took me on as your successor for One for All, I knew it couldn’t be real. B-but I still wish you could have been my real father.”
Toshinori blinked, feeling his own tears building up. He knew Midoriya, had been a fanboy of his since a toddler, but to also dream of him as his father? Even now that All Might was no more?
Emotions filled his chest, making it even harder to breathe than normal with a single lung. He had been so afraid these past few years to let anyone get close and discover the broken man behind the unbeatable hero. Compared to All Might, who would want the tired husk of Toshinori?
The small body pressed against his own, holding tight, answered that question.
“My boy,” He said that to every young fan and student of his, when had that come to mean so much more? “As I said before, One for All binds us closer than blood. And I’m proud,” He swallowed thickly but couldn’t hold back his tears anymore and let them fall freely. “S-so proud to have someone like you to consider as a son... Izuku.”
His successor finally looked up from his damp shoulder, tears still welling up in his bright green eyes. The former hero gave him a soft, warm smile and was suddenly tackled into a tight hug that made him fall back into a sitting position. Izuku kept his arms wrapped around his mentor and fell into his lap though Toshinori noticed with fondness that the young hero was ever careful of his tender left side.
The two stayed that way for several minutes in silence besides some sniffling before Izuku’s phone buzzed pulling them back to the present. “That’s probably my mom checking up on me, or the driver letting me know he’s here.” He murmured, carefully unwinding himself from Toshinori’s embrace.
“Will you be alright, going home alone?” Do you want me to come with you? He left unsaid.
“Thanks, but I’ll be fine. It’s mostly my mom I’m worried about. She still loves him, even now after all this time. But I’ll be there to support her with a smile. Besides, I think it’d draw unnecessary attention if All Might came to my family’s funeral service.”
Toshinori smiled with pride and ruffled his successor’s hair. So strong, and always thinking one step ahead.
He helped Izuku pack a few final things and walked with him down to the dormitory’s front doors where a UA car was parked, ready to take the boy home. Though he knew his student could more than handle his bags without his help, he insisted on carrying something. (“Just humor an old man.”) Izuku just rolled his eyes and finally gave him his backpack to hold.
They got his things packed into the trunk of the school car. Toshinori gave a nod to the driver and turned one last time to Izuku.
“You have my number. Any time, day or night.”
“Thanks… Toshinori.” Midoriya ducked his head a bit in embarrassment but looked up from the corner of his eye to gage his mentor’s reaction.
Toshinori sputtered, fighting to hold back a fountain of blood and more tears. He pulled him in for one more final hug. “Take care my boy.” He said softly, putting emphasis on the last two words.
Izuku pulled away with a nod and climbed inside the school car. The former hero waved the car off as he felt more wetness gather in his eyes. I guess I can’t give him too much crap about being a crybaby, it seems to run in the family. He thought with a grin even as a few tears escaped.
“A phone call is here! A phone call is here!” Toshinori was broken from his thoughts by his own recorded voice. He picked up without looking at the ID. “Hello?”
“All Might! Caller here with a special request!” He had to quickly move the phone away from his ear as the loud voice boomed through.
“Present Mic? How’s training going?”
“Aizawa would kill me if he knew I called you for help but we could use some backup. The class got a little too excited over this party. I’m stuck to the ground with tape, Koda’s crying, most of the rest of the students are missing, and I hear explosions in the distance.”
The retired hero couldn’t help but laugh. “Where’s Aizawa? It’s unlike him to let a class get this out of control.”
Present Mic sighed, “Frozen in ice in his sleeping bag. I think we let our guards down too much! His exact words at the beginning of class were, ‘Should be an easy session today with All Might and his problem child of a kid missing.’ Um, no offense.”
My kid? A short while ago he may have tried to deny those words for the implication they held but now they only filled him with pride. Those dry eyes really did miss nothing. “None taken at all. I’m on my way.”