Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It would not be an exaggeration to say that the quirks One for All and All for One were filled with riddles and secrets.  

And even after 200 years, Yoshito was not aware of all his limits: after his death, his mind remained connected to One for All and the current wielder of said quirk. For years, they remained alone, lost in some hero subconscious.  

From time to time he could capture strong emotions – euphoria, melancholy, or agony. He could tell what the current presenter was thinking or seeing. Sometimes he even talked to them through dreams.  

Sharing his quirk with future generations turn Yoshito into a link to the past and its secrets. And since his quirks and his brother were so similar, that means Hisashi also shared that ability and was able to contact him. It was common for them to meet inside the void. The first time all they simply yell at each other because of the same old things. Yoshito wasn’t proud enough to deny his sadness or tears, just like Hisashi didn’t bother to hide his anger or grief.  

After a while, they just ignore each other.  

However, when the connection was stronger than usual, the former holders of One for All could "manifest" themselves onto the outside. Of course, no one could see them, because they were just an audience. Those incidents were rare, so none of them felt they should waste a lot of time waiting for them.  

And his non-life continues: in the endless cycle of heroes fighting what Yoshito brother had become... Just so they could die. And that lasted a while. But after Shimura's death, something changes.  

They could feel that All for One was bored. Not only that but also lonely.

*

Something was wrong with All for One. It had been the last few months. The villain was... Well, it was a mix of feelings, honesty. Sometimes he was happy. Others he was just... Nervous.  

That was confusing for several reasons: it implies that there was someone out that could make Hisashi feel those things. That fact alone was worrisome.  

To us and the world, I think.   

As Yoshito had a stronger connection with the said villain, he was the only one who had to try to figure out what was going on. But most of the time, the only thing he could feel from his ex-brother was love. Pure, intense, and unshakeable love.  

That just made him more nervous. What could exist to make Hisashi feel like that? And what was Hisashi doing? Was he creating new weapons, killing, or torturing more innocent people? Maybe he was coming up with a new diabolical plan?  

Whatever it is, it couldn't be good news.  

Oh, how wrong they were.  

*

They found out what was going on during a July afternoon. In a second slip, the former One for All User found himself in a hospital room where the infamous All for One was and...!  

Is that a baby?

Why was he holding a baby? Not only that, but he was also counting the baby's fingers, with the stupidest expression on his face!

   "Hisashi, you can hand him back."

There's a woman – probably the child's mother, and who seems to be fine with a villain holding her son. 

    “He blinked!” 

    "Yes, Hisashi, babies tend to do that." 

And since life wasn't absurd enough, because Hisashi began muttering 2,000 miles per hour, wondering about the boy quirk. The mutter whispers were interrupted by a ringtone. 

    "Your phone is ringing."   

All for One shrugged his shoulders, not minding it at all. However...  

  "Hisashi Midoriya, give our son back and answer your damn phone!"   

And like some well-trained dog, the man complies, and promptly leave the room and answer the phone call. Yoshito looks around, not knowing what to do. His mind was spinning, trying to understand what just happen. But since Fifth was the loudest and the least discreet of them, he spoke first: 

"What the hell is happening?!"

"Daigoro!"

Yoshito didn’t pay attention to the squabble. Not even at his brother talking to someone over the phone; just outside this room.   

No, he was focused on the baby.

The man walks closer to the new family. Both Shimura and Second were trying to talk some sense into Daigoro’s head – too late for that. Hisashi was furious at whoever was on the phone; complaining that he should be by Inko’s side.  

He looks at her.  

Green hair, pleasant face... Blinding smile. She seems like the person who could see the best on everyone, someone who was always positive. So why was she with her brother when she deserved better?  

Outside the room, Hisashi stops paying attention to whoever he was supposed to be speaking. Instead, the man was wondering if his son would like the toy rabbit he picked out for him.  

Son. My brother has a son.   

Yoshito is an uncle.  

He sighs.  

If Yoshito could blame absolutely any aspect in that situation, he would probably blame his genes; or even his quirk.  

But he was definable blaming Hisashi for this one.  

*

Midoriya Inko is a remarkable woman.  

For the next months, the fallen heroes watched the Midoriya’s routine, which overall was incredibly domestic. Inko-san was a great mother, and Yoshito’s nephew was; according to Sixth; “a cinnamon roll, too precious to this world. I mean, holy f*ck.”. But most of the time, what caught them by surprise was how good husband and father All for One was.  

He loves his family. Love to spend time with his wife and son, love to help raise the boy. He didn’t mind changing the dirty diapers or playing with the child. Most of the time, he was the one who answers his son’s cries in unholy hours of the morning, never waking up Inko-san, saying that she needed the rest more than he did.  

(That was a lie because he fell asleep during a business meeting.)  

He sang lullabies, took countless photos, bought toys – even the heroes' merchandise. Most of those were toys and clothes from Shimura former student!

All of that shouldn’t be a surprise, after all; he loved his little brother once.

That was before he locked me in a vault and forced a quirk on me.

What bothered him is that Hisashi continues to be a villain. The others weren't surprised, they only knew that side of Hisashi; he was their murder after all. But it was hurtful to see him making plans and schemes, and that monstrosities that were the Nomus.  

Even with a family of his own, he didn’t stop. 

Because of that, the deceased heroes prefer to watch young Izuku’s life rather than continue to see the same old villain routine. They saw enough of that when they were alive. But Yoshito... He was a different story. Even after all this time, he still hoped that Hisashi would stop. But every day, he was proved wrong. 

For example, right now All for One was interviewing/terrifying a young man, named Kurogiri. He had a very versatile and teleportation quirk.

  "... Should you ever betrayed me..."

A phone rings. 

Hisashi answered. And receive great news. So great that he immediately shoves his phone in front of the young man's face, with the location displayed in a GPS app. 

  "Take me there. Now.” 

He does. And as soon his brother arrives home, he dashes off, running to hear his son say “papa”. When he is in his living room, the first thing he does is hug his wife and hold Izuku... And when Yoshito's nephew calls for his father, Hisashi is overjoyed with happiness. He was so happy, that he didn’t even realize when Inko-san let the young man enter their house and offer him tea. And honestly, it would be extremely awkward to not let Kurogiri-kun stay in their lives after that.

  “You know I can just take your quirk and kill you?”

  “And how would you explain my absence to your wife?”  

Well. That kid sure had balls. Very few people talk to Hisashi like that and lived to tell the tale.

*

Shimura was the first one who notices. 

Inko wasn't well. When All for One notice, his wife said that was probably a common cold. 

When she didn’t get better, the married couple went to the hospital. The First User decided to go along. After a couple of exams, the doctor confirmed what they already knew. 

Inko was sick. Very sick.

Yoshito glance at his brother, feeling sorry for him. Hisashi dread felt like thousands of icy tendrils were reaching out and crushing his heart. Inko wasn’t any better; crying her heart and soul out, all while clutching to a box of tissues, but it was understandable.

How else could someone react knowing that they were going to die? 

After that day, Hisashi was determined to find the right quirk that could help his wife. Even now, he was searching on official records something that could be usable. He went so far to look outside of Japan’s’ documents. 

      “Hisashi, we need to talk.” 

That caught his attention.

   “If I die…”

  “You’re not going to die"  

Hisashi was panicking, desperately trying to find a solution even now. It was too painful to watch. 

  “I don’t want to. But… Hisashi, you heard the doctor…”  

  “Yes, but…”

   “Hisashi!” 

The brothers flinch.

  “If I die... I need to know Izuku will be alright, and – and happy. And he’ll need his father. So... So I want you to promise me you’ll… retire.”  

What?

   "What?”

    “I want you to stop… whatever the hell it is you do. I don’t know what it is, but I know it’s…”

Did... Did she figure it out? 

    “And I know it’s only a matter of time before some hero comes along and gets lucky, or you make a mistake…”  

Oh my God, she did.

   “And I’m sorry, but I can’t risk that happening when Izuku would be caught in the crossfire. So I’m giving you a choice; either find some way to leave or so help me, I’ll take Izuku and… And I’ll do everything to ensure you never see me again.”  

Both siblings were speechless after that. Not only because she figures it out... No, she was also giving her husband an ultimatum. If he didn’t stop, he would lose his family. 

If Yoshito could cry, he would. It was all too familiar: he gave his brother the same option 200 years ago, and that only resulted in bloodshed. But... 

Somehow, Inko was making Hisashi see the truth. The villain mind was processing everything: if she’s gone, and if Hisashi didn't fully commit to his son’s safety... All Might could get lucky. And if he did, Hisashi wouldn't be going to prison. No, he would die. 

 Izuku would be all alone. 

And above all else, Hisashi loves his family.

   “I’ll try. I don’t… Don’t know if I’ll succeed, but… But I’ll try. For you and Izuku …”  

Midoriya Inko is truly a remarkable woman.

Chapter Text

When Yoshito told the others wielders that Midoroya Inko had done the impossible, Second didn’t believe. Hell, most of them thought that it was too good to be the truth. 

It had to be. Six heroes fought tooth and nail against that monster of a man, fought countless battles; shed blood; sweat, and tears doing so. Even then, after all their effort, they die failing to do their duty.   

But somehow, for whatever fucking reason, a civilian – of all things, a civilian! -succeeded when they failed?!  

Bullshit.

It had to be a trick! All for One was a cruel and sadistic bastard. He did terrible things, murder, and torture hundreds of thousands of people. What was stopping him to simply lie to a dying woman, just to pass the time? Yes, it was cruel. But he has done worse.  

So, whenever they saw the villain keeping his promise – erasing documents that mention him; changing memories of former allies and heroes... Second just knew it was a lie.  

It had to be.

*

For the next months, all of them watch their enemy taking care of loose ends, amazing avoiding the easy route that was killing them. When All for One wasn’t doing that, he was by his family side; taking care of  Inko -san; who was slowly getting worse.

One night, the woman asks the villain to tell her the whole truth about his “work”. And he did.  

Of course, he didn’t tell the whole truth: he never mentions the existence of One for All, either how and why All Might be hunting him down. But he did tell about the Nomus, about the murders and the schemes.  

Of course, he slept on the couch for a while.  

After that whole ordeal, All for One decide to introduce his family to his most faithful follower.  

Now that will be fun to watch.

*

Gigantomachia truly did justice to his name. But according to Fifth, despise his size, the guy was like an overgrown puppy. 

“At least with his Lord. To everyone else... Well. He was his bodyguard for a reason.” 

That statement was proving to be true. The second All for One was in his field of vision, the former bodyguard was very close to crying... Until he saw that his so call Lord was caring for something.

   "Gigantomachia. This is my wife, Inko.”

It was like a flip of a switch. He looks at Inko like she was a Godness he greatly offended. Not only that, but he also seems to be about to cry.

   "And this is Izuku.”

Well, that did the trick. The guy burst into tears, which really surprises Inko. All for One, however, didn’t even flinch. He quietly told his wife that he was going to start setting the picnic.

   "It’s going to take a while for him to calm down. Why don’t you seat dear?”

And yes, it took a while for the guy to calm down. Half an hour in fact. Meanwhile, Hisashi was playing with his son, but Inko was busy trying to comfort the poor guy – who still was tearing up. In fact, when she tries to borrow a box of tissues, he cries even harder.

The fifth user was smiling like a smug bastard.   

“Told you.”

“Yeah, yeah, shut up.”

  “So, how long have you known Hisashi?”

  “I do not know!”

  “Oh. Well, you must think very highly of him.”

The bodyguard was overjoyed.

   "Yes! Lord is a wonderful man! And I am honored to serve him!”

Inko laughs. But her happiness didn’t last very long.

  "I want to ask you to do something for me, Gigantomachia.”

  "Of course!”

She smiled. It was a sad smile, and it hurt Second that feeling was becoming so frequent.

    “I… I want you to look after Hisashi. He’ll need people. Good people who he can trust. And… He said you used to protect him. He’ll need you to do that again.” 

   “Yes! I will protect him with my life!”

Again, she gave a small, broken laugh.

   “That’s… Not the sort of protection he’ll need. Just… Make sure he spends time with Izuku. Make sure he knows how much Izuku needs him.”

That was the whole reason for that visit. Inko-san knew she wasn’t going to make it, so she wanted to be sure that her family would be okay.

She really is something huh?

To see someone so gentle, with so much love to give... To see such an incredible person like her became a broken version of herself because of was going to happen...

It is painful.

It was sad, hurtful.

It was unfair.

*

It took several months, countless bodies, and a ‘natural’ disaster in Russia, but finally, it happen. 

  “It’s done. All for One is… retired.”

Inko smiled and Yoshito sigh in relief.

The couple stays quiet for a while. But since Midoroya-san was full of surprises...

 “Hisashi, I want you to take my Quirk.”  

 “...What the fuck?”

“Goddamn, it Daigoro! Drop the curses already!”

“Well fuck you too Third!”

 “Guys, come on!”

God, we can be loud sometimes.

    “I’ve been reading up on Quirk genetics. And you’re a first-generation Quirk user, so there’s every possibility Izuku could be Quirkless. But you can easily pass off my Quirk as his, so…”

Both Yoshito and Hisashi were staring at the woman.

     “What should I do if he has a Quirk?”  

     “I’d still like you to give it to him. I know I won’t be there as he’s growing up, but if he has my Quirk… He’ll always have some part of me with him.”  

It makes sense. Of course, no one wanted to think of that option because it would mean accepting the inevitable.

It should be mention that whenever Yoshito’s brother took a quirk, they could all fell it. And just like her owner, Inko’s quirk; small and warm, so full of hidden strength.

     “Now, I think you should get back to Izuku. Remember what happened the last time you let Gigantomachia babysit overnight?”

They shivered with the memory.

Chapter Text

This whole situation made her furious.  

Seeing All for One living such a domestic life, happily raising his son when she was forced to abandon her own, even if it was for Kotaro's safety...!  

It makes her want to punch that bastard face off until it was nothing but a bloody mess of facial tissues and teeth.  

So, whenever the other holders want to spend the day First’s nephew, she would decline, rather wanting to be by Toshinori side, thank you very much. Yes, Izuku is adorable. It is a breath of fresh air to listen to that little guy laugh and play with his family.  

But for Nana... Well. Nana had to give up her family because of All for One. Kotaro had to grow up without her, Toshinori saw her die and Sorahiko had to bury an empty coffin. So yeah, she didn’t want to spend her time seeing her murder having the time of his life while being a father.  

Nana prefers to watch her student, her son in everything but blood.  

*  

 Detroit Smash!  

Everyone was in a crazy state of ecstasy. Everyone except the thief – the poor bastard was knock out. Oh, she was so proud of her boy! He was proving to be a better hero then she thought: saving thousands, putting bad guys behind bars... And always smiling, just like she taught him. It was funny to see him running away from reporters. It is nice to see him working with other heroes. She laughs as All Might answer the reporters while the police handle the rest of the situation.  

When he finally manages to leave the scene, her boy headed to the police station. The second they got there, Nana found out what was happening: they were trying to find any clue of where All for One could be... But seeing how bored those policemen were, she doubted they could make it. They were going against someone who can easily find out what the first Minister had for dinner. What are the odds of an IT guy finding out anything?  

He is in an apartment complex in  Musutafu, but good luck I guess.   

Until...   

      “We got it!”    

She never had seen so many people move so fast or hide so quickly what they were doing. The chief of police pretends to not notice what just happen, asking what the IT guy had found.   

       “We’ve got All For One’s hard drive.”   

Crap.   

She knows what is in that drive.   

       “Hisashi, please stop taking photos of our son. If any stranger look at those without knowing that you are his father, they are going to call the police!”  

       “Don’t worry honey. It not like I’m anyone is going to access my hard drive.”  

This is going to be fun. Awkward as hell, but fun. She just hopes that the IT guy didn’t say any like...  

        “I’m in.”  

Never mind.  

Toshinori grip tightens. Everyone is holding their breath, hoping to find something to clue them in on All For One’s plans, like medical files, or there might be documents that could clue them into his current identity, or maybe financial information…  

They all lean closer as the kid clicks on the first file, and…  

     “Is that a baby?”   

Oh, she remembers that day. Izuku was playing with Gigantomachia, but after a while, he fell asleep. He was so cute that All for One didn’t resist the temptation of taking a few pictures. She can blame the guy, Izuku was wearing a bunny onesie. If she’s not mistaken, there are a few photos of the sunshine child in an All Might onesie as well... Ah, there it is!  

         “Maybe it’s just a cover?… I mean, could All For One have hidden data in the image?”  

        “I don’t think so.”  

She can tell they are trying to find an explanation.  

        “…Do you think All For One is… you know, into kids?”   

Kid, what the fuck? Sure, the guy is a monster, but he’s not that bad!  

        “Definitely not. There was a… sexual predator eight years ago… They’re still looking for most of him.”  

She stands correct. And hey, turns out All for One has some redeeming qualities: Being a good husband/ father AND killing child abusers.  

Who knew. 

* 

It is an irony that Midoriya- san was a few feet away from her own grave. When she died the fallen heroes bow their heads to her in a sign of respect. Yoshito pray for her, thanking her for what she had done.  

“Thank you for bringing back my brother.”   

It made sense, she did vanquish All For One. Only Hisashi-san was left. The only thing missing for the pseudo death to be official was altering Toshinori’s memories. Maybe that would be a little hard... She still remembers what happen with Torino and...  

          "Hello there.”  

Oh. Oh no Toshi, not now!   

          "Are you okay?"  

This has to be a sign from Inko - san. The last gift, if you want to call it like that. Maybe that is why Hisashi san breathes and decides to take this chance.  

        "Sorry. I... I think I'm still in shock."  

        "Oh. Were you a friend of Nana's?"  

Pfft, fat chance kiddo.  

       "No. We knew each other about work. I admit, I forgot all about her. But... I lost my wife recently.”  

On any other day, she would be really angry about every single lie that idiot just said about her. But! Just for today, she let it slide.  

        "My condolences."  

       "Thank you. Hisashi Midoriya ."   

       "Toshinori Yagi." 

All For One active his Quirk.  

It's so easy. He's not erasing memories itself, he's just... adjusting them. He twists them and then gives a little push in the subconscious.  

She can fell Hisashi changing Yagi’s memories.  

Nana Shimura died as a hero. (True.) She saved Yagi. (True.) She defeated All For One. (Don't you want that to be true? She was strong enough. It would be so unfair if she sacrificed herself so much for nothing. Remember that explosion? No one could survive this, not even All For One.)  

The poor dear is close to crying after that.  

      "Does that ever stop hurting?"   

Oh. He means that. Hisashi-san really wants to know.  

        "Not really... But it changes over time. And it helps to remember the good times. And those we love never truly leave us after all."  

She laughs, feeling a warm spread to her heart.  

“That is such a cliche kid...”  

Yagi asks if the man is all right.  

        "I'll be fine. I think I just need a hug from my son."  

She smiles, feeling happy all of a sudden. 

Chapter Text

Shirō was familiar with kids, he had babysat a lot of those before he became a hero.  
He knew how handful they were; how playful and kind they could be. 
He also knew how cruel they could become. 
Katsuki Bakugou was punching and using his quirk on Izuku – Kun while screaming at the same time. And just because young Izuku tried to stop his so call a friend from hurting someone else. 

     Useless Deku! 
     Do you even have a Quirk? 
     You’re such a crybaby! 
     Just go away! 

With each punch, they scream inside the void. First always was left trembling, shouting and wanting to cry with anger. 
In moments like those, Shiro hated how helpless he became in the end. And because Izuku is his father's son, that means the young boy also share a link with them. With every punch and burning, every kick. 
When Bakugou decides to stop, all the seven of them were kneeling by the child side – nevermind the fact the kid couldn’t see that, they all needed to do that. 
And every single time, he though: 

I have a bad feeling about this. 

Unfortuly, he was right. 
You see because young Izuku stopped Bakugou that very first day, he commits a great crime. And because of that, porcupine/Gremlin (as Sixth likes to call him), decided to make Izuku life’s a living hell; calling him names such as “crybaby” and “Defenseless Izuku”, which soon became “Deku”.  
First, he decides to isolate the green-haired boy from the entire classroom: no one talks with him. If they did, it was to say cruel things to him, to hurt him. They push him around, hurt him. But Shiro didn’t blame those kids, because they didn’t know any better. No one ever told them otherwise.  
But the adults... Oh, he is angry with them all right. The teachers never bother to teach those kids anything but numbers and the alphabet and the daycare staff always look the other way. And most likely, the children's parents didn't do anything either. Or maybe they didn’t know... Which was not an excuse.  
That got on his nerves. No adult felt the need to intervene, and because of that, the children continue to hurt Izuku, who was nothing but a sweet and polite kid; someone who didn’t want any trouble.  
So every day after school, he did his best to hide his bruises. He always smiles more and did as his father said.  
The heroes only hope Hisashi-san notice what is happening. 

* 

When Hisashi san finally notice they felt relieved since they just know because the daycare was getting away with that crap.  
“Do you guys think he will murder someone?”   
“If he does that, no one here is gonna judge him.”  
The adults are counting down the minutes to lawsuits by now. And possible murders.  
       

         “Papa? Don’t we have to go?”   

        “I was just thinking it’s been too long since we spent time together, just you and me. So how about we both cheat and stay home together? We could order takeout, and watch a movie…”  

Young Izuku perks at the idea of missing a day at the daycare to spend time with his father. And the fallen heroes all smile with that.  

*   

         “What exactly is your policy on bullying?”  

The daycare head hesitates, but she has no reason to be suspicious.  
Oh boy, wasn’t she going to be surprised?   

      “We try and encourage the children in our care to be compassionate towards others and share. Of course, since they’re still young, we must take that into account when deciding on punishments, and so expulsion is only considered appropriate when a child has deemed a clear, continuous danger to others…”.  

Second just stare at her. 

“Do you guys think she has that memorize?”  
“Probably.”. 

They can tell the father is tempted to pull out the daycare paperwork too, just to give a little pick, but instead, he smiles. The woman sighs and adjusts her thick horn-rimmed glasses. She looks like an old English headmistress (apart from her green skin and the third eye on her forehead) and is used to striking terror into the hearts of toddlers.  
But the man in front of her is the reason why hundreds of thousands are dead or mutilated, unfortunate enough to become lifeless bodies. So really, who is the most dangerous here?

  
        “Mr. Midoriya, why are you here?”  
        “I noticed something… concerning yesterday. Izuku has a surprising number of injuries.”  
       “Mr. Midoriya, you would be surprised how much trouble children can get into.”   

The unspoken if you paid attention to your son wipes the smile off their faces. And if Shiro had any money left, he would bet the First is about to spit fire – which he could not do.  
“Did she just imply my brother doesn’t pay attention to his son?” 
“... Yes.”. 
The Second holder sigh.   
“That woman is so dead.” 

        “Allow me to clarify, ma’am. You believe that Izuku, who is an incredibly quiet and subdued child, somehow acquired eleven separate burns on his arms alone, not to mention the numerous bruises. And your staff did not think to inform me?” 

Oh, they knew that tone of voice. It is his “I am about to slowly and painfully murder you, because, to me, you are nothing but a tiny piece of shirt.”. It was very similar to the “You are a gigantic imbecile but I'm far too polite to say it out loud, in front of so many witnesses.".

The difference is that the first one could make you fear for your family and friends.  
And also shit yourself.  
Considering that tone made four pro heroes; a civilian and two vigilantes fear for their safety... Then what the here a preschool principal feeling?  
       

           “With all due respect, sir, how can I know these injuries even exist?”  

The chain of the reaction was as such: The sixth holder scream, Third made a question; which was answered by First, who is making a brilliant "bitch, please face."
“OH, YOU DID NOT JUST IMPLY THAT YOU BI-”  
“How come she isn’t dead after saying such stupidity?”  
“Too many witnesses.”  

        “Don’t you dare. Don’t you dare suggest I would fabricate something like this? And for what? Money?” 

Oh, they knew that laugh too, and it’s not a pleasant sound to hear a second time.   

         “I make more in a month than your little organization does in a year. I could call up the head of the police right now, and he’d be here in an hour. Izuku’s injuries were deliberate, and our doctor has already passed the photos to the police. I only came to suggest you cooperate with their investigation. Have a lovely day.”  

Nana looks at the woman, whistle and said:  
“That went well. And hey, he didn’t kill her!”  
“Again, too many witnesses.” 

*  

The first time they all saw Yoshirto’s brother wearing a pink apron, they nearly piss themselves. Really, to see the man who murdered you wearing a pink apron, baking cookies? 
Yeah, it’s quite laughable. 

“Now, which shape should we use next?” 

Izuku frowns as he considers their collection of assorted cookie cutters. This whole bullying revelation has not been all bad; Hisashi has been spending as much time with Izuku as possible while searching for a new daycare (which is taking longer than expected – who would have thought so many providers would fail a background check?). 

“This one!” 

The older man is about to load the tray onto the oven when someone rings the doorbell with so much force that it managed to scare the poor boy. Oh, and the tray of cookies falls off. (Sixth is lamenting that particular lost.) 

“How about you help Kurogiri clean up?” 

The poor kid nods. As soon as his son is close to Kurogiri, Hisashi san goes to answer the door. Gigantomachia is already waiting for him, and Hisashi nods to his bodyguard as the giant takes up his position just out of sight, ready to intercept any intruders. After making sure Gigantomachia can’t be seen, (no need to tip off the neighbors that he has 24-hour security,) Hisashi takes a deep breath and opens the door. 

        “You fucking bastard!” 

Oh my fucking god, is the Gremlin's mom. 
Hisashi almost slams the door in her face. Kudos for self-control. 

         “Mitsuki. Lovely to see you…” 

       “Don’t give me that! What the fuck are you doing to Izuku? Where is he? Why the fuck hasn’t he been coming to daycare?!” 

      “…Because your son’s a little shit and a bully?” 

The woman screams an tries to punch him the face. Tries, because Hisashi ducks (with just a hint of a speed Quirk) slams the door in her face. Gigantomachia is growling behind him, barely audible over the screams of rage and loud hammering on the door. 
They can tell the man is tempted to set Gigantomachia on the woman. But however much he dislikes (hates, despises) her, she was Inko’s best friend. And the security camera footage should be very helpful when he hands it over to his legal team. 
Back in the kitchen, Izuku is cowering under the table, his All Might figure clutched tight against his chest. Hisashi takes one look at him, at Kurogiri hovering suspiciously close to the knife block, and sighs as he rubs at his eyes. 

     “How about we pop over to Kyoto for lunch?” 

Chapter Text

Life is full of questions. 

For example:  

       “ Izuku , why is there a tramp on my couch?”  

Being the sweetheart that he is, Izuku smiles before saying that the teenager bleeding on his father’s couch wasn’t a tramp, but a hero. But that is really hard to believe, after all, the teenager is wearing dirty and messy clothes. 

Ichigo raises an eyebrow.  

“... Are you sure, kid?” 

Daigoro laughs. 

“You know he can’t hear us right?” 

         “And why, pray tell, is there a hero , bleeding all over my sofa?”  

        “He’s got an owie , so we brought him home so you can kiss it better!”  

They try not to laugh. Hisashi-san has some healing quirks, so of course, Izuku decides that his father was the appropriate person to help. 

        " Izuku , I am not going to kiss him. Why didn’t you call an ambulance?”  

Izuku really isn’t going to give up so easily and decide to use his ultimate weapon: the puppy eyes.    

          “Please, papa?”  

Hoshizu smile. 

“This kid going to be very good at manipulation, and I’m not even mad. Or worried. I mean, what the worse thing he can do? Create an army that promotes hugs and chocolate muffins?” 

That would be nice.  

Hisashi had always been defenseless against his son’s pleas, so with a sigh, he shuffles over to the sofa. He presses his hand to the man’s forehead and activates one of his healing Quirks, and does his best to ignore just how awkward he feels as he waits for it to take effect. The closer quarters at least help him notice the signature white scarf and yellow goggles… 

The kid's eyes snap open and flash red, and he punches him. 

Ouch.  

“Damn, that’s a nice left hook.” 

It really is. The kid clearly had training. 

            “Papa!”  

           “What the hell?”  

Izuku gasps at the bad word. 

          “My thoughts exactly. Well, you’re healed now, so goodbye.”  

          “…I don’t even know where I am.”  

         “My house.”  

        “…That doesn’t tell me anything. Is this a kidnapping?”  

Nana places her hand over her heart. 

"Sweetheart, he has standards.” 

          “Exactly how incompetent do you think I am?”  

         “You had an owie , so papa healed you!”  

         “…An owie ?”  

        “He’s three.”  

The three of them waited in awkward silence until the young hero asks if he could borrow a phone. 

         “Sure. But give him an autograph, will you?”  

It’s rather comforting to see Izuku’s eyes are just as effective when turned on a pro-hero. 

Ichigo looks at the teenager. 

“This isn’t going to end well, is it?” 

They all know it won’t. A young hero was missing; right after being injured. It was very likely that his agency is looking for him. 

Well shit.   

 * 

The seven of them knew they were right after hearing a loud crash... Follow by another louder crash. When Hisashi is knocked down by someone fast, Izuku is very close to crying. 

           “Mic, it’s a false alarm! Sorry, man.”  

           “I’m suing you all.”  

           “Fair enough.”  

The hero, who is using a goddamn armor – how can he move in that? ; sighs just as Izuku dashes past him and throws himself at his father’s legs. 

            “Papa, I don’t like heroes! They’re mean!”  

Okay, now it is personal. How did they manage to do the impossible?! Not only that, but Izuku is also crying! 

               “Exactly how many?...”  

              “Just me and Present Mic. I’m really sorry about this; he’s a bit… prone to overreacting.”  

              “You don’t say.”  

The room looks like a tornado tore through it. The window is shattered, there are scuff marks on the floor, and shards of glass and plaster litter the room. Gigantomachia is suspiciously missing, although Kurogiri, complete with shopping bags, is stood by the (miraculously untouched) TV, armed with his keys. Eraserhead, still sat on a couch, is glowering at a tall blonde, his black hair floating. Present Mic seems unconcerned, eyeing Kurogiri suspiciously. 

Daigoro is also staring at that poor excuse of a cockatoo, just like Shiro and Ichigo. Nana and Yoshito are more focused on Izuku. 

         “Right, Mic, let’s go. Eraser, can you walk?”  

         “Shouldn’t we call the police? I mean, isn’t this a kidnapping?”  

“OH FOR FUCK’S SAKE!” 

No one censored him this time, they’re all mad with the blond cockatoo too. Izuku, who seemed to have calmed down, bursts into tears again, blabbing about how he doesn’t want to go to jail. The blonde hero pales as if he’s only just spotted the terrified child. 

       “Good idea. How about you call the police and I call my lawyers? Let’s see who gets here first.”  

“THANK YOU!” 

         “Come on , Mic. There’s obviously been a misunderstanding.”  

Eraserhead, to his credit, joins in, and between them, they manage to get him out of the house before things got worse. 

 * 

“Guys! The armor kid is back!” 

           “My deepest apologies for yesterday’s debacle!”  

Hisashi seems very much tempted to brutally murder Ingenium, but he suspects that might traumatize Izuku (further). He would slam the door closed, but he has a sneaking feeling that might damage the hinges, and he really does not want to explain to the handyman why he’s coming back so soon. So the man bites his tongue and fixes the hero with his most deadly glare. 

           “ I brought a cheque for the damages, and a gift for the young hero!”  

          “Me? I’m not a hero!”  

Smart, going after the cute kid with a toy.    

           “Course you are! You helped Eraserhead , didn’t you? That sounds pretty heroic to me!”  

           “Really?”  

Own, he is smiling again. And he took the toy.  

          “Yeah, really.”  

Hisashi is unmoved; he has experience with manipulation tactics, and heroes are absolutely terrible at them. (He knows this from experience; one would think they’d at least put in some effort when begging for their life.) So he just shrugs. 

           “I’m still pressing charges.”  

Chapter Text

        “I don’t want to go.”  

When Izuku stays true to his word, his brother crouches down, smiling gently to his son. 

        “Izuku, I know you’re scared, and that’s fine. If you don’t want to come back tomorrow, you don’t have to. But I thought we could make a deal.”   

         “What deal?”   

         “Today is Monday, so, if you can make it five days, until Friday, I’ll get us tickets to the Heroes Against Cancer fundraiser.”   

Nothing happens for a while, but then Izuku bursts into happy tears – to which Hisashi responds by giving him a box of tissues. The seven of them were strongly aware of his nephew's love for heroes and knew that there was nothing that Hisashi wouldn’t do for the small boy. 

“Nana, isn’t your kid going to be there?”  

“Yep.” 

Three of them say “ oh shit.”,  but he isn’t worried. His brother knows a thing or two about being discreet.  

He’s more concerned with his nephew's line of thought: he really wants to go but didn’t want to sound greedy. And because All Might is going to be there; Izuku is even willing to go back to daycare with the porcupine. 

Oh, you sweet thing.  

      “Promise?”  

      “Pinkie promise.”  

He smiles. Hisashi always took pinkie promises very seriously. He ruffles Izuku’s hair. 

       “Now before you know it, Kurogiri will be here to take you home.  And if you’re scared during the day, just tell Miss Tanaka. Alright?”   

       “Alright. I love you, papa.”   

       “I love you too, Izuku.”  

He can tell that his nephew is trying not to cry again, and if he could love him anymore, he would. The daycare worker – Tanaka-san? - leads Izuku plus seven grownups to the classroom. (Sure, she doesn’t know that last detail, but what she doesn’t know can't hurt her.). 

Nana is the only one there with real experience with children, so she is the one they ask the real questions. 

“He’s still just standing there, is he okay?” 

“Yes, Ichigo. He’s new here.” 

“Okay, but what if some kid bother him?”  

“Isao, we both know his father made a deep background check of everyone working here. Hell, we know what they buy at the supermarket. The worst Miss Tanaka does is buy instant ramen at the end of the month.” 

Even knowing all that, they are worried. Izuku is so nervous, but he tries to be brave like a hero. And if his nephew does become a hero, he will be the best of them, no matter what the blond kid said. 

But he is not a hero now, he is a scared kid in a big room full of people he doesn’t know. 

     “Do you like heroes too?”  

A bright-eyed boy with blue hair and a wide smile is at Izuku side, and somehow he looks familiar. 

      “Yes, I… I do.”  

Yoshito can tell he’s still nervous, and apparently, so does the daycare teacher because she crouches down at my nephew level. 

     “My name’s Tenya! My favorite hero’s Ingenium!”  

     “I’m… I’m Izuku. I... My favorite hero’s All Might. But Ingenium’s awesome too!”  

Miss Tanaka speaks up.  

    “Izuku is new here. And he doesn’t know anyone yet. So I think he might be just a little scared. Can I trust you to make him feel welcome, Tenya?”  

It’s funny to see Tenya-kun nod with so much vigor but the woman smiles and stands up, but does not move away, so Izuku doesn’t feel  too  afraid.  

Well, that more than the last daycare employers ever did. 

      “…Do you want to play heroes?”  

      “Yes! I brought my dolls, so if you want, you could be Ingenium, and I could be All Might…”  

      “…Why would All Might and Ingenium both be needed?”  

“Why does he speak like...?“ 

“A businessman?” 

They almost laugh at his comment. 

“I was going to say like an adult, but sure.” 

      “Cause, cause, if a villain has a really scary Quirk, like… If he can shoot webs, and he’s attacking a park, then Ingenium has to move people out of the way! And… and… he has an army of robot spiders, so All Might has to fight them first!… What do you think?”  

“That’s... That’s actually a good plan.” 

“The good old divide and conquer. But why are you surprise Shiro?”  

“I know you’re proud of him Yoshi, but he’s three.” 

       “It makes sense. Ingenium always first on the scene!”  

“ I love this kid. And Hisashi is going to adore him.” 

“We just met him.” 

“Doesn’t matter. I have a good feeling about him.” 

 *  

Yoshito was right. His brother adores young Tenya.  

He hasn’t actually  met the kid yet, but Izuku’s barely stopped chattering about his new friend. And, as he pauses outside the classroom door, he can spot his son’s smile as he plays with a blue-haired boy.  

To Hisashi, getting Izuku a permanent place is surprisingly painless. There might be a waiting list, but a few million yen (and just a touch of a quirk, but who’s to know,) help bump Izuku to the top of that queue. All in all, he’s feeling fairly pleased when he leaves the office. He’s even considering taking Izuku out for ice cream when he spots a familiar face outside the classroom door and almost legs it through the back. 

Daigoro is just looking around when he sees someone  very   familiar. With a wide smile, he tells them. 

“Wait, is that...?” 

“Looks like it.” 

Oh, they are all going to have a good laugh at his brother's expanse.  

       “Hello, Mr. Midoriya!”  

There is a pause.  

       “Don’t tell me you’re Izuku’s father?”  

They are laughing their heads off, and Yoshito does not feel sorry for his brother.  

       “Wow! Your brother’s Ingenium?!”  

“Oh my God, Izuku is fanboying!” 

Nana is laughing even louder now, Shiro and Ichigo are on the floor because they couldn't bother.  

“Not just that, the armor kid is ignoring Midoriya-san!” 

(They refuse to call him by his old surname, it’s too creepy. Hell, even he thinks that.) 

       “Hi Tenya, Izuku! My name’s Tensei Iida, and it’s wonderful to see you again!”  

His brother tries to stop Izuku from fainting from excitement and asks if he has all his toys. But really, looking back, maybe they should suspect. The daycare has excellent security and Tenya, in hindsight, has a suspicious amount of admiration for a relatively new hero. But Hisashi is a good father, and so he takes a deep breath and plasters his best dad-smile on.  

      “Hello, Tenya. My name is Hisashi Midoriya, and I’m Izuku’s father.”  

“Oh, look at him being polite!” 

       “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Midoriya, sir!”  

Hisashi isn’t entirely sure how to proceed, but then Izuku comes dashing past the Iida brothers and barrels straight into his legs. The impact doesn’t even wind his brother, as he springs back up and starts jumping up and down, bright-eyed.  

       “Papa, can I come here again?” he asks. “We’re going to be ac-ting! And Tenya likes heroes too! And he said I can come to his house to play! And… And…!”  

It’s fortunate All Might will never know how effective Izuku’s smile is. (Hisashi would happily hand himself over if it will only make his son happy – should that day come, he won’t have anything left, after all.) So Hisashi laughs and ruffles his son’s hair.  

      “Well, that’s good, because you’ll be coming here every day from now on.”  

Izuku cheers and launches himself at his father, his happy tears making an inevitable appearance, and Hisashi allows himself a moment to bask in his son’s joy. Then he takes a deep breath and repeats his mantra that all the seven heroes know by now: 

There is nothing I won’t do for Izuku.   

      “How about we go for ice cream to celebrate? My treat.”  

Izuku cheers again and grabs Tenya’s hand to tug him over to the cloakroom.  

     “Sure thing. Just let me call our parents, ‘kay?”  

      “Alright.”  

Hisashi needs to tell his lawyers to drop the suit against Idaten.

Chapter Text

There are a few universal truths out there, things that you can always count on:  

Death, taxes... And good parents going the extra mile for their kid’s sake.  

Pay attention to the last item of that hypothetical list, for it is the reason why the former villain All for One is desperately trying to hide behind a menu while his son (also known as ”a cinnamon roll, too pure for this world”) bombards All Might with questions. And yes, both the deceased heroes and Hisashi knows almost as much about the hero’s Quirk as the man himself, but Izuku doesn’t need to know that.  

Still, the idea and  sight of a fearsome villain hiding behind a menu for his child's curiosity and love for heroes?  

Hilarious, a prime example of karma and poetic justice. But cute.  

      “Hi, Midoriya!”  

“Oh, it’s the mini armor kid!”  

“... With three humanoid robots. And one of them has a cape.”  

They roll their eyes. Capes are terribly impractical! Hell, Nana kept picking up fights with her former colleague because of that.  Robot  nº1 speaks first, and Isao recognizes the voice belonging to the normal size armor kid.  

    “Mother, father, Midoriya is the father of Tenya’s new friend”.  

Robot 2 removes her helmet, revealing a smiling, middle-aged woman.  

     “It’s so wonderful to finally meet you! Tenya seems to have really taken a shine to Izuku!”  

     “Midoriya…Why does it feel like I’ve heard that name before?”  

     “Oh, he sued us.”  

Hisashi almost laughs at the expression on Mrs. Iida’s face. But the seven of them don’t really need to be polite... It only gets better when Mr. Ilda politely asks why they were being sued. Hisashi may be retired from professional villainy, but how could he ever pass up such a wonderful opportunity to torment a pro-hero?  

       “Oh, your son and his friend broke into my house, terrified my son, caused significant property damage, and your son, in particular, assaulted me.   It was particularly difficult, because – well, this past year, since losing my wife, has been very trying.”  

The mother is horrified, as anyone would.   The armor kid – Tensei, apparently, does his best to  appease the situation and when the patriarch bows to apologize and settle the problem, Hisashi informs the family that the case has already been dismissed.  

Just on cue, Izuku spot the duo, autograph book at the ready, Tenya trailing behind his friend with a proud smile on his face.  

Hisashi-san takes the opportunity to leave Izuku with a (responsible) adult and hurries over to one of the numerous waiters to get another glass of champagne. There are a few established heroes, whose they only know the names and quirks because of Izuku; along with a sprinkling of younger pros or sidekicks making the most of the opportunity to network. And, of course, there is a substantial number of people with more than enough money to drop on admission (and the meal, and drinks, and the upcoming auction).  

At least all this money is going to be used well.  

For some reason, Izuku’s father's attention is drawn to a boy standing close to one of the walls, gazing longingly at All Might. True, his hair is an odd red and white, the two colors split evenly down the middle, but Izuku is dragging Tenya to a man with an orca’s head, which, by the way; is hardcore as hell.  

Isao and the others see the boy stiffen and look down at his feet as a large man approaches. Hisashi can feel that horrible sinking feeling in his gut as the stranger grabs the child by the arm and almost drags him off, the boy nearly tripping as he struggles to keep up.  

Izuku’s father picks up the pace, weaving between the other attendees. He thrusts his champagne flute at a waiter, and when he’s clear of the crowd he almost breaks into a run. That sinking feeling has turned bitter because he  knows.   

The heroes know too, they have seen enough of abused children to not recognized them. But is different for the Shigaraki brothers. Suddenly, Hisashi and Yoshito are children again, weak and afraid. And when Midoriya sees the boy cowering against the wall, he no longer sees tidy white-and-red hair- he sees someone familiar, who he lost long ago. And for the first time in decades, the heroes can feel Hisashi hate burning in their chests.  

Hisashi only snaps back to the present when the stranger goes flying.  

He tries his best to calm down and figure out what the fuck he can do with the unconscious man and realizes the bastard’s face is familiar. He has just punched the number 2 hero in the face (with what feels like at least two strength and possibly a speed Quirk).  

In front of a witness.  

“ Oops .”  

Daigoro stared at Ichigo.   

“’ OOPS ?’  HE JUST SUCKER PUNCH THAT FUCKER AND ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY IS ‘ OOPS ’?!”  

“Oh my God, can you not?!”  

Well, it is good to know they aren’t panicking. At all. No sir. Or madam!  

But Hisashi-san really  truly  seriously needs to do something. NOW.  

And he did! By dragging the unconscious hero by the leg into a bathroom – and accidentally knocks the pro-hero's head against the door. Only then he address the elephant in the room: the kid.  

     “Right…Todoroki. Is your mother here?”  

The boy shakes his head.  

     “Wonderful. Follow me.”  

“Smooth move dude.”  

“Yeah, don’t bother hiding or anything.”  

     “Kurogiri, I need you to come to pick up some trash.”  

“Good to know you’re still subtle  onii-san ”   

      "Do you think you’d manage to warp to Korea? Oh, but first you need to drop someone off home.”  

Nana is looking at the kid.  

“... Why is he smiling like that? ”  

Shiro bit his lips.  

“Maybe is shock? ”   

      “Do you know where your house is?”  

The boy nods and Hisashi grins and ruffles his hair.  

      “Good lad. A friend of mine will come to get you in a minute. Tell him and he’ll take you home. Now I have a very important task. Can I trust you?”  

       “Yes sir!”  

       “Good. Now, I need you to give this to your mother. Only your mother. And this is a secret mission, so you can’t tell anyone. Alright?”  

The boy nods as he accepts the note, and Hisashi smiles as he stands up. Then he heads out to grab Kurogiri.  

 *  

Once Hisashi has tucked an exhausted Izuku into bed, he carefully shifts his face into something memorable (and as far from Hisashi Midoriya’s features as he can manage) and heads downstairs to a waiting Kurogiri. Gigantomachia has already taken up a position outside Izuku’s bedroom, although he is under strict instructions. (Any monsters located under the bed are Hisashi’s responsibility; if Izuku is afraid, he can sleep in the master bedroom. Gigantomachia is  not  to go looking for said monsters.)  

He tried once.  

Never again.   

Kurogiri, unfortunately, is memorable in himself, but such matters cannot be helped, Hisashi reflects as he steps through the warp gate. The Todoroki home is every bit as impressive (pretentious) as could be expected from the number 2 hero. None of the lights are on, but when Hisashi lets himself in, a white-haired woman is waiting just inside.  

      “Mrs. Todoroki.”  

The woman pulls herself together  

     “Your note said you could help me leave.”  

     “Your husband is currently… indisposed. In fact, he may not make it home for a few days. So, if you wish to leave…”  

      “And what if I can’t afford to?”  

“God, why does she look so tired?”  

       “I can give you a cheque right now. And if you are interested, I can pull some strings and secure you an office work. Nothing exciting, but it will have benefits and a decent salary. But if you choose to stay, I will call social services.”  

      “…Enji has a lot of influence…”  

      “I have more.”  

Oh, he smiles. It is not a nice smile by any means, no it was one of the last things they saw before they died.  

But they were glad to see it. Because whatever Endeavor did, it was rotten.  

      “And I will not hesitate to drag Endeavor and you through the mud if it means getting your children out. Of course, the final decision is yours.”  

For just a moment, they worry that perhaps she’s still too cowed, still too afraid. But then she draws herself up, and Hisashi almost laughs, because they knows that expression well.  

Nana smiles.  

“Never piss off a mother.”   

      “Fuyumi, get Shoto! Natsuo, don’t forget your coat! Touya, I need your help!”  

There’s a loud crash from somewhere deeper in the home, a happy cry from somewhere else, and when Todoroki turns back to Hisashi, there are tears in her eyes. But her smile is beautiful.  

      “I’m afraid you’ll have to wait. Enji keeps our documents in a safe…”  

      “Oh, allow me."  

Todoroki laughs.  

She hurries off to fetch her other children and Hisashi follows the redhaired boy to an office. They can tell he’s tempted to do a real number on the room but Touya apparently knows where to look as the boy quickly locates three safes. Hisashi does not bother investigating the contents; he just rips the doors off all three eliciting a laugh from his guide.  

When they arrive back by the door, a thick wad of papers tucked in a plastic bag (it’s a complete accident that Hisashi grabbed those bank statements – although quite fortunate should Todoroki choose to initiate divorce proceedings), two white-haired children, a boy, and girl, are waiting anxiously by the entrance. Kurogiri is holding the red-and-white haired toddler, who appears more than half asleep, and Todoroki is looking over their bags even as she wipes at her eyes.  

      “Do you have somewhere to go?”  

      “Yes. There’s a shelter in Yutenji that I called earlier; they said they had space for us…”  

      “Wonderful. A Yutenji back alley, please.”  

     “What...”  

Midoriya smiles, trying not to scare her.    

     “Oh, I thought teleporting might make it just a bit harder for your husband to find you .  Also, it might be just a little bit easier with four children.”  

Said children don’t look convinced, but Mrs. Todoroki just laughs and follows him up to the gate. He steps through, and she pokes her head through and glances around. Then she vanishes back in and soon enough, the family comes tumbling through, numerous exclamations echoing in the small, empty street.  

    “Thank you. I can call the shelter to meet us. I don’t even know…”  

    “Don’t mention it. That cheque I promised. And a referral to an excellent lawyer. If you want to take me up on that job offer, tell her – she will be able to contact me .”  

Todoroki sniffles, and then Hisashi finds himself being hugged by an overemotional mother. Her two middle children quickly join in, and the eldest gives Kurogiri an awkward hug of his own, whilst balancing his brother.  

    “Thank you so much. ”  

Hisashi smiles, a genuine, hopeful smile as he steps back through the warp gate. He could almost swear he catches the faint smell of peonies as he emerges in his living room.  

He’s pretty sure Inko approves. And so do they.  

Chapter Text

The problem about sadness is that there isn’t a pattern for you to follow. Sometimes, you just wake up like that, with no reason.   

Today is one of those days, when they felt so helpless as they watch  Izuku  stay  too quiet during  his day; when even  Tenya  couldn’t cheer him up. Fortunately,  Kurogiri  notices something is wrong as soon as he arrives at daycare. Once they arrive home,  Izuku  silently settles down at the dining table with his crayons. And since sadness and grieving isn’t unusual, the man leaves it be for a while, hoping that it was brief.  

The red flag comes up when Izuku doesn’t ask about dessert after dinner.  So Kurogiri takes a deep breath and leaves the safety of the kitchen. Izuku is playing with his building blocks, and Gigantomachia, who seems to be aware something isn’t right, is watching him from behind the couch. Kurogiri considers his options for a few seconds, and then reaches a decision.  

          “Izuku, it’s bath time.”  

Izuku quietly follows him to the bathroom, and once he’s closed the door, Kurogiri crouches down in front of him and tries to smile. All of them are around the child, worrying about him.  

         “Izuku, is there anything wrong?”  

         “No, Kurogiri.”  

         “Did you argue with Tenya?”  

          “No.”  

         “Are the other children mean?”  

          “No.”  

Kurogiri has to force the next words out, they can tell.  

            “…Did your teacher make you sad?”  

           “No.”  

“Thank God for that. ”  

Soon after a the cat is out  of the bag: Father’s Day is tomorrow, but because Hisashi-san is away   Izuku-kun  can’t give his card.  

          “Well, how about we go and surprise him?”  

          “Really? We can?”  

Nana smiles at the naivety.  

“Oh sweetheart, you are literally talking to a human portal. ”  

The idea of surprise his father   with a card and muffins definitely cheers the young boy. When Kurogiri playfully whispers about their very secret mission, Izuku gasps happily.  

       “Will Machia come too?”  

“Oh Dear God, please no.”  

"You can’t. You literally can’t.”  

“No, no, no, no, no, no, no...!”  

“Izuku,  please !”  

         “ We need him to stay here, so your papa doesn’t know we’re coming. Machia needs to answer the phone if papa calls. This is a really important job, so how about you tell him? Make sure he knows just how important a mission this is.”  

Smart move. Although in the long run... Things can get ugly if anything goes wrong.  

*  

 It got wrong pretty quickly.  

            “…Hello?”  

          “Good morning, Gigantomachia. I’d like to speak to Izuku.”  

          “You can’t!”’  

“Oh boy.”  

          “Don’t be ridiculous, Gigantomachia. Put him on.”  

          “I can’t! He’s not here!”  

          “What do you mean he’s not there?”  

Shiro facepalms.   

“Come on, think of a good lie! ”   

       “He’s… He’s… Little Lord’s been kidnapped!”  

       “He’s what?!”  

“WHAT? Out of everything you-”   

“ Good  Lord, your brother is panicking.”  

Yoshito sighs.  

“Can you blame him?”   

         “Put Kurogiri on!”  

        “He took Little Lord!”  

Shit.  

The phone in Hisashi’s hand shatters.  

Both Isao and Shiro whistle as Daigoro shook his head.   

“Well, he’s dead.”   

Hisashi is furious, his hatred burning into their souls.   

“It was nice to know him.”  

“It is a pity really.”  

“Guys, he’s not dead!”  

“Yet.”  

Ichigo ignores the others to look at his best friend and ask what Hisashi was thinking.  

“’That filthy, traitorous little rat! I took him in, gave him a home, and this is how he’s been repaid! Never mind me;  Inko  trusted him! She treated him with such kindness, and he just spits on her grave! Death is too good for him; Hisashi will rend him limb from limb, and flay him alive, and take that precious little Quirk from…’”  

         “Surprise, papa! ”  

There comes the table...  

“OH MY GOD!”  

...And there it goes. Fortunately, Kurogiri has good reflexes.  

          “Are you surprised, papa?”  

If he isn’t,  Ichigo  and the rest of them certainly are. Nana looks at Yoshito once again and asks the same  question he had a few  seconds ago.  

“’Has  Kurogiri  come to gloat? He could warp  Izuku  into the sea, or two thousand feet up, in a millisecond, so he certainly has some insurance. Or perhaps he’s just lost his mind?’”  

            “…Very. What are you doing here?”  

            “Oh! Happy Papa’s Day!”  

Ichigo smiles and wonder how   anyone can be this nice and naive at the same time.  

            “ Izuku  was very upset you would be away for Father’s Day. So we decided we would surprise you.”  

            “It was certainly a surprise…”  

          “Papa! I made you a card! And we made muffins, but Kurogiri  has them.”  

That change the atmosphere really quickly. Those muffins have a powerful piece offer.    

         “Well, muffins sound lovely. How about we all have some muffins, and then we go do a little sightseeing?”  

         “Muffins!”  

        “Should I go fetch the table?”  

"I almost had a heart attack."    

“Ichigo, we’re dead.”  

“So what?”  

*  

The pattern repeats itself once again.   

Izuku is suspiciously quiet at the daycare. When Miss Tanaka allows the kids to go play outside, he just sits down next to her desk, his All Might plush clutched close.  

They notice  Tenya   hesitate  in the  doorway before he hurries  back inside. He drops down next to him, and  Izuku  sniffs as he looks over at him, obviously surprised- just like they are.  Tenya  makes sure he’s pressed up close, so  Izuku  knows he is – well, there.  

         “Tenya? Don’t you want to play outside?”  

        “No thank you! Izuku’s sad, so I’ll stay with him!”  

They all smile,  practically  thanking and praising the other boy.  

      “…You don’t mind that I’m a crybaby?”  

      “Course not! And you’re not a crybaby!”  

“Yeah, listen to him little guy! ”   

       “I cry a lot. And I’m a Deku.”  

“Goddamn that Pomeranian! ”  

What is it with Daigoro and nicknames? Really.    

       “Well, why are you crying?”  

Izuku doesn’t answer, just buries his face in his arms, and they wish that there was something they could do.  

       “Do you miss your mum?”  

The nod is barely noticeable, but it is there.  

       “Then it’s alright. I miss my mum when she’s away, and I cry. But I know she’s coming back. But your mum had to go away, and she can’t come back, so it’s okay to cry!”  

       “…You really don’t mind?”  

Tenya shakes his head.   

      “No. I know why you cry, and you’re really fun, and smart. And I want to be your friend. So next time you’re sad, you can tell me and... I’ll hug you.”  

Izuku promptly bursts into tears, and Tenya panics and runs for Miss Tanaka.  

Meanwhile, the seven of them are full of joy and gratitude for the other boy.  

 At night.  

      “Iida household, Takeshi speaking.”  

      “…”  

     “Hello? Who is this?”  

     “It’s Midoriya – Izuku’s father. I just… Called to tell you Tenya is wonderful. And amazing. And you should be proud. Goodnight.”  

Chapter Text

Her boy was hiding behind the dumpster. Things had been extremely quiet after the false death of All for One. So quiet that Toshinori was bored out of his mind and became desperate enough to try to find a hobby. 

He tried yoga at first, but someone realized  who  he was. Which forced Toshinori to leave the place running. 

And here we are.  

The number one hero walks along the alley, but both of them freeze when they heard a crash down in the alley, so of course her boy went to have a look, thinking that he will only find a stray cat. 

Except it is not a cat. It’s a small child, and he looks half-dead. But when he turns his head Nana is shocked because the young boy looks like her Kotaro and All for One at the same time. 

        ”...All Might?”  

        ”Yes, my boy. I am here.”  

        ”...You came.”  

 * 

The rest of her brothers in arms notice that something was wrong, and immediately offer their support, went with her to find out more about the boy, but nothing could prepare her to the truth. Because right now, she is looking at the police report of the case. 

   “According to multiple witness, Kotaro Shimura had a deep hatred for heroes, and didn’t allow the  subject  to be mention at his own home. Many of his neighbors remember the man said, quote: “ Do you really want to know what heroes are?! They're people who hurt their own families... only to help complete strangers.’ ” 

Her boy, her Kotaro... Dead. She was at Toshinori’s side while his policeman friend tells him everything. Her son who nurture a deep hatred of heroes because she was forced to leave him behind. The memory of her turn him bitter enough to hurt his own family. 

          ”His family home was completely destroyed. We located some blood on the scene, and DNA testing confirmed it belonged to his grandparents, parents and sister. We think it’s safe to say Tenko Shimura is an orphan.”  

Oh Tenko.. The grandson she never knew. Shiro is holding her close, Daigoro and the others are by her side... But right now, her attention was on Toshinori. 

Her boy is thinking that this can only be destiny, and that the timing couldn’t be better. 

Wait, what? 

* 

Toshinori really had done it. 

He adopted her grandson. And while it was a sweet and kind gesture, he is not ready for that kind of responsibility. Hell, we can’t really cook anything but instant noodles! In fact, his sidekick was so worried that the young man called Gran Torino, which really is a last resource for any kind of trouble involving her student. 

       “Thank you for coming so soon.”  

       “Well, you look like hell. Where’s Toshinori?”  

       “TORINO!”  

Crap. 

Her student is a mess. The Number 1 Hero seems unable to stand completely still, and although his trademark smile is plastered on his face, his left eye keeps twitching. He’s also only wearing his boxers. (With a slightly disturbing Endeavor print. Why does he have Endeavor brand underwear?) 

“Why is that shit even made?” 

Nana glances around the room, partly because she really does not need the visual of his former student having a mental breakdown burned into her retinas, and decides the twitching is now somewhat understandable. After all, there are what look like a dozen empty energy drinks cans spread over the floor. 

       “What the hell, Toshinori?! How did you think this was a good idea?! Why would you adopt a CHILD?!”  

       “But Torino!... He was all alone!... And he’s Nana’s grandson!...”  

       “Please tell me you didn’t kidnap him.”  

      “He’s an orphan. His whole family is dead, and… Well, he was probably only hours from joining them when All Might found him.”  

And she is really glad Tenko was found... But Toshi don’t know the first thing about parenthood! 

      “He’s all alone! And I’m all alone!...”  

Oh sweetheart... 

    “He’s not slept in three days. I’m not sure what to do…”  

“Boy, if you don’t know what to do, no one will.” 

    “What do you even know about raising children? This isn’t just a stray cat; you can’t just dump him at a shelter if things don’t work out!...”  

“ SORAHIKO! ”  

    “That is why I have THIS!”  

Both Isao and Ichigo stare at the book. 

“ Parenting for Dummies ? Really, Toshinori?” 

Then an alarm goes off. 

CRASH! 

All Might is gone, leaving a rather large hole in the wall. 

Again. 

“Why didn’t he use the others ones?” 

“He’s sleep deprived, logic does not apply anymore.” 

* 

Toshi is at the cemetery holding a bakery box. She didn’t remember when that begin, but it was a tradition at this point. The graveyard is mostly empty, but there are some familiar faces there, including the other six who are keeping company by Izuku sides. It takes a little while for her boy to recognizes them, but he gets there. Soon Hishasi and the rest of her comrades notices them. 

After a moment of hesitation, Hisashi says something to little Izuku and heads to over to Toshinori, who clearly does not remember the other man’s name. 

     “Madara.”  

Isao holds his laughter. The other ones don’t. 

      “Yagi.”  

They stand in awkward silence for a second, and Toshinori stares at her name as he tries to think of the best way to approach the subject. Finally he huffs and manages a smile as he glances back to where Madara’s son seems still absolutely focused on telling his story. 

      “…Your son?”  

To ask a parent about their children is the equivalent of elevator talk. 

      “Yes. He wanted to tell his mother about his new friend. It’ll probably… probably take him a while. Because his friend is, apparently, absolutely wonderful. And incredible. And amazing.”  

      “Well, that’s good.”  

They stand there in silence for a moment. Toshinori glances back over at Izuku, and seeing the smile on the lad’s face gives him the final push to ask. 

     “…Do you have any advice?”  

      “What?”  

       “About parenting. I… I just adopted a child. Only… I’ve realized I have no clue what I’m doing.”  

For a moment, Midoriya stares at him; then he chuckles and shakes his head. 

      “Welcome to parenthood. None of us have a fucking clue what we’re doing.”  

Well... He is not wrong. At all. 

      “Really?…But your son seems so happy.”  

      “It’s a good day. There are bad days, too, when he doesn’t understand where his mum is. But children are resilient. And I… I have a decent support system.”  

While that may be truth, she doubts Sasaki-kun can match Kurogiri level of babysitting skills. Maybe Tsukauchi can do a little better, but he has a lot at his plate being a police officer. God, please don’t let Torino of babysitting, the old goat will only feed Taiyaki to Tenko! How it that healthy? 

Oh god, it’s the grandmother side coming up.  

      “Well, are there any books you can recommend?”  

“Toshi, there is no amount of books in the world that can prepare you for this.” 

      “I’ve been making it up as I go along, mostly. It seems to be working, and… Well, I did get a few pointers from the therapist about helping him grieve.”  

There is a brief laugh. 

     “Besides, it’s not like there’s an instruction manual that can tell you what to do in every eventuality. If there was, every hospital would be handing them out to new parents.”  

Oh, he has a sense of humor after all. 

Toshinori shifts, feeling rather foolish, and the Hisashi seems to notice. 

      “How many parenting books did you buy?”  

      “…Seventeen.”.  

“Liar, you bought 23.” 

       “If it makes you feel any better, I… went on a bit of an overprotective rampage when my son was born. I refused to sleep for about five days because I was terrified he’d stop breathing in the middle of the night.”  

       “What happened?”  

       “…I was so sleep deprived I fell asleep in the middle of a… work meeting. Needless to say, my wife was not terribly impressed.”  

Strangely enough, Toshinori feels rather comforted, because maybe Toshi is not alone in his ignorance. (Perhaps he is not alone in his fear.) 

        “Papa, I’m done! …Do you think mama heard me?”  

        “Of course she did! And I’m sure she’s really happy you found such a good friend!”  

God knows they are happy about that! 

The thought seems to perk the boy back up, and Toshinori can’t help but smile at how his face lights up. 

        “I need a few more minutes, so how about you show mama just how well you can count? Then we can go have lunch.”  

        “Okay! One, t-two…”  

        “Like I said, there are good days and bad days. Thankfully, I got a particularly adorable child.”  

        “Can’t argue with you there.”  

“No you can’t.” 

       “I guess, though, I have two tips. Don’t take everything as gospel. Parenting books… they don’t have all the answers. They’re more of a general guide.”  

       “And the second?”  

       “Spend time with your child. It’s not always easy, when you’re tired, or have work, or… anything else… but it’s for the best. It’ll make them happy, and… It helps. It reminds you what‘s important. Plus it can be rather fun.”  

     “Really?”  

     “Absolutely. I get to try and take over the world at least once a week. And anytime people find out, they always say I’m such a wonderful father.”  

Forget it, he doesn’t have a sense of humor, he’s just dumb. 

     “Papa, is ten or nine next?”  

     “Did you remember eight?”  

     “Eight! And… t… nine, and ten! Papa, I counted to ten!”  

Yoshito congratulates his nephew intelligence. 

     “If you’ll excuse me, I have a very smart boy who deserves some cake.”  

     “Bye bye, mama!”  

     “Goodbye, darling.”  

The two turn and wave farewell to Toshinori too, the young boy far more enthusiastic than his father. Toshinori waves back, already pondering what he’s been told. 

He glances down at the bakery box. 

Nana smiles at her boy and wonder if her grandson likes strawberry shortcake 

Strawberry shortcake is way better  than Taiyaki .  

Chapter Text

Banjo is really excited. He loves going to the beach.  

       “Can we go yet?”  

       “Gigantomachia, remember: only attack on my command. No fighting without my explicit permission.”  

“Cleaver.”  

       “Can we go yet?”  

       “I took the initiative, sir, and packed a few spare towels.”  

“Hum, I didn’t think of that.”  

“It’s a kid and an oversize bodyguard, of course they going to need more towels.”  

      “Can we go yet?”  

      “Izuku, stands still: papa has to put this sunscreen on you.”  

“Always use sunscreen. ”  

“Yeah, sunburn is a bitch. ”  

     “Can we go yet?”  

     “Alright, Kurogiri, open a gate to Dagoba Beach.”  

     “Beach!”  

“HELL YEAH!”  

“Daigoro, chill.”  

“NO!”  

*   

The minute they’re through the warp gate, Izuku cheers and makes to dash over to his best friend. Hisashi grabs his son in the nick of time and crouches down in front of him. Izuku is practically vibrating with excitement, but they need to go over the ground rules (again).  

Time for the checklist. Again.  

         “Now, Izuku, what did I tell you?”  

        “Don’t go in the water without you!”  

“Good.”  

       “And?”  

      “If a grown up I don’t know talks to me, I scream!”  

“Yes, of course.”  

“Scream, hit them where you can and run.”  

      “And?”  

      “When you call me, I come immediately!”  

“Well, yeah.”  

      “And?”  

      “Erm…”  

“There is another? Yoshito?”  

“Don’t look at me, I don’t remember."  

     “I love you.”  

"Owwn.”  

     “Love you too, papa!”  

Daigoro went with Izuku while the others stay with the adults.  

      “Aw, that is so adorable! If only Tenya was as affectionate…”  

“Katsumi-san, you don’t even know the half of it.”  

      “Glad you could make it. Tensei promised to join us after his shift. Takeshi Iida. And you are?”  

“It’s almost funny to see he trying to be polite.”  

“I mean... Yeah.”  

“Armor kid has to get that from somewhere.”  

      “Kurogiri. And this is…”  

      “Machia! Can you play with us?”  

      “YES, LITTLE LORD!”  

“Crap, the parasol!”  

“That got to hurt.”  

“Well, it’s official. Machia has a new favorite.”  

       “We’re the hired help.”  

 “Kid, you guys are family, don’t lie.”  

*  

Apparently Tenya thought Machia was a dog. Banjo understands the confusion, the guy is energetic enough. The kids are looking for shells when the teens arrive.Tenya cheers and grabs Izuku and pulls him along, and Izuku goes willingly. Daigoro can see Tensei with three other people, so it’s not like they’re all strangers, and since Tensei’s a hero, the others could be as well.  

The kid smiles as he comes to a stop next to his best friend; then he looks up and promptly bursts into tears.  

 “OH COME ON!”  

        “What the hell did you do?!”  

Izuku hides behind Tenya. Everyone is confuse and screaming, mostly at each other. When the ground starts to shake Izuku cries even harder, which means Machia is on his way screaming bloody murder. By now the others are running this way, worried about the kid.  

Ichigo , Isao and  Shiro curse after seeing  the cockatoo-man, but Yoshito is by  Izuku  sides.  

It is a complete mess.  

       “Villain !”  

“No, he’s Izuku playmate now!”  

Then the shaking stops.  

“Oh.”  

      “What the hell?”.  

“Damn, Kurogiri, that was fast. ”  

     “Can that villain swim?” the lady asks.  

“No. ”  

      “I… don’t think he can. Mic, go save him.”  

      “Why me?”  

“Dude, why are you even asking?! ”  

      “Cause this is all your fault!”  

      “How is it my fault?!”  

“You made Izuku cry. Twice. It is you fault.”  

“Yeah, suck it up.”.  

      “SOMEONE GO SAVE THE DROWNING MAN!”  

“Oh, that too."  

“Isn’t he super heavy?”  

“Yes.”  

      “Izuku?!”  

     “Papa, I don’t want to go to jail!”  

The Hisashi shifts from ”worried father” to “ homicidal ” in two seconds.  

      “You have three seconds before I call the police.”  

Tensei blanches, but the woman (Kayama Nemuri, hero name Midnight, they remember seeing her on the news) doesn’t pay him much attention as she focuses on calming Izuku.  

        “It’s alright, little guy, no one is taking you to jail. And if someone says they will, they’re mean liars and I’ll put them in time out.”  

Oh?  

      “Really?” Izuku sniffs as he turns slightly, but doesn’t let go of Hisashi’s leg.  

      “ I promise. And I’m a hero, so you can trust me!”  

      “But Present Mic’s a hero too…”  

       “Oh, so it’s Mic.”  

She stands up and screams at the water.  

      “MIC, WHAT THE… WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!”  

      “HE’S TRYING TO KILL US!”  

      “WHAT DID YOU EXPECT, TERRIFYING THE POOR DEAR?! I’M GOING TO KILL YOU!”  

“Oh, I like her.”.  

“Such a good child.”.  

“Yes, she is going to be a great pro hero.“.  

(They all like Midnight.)  

      “Gigantomachia! Fetch Izuku’s towel.”  

The giant reluctantly obeys. As he lumbers away, Eraserhead jumps in the water and begins swimming back to shore. Present Mic however (showing an impressive amount of self-preservation) remains where he is.  

      “HIZASHI YAMADA, GET OVER HERE!”  

Teyna looks up to Hisashi and asks why Izuku is sad, probably because the man is the only sane adult present.  

“Smart kid.”  

      “Well...You see, Present Mic really scared Izuku a while back, because he thought Izuku did something bad…”  

      “I wanted to help!”  

Tenya takes in his friend’s tearstained face, and reaches a conclusion.  

     “Present Mic’s mean! I don’t like him anymore!”  

(Have they ever mentioned that they adores Tenya?)  

     “MIC, GET… Oh, fuck him.”  

Then she realizes two men are glaring at her and winces .   

     “Sorry!”  

    “Was Nemuri mean too?”  

Hisashi helpfully informs him that she only has been a little naughty, that she just said a very bad word  

     “And I’m very sorry. My name is Kayama Nemuri. But my hero name is Midnight.”  

     “Midnight! The Arr-rated Hero!”  

It’s always adorable to see Izuku be a fanboy.  

     “What’s Arr-rated?”  

     “Maybe she’s a pirate hero?”  

      “Nemuri, are you a pirate?”  

They hold their laughter.  

      “Oh my god, they are so precious.”  

“How can he be this sweet?”  

She is obviously a sensible, sane person. And Hisashi is not above recruiting people on the off chance they could be useful. So he looks down at Izuku, and instructs his son,   

     “Izuku, be polite.”  

     “Sorry, papa. My name is Izuku Midoriya! I’m four!”  

Izuku could probably recruit a small army simply with his smile force.  

    “Gigantomachia, Izuku will have lunch now. I need to speak with Present Mic.”  

After all, Gigantomachia might not be able to swim, but Hisashi…  

*  

     “Izuku, right?”  

Izuku is still a little scared of Present Mic, so he doesn’t come out from behind Tenya, who has decided the hero is mean, and therefore Tenya doesn't like him anymore – Tenya really is such a good friend. Izuku isn’t entirely sure why his father, Tensei, Midnight and the Iidas are all glaring at the blonde, or why Machia is growling so loud. He also doesn’t know how Eraserhead can sleep despite the noise.  

     “ Mhm.”  

     “ I’m really sorry I scared you . I was worried about Eraser, see, cause he’s my best friend. And I didn’t know where he was.”  

     “Why didn’t you call a hero? ”  

     “I am a hero. And I called Ingenium…”  

Tenya says that if you lose someone then you should tell the police.  

      “Or go to the lost child center!”  

Tensei and Midnight are snickering.  

     “Yes, Mic, next time go to a lost child center.”  

     “Or a cat rescue!”  

“What?”  

“I don’t know, maybe it’s an inside joke?”  

     “Eraserhead’s not a cat. He’s not fluffy!”  

“Maybe, but he looks grumpy like the cat.”  

They look at Yoshito.  

“What does that have to do with anything?”  

“It’s a meme.”  

“... A what?"  

Chapter Text

           “Papa, papa, papa!”  

The minute Izuku is through Kurogiri’s Warp Gate, he bolts past Machia and up the stairs. Isao is smiling ,the boy can barely stand still.  

            “ Izuku ? What is it?”  

           “Papa, guess what?!” Tenya’s  birthday is next week! He’s going to be four. And he’s having a party! And he wants me to come!”  

Hisashi blinks, probably surprised by his son’s enthusiasm.  

           “That… That’s wonderful. We’ll have to pick him out a nice present.”  

Izuku  puffs up his chest as he remembers the best part. Yoshito is still overjoyed by what the mini armor kid said.  

          “Guess what, papa? He said he wants me to come because I’m his best friend! ”  

And Hisashi obviously understands how exciting this is, because he laughs and stands up.  

         “Now that is wonderful news. We’ll have to find him an incredible present.”  

Isao only hopes the man doesn’t overdo it. Of course, few hours later, when buying the present, that’s just what Hisashi-san did.  

But considering the  circumstances , it was justifiable.  

“That is a big bag.”  

“Of course it is. After all,  Izuku   is   Tenya’s  best friend.”  

*  

It must be a strange experience for a former super-villain to enter a hero agency through the front door.  Izuku  is so in awe of his surroundings, he’s gone completely silent; no exclamations and no muttering as they approach the reception desk. Hisashi regularly has to tug him along. The woman behind the desk looks surprised, but quickly plasters on her best customer services smile.  

         “ Hello, and welcome to the  Idaten  Hero Agency. How may I help you today?”  

Hisashi picks  Izuku  up, so he can see over the desk.  

        “ Hello! I’m  Tenya’s  best friend!”  

Yoshito is beaming with pride at his nephew excitement.  

The receptionist huffs a laugh.   

       “ Izuku , I presume?”  

      “ Yes. I’m guessing  Tenya  told you we’d be coming?”  

     “ Yes.”  

She lifts her phone and dials a number.   

     “ Hi, I’ve got  Izuku  down   here in reception?”  

A pause.  

    “Yes, that   Izuku . Someone will be down to escort you.”  

She reaches into a drawer and hands them two visitor passes. Hisashi pins his to his jacket, and  Izuku  examines his in wonder. Then an idea seems to occur to him, and he urgently tugs on Hisashi’s sleeve.  

    “Papa. Do you think we’ll see any heroes?”  

They hope so. It will be nice to see what this generation has to offer. And Yoshito wants to be a fanboy along with Izuku.  

As if on que, the lift doors chime open.  

      “ Izuku !”    

Midnight sprints out of them. Present Mic hobbles out after her, followed by a number of assorted sidekicks in varying degrees of shock.  

      “Midnight! Tenya  said I’m his  best friend !”  

“Wow, we are going to hear this a lot today huh?”  

“Yes.”  

      “I know ! Everyone is  so excited  to meet you!”  

That’s a given, considering the ten or so sidekicks milling about awkwardly.  

      “Now, Tensei’s  out on patrol, but  Tenya  is waiting for you in the equipment room. And I might happen to know  someone  is going to get to try on costumes!...”  

Both uncle and nephew gasp at the word.  

       "Papa, did you hear? Costumes !”  

      “I heard, I heard,”  

“Doesn’t looks like Nii- chan ! ”  

*  

It is safe to say that  Izuku  and First are having a great time.  

Isao’s not sure how many sidekicks the kid met or how many times  Tenya  proudly introduces him to everyone. Turns out that the blond one -Present Mic is rather fun, especially when he teaches  Izuku  to dance. And when the armor kid came back he let  Izuku  try on his helmet.  

They didn’t know how that’s exciting or fun, but if  Izuku  is happy, they are happy.  

The kid sniffs, and wipes at his eyes. He is so happy, he can feel his happy tears coming, and he doesn’t really want everyone to see him crying, especially because  Tenya  has a little bit of trouble understanding the concept of “happy tears.”, so  Izuku  goes and sits by the table.  

Then armor kid shows up.  

     “Hey, Izuku. Feeling a little tired?”  

      " A little...And I’m very, very happy!”  

      “That’s good to hear!"  

Then he glances over at Hisashi, who is chatting with one of the sidekicks. The smile slips from his face, he takes a really deep breath, and turns back to  Izuku .   

      “ Izuku , is… everything alright at home?”  

They wonder where that comes from. If there is a place in the  world   Izuku  feels safe is at his home. Isao sees that the kid isn’t quite sure why the armor kid is asking, but he nods.  

      “Are you sure?”  

He leans in a bit and lowers his voice.   

     “Cause I’m a hero, after all, and if anything is wrong, it’s okay to tell me. You won’t get in any trouble, I promise.”  

     “I dunno… I do miss mama…”  

     “Yeah. I know. But…Your papa isn’t mean to you?”  

“Oh, so that’s why.”  

“What?”  

“Mini armor kid must have talk to his brother about the day  Izuku  cried, remember?”  

“Yeah, but the kid was an adorable friend and... And  Izuku  said he’s a Deku to him.”  

Shiro finally understand where Isao is going with this.  

“Oh.”  

      “No! No one’s mean anymore!”  

      “Anymore? Was someone mean before?”  

Izuku  hesitates, and Isao isn’t sure how to feel.  Katsuki  was a brat, but  Izuku  still cares about him. But he is learning to care about himself just a little bit more. So he nods, and leans in to whisper in  Tensei’s  ear.  

      “ Kacchan  was mean. And he hurt me.”  

      “And did… Kacchan  call you a  Deku ?”  

      “Yes! But papa says I don’t have to see him anymore. And Tenya’s  a good friend! Papa said so! And  Kacchan  wasn’t! And I’m going to be a hero!...”  

Yoshito beams and hug his nephew.  

“Yes you are! And when that happens we’re going to be your number one fans!”  

Damn right we will.  

     “ Izuku , your papa is right. And if anyone ever hurts you again, feel free to tell me. After all, I am a hero. And just between you and me, you’re a pretty good hero, too!”  

     “Really? How?!”  

     “You know how All Might smiles when he helps people?”  

Izuku  nods.  

     “Well, he does that to make people feel better. Kind of like how when you’re sad, Tenya  hugs you. And – I’m sure your papa misses your mum very much.”  

Izuku  nods again, although he doesn’t quite know what that has to do with All Might.  

    “But when he sees you’re happy, or when you hug him, I think that makes him feel better. So in a way, you’re your papa’s hero!”  

Izuku  perks up.  Tensei  is a hero, so he knows what good heroes do, and he’s also really cleaver. And maybe he's right! Cause when Izuku is sad, and misses his mother, his father always find a way to make him feel better.  

Izuku  likes the idea of being his father’s hero.  

Chapter Text

      “Papa?”  

Something has happened. Izuku  never  interrupts  Hisashi while the man is working.  

     “Yes, Izuku ?”  

Izuku hesitates in the doorway, sending Yoshito’s protective instincts into overdrive. His brother stands up and approaches his son, his heartbreaking when he hears a suspicious sniffle.  

     “Oh, Izuku . What’s wrong?”  

Hisashi waits patiently, but when  Izuku  just sniffles again, he picks his son up and moves them to his office chair.  Izuku  almost immediately curls up, his small fingers grasping at his father’s shirt. Hisashi allows himself to  savor  the feeling as he starts humming one of  Inko’s   favorite  lullabies.  

“Please don’t be about Katsuki, please don’t be about Katsuki...”    

    “Papa? What if I’m  Quirkless ?”  

They groan  in frustration. Izuku sounds so small, so broken, that they have to take a deep breath to try and stay calm.  

    “Then you’re Quirkless . But we don’t know that yet. Some people don’t get their Quirk until they’re older; it happens. Where did you hear that word, anyway?”  

Izuku’s sniffles are enough of an answer, and Hisashi presses a quick kiss to those adorable green curls. They sit in relative silence for a while, Hisashi occasionally carding his fingers through Izuku’s hair.  

    “ Kacchan  said I was  Quirkless …”  

    “And Kacchan  is so smart.  Izuku , I don’t care about your Quirk. Never have, never will. Do you know why?”  

    “Why?”  

    “Because I love you. Because you’re so smart and kind, and polite, and every day I am so, so proud of you. You don’t need a Quirk. Nobody needs a Quirk. If anyone ever tells you otherwise, then they’re fools, and you need to inform me immediately. Kacchan was very mean, and a very bad friend. Friends don’t say nasty things to friends or make them cry. So if anyone ever does anything like that, tell a grown-up, understand?”  

The others still get surprise of how good Hisashi can be as a father, even after four  years. They don’t know Hisashi as he did. They don’t know how caring and loving his brother can be.

Izuku nods again.  

    “Now, does Tenya  care whether you have a Quirk?”  

    “No…”  

    “That’s because Tenya  is a good friend.  Tenya  cares that you are a very nice boy, and you want to help people, and you like playing with him.”  

Izuku nods, but it's slow and hesitant, and Hisashi knows this is not the last he's heard of  Quirklessness . But  Izuku  is still young, and probably is not up to a lesson about prejudice, and definitely not capable of understanding why there is no worry he will be  Quirkless . So Hisashi decides they can come back to this another day, and they both certainly deserve a pick-me-up.   

    “Now, I think we need a therapeutic helping of ice cream. Sound good?”  

Izuku  perks up and nods.  

“Your brother needs to find another way to cheer him up, Yoshi.”  

“Yeah, at this rate  Izuku is going to be diabetic before he reaches puberty.”  

     “And how about we curl up on the couch and have a TV marathon?”  

Even as faint as it is, Izuku’s smile means everything.  

 *   

Later that week  Izuku still ponders about his quirk, still wishing that it would show up already. He knows it would come when it was ready, but his nephew is the only child at daycare who doesn’t have a Quirk yet, so yes, he is anxious. Not only that, but quirks are fascinating! The simple fact that his parent's quirks are completely different just makes him more curious.  

He really is my brother's son.    

Izuku pauses in his musings as a thought occurs to him.  

“Oh, crap.”  

Ichigo  looks at him questioning  what happened. He tells them.  

“What exactly is papa’s Quirk? "

“Oh God, please, please don’t overthink this.”  

“ Fuuuck .”  

“Daigoro.”  

“I’m not the only one thinking this and you know it Isao!”    

Ichigo and Yoshito ignore them, but Nana asks what  Izuku  is thinking.  

“He remembers his mother’s quirk, but can’t recall Hisashi ever explaining his own. He thinks it’s a healing quirk but doesn’t... He doesn’t understand how it works.”  

He stops talking.  

Takes a deep breath.  

“I just have to figure out papa’s Quirk!”  

*   

So. There is this thing called the  scientific method , where you observe; hypothesize and test a theory. That’s... That’s what his nephew is doing.  

He knows that Hisashi can heal scraped knees and burns. What he doesn’t know and wants to find out is if it also works on other kinds of injures .  And the only way to find out is to make Hisashi use his quirk.  

It’s  really  astonishing that a four-year-old can come up with that logic. Yoshito just wishes it didn’t involve him climbing the dinner table.  

“Come on  Izuku , you’re  smarter  than this! Just! Just get  down from there!”  

And he does.  

By jumping off the damn thing.  

It is safe to say that they all scream and try to catch him, momentarily forgetting the fact that they can’t touch him. The pain is so bad that  Izuku  almost faints; all thoughts of Quirks forgotten, his nephew starts to sob.  

      “Little Lord!”  

Gignatomachia takes in the sight of a hysterical toddler and makes possible the smartest decision in his life.  

      “ Lord! Lord! Little Lord is dying!”  

Hisashi appears in a matter of seconds, a panicked expression on his face, dressed only in black boxers, and if Izuku wasn’t quite so scared, he would have wondered about the flicker of flame coming from his mouth. But Izuku is hurt, and frightened, and so he reaches out for papa, who immediately kneels and pulls  Izuku  close.  

     “ Izuku , what’s wrong?”  

“HIS LEG YOU IDIOTIC BROTHER! THAT AND YOUR STUPID CONFUSING QUIRK! ”   

After  Izuku explains, Hisashi active the quirk in question.  

     “…Itchy…”  

     “That’s just the healing Quirk.”  

Sure enough, as the itching increases, the pain vanishes.  Izuku’s  interest is peaked, and he remembers why he went through with this dangerous plan. But the itching is already fading, and  Izuku  panics, because it’s too soon,  Izuku  doesn’t know how it works, and he doesn’t want to have to do this again! If he could only…  

Something snaps and the seven of them feel  it .  

It’s the same feeling they have when Hisashi uses All for One to steal quirks.  

“Oh, God.”  

“Was that...?”  

“ Yes. ”    

Yoshito is frozen in place, staring at his family. To  Izuku , the Quirk isn’t fading anymore. If anything, it feels stronger than before, a strange warmth-but-not-quite thrumming under his skin.  Izuku  pokes at it and marvels, so enraptured he doesn’t notice the puzzled (almost comical) expression on father’s face.  

     “ Izuku …What did you just do?”  

Izuku  stops pondering over the Quirk, but it’s still there, even though there’s nothing left to heal, and  Izuku  suddenly understands. He can feel it so well because it’s in  him . Because somehow, without meaning to, he took it.  

Izuku bursts into tears.  

They are confused and his nephew is panicking, thinking he is a thief. He didn’t mean to, he…!  Izuku finally realizes that Hisashi is quiet and looks up. Who is smiling?  Izuku  wipes at his eyes, puzzled. His father takes the opportunity to grab and lift him, spinning them around, laughing. It’s so unexpected  Izuku joins in because Hisashi obviously doesn’t mind not having a Quirk anymore.  

    “My little boy got his Quirk! But you need to promise me you’ll stop growing up so fast. Next thing I know, you’ll be off to work, and I’ll be all alone, and you’ll never call me…”  

Good Lord, he won’t survive to that.    

   “ Papaa ! You’re not mad?”  

   “Course not.”  

He doesn’t say anything; he doesn’t have to. Because  Izuku  feels it; that Quirk he took is just suddenly  gone , and Hisashi winks. Izuku covers his mouth to muffle his laughter, because  papa can do it too!  (And that must mean it’s not naughty, and papa’s obviously not mad, and if papa can do it, he must still love  Izuku , even if  Izuku  stole his Quirk! Maybe papa accidentally stole someone’s Quirk when he was little, too!)  

    “ Kurogiri ! We need a cake! We’re celebrating!”  

In the ensuing excitement, Izuku forgets all about the events leading up to his Quirk manifesting. In fact, he only remembers once papa is tucking him into bed.  

    “By the way, Izuku , how did you hurt your leg?”  

*  

    “Papa, how many Quirks do you have?”  

Hisashi slowly lowers his paper and almost wishes he hadn’t.  Izuku is staring at him, eyes wide and sparkling. Hisashi ponders the best way to respond because Izuku is asking what every law enforcement agency in the world would kill to know.  

Hell, even Yoshito doesn’t know for sure! He stopped counting when the numbers reached the double-digit. Kurogiri thankfully comes to his rescue, warping into the room with Izuku’s  beloved All Might backpack.  

    “ Izuku , it’s time to go.”  

Izuku’s  face falls, but he does not protest. He finishes his milk and jumps down from his chair, and Hisashi stands up to accept his morning hug. As  Izuku  follows  Kurogiri  out of the room to get his shoes, Hisashi can faintly hear him ask about the range of Warp Gate.  

He doesn’t bother picking his paper back up. Instead, he frowns, pours himself another cup of coffee, and calls his secretary to let her know he won’t be able to make it into the office.  

He was older than  Izuku when he first discovered his Quirk, but then he had hardly been expecting to develop any sort of ‘meta ability’. It took years of trial and error to find all the drawbacks and limitations, and many more to master it fully. And of course, those years brought with them pain, both mental and physical, pain that all of them would dearly love to spare  Izuku .  

Really, the present situation is the worst-case scenario: no matter how well behaved he may be, Izuku  is still a child. Sooner or later, he’ll slip up, and then it’s just a matter of time before law enforcement comes knocking. Because  Izuku is so excited about his Quirk and so curious to find out how it, and others work.  

And Yoshito knows that he fully understands it. That doesn’t mean he agrees with what Hisashi is about to do.  

*  

Yoshito is close to having a panic attack by nightfall. All-day long he has been trying to convince himself that this time it would be different: Hisashi is a father now, a good father. He cares so much  about  Izuku ! He can’t... He just  can’t  make the same mistake.  

But then...When  Izuku falls asleep, Hisashi has the same look on his face, when he was seconds before to hurting Yoshito beyond repair. And suddenly it is all too familiar for him... Except for this time, instead of being lock up in a vault, he is in his nephew's bedroom.  

Hisashi reaches out.  

No, no, no, no, no!  

“Please, please Hisashi, you proved me wrong so many times since he was born! Just this once, prove me wrong again!”  

His brother's hands never shook before, he notes absentmindedly.    

“HISASHI PLEASE! “  

     “Papa…”  

Izuku  is barely audible as he mumbles and rolls over, sound asleep, but Hisashi jerks back as if burnt.  

Yoshito is trembling,  Ichigo  is by his side, holding him close.  

Hisashi’s eyes fall on the photo of  Inko  hanging over  Izuku’s  bed, and suddenly he can’t breathe. He needs to get out; he almost trips over his own feet as he hurries from the room. His brother presses himself to the wall outside, gasping for breath, even as Izuku sleeps on, blissfully unaware. He rakes his hand through his hair, trying to gather the courage to go back in, and does his best to ignore the crushing guilt. Hisashi runs to the bathroom and hide there.  

     “Papa?”  

He somehow swallows down the bile and does his best to keep his voice steady as he calls out.  

    “IZUKU, GO TO BED!”  

They gasp. He never did that. Ever. There’s a muffled thump on the other side of the door and Izuku lets a faint sniffle and then the soft patter of retreating footsteps.  

“You bastard.”  

“I hope he is feeling like shit.”  

“Oh, he is.”  

“ Good. ”  

*  

Izuku  sniffles and wipes angrily at his eyes.  Tenya  doesn’t mind that he cries a lot, not like  Kacchan , but he still doesn’t want to be a crybaby. (Because what if  Tenya  decides he’s too annoying?  Izuku  really likes having a friend that doesn’t call him names or hurt him.)  

The little boy doesn’t know why his father was angry and thinks that he did something wrong.  Izuku  wipes his nose and reaches for his red crayon.  

    “ Izuku , don’t wipe your nose on your sleeve.”  

The others stare angrily at Hisashi and try to shield both Yoshito and  Izuku  from the man. The crayon falls to the floor. Izuku can feel tears gathering, but he doesn’t want to make his father angrier.  

    “ Izuku , look at me, please.”  

Hisashi pulls him into a tight hug.  Izuku  goes willingly, clinging to his father as he sobs and apologizes, and papa holds him, and shushes him, and repeats over and over how much he loves Izuku. Once Izuku has cried himself out, Hisashi helps him wipe his eyes and blow his nose, and they move to the sofa.  Izuku  clutches his plush, and moves closer to papa, who doesn’t complain.  

     “ Izuku , I need to  apologize .”  

“About time!”  

      “Why?”

     “I shouldn’t have shouted at you. Papa was sick and didn’t want you to get ill too. But you were just worried, weren’t you?”  

Izuku  nods.  

     “You just wanted to make sure I was alright. You didn’t do anything wrong. I am very sorry for shouting at you, Izuku . Can you forgive me?”  

     “Yes!”  

    “Since I was so mean, I brought you a present.”  

Izuku  kind of doesn’t want to let go, but he’s curious to know what his present is. His brother chuckles again and moves to crouch down in front of him, so they are face to face.  

      “Now Izuku , before I give you it, I need you to understand something about our Quirk. It can be really strong, see, so papa keeps it a secret. Because otherwise bad people will want it. And they’ll come and hurt us. Can you keep it a secret?”  

Izuku  nods hesitantly, although he doesn’t quite understand.  

     “Good. You’re such a smart boy. If anyone asks, tell them you’re like mum, alright?”  

Izuku  nods again, this time with more confidence.  

     “Now, Quirks are fascinating, aren’t they?”  

     “Yeah! I want to know all about them! Then I can be the best  hero!”  

     “You are definitely my son.”  

Hisashi hands him his gift, and  Izuku  gasps. It’s a really pretty notebook, with a fancy black cover, and a clasp, and gold letters that  Izuku  recognizes from the label on his coat!  

     “I thought you could write your notes about Quirks in this.”  

Izuku  is about to take it, but then he realizes something and looks down guiltily.  

“He can’t write yet.”  

When  Izuku  points that out, Hisashi laughs.  

      “Of course! Since this is all my fault, I’ll just have to write the notes for you! Then, when you can write them yourself, you can take over. We’ll have to set aside time every day for the note-taking…”  

Izuku  almost knocks his father over as he launches himself at him and Yoshito smiles.  

The idea of learning about Quirks is awesome, especially if he has a pretty notebook for observations. But the idea of father and son spending time  every day  helping him with his notes is even better.  

Chapter Text

Isao thinks that the biggest challenge of civilian life, at least for Yoshito’s brother, might be resisting the temptation to murder random people who annoy him. Maybe it got easier over the years, especially because of Izuku’s  hugs and smiles.  

It was a simple day so far: Hisashi-san went to his office and just got out of the elevator. But then Shiro notices someone. Someone very little and very familiar.  

And no, it wasn’t Tenya.  

“…Is he collecting kids?”  

“That depends. Does that mean Izuku is a big brother now?”  

“YOSHITO!”  

     “Mister!”  

The youngest Todoroki beams up at Hisashi, recognizable despite his now black hair, and Hisashi can only...Well, he can only stand there.  

    “What is it?”  

    “Thank you for punching my father!”  

That’s a very weird thing to be thanked for.    

    “You’re welcome. Tell me, Todoroki – how do you feel about heroes?”  

And it is an even weirder response.  

    “My name’s not Todoroki! My name is Shoto Yukiyama!”  

Well, at least the former Mrs. Todoroki was smart enough to change her name.  

    “Wonderful.”  

The seven of them are very relieved to find Izuku and Gigantomachia are only drawing.   

   “Papa! Who’s that?”  

   “Izuku, this is Shoto. I’m going to go find his mum, so play nicely for now, alright?”  

   “Okay!”  

Izuku immediately turns his green eyes on Shoto. The other boy is hesitant at first. But Izuku is… well, Izuku, and soon manages to coax him forwards.  

Isao only hopes that they get along.  

Oh, who is he kidding? This is Izuku they are talking about, come on.  

-   

The public relations department is in a state of what could be best described as organized chaos. Yukiyama-san is at least is easy to locate; she has a rather bad hair dye job, she’s sitting next to her supervisor and she looks like she’s on the verge of a panic attack (and honestly, whenever Isao had to fill up paperwork, he felt the same.).  

    “Yukiyama?”  

He almost expects her to keel over as the color drains from her face.  

   “I believe I have something of yours.”  

“Good God man, don’t sound like the yakuza!”  

“Oh, the Yakuza wishes they were as good as him.”  

“...What the actual fuck  Hoshizu? ”  

“Sorry.”  

    “I’m so sorry!”  

    “It’s fine.”  

    “I am so, so sorry.  I swear, I never brought him in before! My babysitter canceled, and I didn’t know what to do! I…”  

    “It’s fine! I have no intention of firing you; I’d just like you to retrieve Shoto before he burns down my office.”  

“Oh no, he didn’t.”  

Nana is especially offended by that. It is one of the wonders of motherhood: they support each other.  

    “I’ll have you know Shoto is very well behaved!”  

And so is Miss Yukiyama, of course.  

    “It’s not Shoto I’m worried about.”  

It made sense. If Izuku is presented with an interesting Quirk and there’s no stopping him. (And both them and Hisashi know full well who Izuku takes after – it’s strange how pride can mix so well with terror.) And if he found out that Shouto-kun had the ability to control both Ice and Fire?  

Yeah, it wouldn't be good.

Thankfully, nothing is on fire when Hisashi opens the door. Izuku is practically vibrating with excitement, bombarding Shoto with questions which the other boy doesn’t even seem to be trying to answer. Gigantomachia is watching them with a beaming smile, seemingly unaware of the large patch of ice covering the floor.  

    “Shoto!”  

Izuku’s smile seems to dim as he watches the mother and son, and it cuts Hisashi to the core. But then he perks up and rushes over to his father.  

   “Papa, guess what? Shoto wants to be a hero, too! And his Quirk’s so cool! And he loves All Might, too!”  

   “Wonderful. Another one for the peanut gallery.”  

    “And Shoto’s never had cake before!”  

“DUDE?!”  

“What kind of  childhood ...?”  

Yoshito is shocked, and once again, references something they don’t understand:   

“She doesn’t look like a Karen, what the hell?”  

“Yoshito, that’s not her name?!”  

“It’s the annoying woman who always wants to “ speak with your manager ” keep up Shiro!”  

Then, very subtly, Izuku tries to manipulate his father, asking if Shouto-kun can come to his birthday party. Intentional or not, such blatant manipulation needs to be encouraged. They have years to work on refining techniques; Izuku is smart enough that a few lessons on human psychology should go a long way.  

    “What say you, Yukiyama? Izuku’s birthday is next week, and apparently he’d like Shoto to attend.”  

    “May I, mama?”  

“Oh, he’s so polite!”  

“Yes, quite endearing.”  

   "Please! It'll be fun! And you don't even have to bring me a present!"  

    "I..."  

   "But it's your birthday."  

    "Yeah, but... Do you want to be friends?"  

“Precious. Absolutely precious.”  

       "Yes!"  

       "Papa, I got a new friend!"  

He then turns to Shouto.  

      “Legos are fun, but I'd rather you be my friend! So you gave me a present!"  

“Yoshito.“  

“Yes?”  

“Your nephew is a national treasure.”  

“Oh, trust me, I know.”  

      "Mama, I've got a friend!"  

He looks at Banjo, asking if the kid has a nickname already.  

“Joke’s on you, he does, it's 'candy cane'.”  

“You were better at this.”  

“Shut it.”  

      "And if you come, you can meet Tenya! And he's my friend too, and nice, and you can be friends with him too! And then we'll all be friends!"  

     "Mama, can I go? Please? Please? Please?"  

Well, candy cane or not, he is really polite.  

    “If Mr. Midoriya doesn’t mind…”  

The boy smiles. It is a small smile, nothing like Izuku's beaming smile as he cheers and grabs hold of Shoto's hand, but they know it must mean the world to Yukiyama. There will still be many more years of tears, of irrational fear, perhaps even despair. But there will be more moments like this – Izuku chattering away, telling Shoto all about his best friend. Moments that make it all worth it, moments that as a parent you sear into your memory so you never forget.  

And as he passes Yukiyama a box of tissues, Hisashi knows Inko would be proud.  

Chapter Text

Hoshizu isn’t entirely sure how an aquarium can be a fun place for a birthday party. I mean... All you can do is staring at fish all day. 

    “Right, Izuku, hold on to my hand. We need to wait here for your friends, and then a very special one… a person will meet us to tell us all about the fish.”  

He and Banjo are still are not convinced how fun it can be, but soon Izuku spots Shoto and waves him over. 

   “Happy birthday.”  

   “ Tenya’ll be here soon!  Tenya’s my best friend. He has an awesome Quirk, and he’s gonna be a hero too! We could all be heroes together!”  

Then Izuku started to mutter about how the idea sounded so wonderful, that he can’t wait till Tenya, and how they’ll start thinking about hero names, and moves, and he still needs to figure out how Shoto’s Quirk works, and… 

“He needs to stop doing that.” 

“It’ll give away all of his plans when he becomes a hero.” 

“I still think he needs to come up with a sort of code to write on his notebooks...”. 

Hisashi had laughed when he’d first found out about his son's habit and then said he used to do the same when he was small, so Izuku doesn’t feel embarrassed about muttering anymore. After that, the older man was trying to tone down his sad habit. At first, they thought the man was lying to make his son feel better, but Yoshito confirmed it. He also told them a little secret, the reason why Izuku wears red sneakers so much:

“We also wore them all the time.”.  

Izuku returns to searching the entrance room and cheers as he spots Tensei. He grabs Shoto’s hand, and pulls him and (because he’s a good boy) Hisashi over to the Iida brothers. (Hisashi goes willingly, barely controlling his snickering.) 

    “Happy birthday, Izuku!” 

    “Hi Tenya, hi Tensei! This is Shoto! He wants to be a hero too! And he’s never had cake!”  

“I still can’t believe that.” 

“You and me both.” 

Tenya gasps, suitably horrified, and Tensei lets out an undignified snort at the expression on the boys’ faces. Said snorting only gets worse when two pairs of large eyes turn on him, outraged. (Hisashi is so grateful for all those showdowns against One For All users – they did wonders for his poker face.) 

    “I’m Tenya, and this is my brother, Tensei. He’s a hero! With a license!”  

Shoto looks suitably impressed, glancing up at the young man who grins and waves, and Izuku beams. 

   “Tickets have been paid for, so how about we go find out guide? I think you’ll really like him, Izuku !”  

Hoshizu still isn’t sure about that but they follow them through the turnstiles and into the lift. Tenya is excitedly telling Shoto about Ingenium whilst Tensei pretends not to hear, Shoto glancing up at the young hero with increasing admiration. As soon as the lift doors open, Izuku - and Banjo gasps. 

“Hardcore guy!” 

“Banjo please, do you have to nickname everyone?” 

    “It’s Gang Orca!”  

“Oh, that guy. Yeah, I see what you mean.” 

“Autograph nº 43, coming right up!” 

“Do you guys think he has trouble breathing?” 

“Well, technically orcas are mammals, not fish. Also, he’s a man.” 

“Orcas still needs to breathe underwater.” 

“Guys, guys! It’s simple: all he has to do is drink a  lot  of water.” 

He smiles. Izukus' habit is definitely rubbing on them.  

The hero is hovering awkwardly by the first tank, dressed in civilian clothes with a name tag pinned to his shirt. Most of the patrons are giving him a wide berth; Izuku immediately makes to run over to him. He stops halfway, runs back, and grabs Shoto’s hand. 

Hisashi furiously starts taking photos. 

“Oh, how fast he succumbs to the old habits.” 

    “Hi, Mr.  Gang Orca, sir! I’m Izuku! This is my best friend  Tenya, and my new friend, Shoto! We’re going to be heroes!”  

   “We’re the eleven o’clock tour.”  

   “Oh yes. Now, have any of you boys visited before?”  

 “Maybe is it just me but... Do you guys remember his hero costume?” 

“Yeah. And?” 

”His tie looks like a tongue.” 

“Thank you, Shiro, now I can never unseen that.”  

-  

They went to numerous locations on the aquarium: they saw dolphins, sharks, octopus. The kids got to feed some seals, even pet some of them. They saw every single type of fish, and for some reason First keep singing the words “ just keep swimming ” over and over again. 

“It’s from a movie.”. 

“Does that movie take place in an aquarium?” 

“The sequel does. But I like the first better.” 

Anyway... 

At one point, right after the seals, they went to the penguins. Shouto tried to help to freeze the penguin enclosure because their cooling machine thing wasn’t working. Apparently the kid like those little guys so much that he promptly declared that when he becomes a hero, he’ll be “The Ice Hero: Penguin”. 

“Well, there you go! That’s his nickname.” 

Daigoro stares at him and said it didn’t count, because it’s a future hero name, so they should treat like it. 

Fair enough.

So, yeah. It turns out that visiting an aquarium can be fun after all. Especially with hardcore guy as your guide. Of course, the kids are excited about other reasons: Tenya’s fascinated because he learns tons of stuff, Izuku is happy to be with his friends and Shouto... Well, if they had to guest, today was probably the first time hanging out with kids his age.

    “It’s educational! If I don’t become a hero, I’ll be a rayologist !”  

    “That’s not a real title, Tenya .”  

    “It will be when I grow up!”  

Izuku smiles from where he’s watching the two. 

Tenya really liked the manta rays, and Hoshizu can kind of understand why they are living carpets of the sea. Izuku had a hard time deciding on a favorite because the sea has a lot of awesome animals. Finally, he settled on jellyfishes, cause they’re really pretty, although he made sure to tell Gang Orca just how hard it was to decide between them and orcas. 

Shoto has already left, proudly carrying his brand new penguin plush.  

   “Right, Izuku, time to go,”  

Hisashi doesn’t seem to mind carrying his son, so Izuku wraps his arms around the man’s neck and makes himself comfortable. The kid’s tired, and kind of wants to sleep, but he also really needs to tell his father something. 

   “Papa, I like the aquarium. I love you, papa. You’re the best papa ever.”  

They have to agree with him.

Chapter Text

If there is anyone from Midoriya’s extended family that they admired besides Inko-san and Hisashi-san, that person would be Kurogiri. After all the other man is like a third parent to Izuku. 

Gigantomachia on the other hand... Well, he’s an overprotective playmate, prone to shout just a little too loud sometimes. 

    “ You should not be here! Go away, Mist Man!”  

And apparently, Banjo isn’t the only one who gives nicknames. However, they can tell that having Gigantomachia blocking the kitchen door is not appreciated by the “Mist Man”. But the giant seems very determined not to let the other in, and Kurogiri nearly drops one of his bags as he tries to get past the larger man. He almost falls flat on his butt as Gigantomachia pushes him back. 

And then, as if he has not been through enough humiliation, the man grabs the young man under the shoulders, carries him out of the house, drops him on the doorstep and promptly slams the front door in his face. 

Kurogiri stares at it, flummoxed. Gigantomachia is odd at the best of times, but he has no idea what has prompted this. 

However! 

Locking someone out tends to be more effective when said person cannot teleport. 

The kitchen is the young man’s refuge; he is the only one with an interest in cooking (and Gigantomachia can barely fit in the room). Hisashi-kun is a perfectly adequate cook, but Kurogiri is the only member of the household now who enjoys flipping through magazines, testing new recipes, and just – creating. Perhaps one-day Izuku will be interested in joining him, but for now, at least, the kitchen is regarded by everyone as  Kurogiri’s room. 

So when he steps into the kitchen, he does not expect to find someone brandishing an egg whisk at him. 

    “What the!... Shouldn’t you be shopping?”  

“Pfft!” 

“Your brother will never fail to surprise me.” 

“You mean “amuse”, right?” 

“You say tomato, I say tomahto”. 

The kitchen looks like a warzone. The smell of burning something hangs in the air, and flour and sugar are spilled over the counters and floor. Midoriya’s hair is disheveled and distinctly whiter than before, and the man looks positively haggard in his lilac apron. Izuku, in contrast, is positively beaming. Inko’s apron is far too big on him, but as he’s standing on a chair, it at least doesn’t trail on the floor. There is colored icing smeared on his cheeks, like some feeble attempt at warpaint. 

“Owwn.”

“So cute...” 

“Still, the kitchen...” 

Nana look it around 

“Yeah, it’s going to take a while to clean it.” 

    “Happy birthday, Kurogiri! But you have to go away until we bake your cake.”   

Ichigo smiles, still remembering the day Inko-san found out that Kurogiri didn’t even remember the date of his own birthday. 

    “Well, then today’s your birthday! Happy birthday!”  

    “Happy!”

Back to the present, Izuku asks if Kurogiri doesn’t like the cake. 

    “No, I…I like cake. I like it a lot. But I like baking it even more.”  

   “Wonderful. What do we do first?”  

Kurogiri takes in the man’s haggard appearance and reaches a decision.

   “You can get out of my kitchen. There might still be hope for Izuku, but…”  

“Damn kid.” 

“He sure has a lot of gut.” 

* 

They were on a local Herofest when it happens: armor kid screwed it up. You see kids, even the well-behaved ones can give a lot of work. So between ensuring Izuku doesn’t run off to get autographs; making sure that mini armor kid doesn’t pick any fights about who the best hero is and drying Shoto’s tears after the kid saw his “flaming garbage of a father” face of a pillow, Tensei has his hands full. 

After he finishes comforting Shoto and straightens up the kid almost has a panic attack, because there are only two boys in front of him. 

“Your brother is going to kill him.” 

“Maybe not. I mean, Izuku would miss Tenya.”. 

“His name is Tensei.”. 

“This isn’t about him.” 

    “ Tenya, I have a very important mission for you. I need you to wait here with Shoto until I come back. Do not go ANYWHERE. Understand?”  

Tenya nods, and Tensei sprints off. 

“You don’t just leave a kid alone! That’s babysitting 101!?” 

"Tenya is well behaved...” 

“He’s still a kid!”

The young man is scanning the crowds, trying to figure out a plan of action, and NOT panic when he hears the most beautiful sound in the world. 

    “ Tensei, look! It’s the Wild, Wild Pussycats!”  

“Oh, there you go.” 

“Hey, I remember them!” 

“Yeah, didn’t Izuku write about them?” 

“Hero Analysis for the future  nº1,  p.12.” 

   “I got autographs!” 

“How many does he have by now?” 

“47.” 

Izuku stops and asks. 

    ‘Where are Tenya  and Shoto?”’  

   “Waiting for us. Do you guys want to come to say hi?”  

Considering the fact that those specific heroes are working right now, it’s really unprofessional to ask them to ditch their job just to see some kids. 

   “Sorry. We’re already late for a photoshoot.”  

See? They are busy after all. 

   “But maybe we could get together sometime? You know, catch up, exchange tips – maybe set up a collaboration?”  

   “Yes!”  

“Oh?” 

“He agreed to that too fast.” 

Ichigo looks to the left. 

“Guys?” 

“Yes?” 

“...Why is Nana is looking like the Cheshire Cat?” 

Chapter Text

They figure out the reason for Nana’s creepy smile a few days later. Apparently, armor kid has a crush and is in desperate need of a wingman. So desperate that  he would ask  Hisashi of all people, which is hilarious. Hell, Yoshito and  Ichigo  are still laughing their asses off, and to quote Hisashi’s brother  ‘he’ll help armor kid when pigs fly  ‘ and so far, there’s not a quirk for that.  

    “Why would you ask me to be your wingman?”  

    “All my friends are idiots. And you’re not much older than me, so…”  

    “I’m over forty years old.”  

"...At least he’s not lying?"

    “Seriously? Well, you could still come…”  

    “I am not going on any dates with you.”  

    “Mandalay’s pretty nice…”  

    “NO.”  

Both Second and First have tears in their eyes from laughter, so you know it’s good.    

   “Can I take Izuku?”  

“HE’S NOT A DOG!”  

“Wait, young people are using dogs for those things nowadays?”  

“If you  have a cute dog, who wouldn’t want to pet it?”  

“Back in my day's people didn’t do that.”  

“Bullshit. People have been using dogs as wingmen since dogs stopped to be called wolfs.”  

   “Izuku is too young to be anyone’s wingman. Besides, I hear you lost him at Herofest…”  

Ichigo and Yoshito are howling in joy right now.   

In the end, Kurogiri takes one for the team. And something must have happened because he came back a few minutes later.  

-  

They found out the next day, and oh boy, isn’t it hilarious?   

   “You ran into a glass door.”  

He could be a little more sympathetic with armor kid. Or at least wipe the damn smirk off his face.  

   “Finished!”  

   “Thanks, Izuku! Midoriya, would you like to sign my cast?”  

It is always incredible how verbose Midoriya can be with his facial expressions.  

One of the young  women from  the  Herofest  comes in, asking about armor kid.  

   “Well, Izuku should be getting home. It was a pleasure to meet you, Miss… Pixie-bob. Come on, Izuku.”  

   “Bye, Pixie-bob! Bye Tensei, bye Tenya!!”  

-  

So... Turns out that Pixie-bob also had a crush on armor kid, and really, everything about that sounded like one of those soap operas Isao liked. The bad kind of soap opera.  

And after the whole debacle, Kurogiri still had to take one for the team.  

    “You want me to what?”  

   “I need you to go on a date for me.”  

It’s still weird to hear a second time around.

   “Why me?”  

   “Cause Yamada’s insane, Aizawa hung up on me, and Midoriya is terrifying. You’re the only person I could think of! And Mandalay is really nice, and she apparently likes older men!”  

“That... That doesn’t help your case kid.”  

“At all!”  

“No one will help you after you call them ‘ old’  to their face.”  

    “Why do you think I want to go on a date?”  

    “Please. I promised Ryuko I’d find Mandalay a date!”  

He tries to use the ‘ puppy  eyes.’.  

Completely ineffective.  

“Oh please, Izuku’s  puppy eyes are way better than this!”  

“You don’t stand a chance armor kid!”

    “I only get four days off a month. Why would I spend that time on a date with someone I never met before?”  

   “I’ll foot the bill. And… You can pick where you go! Anywhere in Tokyo! I’ll pull some strings and make sure you get a reservation!”  

“Anywhere?”  

“Now,  that’s  promising...”  

He agreed after that. And hey! It’s just  one  date, and he is getting a free meal, maybe even have a chance of having a good time, a nice conversation!  

What can go wrong?  

Apparently, lots of things can go wrong and while they don’t know what happen, it must have been bad, because after a few hours the young man is just lying on the couch.   

   “That bad, huh?”  

Kurogiri doesn’t even answer his employer; he just groans into the cushion.  

“Damn, it was bad.”  

   “At least you got some sushi out of this.”  

Wow, Hisashi is not good at this. That or he isn’t even trying.  

   “Oh, look, you got a text!”  

   “If it’s Iida, please tell him to fuck off.”  

Damn boy!

   “…No, it’s not from Iida.”  

What?  

They all hover around Kurogiri and read his text, forget privacy!  

Hi, it’s Sosaki. (Remember, Iida, bribed you to go on a date with me.)  

I just wanted to let you know I think you’re an incredibly strong person. And I was really touched by your honesty. I’m going to be in Tokyo for a few more days and would love to meet up for coffee. (I am willing to pay, so this time I’ll do the bribing!) I totally understand if you don’t want to, or it would be weird for you to date a pro hero.  

Either way, thanks for the free sushi!    

Nana is smiling again. But this time it’s not a creepy smile at all.  

    “You know, I’ve been meaning to rewatch the Sports Festival with Izuku, And we could get takeaway, make it an event…”  

   “Sir. I think I love you.”  

Chapter Text

     “Kurogiri, what are you doing?”  

Kurogiri slowly lowers his magazine. A  teen  magazine.   Izuku is staring at him with a frown, dressed in one of his All Might onesies. (Silver Age, updated version.)  

    “I’m reading. Where’s Machia?”  

    “I killed him!”  

“ Kid.”  

    “What are you reading?”  

“…A muffin recipe.”  

“Right.”  

“Oh, hush! He’s just nervous about White Day.”   

   “Oh. Why’s Present Mic not wearing a shirt?”  

Kurogiri immediately warps the magazine away.  

    “Kurogiri, what’s wrong?”  

   “Nothing really. Just… You know Mandalay?”  

   “Oh, yeah! Can she come over again?”  

“Such a fanboy. ”  

“Hey! My nephew’s great, thank you very much! ”  

“We know Yoshi. ”  

When  Kurogiri   tells him what's  been troubling him,  Izuku  asks what White Day is.  

    “It’s…It’s a day when I show Mandalay how much she means to me. Only… I’m not sure how.”  

   “Give her muffins! Your muffins are the best!”  

“Well... I don’t think that’s what he has in mind kiddo.”  

“That was the sixth magazine he read, he doesn’t know what to do. He’s clearly worried.”  

Kurogiri chuckles and ruffles the boy's hair.  

But maybe the kid’s not quite desperate enough to take romantic advice from a five-year-old.  

 -   

But he’s ready to call the big guns, also known as Hisashi. Also, he has a notebook, so you know he came ready.

    “…Why are you asking me for romantic advice?”  

    “You were happily married.”  

Point to Kurogiri.  

    “So… White Day?”  

    “White Day… It’s a nice day, but… What do you think the point is?”  

     “…I’m sorry, sir?”  

Oh, he’s going somewhere with this.  

    “What’s the point of White Day?”  

    “...To show her I appreciate her?”  

    “And why can’t you do that on any other day?”  

Point to Hisashi.  

Kurogiri frowns as he tries to figure that out, and Midoriya chuckles.  

   “White Day is a day to do something special, but… If you want a successful relationship, it’s a partnership. Be supportive. Be thoughtful.”  

Again, point to Hisashi.    

   “…How?”  

“Kid, you’re the boyfriend, not him! ”   

     “I don’t know. You know Mandalay better than I do. But… Well, sometimes it’s really small things that matter. Inko... She liked it when I called half an hour before I got home, so she could have dinner ready. And... I'd always do the washing up, so she could take some time to herself. It was... It wasn't grand or romantic, but... It meant a lot to her."  

    “Oh. But… What about White Day?”  

“Dude.”  

Midoriya groans .  

    “Take her out for a meal or cook her something. But don’t buy her any jewelry, it’s too soon!”  

Again, point to Hisashi. Jewelry comes way later on a relationship.  

-  

Something’s wrong.  

    “…Kurogiri?”  

Kurogiri looks up at Izuku, peeking into his room.  

    “Papa says he’s making breakfast…Are you alright?”  

He stares at the boy. But then he laughs as he stands up.  

   “Izuku, you’re a genius.”  

“What?”  

“Isao!”  

“Yes, Yoshi. He is very clever, but what ?”  

They can only watch as the man goes to the kitchen, right after doing the dishes. Izuku helped, Hisashi had to work.  

While he picks up utensils and ingredients, the heroes understand what he’s about to do: muffins. Lots, lots of muffins. Izuku’s happy to help with the  dough/licking the spoon while  Kuogiri takes care of the oven and all the slicing. When the duo finishes one batch, they started another one with a completely different flavor.  

There are so many different types of chocolates – even a pink one. Like, what the hell, that’s real? Then he made red velvet, matcha , chai, black tea, coffee flavor. Banana and orange muffins; coconut, walnut. Cherry, strawberries, blueberries – if there is a type of berry in the world, it’s in a muffin in that kitchen.  

He also made gluten-free, vegan, and even for lactose intolerants.  

All of them.  

They are surprised how many flavors are available, and that’s saying something! Nana’s a sweet tooth.  

When Izuku is licking some of the spoons, Kurogiri comes back with a plastic bag from a pharmacy. He then picks up a small box and places the aspirins inside of it, not before writing something on a post-it.  

Nana has a smile on her face.

“That’s so romantic.”  

“It’s a box of aspirins.”  

The woman stares at Ichigo.  

“It’s the thought that counts! Also, he baked enough muffins for a small country.”  

“A  very  small country. Hell, the smallest country in the world.”  

“So... He baked for the Vatican. Nice.”  

Nana kicks them.  

-  

Shimura came back with a smug smile and said that Mandalay loved the gift.  

“Did the rest of the Vatican enjoyed the muffins too?”  

She kicks them again.  

Chapter Text

Since Izuku’s birthday, the young  Yukiyama had become a constant presence on the Midoriya’s life, just like the Iida family after a while.  The three families are together on a playdate, both mothers chatting about something. But the seven on them are paying attention on... Well.  

Hisashi is playing  hero vs villains  with the boys.  And it is... A wkward, to say the least. Yoshito thinks it’s cute, almost endearing, but for them... It gives them a sense of deja-vu.

   “Foolish heroes! You thought your pathetic attacks would have any effect on me? Me? Leave now, and I may spare you! But stay, and your lives are forfeit! You know as well as I do, YOU CANNOT WIN!”  

He never  wrapped  his head around monologues.   It’s just... A waste of time, really. Shiro-san said that a good hero can use the villain's pride against them - the most efficient thing is to attack, rescue someone, or flea. But this isn’t a serious training, it’s just children playing. As if on cue, Izuku  jumps out of his hiding place.  

  “Yes, we can! Penguin, Ingenium, let’s work together!”  

  “If we do, we can’t lose!”  

He  sighs .  

No competent hero would be stupid enough to even attempt to monologue during a showdown with a powerful villain. Or emerge from cover without a plan of attack, but that’s not he’s doing is it? No, he and Tenya are distracting the “villain” so Shouto could get into position behind him. Of course, Hisashi knew where the third child was, but still – a decent strategy that would work on a lesser opponent.  

Hisashi draws himself up to his full height and laughs his most unsettling, sinister laugh. Tenya shudders, but Izuku is unbothered. They regularly play heroes at home, after all, and it was fairly quickly established that Hisashi makes for a great villain.

  “Penguin! Freeze his legs!”  

He does. For real.  

“Oh honey, no.”  

“Maybe he’s new at this...”  

The layer of ice that covers Hisashi’s shoes is thin enough that he could easily break it with force alone, but that wouldn’t be very fun. So instead, Hisashi gasps and flails dramatically.  

  “Alright, Ingenium, now’s our chance! Let’s go!”  

The two boys charge at the man and latch onto his legs, giggling, and Hisashi lets out a howl.  

  “No! How can this be?! The mighty Alt Forty One defeated?! You have discovered my weakness!”  

“What kind of name is that?”  

“It a very bad joke, really.”  

“You think he would be creative...”  

“Guys, give up. Nii-chan has a thing for puns.”  

“Bad puns right?”

Izuku’s face is lit up by the brightest smile possible as he lets go and pulls Tenya away, and Hisashi can’t help but smile himself as he dramatically collapses to the ice-covered ground.

  “Mr. Midoriya, are you alright?”  

Izuku's  new friend is just as precious  as  Iida.  

 “No. I’m dead.”  

“Don’t be rude!”  

Yukiyama -san sees what her son has done to Iida garden and  apologizes .  

  “It’s fine. I’ve been trying to get Takeshi to do something about the garden. And besides, accidents happen, especially when you’re having fun.”  

“... She’s lying.”  

“She is being polite, there’s a difference.”  

“I told you that the armor kids got it from someone.”  

Hisashi is uncomfortably reminded of how new the boy is to playing with his peers. Izuku seems to pick up on it too because he hurries over to his friend, excited.  

  “That was so awesome! You’ll be such an amazing hero!”  

  “Yes! A practical way to immoba-immova-i…”  

  “Immobilize.”  

“Look at mini armor kid, being smart!”  

   “Immo-bah-lies an opponent!”  

   “Come on, let’s have some juice. That was some pretty impressive teamwork, you lot.”  

   “Thanks, Papa!”  

   “You were pretty impressive yourself. I swear, you sounded so much like an actual villain, I got chills!”  

Hisashi laughs awkwardly .   

   “Well, I get a lot of practice. Izuku loves playing heroes!”  

“You can say that again.”  

  “Papa’s a great villain!”  

“Kid, you don’t  know the half  of it.”  

“Yeah, you don’t get the nickname  ‘Demon King ’ for nothing.”  

  “Where did you come up with that name? Alt Fourteen…”  

  “Alt Forty One! He’s an evil robot, and he wants to take over the world! But his big weakness are hugs, so if you hug him, his battery drains! Like a phone!”  

Right. He’s glad that wasn’t the case, it would be too awkward and embarrassing for everyone involved.  

“No respective villain is defeated by hugs.”  

“If he could, said villain would be the laughing stock of crime.”  

The boys quickly finish their juice and runoff, jumping over the patch of ice. Rei and Iida exchange glances and Hisashi suspects there’s a conspiracy in the works…  

  “Midoriya, when did you last take a day off?”  

  “Today is my day off. I had last weekend off, too.”  

  “No, I mean… completely off. A day off from everything, Izuku included.”  

 “I don’t need time off from that.”  

“Uh-oh.”  

The two women exchange looks as if  he’s  the strange one. Which right now he is.  

  “What do you do for fun? And playing heroes don’t count.”  

  “Quirk analysis?”  

   “No, Midoriya, that’s your job. What do you do for fun?”  

“Yukiyama-san, my brother is terrible at that. And Ichigo knows it too.”  

“He really  sucks it . The last time he tried to do that he collected stamps. Before that it was coins.”  

“Shut up! Really?”

“I have a lot of stories of him being a dork.”  

   “…Quirk analysis.”  

“Like now?”  

“Oh no, way worse.”  

“Spill. The. Tea!”   

The women exchange horrified glances.  

  “Midoriya, I think you should take a few hours off.”  

  “I have to watch Izuku…”  

  “Izuku can come over to our place. He’ll be safe for a few hours. And if it’ll make you feel better, Kurogiri can come too, and hang out in the kitchen in case of the apocalypse.”  

“I can’t wait to mini armor kid to have this sense of humor.”  

“That’s not humor, that sass.”    

“Even better!”  

Hisashi is about to protest, but then Rei plays the trump card.  

  “Inko wouldn’t want you to neglect yourself.”  

“Low blow.”  

“Well, she isn’t wrong, is she?  Izuku  is adorable, but  it can't be  healthy to just live your life around him.”  

Who knew that they would ever be  Concerned about their murderers'  wellbeing?  

At home, Hisashi’s bored enough he ends up sprawled on the sofa, remote in hand. Unfortunately, the first thing on the screen is Endeavor’s face. Fortunately, the remote narrowly misses the TV and just makes a hole in the wall. The interviewer is just asking the bastard about his family’s disappearance…  

Hisashi cackles.  

(Somewhere in Okinawa, All Might shudders.)  

“ Of fucking course.”  

“ Well, I  think  that guy deserves it.”  

“We still don’t know what he did guys.”  

“Dude, his own kid thanks Hisashi for punching his father; his wife was afraid of him. Domestic and child abuse, at best!”  

“That’s illegal.”  

“So is tax evasion, but that never stops people!”  

Chapter Text

Gigantomachia loves protecting his Little Lord. It’s safe to say the man would die to defend Izuku. Which can be good, but... Well, sometimes the man took that job just a little too seriously. That’s why the man is whispering to Hisashi like he is telling a big and dangerous secret:  

   “Santa is coming. He will come down the chimney with his big sack, and he knows when Little Lord is sleeping, and…”  

   “Gigantomachia, I know who Santa is.”  

“Okay but why...?”

“We are talking about an imaginary old man that can tell how well you behave during the year, who just happen to carry a big old sack around. For all we know, Machia probably thinks the guy’s a threat.”  

“So what, he wants to kill it?”  

“Maybe.”  

“Oh come on Isao!”  

“We are talking about someone who nearly wrecks Izukus bedroom looking for monsters under his bed.”  

“Also, if Kurogiri hadn’t interfered, Machi would kill the blond cockatoo on the beach.”  

“... Okay, fine.”

Before the man can explain any further, Izuku comes home.  

  “Izuku, Gigantomachia has never heard of Santa before. So I thought you could tell him all about Santa.”  

Izuku gasps at that, then ask who exactly brought Gigantomachia presents if he never heard of Santa before. After Hisashi  explains  why the bodyguard can’t remember something so important,  Zuku  starts to  explain  it.  

  "Well, Santa is really awesome! Cause he brings presents at Christmas! And he comes down the chimney to leave them when you’re not looking! Oh, and he has a flying sleigh! With rein-deer! He carries a big sack with all his presents! And he only brings presents to good children! That’s why I tidied my room!”  

Gigantomachia follows them, mulling over this new information.

-  

“Yoshi, why is he...?”  

“Shiro, I don’t know why my nephew is looking out the window through an All Might binoculars.”  

“Just checking.”  

   “We are watching for Santa!”  

“Come on, Machia’s still clinging to that?”  

“Told you he would not forget it that easily.”  

   “Why are you watching for Santa?”  

  “Because I will capture him! And take his sack! And then Little Lord can have all the presents in his sack!”  

Well, at least he’s not killing it.  

  “…Isn’t that naughty?”  

Yes, it is.  

  “Now, come on, Kurogiri made dinner. And then we can open presents.”  

  “…But what if Santa comes while we’re eating?”  

Hisashi takes a deep breath.  

  “Did it occur to you Santa might sneak in through the back door?”  

“Now, is that really necessary?”  

  “What?!”  

Izuku doesn’t really understand why Gigantomachia is horrified, but since Izuku cares for the man, he offers a different approach.  

   “If you want to get Santa’s sack, why don’t you go see him? Maybe, if you ask nicely, he’ll let you borrow it!”  

Yoshito  sigh s.  

“Izuku, you are such a sweetheart, but why?”  

  “Go see him? Where do I see Santa?”  

  “Oh, Santa lives at the North Pole! With his elves! They make all the presents, see?”  

  “The North Pole? I will go there!”  

“That man is going to freeze up there.”  

“Maybe Hisashi will convince him not to go.”  

“I hope so.”  

There’s a crash from the front door.  

“Oh well.”  

   “Izuku. We have a new rule from now on: Never tell Machia where Santa lives.”  

-  

They are in a store when Hisashi spots Yukiyama. And Endeavor. The trash man hasn’t noticed the woman yet, but Midoriya doesn’t waste time: he steps in front of her, perfectly hiding her from her ex-husband.

  “Aiko! I had no idea you were here today! I’m Hisashi, remember? Inko’s husband?”  

Rei plays along.  

  “Oh, Hisashi! It’s so good to see you again!”  

  “How about we get coffee and catch up? It’s been so long since we last spoke!”  

This morning. They spoke this morning.  

  “Oh, yes. I need a break from these crowds!”  

She doesn’t protest when her boss leads her further into the mall, away from Enji. They slip out through a clothing store, hurry along crowded streets and only stop after fifteen minutes in a half-empty park. Midoriya heads off to get them some coffee, and Rei tries to stop her hands from shaking as she waits on a bench.  

  “Thank you so much. I… there was someone I’m avoiding there…”  

   “I don’t agree with domestic abuse. Especially when children are involved. I was fully aware of your past when I hired you, and I don’t give a fuck about Endeavor’s lying ass.”  

According to First, that’s one of the few lines All for One never crossed. He also hated people who did it with a burning passion. Apparently, those were the first on the list to became Nomus.

Cool motive, still murder.  

Rei bursts into tears.  

“Deja-vu.”  

Hisashi pulls a box of tissues out of somewhere and allows Yukiyama to cry herself calm, sipping his coffee and every now and then reaching out to awkwardly pat her on the shoulder.  

  “Thank you so much! I just… I can’t tell you how much this means!”  

  “Don’t mention it."  

They sit in silence for a while  

  “So… why do you carry around a mega box of tissues?”  

  “Inko… My wife was rather… emotional. And Izuku seems to take after her.”  

He does have you wrapped around his finger.  

  “Oh. What was she like?”  

“Badass.”  

They look at Yoshito.  

“Prove me wrong.”  

They don’t.  

  “She was… wonderful. She was so full of love, so kind. Actually, in a way, she is the reason I wanted to speak to you. I was wondering if your family would like to come over at Christmas.”  

  “What?”  

  “Christmas is a… small affair. It’s just me, Izuku and two… domestic staff. And my cook always makes too much food. We have more than enough room, and of course I would buy gifts for your whole family…”  

  “Why?”  

  “Honestly, it’s because Izuku likes Shoto. And… I think Inko would have loved you.”  

Rei considers it and then nods.  

  “Alright. But… Do you mind if I bring fried chicken?”  

“Odd choice, but if you like it...”  

“Hey! Fried chicken is great!”  

“That’s because it was the only thing you ate during the patrol ,  Hoshizu .”  

“Name a better snack!”  

“Cup ramen.”  

Hoshizu  d isagrees , saying that it always tasted the same, no matter what kind you bought.  

He clearly never tasted spicy noodles.  

“Oniguiri.”  

“What are you, a five year old?”  

“Takoyaki”.  

“Okonomiyaki”.  

“Ugh.”.

-  

“Yoshito, please be honest. Did your brother always...”  

“He started wearing those atrocities during holidays after becoming a father."  

“Ok.”.  

The atrocities in question is a Santa hat and a terrible Christmas sweater. Luckily,  that one didn’t come with  any puns.  

“Is part of the fatherhood pack: dad jokes, terrible fashion, etc.”  

“The cycle is complete on the day he starts to wear sandals with socks.”  

  “Merry Christmas. Izuku! Shoto’s here!”  

  “Shoto! This is Machia! Machia, this is Shoto! He’s my friend!”  

And honestly, if only Hisashi wore those, then it would be fine. But Machia is wearing reindeer antlers and a red nose. Still, it could be worse.  

   “Hello! You make Little Lord happy! I will protect you!”  

“Well, they are safe from a lot of things now.”  

“And the kids got a playmate out of that.”  

Shoto is the first of them to recover and beams as he draws himself up and turns to his   family .  

  “This is my big brother, Touya! And my sister, Fuyumi! And Natsuo!”  

  “Why do I not get a proper introduction?”  

Fuyumi elbows him in the ribs.  

Yoshito smiles fondly.  

“Ah, this brings me memories...”  

“You used to elbow him on the ribs?”  

Ichigo laughs.  

“He did a lot more than that.”   

“Of course! Especially when he hid my comics.”  

“I remember that. You used to call  him a meanie .”  

Since Yukiyama-san is carrying the bucket of fried chicken she slips out of the room to find the kitchen. Kurogiri turns, and Rei gasps.  

  “It… It’s you."  

  “Oh, fuck.”  

“I can’t believe they just remember that.”  

“Ah, what wouldn't I do to have popcorn right now...”  

  “Thank you so much!”  

  “…I think she knows, sir.".  

“Oh really?”  

“I wonder what gave that away?”  

  “Is it too late to wipe their memories?”  

“Hey!”  

“Yukiyama-san doesn’t seem to mind....”  

“Yeah, she's laughing right now.”.  

  “Don’t tell me you really punched  Enji !”  

  “…It was an accident?”  

The funny thing is that he’s telling her the truth.  

  “Holy shit. Guess Shoto wasn’t lying…”  

“Language!”  

“Nana, he’s a teenager.”  

“Toshinori didn’t curse at this age!”  

“Yeah, he started doing that after he came back from America.”.  

“I still blame that David Shield for that.”.  

“Whatever, he  saved  Yagi’s life, he's fine.’   

-  

After Gigantomachia realize he failed his so call mission, the man was inconsolable.   

  “Don’t worry, Gigantomachia. Santa is very sneaky. You’ll get him next year.”  

‘Yukiyama-san asks why Gigantomachia wants to catch Santa.    

  “Because Little Lord deserves everything! So I will catch Santa! And then he will have all the presents!”  

“How   can anyone respond to that?”  

“Change the subject.”   

  “Look, mum!”  

“Like that?”  

“Just like that.”  

Rei tears up when she unwraps her present from her children. It’s a photo album, filled to the brim with the few photos they took when they left, and the dozens they took since. She is rather puzzled when Midoriya hands her an empty album until Shoto opens up his gift from the man, and Izuku immediately races off to his room.  

The first photo for the new album is taken five minutes later, of a beaming Shoto and Izuku, dressed in matching All Might onesies.  

“So cute.”  

“Now, all that is missing is mini armor kid in Ingenium onesie.”  

Chapter Text

“Guys.”  

“Yeah?”  

“Don’t you think that the house is too... Too quiet?”  

“Well, now that you mention...”

Izuku  seems to realize it too but shrugs it off. When he enters the kitchen, instead of finding  Kurogiri , his nephew finds his father flipping pancakes. Sure, they look distinctly more  burnt  then the ones that  Kurogiri  does, but...  

  “Morning, Izuku. Breakfast is almost ready.”  

  “Where’s Machia? And Kurogiri?”  

  “I gave them the day off. I wanted it to be just the two of us. And – there’s something I need to talk to you about.”  

Ichigo looks at him.  

“That sounds important. Do you want privacy?”  

He smiles at his best friend. Even after all these years, he still  cares .  

“Well, whatever it is, I want you guys to be here.  Is  that okay?”  

“Sure.”  

Still, they are trying to figure out what can be serious enough that Hisashi wants to talk with  Izuku alone. His nephew is trying to understand too but is so deep in  thought that he started muttering. Even after Hisashi points that   

“Muttering.”  

His brother is taking deep breaths as he took Izuku to the living room. As soon as they sat down Hisashi retrieves a large photo album.  

“Right, Izuku. How much do you remember of your mother?”  

Nana whistles.  

“It’s family business then.”.  

“Good thing that you guys are family too.”  

Izuku looks down, probably feeling ashamed.  

“Not much.”  

Yoshito really wants to hug his nephew right now.  

“It’s fine. You were… really young when she died. I thought it might be a nice idea for us to spend today… remembering her.”  

“I’d like that.”   

Hisashi doesn’t speak for a minute, but that's understandable – he must still miss Inko, so it’s nice he wants to tell Izuku about her. Finally, he chuckles, and shakes his head, and   speaks .  

“Her name was Inko. And… She was the most wonderful woman I ever met. She was so kind and so selfless. And – I don’t think I ever saw a more devoted mother.”  

“Really?”  

“Really. I don’t even know how I can make you understand how much she loved you. She always put you first, even when she got sick. In fact... She gave me something for you.  Close your eyes.”  

Izuku obeys.  

“Oh.”  

“Wow, he’s going to do it now?”  

They felt the moment  Inko’s  quirk is given away, as it  settles  in  Izuku’s  chest and it’s just like they remember: small and warm. Hisashi is watching his son, tears rolling down his cheeks.  

“Your mother wanted you to have her Quirk. And… she wrote you a letter.”  

He passes Izuku an envelope and makes to get up, but Izuku grabs onto his shirt. Hisashi doesn’t say anything, just makes himself comfortable, and Izuku cuddles up to him.  

The envelope is addressed to Izuku Midoriya and is unopened, and Izuku takes a moment to appreciate it. Because this is a letter his mum wrote to  him , and Hisashi kept it safe for so long but never once opened it. Izuku can be the very first to know what his mum said.  

Izuku takes a deep breath and opens the letter.

Darling Izuku,  

You must have grown so much since I last saw you! (I’m sorry if there are any tearstains on this letter – I swear, I’ve rewritten it three times, but whenever I think of you reading this, I just can’t help myself. I am certain papa will tell you, I can get rather… emotional.)  

Since you are reading this, papa must have finally given you my Quirk. It is called Attraction; it can pull small objects towards you. I know it is nothing impressive, not like your papa’s or All Might’s, but I hope you will understand why I wanted you to have it.  

Izuku, I do not know what Quirk you have, or even if you have one at all. Frankly, it doesn’t matter; I would love you as much if you had a hundred Quirks as if you had none. But I have had my Quirk since I was a child. It is as much a part of me as my smile or my love for you. I have carried it next to my heart, and I hope now you will carry it, too. When I asked your papa to take it, I wanted it to be proof that I love you. I always have, and always will.  

So, Izuku, I know you probably don’t remember much of me, if anything at all, and that’s alright. I don’t blame you for that, so don’t ever think I might. But I hope every day you wake up, every time you use Attraction, you will know just how much I love you.  

Perhaps I should speak of my hopes and dreams for you. I hope you smile every day; I hope you have good friends you can play with, and I hope your papa is always ready with a hug. I hope there are many people in your life that treasure you because you are a wonderful, incredible boy, and I am so, so proud to call you my son.  

The only thing I regret is that I will not have the opportunity to meet the person you will become. But I need you to know that I would never give you up for anything. I understand why people say a mother would die for her child; I would never trade you, not if I could live to a hundred.  

Being your mother was the greatest joy and privilege of my life, so thank you so much for being born.  

I will miss many important moments in your life, but there are so many memories I can cherish. I was the first thing you saw upon being born; I got to see the absolute love on your papa’s face when he held you for the first time. I was your second word (your papa was so proud he got to be the first). You took your first steps as you reached for me.  

There are more precious moments than I have words, and if you ask papa, he will have photos. (Your papa took so many photos – ask him about the confiscation. He’ll know what you mean.)  

I do have one request, though, Izuku. Make sure your papa knows how much you love him. Make sure you know how much he loves you. And tell him I love him so, so much, almost as much as I love you. Tell him I am so grateful for all those small, perfect moments he gave me.  

I love you, Izuku. Always have, and always will.  

your mama  

Inko Midoriya  

They all look at the small family, feeling glad for them.  

Chapter Text

Let’s just say that shit hit the fan on a Thursday.

Everything was okay until Yoshito’s nephew was grabbed by the neck and thrown into a van. It’s dark, and sure enough, someone pulls a loose sack over his head, grabs his hands and twists them behind his back, and then there’s a soft click and he can feel metal digging into his wrists. 

   “Step on it!” 

They may be dead, but some habits are hard to let go; especially if you were a hero. It was common for them to sweep the area looking for threats; to memorize faces and minor details. And they never saw those fuckers or that cheap van. 

Sure, Yoshito is the only civilian there, so they are trying their hardest to prove to him that his nephew isn’t in any real danger. 

"First, calm down, these guys are amateurs." 

“Nana, what the hell does that mean?!”

Ichigo takes over.  

“They don’t have any weapons or guns Yoshi and...” 

Yoshito interrupts responding that depending on their quirks, they might not need guns. 

True enough. But the six of them are not about to give up so easily.

“Any experienced kidnapper wouldn’t act in broad light with so many witnesses. Sooner or later, someone will call the police. I don’t remember seeing any of them around the school... So clearly don’t know enough about the Izuku.” 

“He was probably pick up at random.” 

“Kid goes to a fancy school, ergo, the family must be loaded.” 

Yoshito still worried. Quite frankly, the only reason they are not freaking out is that they were professionals before they died and had dealt with similar situations like this one. 

Banjo huffs. 

“As much that hurts us, we can’t do anything but watch and wait.” 

That’s the cruel truth: Izuku is so scared right now, crying his eyes out and there is nothing they can do to help him. Ichigo tried to distract First and ask if Hisashi already knew. Yoshito sighs before answering. 

“He does. Quite frankly, I don’t think he hated the police until today... They were mostly inconvenient  at best .”

“What changed?” 

“Well, his child has been kidnapped and he’s stuck with them... Oh, Iida-san is there too.” 

Thank God for small miracles.

They don’t talk after that, because they know it’s only a matter of time until someone finds Izuku. They had a hunch that Midoriya will be there too... And he would have no mercy for those responsible. 

- 

By the time the van stops, Izuku has cried himself calm. Yoshito keeps them update, telling how Izuku’s feeling every now and then: mostly scared and trying to keep his hopes up – thinking about what Ingenium or All Might would do but also turning that moment in a learning experience. 

“You’ve got to admit it’s admirable...” 

“In any other situation I would agree, but now I’m just too worried to care.” 

Yoshito is biting his lips, muttering about the things his nephew is thinking: how long it will be until someone finds him or how he doesn’t know where he is... The boy wishes he had a quirk that could help him in any way... 

Izuku pauses. Yoshito mutters even faster. 

“He remembered that one of the kidnappers has a warp quirk. And Hisashi always said that it is all right to use his quirk in self-defense...!” So Izuku must be thinking about using his quirk, good; that’s good! But he doesn’t really know the limits of his own power. They can feel him latching onto the warp quirk with all his might and tugs it away. 

They felt that. They truly felt that. And as the man lets out a strangled cry, the grip on Izuku loosens, which makes the boy stumbles and falls with enough force that it hurts. Meanwhile, the new Quirk settled comfortably under the boy's skin, but he doesn’t know how it works, he doesn’t know how to activate it, he doesn’t even know where he is. 

“Yoshi, what he’s thinking?” 

“He wants his father her-”. 

He coughs. And for some reason keep coughing like there’s something in his throat. They ask what’s wrong but he can’t answer: he just doubles over like he’s choking on something. But then they hear a loud noise and suddenly Hisashi was there; coughing and spluttering, onto a concrete floor. The Shigarakis take a deep breath. Hisashi hears a low moaning as he draws himself up and finally sees those familiar garish red shoes. 

“Oh, he’s going to  enjoy  this.” 

“I just hope he doesn’t do it near Izuku.” 

“Yeah, the little guy is scared enough.” 

Hisashi carefully removes the bag from Izuku’s head. His face is pale, his breathing fast, but it’s alright because he’s alive. Because Izuku is right here, and Hisashi can protect him. Hisashi presses a quick kiss to his son’s forehead, wincing at the fever he seems to be running. Then he slips off his suit jacket and uses it to cushion Izuku’s head. 

   “Don’t worry, Izuku. I am here.”  

“Midorya-san, plagiarism is a serious crime!” 

“Nana, what the heck?” 

“What? It’s just to break the ice.” 

“I rather watch my brother break those guys, thank you.” 

They are... Quite concerned after that. 

Chapter Text

Hisashi always hated hospitals, mostly because Yoshito spent so much time in them. They were so frequent that the Shigarakis was known by most of the staff. Both Hisashi and Yoshito knew the visiting hours and overall the schedules of the place. Hell, Yoshito always knew what kind of food they would serve just because of the day of the week! 

They had nicknames.

Right now, Hisashi is sitting in a chair, worried about Izuku. The boy shouldn’t be lying unconscious in a hospital bed, he should be asking his father about quirks or seeing some video about super-heroes. 

A knock on the door brings Hisashi out of his musings, and he looks up as Kurogiri enters.

  “Sir. How is he?”  

  “No serious injuries, he just… won’t wake up. They think his body went into some sort of Quirk-related shock.”  

Well, that was the first time he had to abruptly take someone else quirk, it’s bound to have some whiplash. Kurogiri nods in understanding. Hisashi supposes that the two of them probably understand better than most just how painful it can be to overreach with your Quirk, although… 

  “It’s not your fault, sir. I may not know the details, but I am sure there was nothing you could have done to prevent this.”  

  “You don’t know that. I should have…”  

  “Should haves won’t make a difference now. Izuku will need you to be strong to recover from this. If you want to blame yourself, do it after he’s safely tucked up in his own bed.”  

“Well said! ”  

  “You really should know your place, Kurogiri.”  

  “Oh, I do, sir. It’s by your shoulder, making sure you know what Inko would say.”  

“He’s right you know.” 

“I love this kid.” 

Once there is sufficient space, Kurogiri opens a warp gate. The first thing is Gigantomachia’s head. 

  “Is Little Lord alright?”  

  “He will be. I need you to stay and protect the house, in case it’s attacked. Understand, Gigantomachia?”  

  “Yes, Lord…”  

  “If anything happens, I’ll protect him."  

Gigantomachia perks up at that and vanishes back through the warp gate. Then his arm emerges, bearing a large holdall. Kurogiri accepts it and promptly begins unpacking. 

  “I thought Izuku might appreciate waking up to familiar surroundings,”  

Oh, that’s so kind of him. It’s always nice to see so many people taking care of the Midoriyas... But it’s also funny to see the hospital room slowly became a shrine to All Might. Nana always had a good laugh in moments like these. 

And it’s nice to laugh because they can ignore the situation for a little while. 

- 

Izuku woke up at some point. But when he sat up the boy realizes he wasn’t home, nor wearing his clothes... Well, he burst out into tears. 

“Oh, poor thing.”. 

Hisashi jolts awake, jumping to his feet and banging his knee on the bedframe. He looks around, and as soon as he sees Izuku reaching for him, he sits down on the bed. Izuku needs no further invitation and latches on with all his might. 

They are not sure how long Izuku cries, but his father doesn’t protest; he just holds Izuku close and whispers how much he loves him. The tears have finally dried by the time a doctor stops by and makes sure Izuku is feeling better. Once she’s left, Hisashi makes sure Izuku is comfortably propped up against the pillows and sits down as close as he can, tightly grasping Izuku’s hand. 

The seven of them are glad because no one would try to hurt Izuku with his father there. They sit in silence for a few minutes, until one of the nurses brings them both breakfast. Izuku manages a smile at the sight of the stack of pancakes, and Hisashi grasps at his coffee like a dying man. 

And as a late vigilante who always worked at the dead of night, Ichigo understands the struggle. 

  “Papa?”  

  “Yes, Izuku?”  

Izuku glances around. He leans close to Hisashi, and whispers: 

  “I did something bad.”  

“No, you didn’t!” 

“It was self-defense!” 

  “Well, whatever you did, you can tell me, Izuku. I promise I won’t be mad.”  

Izuku takes a deep breath and tightens his grip on Hisashi’s shirt, trying to leech every last bit of comfort he can.  

  “I took someone’s Quirk.”  

For just a second, Hisashi does not answer, and Izuku almost panics. But his old friend holds his son close and asks:    

  “Was this someone the person who took you?”  

Izuku nods, and papa presses a kiss to his head. 

  “Listen to me, Izuku; you did nothing wrong. When grown-ups do bad things and try to hurt you, it’s alright to use your Quirk. Did you use the Quirk you took?”  

  “I don’t know…”  

  “Because something very strange happened while we were looking for you. Suddenly, I was right next to you. And if you did it, I’m really proud of you. You were scared, but you still found a way to get help.”  

  “Really?”  

  “Really. No one is mad at you. The police will want to talk to you, but they’ll just want to ask you a few questions. And if you tell them what you just said, they’ll agree you did the right thing.”  

Izuku manages a smile, and giggles when his father ruffles his hair. 

  “Now, young man, there are a lot of people that will want to know you’re alright…”  

-  

They notice something different for a few weeks. No, since the day Izuku got his mother’s quirk. It was almost like they were being watched and that left them restless: there aren’t many people who can do that to them – only Hisashi came to mind and just because the quirks All for One and One for All were so deeply interconnected through the shared DNA. 

Ichigo mentions that to the others, and sure enough, they had noticed that sensation of being watched as well. The only problem? There’s not a lot they can do – either face the problem head-on or ignore it. Since both Izuku and Hisashi are asleep right now, they are in the void killing some time. Yoshito stops and looks around. Banjo was about to ask what is wrong but... 

“H-hello?” 

Yoshito stands up, running to the source. They know that voice and follow Shigaraki. First suddenly stops running and turns left. And there she is. The same green hair and eyes, a pink sweater, and white slippers.  

She looked at them, confusion clear in her eyes. Honestly, they all are. 

“Who are all of you?” 

There isn’t a good answer to that, really there isn’t. Still, Yoshi comes closer to his sister-in-law. 

“Inko-san, please let me explain. Or at least try to.” 

The woman looks at the man and gasps. 

“You’re Hisashi's brother. H-he showed me the photo of when you were children...” 

His friend stops, a small smile rising in his face. 

“He still has photos?” 

Silence. And then... 

“That’s really sweet, but can we focus on the problem at hand?” 

“DAIGORO BANJO I SWEAR TO GOD!” 

“Learn to read the room, come on!” 

“Even Inko-san is staring!”

“Oh damn, it’s the mom look  ™ .”

They may be heroes, but no one should piss off a mother.  Ever.  But luckily Nana introduces herself before things got out of hand, managing to take control of the situation. Following her example, the rest of them did the same. They also make sure that Daigoro apologizes for ruining the moment between the in-laws. 

Of course, Inko-san said that wasn’t necessary, that she really wanted is to understand what is happening. It’s a very polite way to say  “tell me wtf is going on or it’s over for you  bitches”. So they try to explain from the very beginning: about All for One and One for All, how Yoshito’s quirk really works and about all the battles that they fought against her husband, tell her about All Might. 

She began crying before they were finished. Yoshito continues to hug her. 

”B-but... How can I be here?” 

Yoshi hugs her even closer.  

“Maybe... Maybe it’s because you’re Izuku's mother. This quirk works around the DNA after all.” 

Inko-san sniffed. 

“You think so?” 

“It’s the only thing that makes sense. Izuku has your quirk now, maybe the same thing that happened with us is happening with you now.”. 

Really, that’s the only thing that makes some sense. Midoriya-san wipes away her tears and asks about how her family is right now. 

Now that’s something they are happy to talk about. 

Chapter Text

  “It appears the warehouse burnt to the ground. And we’ve been unable to locate any of the villains involved. Are you sure you didn’t see anything, Mr. Midoriya?”  

“Nana.”

“Yes.” 

“Isn’t that your kid’s friend?” 

“Naomasa Tsukauchi... Who just happens to be a human lie detector.” 

“Holy shit.” 

“Hoshizu-kun.” 

“I’m sorry Inko-san.” 

It’s never a good thing to lie to a police officer, but for some reason, Yoshito seems especially angry. They ask what’s the matter.  

“My brother is barely resisting the urge to whistle innocently” 

“Goddamn man, this is not the time!”

“I have to agree with him, dear.”  

  “I’m afraid when I saw Izuku was unconscious, I panicked. I picked him up and ran to get help, and had just exited the warehouse when it burst into flames. In hindsight, it was rather odd I didn’t encounter anyone…”  

“For crying out loud, that’s so cliché!” 

 “... A warehouse bursting into flames is cliché for you? ”  

“Midoriya-san, villains do that very frequently to eliminate evidence.” 

“Point taken.” 

  “…Right. Well, once the doctor decides he’s up to it, we’ll need to conduct an interview with Izuku.”  

  “Of course. If you’ll excuse me…”  

  “We hope Izuku feels better soon.”  

When he lets himself back into the hospital room, with a cup of that sludge the administrators seem to believe is coffee, Izuku is sitting propped up in bed, reading through Quirk Analysis, Vol. I, chewing on the end of a pen. 

  “Hey there. How are you feeling?”  

  “Tired. Bored.”  

Yoshito sighs. 

"Mood.” 

“Yoshito why?” 

“Because it’s funny to see you guys struggle.” 

Then he perks up, and Hisashi frowns because he knows perfectly well what is going through his head.  

  “No Quirk experiments before you’ve been released, young man!”  

  “But papa… I wanna see how it works!”  

  “However it works, it landed you in hospital.”  

” Young boy, your father is right!” 

Izuku pouts, but his father remains unmoved. It won’t work, right? He faced down heroes, what’s a six-year-old in comparison? 

  “If you insist, I can always take it off you and see how it works myself.”  

“Huh.” 

Inko laugh. 

“Oh, Hisashi never had the power to denied something to Izuku. That’s why we had so many All Might toys.” 

“That... That makes a lot of sense now.” 

Izuku opens his mouth to protest but spots the warning in Hisashi’s eyes. With a groan, he collapses back onto the pillows. 

  “Besides, Kurogiri promised he’d come to visit soon.”  

  “With biscuits?”  

  “I’m sure he’s not coming empty-handed.”  

Izuku nods, bright-eyes, and with another laugh, Hisashi picks up his son’s notebook. 

-   

  “Muffins!”  

“Oh, they were delicious.” 

 “It is good to see you too.”  

Hisashi asks how Gigantomachia was behaving at home, but Kurogiri smiles in his own special way and told to the bodyguard some clever little lie to distract him from the Midoriya’s household. 

  “Remind me to buy you those pans you’ve had your eye on.”  

“Non-adherent?” 

“Oh, those are great.” 

“I don’t know who invented that, but thank you. Those save my life when I graduated high school.” 

  “Of course, sir. He would like to see Izuku as soon as possible…”  

  “Can he, papa? Please…”  

  “Well, the doctor does think you’re up to receiving visitors. But you do not leave that bed! And the minute you’re tired, tell me!”  

  “Yes, papa!”  

A small black mist portal emerges from thin air, and surprisingly enough, instead of Gigantomachia, the first thing through is two small, familiar figures, both with green hair. 

“Oh, are those his friends?” 

“Yes, Inko-san. They are wonderful.” 

  “Izuku!”  

 “Are you alright?!”  

Midoriya-san’s smile is so bright that it’s almost blinding. 

  “Little Lord!”  

Hisashi hurriedly commands him, telling that hugs are out of the question and the giant nods morosely and takes up a spot at the foot of the bed, like an oversized guard dog.

Yukiyama-san and Iida-san step out the gate. The woman hurries over to kiss Izuku on the forehead and give him a hug, then offers up a box of tissues to Gigantomachia. It’s strangely uncomfortable to see her dyed green hair, even if they know that it’ll help the story of her being related to Inko-san. The woman in question doesn’t seem to be bothered, only asking more stories of her son with his friends to the other Holders. 

  “…And then this new hero showed up! His name is… It’s Edgeshot, and he can make himself really thin!”  

“Can’t wait for Izuku to write about him.” 

  “Oh, yeah! He’s the one that looks like a ninja, right? I saw him on the news last week…”  

“Hell. Yes.” 

“That drawing is going to be  awesome .” 

“Oh, there are drawings?” 

“Yes, so many.” 

Izuku opens his mouth to answer but is interrupted by a knock at the door. It’s the nurse who came to tell them that Naomasa Tsukauchi is there to ask Izuku a few questions. Yukiyama took her leave, just like the Iidas. Izuku feels kind of sad to say goodbye to Shoto and Tenya, even though they’ll see each other tomorrow. The policeman makes a rather weird face when Kurogiri opens a warp gate and they all vanish through it, and Machia settles down at the foot of the bed and curls up like a big dog. 

(The policeman is still making a strange face as he sits down.)

Izuku feels a little unsure, but he pulls his All Might plush close and decides he can just pretend he’s a hero giving his report to the police. And he can see his father just over the policeman’s shoulder, so he doesn’t have to be scared. 

  “Alright, Izuku. My name is Naomasa Tsukauchi, and I need to ask you a few questions. Is that alright?”  

  “Do I need a lawyer?”  

Yoshito barks out laughing while Inko gasps. 

 “ Izuku! ” 

“That’s not something you ask!” 

The policeman makes another strange face and Hisashi snickers behind his back. Izuku isn’t sure what’s so funny, but he smiles. 

  “…No, you don’t need a lawyer. You’re not in any trouble. I just need to ask you a few questions about the people that took you.”  

  “Oh, okay!”  

Ichigo laughs even louder then Yoshirto now. 

  “Do you know how many people there were?”  

  “At least…Three!”  

  “That many? You must have been really scared.”  

  “A bit. But when I grow up, I’m gonna be a hero! So it was good practice!”  

  “A future hero? Well, then I look forward to working together.”  

“Dude, you’ll be so old by then. ”  

“Shiro-kun, that’s just rude!” 

“Still true Inko-san.”. 

Izuku beams, oblivious to the quarrel behind him. 

  “Do you know what the people that took you looked like?”  

  “No. They put something on my head. Why don’t you ask the villain you caught?”  

“ I’m pretty sure your old man  exterminated  them .”  

“He did what?” 

As quickly as they could, the six of them decided who will tell her. And by deciding, she means they all just pointed at Yoshito. 

“Really?” 

“Your brother, your problems.” 

  “…We didn’t catch anyone. When we arrived, there was no one there.”  

  “Really? Not even the one I hurt?”  

  “…You hurt one of them?”  

  “With my Quirk. I know it’s naughty, but I was scared and wanted to go home! And papa just said it was alright…”  

  “You’re not in any trouble. I’m actually impressed. It sounds like you’ll be a really good hero. You must have been very smart, to think to use your Quirk. It’s…”  

  “Attraction. Like his mother. He can attract small objects.”  

The policeman frowns and pauses, but just as Izuku’s starting to worry, he shakes his head and stands up. 

“Shit, he picked up something.” 

“Maybe not...?” 

“My kid trusts this guy. He picked up something.”. 

“Oh dear, I hope Hisashi doesn’t do anything reckless.” 

  “Well, that’s all for now. I’ll call if we need anything else. And – Izuku, you really were very brave. I have no doubt you’ll be an incredible hero one day.”  

Izuku smiles at that, and Hisashi sees the policeman at the door. Then, once he’s gone, he comes back and Izuku moves over to make space for the older man on the bed. 

  “Papa, tell me a story…”  

Chapter Text

“Is that a bear?” 

“Too small. Maybe a rat?” 

“Too big.”

“You are all high as a kite. It’s obviously a capybara”. 

“Dear, he has a tail.” 

”Well, whoever he is, Hisashi is nervous for a fucking reason.” 

“His name is Nedzu. I think he’s the principal of UA.” 

Silence. And then. 

“He's in the notebook, isn’t he?” 

“Yep. Page 54.”

“Shit.”

 “Good morning!”  

 “…Can I help you?”  

 “Oh, I don’t know. I was thinking, perhaps, we could help each other!  But, well, such matters are best discussed over tea.”  

“He really sounds like a teacher.” 

“I don’t like this.” 

“He’s... too polite?” 

“How’s that bad?”’ 

“Yoshito-san, no one is that polite without a reason. Trust me, I have my experience from all the meetings on the neighborhood associations.” 

Hisashi moves aside. He leaves the principal to clamber onto the couch and instead busies himself preparing a nice pot of tea in the kitchen. 

  “Thank you.  

  “So what brings you to my humble abode?”.  

“He’s freaking out.”

“Clearly.” 

  “Oh, I was recently contacted about a rather… curious case. The police were interested in my opinion on your son’s recent… misadventure. And, well, after reading over the report, I only had more questions. So I thought it would be best to come to the source.”  

“God, I really don’t like this.” 

“None of us are liking this!” 

  “I thought the matter was straightforward. Izuku was kidnapped. The abductors obviously wanted me to withdraw the money from the bank.”  

  “Yes, but why was no one there when you arrived? Why would they leave their insurance – Izuku - lying around, and why would they not be there when you arrived? Why risk the two of you escaping as you did? There is always the possibility that they were distracted by someone, perhaps a hero, but then why would you not see anything? Why would a hero not report an incident?”  

"Not only polite but intelligent."

"Does your brother have an escape plan?"

"Guys!"

"Does he?!"

"He has seven of those, but that’s not the point!"

  “…Maybe the kidnappers had a falling out between themselves? Or perhaps they were in conflict with some other villains, and a confrontation occurred?”  

  “Yes, but still I keep coming back to why there would be no one there when you arrived. But then I realized – perhaps it wasn’t the kidnappers that wanted you there.”  

  “What?”  

  “And then everything makes sense. Izuku is a young child. He is taken – kidnapped from school, presumably for ransom. Of course, he is afraid, and wants to go home, but who would he want more than anything at that moment? Who would be able to make everything better, would make him feel safe? I’d wager, at that moment, Izuku does not want Ingenium, or All Might, or any other hero to come save him. Izuku wanted his father.”  

 “Are you suggesting Izuku somehow… I don’t know, stole a Quirk, figured out how to use it, and summoned me from the middle of Tokyo…?”  

 “Exactly!”  

“That’s it. They are leaving.” 

“He needs to burn the place to the ground!” 

“Dude! Think about all the photos!" 

“If I know my husband, then he has at least two backups. And a backup of the backup.” 

“The toys then!”

“Shiro, my dear, he can buy those again.” 

  “How on earth would Izuku steal a Quirk? I mean, do you think he has some sort of… secondary Quirk? I mean, I suppose it’s possible, but…”  

  “Midoriya, please. I know.”  

  “Know what?”  

  “I know Izuku has All for One.”  

"YAGI TOSHINORI, YOU HAD ONE JOB! KEEP THAT SHIT A SECRET!"

"Nana!"

"Don’t “Nana” me young man!"

 "I’m older than you!"

"Both of you, hush!"

  “He has what?”  

  “Could we please do away with this charade? I know Izuku – and you – have All for One. I know you are fully aware of who All For One is. And I know why you don’t want to admit it. But All For One is dead.”

"Wait, what?"

“Everyone, SHUT. UP!”  

"Doesn’t matter. Whatever the capybara is thinking, milk it!"

 “It’s alright, Midoriya. I went over all the files before coming here, and I can assure you, All For One is dead. He was killed over a decade ago by a hero named Nana Shimura. Izuku's abduction, as far as we can tell, is completely unrelated.”  

“Oh, thank goodness. I wondered why he hadn’t contacted me in such a long time. Especially… especially after Izuku was born.”  

“Well, now I’m curious." 

 “I’m sorry we couldn’t inform you earlier. It just… It never occurred to us that All For One might have… a family.”  

 “Please. The word family implies there might have been some… affection there. He wanted some way to store Quirks, and decided it would be easiest if there was someone else with All For One.”  

“Dear, please, work on your sob story.”

“Sell. That. Performance.” 

 “I see. I… I am a teacher first, Midoriya. To hear someone had so little regard for any child, let alone their own… I am truly sorry.”  

 “It was difficult, at first.”  

Hisashi sighs, and smiles as his eyes settle on a photo of Inko. The sight of her makes the man more determined to convince Nedzu. 

 “But… When I became an adult, he left me alone for the most part. Probably didn’t want me to be a target for heroes. And… When I met my wife, when Izuku was born, it felt like I could leave it all behind me. I could just… Be the father I never had. But then...”

 "...But then Izuku was kidnapped, and you made the logical assumption it was All For One,"  

 "Yes! But I couldn't do anything, couldn't tell anyone! I... I thought he'd taken Izuku, and I'd never... Never..."  

 "It's alright. I personally checked all the reports. All For One was confirmed dead, his remains identified and buried. There might still be former followers of his out there, but if there are, you probably know them better than me."  

 "Not really. I was kept well away from all his shady dealings. The only one I know is Gigantomachia, and he is loyal only to me and Izuku."  

Nedzu nods, and they sit in silence for a few seconds. Then the hero shifts uncomfortably. 

 “…I hesitate to bring it up, but have you considered that… perhaps it’s best All for One… ends?”  

Yoshito made a sour expression to the implication, and now that Inko-san knew the real history in between the brothers, she is worried too. 

 “I did. But what if Izuku one day has children of his own? What if he realizes I took his Quirk? I... He's all I have. I... I can't lose him.”  

And isn’t that the honest truth?

 “You have a point. But still, I suggest you limit the number of people that know about All For One. I do not think you or your son should be punished for someone else’s actions, but not everyone will be so understanding.”  

 “Of course. So far, you are the only person outside out family that knows.”  

 “There’s also officer Tsukauchi. He was concerned about your lies and contacted me. I explained my suspicions to him, and he agreed that you deserve a chance. And… I felt it would be good to have someone on your side in the police force.”  

"I KNEW IT!"

"Nana!"

 “I suppose it’s for the best. However, I’d like to be informed before you tell anyone else about our… Family secret.”  

"Of course,. Perhaps, in a few years, Izuku might like to visit UA. I have to admit, I looked over what information I could, and he sounds like a charming boy."  

That brought a smile to the boy’s parent's face.

“He'd like that. He's... Well, actually, he and his friends want to be heroes when they are older."

“Oh, wouldn’t that be something. All For One’s grandson, a student at UA.”  

Nedzu laughs. And laughs. (And laughs.) Finally, he wheezes. 

“I’m just glad it’s the grandson. It would be like the plot of some bad movie if it was the son.”  

Both Yoshito and Ichigo groan. 

“Oh my God, it’s “The Empire Strikes Back”. 

“... What the hell is that.” 

"It is a masterpiece of a movie, and I’m sorry you guys don’t know that."

They exchange smiles, and... strangely enough, the heroes can tell Hisashi feels better.  Lighter. Because perhaps this is for the best. Perhaps Izuku will be able to be honest with his friends and tell them the truth about his Quirk. Perhaps Izuku will be able to go to a school where he can train his Quirk without worrying about coming up with a cover story. Perhaps Izuku will have teachers he can trust. 

Perhaps Izuku can even become a hero. 

Then a Warp Gate opens, and Hisashi just has time to brace himself. 

“OHMYGOSHITSPRINCIPALNEDZU!”  

“So he really is the principal!”

Chapter Text

Izuku has been released from the hospital for a few days now, and Hisashi suggested one last sleepover before he goes back to school. Both Izuku and Shoto had loved the idea, but it appears to her that Tenya almost didn’t come. 

Between dinner and settling down to read comics, the other boys seem to pick up on it. So, for the first time ever, Izuku does not suggest they sneak out for ‘Quirk testing’, and according to the others, that’s something Izuku always suggested. 

“Most of the time mini armor kid stops him, but your kid always tries to anyway.”. 

Finally, Hisashi comes to tuck them all in. Tenya curls up with his Ingenium plush, and watches miserably as the man pauses at the door. But then her husband shakes his head and leaves, and Tenya settles down to sleep. They lie in silence for probably an hour; although he can’t sleep, Tenya at some point figures Izuku and Shoto have drifted off. But then he hears Izuku shift. 

  “You guys asleep?”  

  “No. Tenya?”  

  “I’m awake.”  

For a minute, they all lie there quietly. Tenya isn’t sure why he feels so scared, but just as he feels like he’s about to scream, Izuku speaks again. 

  “What do you guys think my Quirk is?”  

“Oh.” 

“Guys do you think...?” 

“Maybe. He trusts them Inko-san.” 

“Sorry, but sometimes that’s not enough.” 

“We can only hope.” 

  “You can attract small objects, right?”  

  “I always thought it was intelligence-based, like principal Nedzu.”  

Izuku doesn’t immediately answer; when he does, his voice is even quieter, and she knows her son is scared. 

  “I… don’t think I have an intelligence Quirk. And… Attraction is my mum’s Quirk.”  

“He’s going to, yes.” 

They hold their breath and somehow, all the seven of them are giving her their support. Her brother-in-law is holding her hand; Ichigo-san is by her side and Nana-chan is hugging her. 

They lie in silence for a few minutes.

  “You got your Quirk from your mum. So?”  

Well, in a way he did. 

“It doesn’t work like that candy cane.” 

Izuku laughs, but it’s a small, wet sound, and how it hurts to see her boy crying. It hurts, even more, to not be able to comfort him. 

  “I… Attraction is my mum’s Quirk. Literally. She… When she got sick, she gave it to my papa, and then he gave it to me.”  

They are holding hands now, hoping for the best, hoping that they won’t judge or become scared of her boy. 

  “…Your mum could give her Quirk to someone?”  

The kids are struggling but obviously trying to understand. That’s good, that’s good, right? 

  “Not quite. I… My papa can take Quirks. So mum asked him to take her Quirk and give it to me. Only I’m like Papa; I can take and give Quirks too.”  

Tenya doesn’t say anything immediately, but she can tell that the mere idea of someone able to take Quirks at will… It’s scary for anyone, especially for a little boy, so Tenya clutches tightly at his plush.

  “Your mum gave you her Quirk? That… That’s awesome.”  

  “Yeah. She must have loved you a lot.”  

“Oh young Yukiyama, I do. So much.” 

Her brother in law is hugging her now.    

  “Like… Like she wanted to always be with you. It’s… really nice…”  

  “Thanks.”  

They can finally relax now. The young boys understood, they accept him... And they didn’t judge. Oh, that means so much to her. 

“They are so kind!” 

They all hug her again. 

-  

Tenya is having a nightmare, she can tell. 

  “Tenya? Tenya! Tenya!”  

Tenya jolts awake, panting, and scans the room. Shoto is still asleep on his futon, but if he squints, he can just make out Izuku leaning over the foot of his bed, staring at him. The sight calms Tenya, and he tries to get his breathing under control. 

  “You alright?”  

Suddenly Tenya is crying. And Inko can only imagine why: her son had been taken from under his nose! 

How helpless did he really feel then?  

  “Hey, come on; let’s… Let’s get a cookie!”  

"What? No!"

"You kids should be asleep!"

“And you guys already brushed your teeth! Everything tastes bad after that!” 

“I’m pretty sure that’s orange juice, but alright.” 

“Oh God no, drinking orange juice after brushing your teeth is like torture!” 

“You have clearly never been tortured.” 

“Ichigo-san, if you want you can talk to me, you know that, right?” 

“...Thank you Midoriya-san.” 

“Inko. All of you, please call me Inko.” 

Halfway to the kitchen, they decide they don’t really want anything to eat. It’s past one in the morning, and everyone else is asleep, but they end up hiding behind one of the couches in the living room, Tenya clutching his Ingenium plush and Izuku Attracting his All Might figurine from one hand to the other. 

  “Did you have a nightmare? It’s alright. I’ve been having them too late.”  

They sit in silence for a few minutes. 

  “Tenya? Are… Are you mad at me?”  

“What? No! I… You should be mad at me!”  

Tenya, what are you talking about?  

  “…Why?”  

  “Cause they took you! Cause I was right there, and they took you! And I didn’t do anything!”  

“Oh, you poor thing. You did something!“ 

“You’re also like, six years old. It’s not like you could chase that van.” 

“Banjo-san!” 

Izuku hugs his friend and waits until Tenya’s calmed down a bit. And then, in a quiet, firm voice, he points out. 

  “We’re six.”  

“Thank you, son.” 

  “What?”  

  “We’re six. And… You did do something, didn’t you? You got a teacher. And she called the police.”  

“Yes.” 

  “Yes, but…”  

  “Six.”  

  “I know, but…”  

They are smiling at the scene.    

  “Six!”  

  “I should…”  

Nana is snickering, just like Banjo and Shiro. 

  “Six six six!”  

...And they are all laughing now because it’s so cute. 

Tenya snickers and he pauses, surprised. He glances over at his friend, and Izuku just grins at him. And… 

  “I want you to take my Quirk.”  

They did not see that coming.    

  “What?”  

  “Not now. But… If someone is going to kidnap you or hurt you, I want you to take my Quirk. Cause then you can get away!”  

“That’s sweet but...  Your quirk involves pipes coming out of your calves. That got to hurt.” 

“There’s a reason Nii-chan avoids some mutants quirks.” 

“Oh?” 

“Yeah, anything that drastically changes his body structure. Extra limbs or such.” 

Izuku stares at him, wide-eyed; then he sniffs and laughs, and Inko is relieved to recognize the wide grin that means this is just another instance of happy tears. 

  “O… Okay! And… You’re the bestest friend ever!”  

  “No, you are!”  

  “No! You are!”  

  “No!...”  

 “Shoto is the bestest friend ever and you two need to get back to bed.”  

“Busted.”

She giggles. Her husband still had the same sense of humor. 

Chapter Text

   “OHMYGOSHITSECTOPLASM!”  

“Volume 1, page 79.” 

“Between him and Gang Orca, who’s the most badass?”

“Hum... I guess it’s a tie?” 

“Agreed.” 

“Are you all really forgetting about the Dragon Hero?” 

“Okay, so Ryukyu-san is in the first place, Gang Orca and Ectoplasm are tied.” 

While Hoshizu and Isao argue the rest of them are too occupied watching Izuku run over to a very surprised (and, perhaps, slightly shellshocked) hero. His nephew will clearly remember this day – he hasn’t stopped smiling since Hisashi told him they would visit U.A. On one hand is adorable, on the other hand, he is wondering if perhaps Izuku’s hero obsession is getting slightly out of hand... And that’s him saying it! 

  “Ectoplasm has kindly volunteered to show you, boys, around. We will meet you in the school cafeteria for lunch!”  

  “Papa?”  

  “It’ll be fine, Izuku. I need to talk to Tensei about something, but we’ll join you as soon as we’re done. You’ll be safe here; after all, it’s U.A. And Kurogiri will be with you boys. And if something does happen, what do you do?”  

  “Summon papa!”  

They stand there for a while, until First claps. 

“Okay, I’m going with Nii-chan, see you guys later.” 

Ichigo elbows him and follows him with Inko.    

“Tell us what happens later!” 

“We will!” 

Iida does not look convinced as he watches the boys follow Ectoplasm. But, like a consummate professional, he takes a deep breath and treats them all to a (somewhat forced) smile, and then follows them into the teacher’s lounge. 

Hisashi sits down with a sigh. His brother is not looking forward to this conversation, but it seems neither is Tensei. The young man glances around, obviously uncertain, as Principal Nedzu goes to prepare them a pot of tea, and Recovery Girl makes absolutely certain there is no one outside the room before locking them in. 

  “Ookay. Am I in trouble? Cause I don’t know what you think I did, but I’m pretty sure it’s Mic’s fault.”  

“What exactly is Present Mic’s fault?” 

  “Of course you’re not in trouble; we’re here to talk about something unrelated to your time here at UA.”  

Hisashi pours himself a cup of tea. His brother clearly doesn’t want to do this, but… Nedzu had a point when he mentioned they should perhaps let another pro-hero in on the Midoriya’s little secret. And Hisashi has no problem with Recovery Girl; frankly, having a medical professional aware of Izuku’s Quirk seems like a sensible idea. 

However, it took his brother about two hours and quite a bit of manipulation to convince Nedzu that no, All Might do not need to know All For One had a son... Which, in all honesty, might backfire in the future. 

  “Iida, are you aware of Mr. Midoriya and Izuku’s Quirks?”.  

  “Oh, sure. Izuku’s got that… Attract Quirk, right? And Midoriya can heal people.”  

  “Well, technically you’re correct.”  

  “Technically?...”  

  “I do have a healing Quirk. I have several. I also have a sleep-inducing Quirk, a rather interesting long-sightedness Quirk, a few regeneration Quirks… A couple of speed Quirks…”  

Tensei opens his mouth. And closes it. And opens it again. 

Huh, just like a fish. 

  “…And Izuku?...”  

  “Oh, he just has Attraction. And Summon. And I might have slipped him a regeneration Quirk… Or three…”  

“Five.” 

“The kid broke his leg to prove a point, his father's concerns are valid.” 

“ He did what?! ” 

Neither of them spoke for a while. But then Ichigo whispers  “Damn, I knew we forgot to tell her something.”.  

  “And of course we both have our original Quirks.”  

  “Original Quirks?”  

  “Yes. Before I explain anything further, I need to tell you that everything we’re discussing right now is strictly top secret. The only person outside this room that knows is officer Tsukauchi. I am telling you all this because I trust you.”  

That seems to be the right thing to say, and Hisashi means it: he trusts the Iida family and will protect them. 

  “My father was a villain. And… A powerful villain, at that. He was old, too; he was part of the very first generation of Quirk users. But… Several years ago, a hero finally killed him. I understand why, and I approve; there was never any affection between us. Frankly, I am relieved to be free of him. But... Well, I was born with the same Quirk as him. And... It seems Izuku has it, too."  

  “What sort of Quirk?”  

Hisashi shrugs like it’s no big deal.

  “We can take Quirks. Not just take them; we can pass Quirks to other people, as well. And… While most people cannot handle more than one Quirk at a time, we can possess – not just possess, but use as well – many Quirks at once. And I mean many.”  

  “Holy fucking shit.”  

“Language!” 

“Inko...” 

“Well, what if Tenya-kun heard it and copied him?” 

“I doubt that will ever happen.” 

  “My father used me as… Well, I suppose as a storage container for Quirks. I have… I’m not sure exactly how many, but… several dozen Quirks.”  

Technically, he isn’t lying; he stopped counting around the three hundred marks. That is several (dozen) dozen. 

  “Holy fucking shit. And… Your father? What was his name?”  

  “He was what you might call an underground villain. The government was trying to prevent panic. Very few heroes were informed about his existence. His Quirk was named after him. He was called... All For One.”  

“God, I forgot how dramatic your brother likes to be.” 

“Well, he always loved Alexandre Dumas.” 

Inko looks at him confused. 

“It’s an old French book, he got our quirks names from there. ” 

For a minute, Tensei stares at Hisashi. The man shifts, unsure of his reaction, and for the first time, his brother starts to worry. The Iidas are an upstanding hero family; for them to knowingly associate with the child of a supervillain seems… unlikely. Hisashi has a sinking feeling as he imagines having to explain to Izuku that Tenya can’t be his friend anymore… 

…And then Tensei sniffs and wipes at his eyes, and Hisashi realizes with no small amount of horror that the hero has tears in his eyes. 

He can’t help it, he just stars to laugh. 

“Yoshito-san?” 

  “Thank you. Your trust… It means so much to me.”  

“He’s going to monologue?” 

“Worse, he's going to talk about feelings .” 

  “I mean, here you are. You’ve been through such terrible experiences; your dad was terrible, and then when you finally found happiness… It’s ripped away by the cruel hands of fate! And yet you’re still trying to be a good role model to Izuku! It cannot be easy; after all, you’re genetically predisposed to being absolutely-fucking-terrifying! It must be so hard, battling not only your experiences but also your DNA! But it makes so much sense that villain-ness is genetic!”  

“Pffft.”

“Oh, they are going to hate missing this .”

Hisashi considers Izuku and his adorable smile and opens his mouth to point out being evil is probably not genetic. Then his brother decides perhaps it’s easier to just… let Tensei get this out of his system.

  “…You must have missed out on so much growing up! Family trips, sleepovers, hanging out with friends… Don’t worry, though, because you’re not alone anymore! You can come to meet my friends, come drinking with us, join us for karaoke… Have some fun!”  

“You are mental if you think my brother is about to spend time with young adults.” 

  “Oh, come on, Hisashi, don’t be such a stick in the mud!”  

“What did you just call my husband?” 

  “Hisashi! You know, your name!”  

“Boy, don’t.” 

 “Why not?”  

“Dude, you are a teenager my brother only tolerates because  your  brother is his son’s friend.” 

  “You just told me your deep, dark secret!”  

“No, he lied to you.” 

  “Yes, but we’ve known each other for years!”  

“Because you broke into our house when Izuku was three years old.” 

  “Alright, fine, Uncle Hisashi.”  

“You aren't my kid, stop saying that.” 

  “You let Tenya call you that!”  

“Mini armor kid has the privilege of being Izuku friend.” 

  “But I’m Tenya’s brother! It would be weird for you to be his uncle and not mine!”  

“Yes, but Tenya-kun is very polite and cute. You are not.” 

  “Ryuuko says I’m cute!”  

“She is your girlfriend.” 

  “She’s a pro-hero!”  

“What does that have to do with anything? The flaming trash bag is also one, and he sucks.” 

  “Oh, come on, Uncle Hisashi…”  

“Stop calling him that!” 

For some reason, Inko shivers. 

“What is it?” 

“I don’t know... Something feels wrong.” 

Chapter Text

Izuku seems to be having the best day ever. 

He can’t help but grin as he tucks into his lunch; Ectoplasm showed him, Shoto and Tenya all around UA, and answered all of Izuku’s questions, so kudos to the pro hero. Right now, they are in the cafeteria, eating what seemed to be a delicious meal... But that’s not what Isao is focusing at the moment: Yukiyama-kun is too quiet, only picking at his food. 

  “Are you alright, Shoto?”  

  “I… Can I tell you guys a secret?”  

The three of them look in tandem over at Kurogiri, who decides to get up and get a refill of his tea. None of them comment on how his mug is still almost full. 

  “You can trust us, Shoto.”  

  “Yeah. We’re a team.”  

  “I… My father used to hit us.”  

It’s like they’ve been punched in the gut. Sure, there were suspicions, but it is hurtful to be right. 

  “We… left when I was four. He still scares me…”  

  “Is that why you dye your hair? To hide?"  

Shoto nods. 

  “Well, you needn’t worry! Should you ever feel threatened, you need only call and Tensei will come to your rescue!”  

  “And Kurogiri will warp you somewhere safe!”  

  “…My father’s Endeavor…”  

Izuku stares at him, stunned. He glances over at Tenya, who looks just as shocked. And then the unthinkable happens: at the tender age of seven, Midoriya Izuku dropped the F-word.

  “Fuck Endeavor!”  

“NO!”

“WHERE DID HE HEAR THAT?!” 

“Oh my God, that feels so wrong on so many levels.” 

“It feels like the Universe broke or something...” 

  “Yes, I guess fu… fu… such behavior is appalling.”  

“Thank you Tenya.” 

“He’s the common sense of the group, really.” 

Shoto and Izuku share a smile at their friend’s expense.  

  “What's your real hair like?”  

  “It’s…  Actually, it’s red and white. Literally. Half of it is red, half is white.”  

“Oh my God, he is the Canadian flag!” 

“That’s your nickname?!” 

“Okay, first: none of them are good. Second, we should respect this kid. Either call him by his given name or shut it. Besides, Izuku is muttering and I would like to hear what he has to say.” 

And sure enough, Izuku starts to hypothesize about his friend's quirk, making some very good points, mind you. 

  “Muttering!”  

Izuku laughs, not the least bit embarrassed. Then an idea occurs to him, and he leans forward and asks what they are fearing. 

  “ Hey, do you want to do a few experiments?”  

“Oh boy.” 

 - 

“Why is there a massive glacier in the middle of Training Ground Beta?” 

“Your nephew was doing some experiments.” 

Chapter Text

   “You know, Uncle Hisashi, you really don’t have to come with us…”  

“He’s not leaving Izuku alone with you guys.” 

“Also, you’re going to see your girlfriend. ”  

   “Kurogiri is coming too!”  

“Kurogiri is getting the week off.”

“He also has chosen to spend that time with Mandalay. I’m still very happy for them!” 

   “Tiger will be there!”  

“We don’t know him. Neither does Hisashi.”

   “…I could ask Mic to come?”  

“How is that supposed to make him feel better?” 

Tensei opens his mouth, but Hisashi is mercifully saved from any further idiocy by the ringing of the doorbell. 

   “Shoto’s here!”  

For some reason, Shouto’s hair is purple now, his beloved penguin clutched in his arms, closely followed by his eldest brother. 

   “Uncle Hisashi! Thank you so much for inviting Shoto!”  

“How come Touya can call Hisashi that, but not Tensei?” 

“Because my brother can relate to the Yukiyama family.” 

While Shoto and Tenya dispute about the wonders of having older brothers, Izuku seems especially sad. 

   “I wish I had a brother…”  

   “You have a Kurogiri. There’s only one of those.”  

Izuku perks up, and that’s enough to make his mother giggle. 

“Well, he was already family, but I guess is official now.” 

“Okay, so Kurogiri is now Izuku cousin... And of course, Yoshito’s son.” 

They look at the man in question. 

“You know what? He’s a great kid, I’m cool with that.” 

“Congratulations on your adopted son Yoshi. Inko-san, congratulations on your nephew.” 

“Thank you, I’m very proud of him and his muffins.” 

“Yoshi-san!” 

Shigaraki laughs. Meanwhile, Kurogiri, who has himself just emerged from the kitchen, levels Hisashi with an unimpressed look. Hisashi doesn’t really pay him much attention, because Kurogiri can deal. 

   “Do we have everything?”  

   “Yes, sir.”  

   “Yep!”.  

   “Machia!”.  

   “Alright,”  

“This is going to be bad.” 

“Oh, there’s no doubt on that.” 

- 

  “Tensei! I missed you so much!”  

He would also like it to be noted for the record that Hisashi was right. 

  “Good to see you again, Midoriya. Hi, Izuku! It's wonderful to see you again!"  

  “Hi, Mandalay! This is Touya! He’s my cousin!”  

Mandalay-san isn’t even taken aback by Gigantomachia, which is a plus. She only introduces the rest of her teammates, Tiger and Ragdoll. 

  “Papa, papa! Can I and Shoto and Tenya go play? Please? Pleeease?”  

“How can my son be this cute?” 

“We always thought it was your genes. And before his  quirk came we thought  that was his quirk.” 

“The villains would happily surrender themselves to the police because of his cute face.”. 

Hisashi smiles and nods. Izuku cheers and gives him a quick hug, and then turns to dash off into the trees. Hisashi watches him go and calls out. 

  “Gigantomachia?”  

  “Yes, Lord!”  

Hisashi thinks nothing of it; he exchanges further pleasantries with the heroes, and then he and Touya carry the bags through to their rooms. Kurogiri, along with their food, disappears off to the kitchen, Mandalay close behind. Hisashi pauses to consider his next question and glances over at the teenager, relieved to see him relaxing… 

…And then something hard, and fast barrels into him, sending him crashing to the ground. 

“What the hell.” 

“Deja-vu.” 

  “Uncle Hisashi! We didn’t mean to!”  

“Well, that’s not good.” 

Hisashi jerks upright and as he looks out in the direction Izuku went, he spots a worrying amount of smoke. 

“Oh my God!” 

“Are they being attacked?”

  “Touya, get an extinguisher!”  

Hisashi runs to the source and almost collapses out of sheer relief when he emerges into a clearing and spots Izuku and Shoto, both obviously hysterical. There are several trees lying uprooted in the center of the clearing as if some giant threw then there, and Gigantomachia is trying desperately to put them out. 

   “Shoto, freeze it!”  

“What?  200 years alive and you never stole an ice or water quirk?! ”  

“This is not the time Shiro!” 

   “I can’t! Izuku has it!”  

Hisashi doesn’t have to ask what it is; he grabs onto Izuku for a few seconds, and then he’s taking off again, Half Hot, Half Cold ready for action. It takes no time at all to encase the trees in a huge block of ice, and then all of a sudden the crisis is over. Hisashi is so, so exhausted as he turns back to the children. His legs are shaking, and he feels like he’s about to collapse, but it’s alright because Izuku is safe. A hysterical, sobbing mess, but safe. 

Hisashi sighs as he crouches down. Izuku is there almost immediately, clinging to him. Hisashi allows himself a few seconds to just breathe, and convince himself that Izuku really is safe, and then pulls Shoto in to join the embrace. 

That is how Tensei finds them when he comes crashing out of the woods, a fire extinguisher at the ready, a number of leaves and branches sticking out of his hair, and several cuts to his face. He manages to stop before he barrels into Gigantomachia and looks around, obviously confused. 

  “It’s alright. We put it out.”  

  “Thank goodness. You guys hurt?”  

Hisashi gently extracts himself from the boys. Izuku’s shirt is rather singed on one side, and Shoto looks worryingly pale, but… 

  “They’re fine. Gigantomachia?”  

  “I am sorry, Lord!”.  

“ Oh dear, this can’t possibly be your fault. ”  

“Yeah, you were trying to put the fire out, that’s something!” 

  “Don’t be silly. Come on, any burns?”  

  “Machia’s hurt!”  

The giant freezes. Hisashi barely resists the urge to smile as he watches the… curious expressions on Gigantomachia’s face, and instead turns to his son. 

  “Oh, Izuku. Machia should have known better though. Maybe he should just go sit in time out.”  

“Nii-chan!” 

Izuku hesitates for just a split second, and Hisashi almost laughs. (Because he’s pretty sure Izuku knows what he’s trying to do.) Then Izuku shakes his head. 

  “ No! It was my fault! And Machia’s hurt! And I don’t want him to be hurt!”  

  “Well, I don’t know…”  

  “No!”  

He. Stamps. His. Foot. 

It's not intimidating, it’s adorable. 

  “You have to heal him, papa! Or… Or… I won’t hug you anymore!”  

Everyone gasps. Well, everyone but Inko, she’s smiling. 

“Awn, he’s already blackmailing his father. That’s karma at its finest.”. 

“Already?”.  

“It was only a matter of time, really.”    

Hisashi doesn’t have a chance to respond, because suddenly Gigantomachia is right there, wide-eyed. Hisashi chuckles as he easily heals the burns on the giant’s hands, and then turns back to Tensei. 

  “Did you just use your son for blackmail?”  

  “Of course not.”  

Their odd little procession sets off back in silence, Tensei in the lead, and Hisashi takes the opportunity to slip Half Hot, Half Cold back to Shoto. The boy stumbles and glances back at him, and Hisashi raises his finger to his lips. Shoto smiles and nods. 

Midoriya-san almost laughs out of sheer relief. He knows by now that the boys are aware of Izuku’s true Quirk, but aware and accepting are two very different things. If Shoto was willing to lend Izuku his Quirk. That… It feels like an occasion. It feels like the boys have accepted him, scary Quirk and all. And… 

Hisashi has been meaning to start teaching Izuku more about All for One this trip. Perhaps Tenya and Shoto will be willing to help if he gives them a few tips in return. 

  “Izuku, what exactly happened?”  

Izuku shifts anxiously, avoiding eye contact, and Hisashi sighs at such a clear admission of guilt. 

  “Izuku, Quirks can be dangerous. You could have been hurt.”  

“You are one to talk. You almost suffocate with that fire breathing quirk when you tried the first time!” 

“I’m sorry, what?” 

“It’s a long story Inko-san.“ 

“No, no, don’t change the subject. We’re talking about this later.” 

  “I’m sorry, papa. I just wanted to see how it works.”  

“And that was the same excuse you gave me. ”  

  “I know, Izuku. But you’re too young, all of you, to be using Quirks without an adult. And you know Gigantomachia doesn’t count.”  

“He really doesn’t. I adore him, but he doesn’t.”

  “Izuku, I was so scared. What if something happened to you? What if Gigantomachia didn’t react so quickly? What would I do without you?”  

Izuku starts to cry again, even as he clings to his father, but at least he seems to have got the message. 

  “I’m not going to stop you, boys, from using your Quirks this weekend. But I want there to be at least two adults while you’re practicing. And, as punishment, you are not allowed to use any of your Quirks without me. Understood?”  

 “Yes, papa. Are you going to take them?”  

Hoshizu can tell that Hisashi is tempted. Because Izuku might not have even a fraction of all Hisashi’s Quirks, but he has the one Quirk Hisashi wants more than anything, more than even One For All. But he’s trying; so he smiles and presses a kiss to Izuku’s forehead. 

  “No, Izuku. I trust you.”  

Izuku beams. 

Chapter Text

It’s quite obvious that Izuku is bored. And frankly? That is rather surprising, since he is on a camping trip with his family, two best friends and no less than five pro-heroes. Although, Izuku is also the only single child between the three, so while his friends are playing/training with their brothers, Izuku is stuck inside reviewing Quirk Analysis, Vol. I. Sure, his new cousin is there in the kitchen, but he is with his girlfriend. 

So it doesn’t count. 

He’s just flipped the page to read about – HOLY SHIT, IS THAT MY QUIRK HE IS READING ABOUT? 

“Oh, it is.” 

“...Does this mean the rest of our quirks are going to be there in the future?” 

They don’t have time to think about that because Hisashi calls Izuku – who immediately slams the notebook shut and bolts out of the kitchen. 

  “Can we practice now?”  

  “Oh, yes. In fact, I thought we could play a game.”  

Ichigo and Yoshito don’t seem to like that for some reason. 

  “A game? What sort of game?”  

  “I call it Capture the Quirk.”  

“God, I knew he would pull this crap.” 

“Everything is a  ‘learning experience’  with him, I swear.” 

  “Basically, it’s like capture the flag. I’ll be on one team, and Izuku on the other. If you have your Quirk taken, you’re in jail. You can only move again when you get a Quirk again. No, it doesn’t have to be your original Quirk.”  

  “But then you and I will never be out!”  

  “We’ll each have one Quirk that if taken, means we’re in jail. You are still allowed to take and give Quirks but can only move if you get the original Quirk back. A few important rules: all Quirks must be returned once the game is over. If I say the game is over, stop immediately. The only people allowed to have more than one Quirk at once are me and Izuku. Understood?”  

They did. 

  “This is so weird. But what’s the big deal? If we have more than one…”  

  “Two words: brain damage.”  

And with a little touch, you can become a Nōmu. They're categorized into Lower-Tier, Middle-Tier, Upper-Tier, and High-End according to their physical enhancements and the number of Quirks they possess. Of course, the other adults don’t need to know that, but Hisashi explains even further – how most people aren’t designed to handle more than one quirk and how having more than one can send the person into shock. Sure, the Shigaraki brothers and Izuku are the exceptions to that rule, but again, the other adults don’t need to know that. 

Ragdoll, Mandalay, and Kurogiri won’t be playing, but agree to monitor them in case of an emergency. Teams are decided by Hisashi, and Izuku, Shoto, Tensei, and Pixie-Bob hurry off to their base to discuss strategy. 

Then the man whistles and the game begins. 

 -

Izuku is bored. 

Again. 

He lasted all of three minutes; then Hisashi stole the glow-in-the-dark Quirk he’d been given, and now Izuku’s stuck in a clearing, unable to help his team. 

Side note, why did Hisashi have a glow in the dark quirk, to begin with? 

“I guarantee that he has weirder quirks. I’ve been counting.” 

“Didn’t you stop counting around the three hundred marks?” 

“Yeah, but Ichigo kept going.”

Second just nods, and that’s all the answer they need. 

And sure, Izuku can’t just get the Quirk back; his father has a firm hold on it, and his own nominated Quirk, and a few others that must be important. Trying to get any of them feels rather like Izuku’s trying to wrestle with a mountain. 

Izuku flops onto his back. 

Both Yoshito and Izuku can sense Hisashi easily with All for One, especially since he feels so different from everyone else. It’s hard to explain, but it is like building an enormous block of Legos, one on the top of the other. 

Yoshito pales. 

“Oh no.” 

“What?” 

“Izuku had an idea.” 

“Oh boy.” 

He uses Summon to get Tensei, Shouto, and Pixie-Bob gives Shoto a Healing Quirk and then tells them his plan. 

(Pixie-Bob’s eyes widen, and Tensei grins and ruffles his hair.) 

“That won’t end well.” 

“Of course not. It’s Izuku we are talking about.” 

“Can the two of you kindly stop it? That’s my son.” 

Since Hisashi is busy guarding a few specific Quirks, so Izuku just grabs as many of the others that he can and yanks them away- and oh boy, they felt that and it hurt like a bitch! It’s so intense that it makes Izuku’s head spin, so he lies back down, but at least Stage 1 is complete. He’s keeping a close watch on his team’s Quirks, so when he feels Tensei’s Quirk vanish off into the confusing mess that is his father, he picks out a new one and shoves it to where he last remembered the hero. He spots a Quirk he doesn’t recognize and takes it; he’s getting a little lightheaded as he feels Shoto… 

  “Izuku?”  

Izuku grunts. His head hurts, and his chest aches and his Quirk feels painful.  

  “Izuku, can you hear me?”  

  “No.”  

Liar, liar, pants on fire. 

There’s a huff of laughter, and Izuku quirks his lips up in a smile. Then his cheeks protest and he winces. 

  “Alright, careful. Guess we now know you’ve got a few limitations.”  

  “Oh! Oh, I can use All for One from a distance! But… I’m not sure how far…”  

  “Really? What about when you took those twenty-four Quirks?”  

“Jesus, that many?!” 

“I wonder what kinds of quirks he picked it up...” 

  “We’ve got some time before dinner. Do you think you could tell me about it?”  

  “Yes!”  

Well, that’s going to take a while. 

Chapter Text

The Yukiyama family are very dear and close friends to the Midoriya and Iida families. 

But this is still a very awkward situation: because right now Fuyumi-chan is trying to convince Izuku to play matchmaker for their parents. Sure, she had her reasons - they all like each other's and they would be safe from the flaming trash bag. The situation became even more awkward when Izuku decides to help the Yukiyama with their plan... Because Izuku’s mother is right there.

Ichigo looks over to Inko and... Why is she smiling?

“Inko-san?”

The woman in question chuckles. 

“Oh, I don’t mind if Hisashi dates another woman, especially if she’s Rei-san... But, if they ever decide to go on a date together, it’ll be by their own account, not because a group of children decides to play matchmaking.” 

Ah.

Well, it makes a lot of sense when you put it like that. After all, children rarely know anything about romance. And sure enough, they ask for armor kid's help, who laughs for a good three minutes and then agrees. At some point, they realize Kurogiri has drifted into their circle of co-conspirators, and after much hemming and hawing, he admits he’s hoping to pick up a few pointers. They would ask Machia to join their ranks, but according to Izuku, the giant is terrible at keeping secrets. 

Which, according to Inko, that was the truth.

Their first idea was a nice, candlelit dinner. It's the perfect first date. Fuyumi has been learning to cook, after all, and they can simply get everything ready, invite Hisashi and Izuku over, and then hide in one of the bedrooms. Unfortunately, they forgot all about the smoke detectors. Rookie mistake for people who have fire quirks. After the children blame Shoto for the incident, Kurogiri picks up some takeout. 

Plan B was a trip to the cinema, to see the new All Might movie with Izuku, and the adults can go to a café to wait for them, or go see the romantic comedy mother has been looking forward to.

Without even knowing, Hisashi thwarts them because he had to work. 

The less said about plan C the better: long story short, the four of them have to hide in a handicap toilet for an hour, till Shoto creeps out in search of a phone signal, all because of the flaming trash of bag.

Love is, apparently, a lot harder than it looks. 

- 

“I can understand  why they are doing this, but couldn't they pick a better place?” 

“There aren’t many places they can talk about it...” 

“Anywhere would be better than his kitchen! Hell, he’s pouring himself a cup of coffee as we speak!” 

“As you said, this is  his  kitchen.” 

   “How about a picnic? That’s a couple-y thing to do, right?”  

   “It’s February. And there are two feet of snow EVERYWHERE.”  

   “How about that exhibition about early heroes?”  

“Nope.” 

“... That sounds like something you would like Izuku.” 

“Oh dear, I do hope you don’t take someone out for a hero exhibition in the future.” 

   “Cat café? I mean, everyone likes cats, right?”  

“I don’t. They’re little bastards.” 

“Isao!” 

   “Mama’s allergic.”  

Everyone sits in silence for a minute. 

“Yoshi.” 

“Yeah?” 

“Your brother is smiling.” 

Yoshito shrugs. 

“That’s their problem, not ours.” 

“Show them some mercy! They’re going to need it!” 

   “Perhaps a simple coffee date would be best?”  

   “Great idea, Uncle Hisashi!”  

Everyone freezes. 

“Hah!” 

Inko just laughs. 

“Next time don’t brainstorm in Hisashi’s kitchen. Or in Rei’s kitchen for that matter.” 

"Next time?” 

Chapter Text

They all like to think that Izuku is a smart and kind child. And when he snuck someone who is obviously an abused child to his home, the adults are even more sure of that. Of course, it’s only a matter of time before Hisashi finds out. 

    “Do you remember what happened the last time you picked up a stray?”  

Izuku freezes with his hand in the cutlery drawer. His father sighs and takes the opportunity presented by the better lighting to duck down and take a good look at the small figure crouched under the table. And then he spots the thing.  

   “What is that?”  

Izuku may be a child, but he’s clever: he takes advantage of his father fury and shows an exceptional situational awareness, and manipulation he answers honestly, with a frown, in his saddest voice. 

   “ A muzzle.” 

Hisashi stands still and takes a deep breath. Honestly? He seems to be thinking about what to do but... 

“Midoriya Hisashi, you better hunt down and murder this fucker.” 

“Inko-san, I’m pretty sure that’s the first time I’ve heard you curse.” 

“Please, my best friend was Mitsuki Bakugou. I can curse plenty, I just chose not to.”

   “Kurogiri! Kitchen! Now!”  

He turns back to the two boys, ducks down again, takes stock of the purple-haired child, and decides he can’t be too careful. 

   “Gigantomachia! Battle stations!”  

   “Is something wrong, sir?”  

  “There is a muzzle on that child.”  

Kurogiri takes stock of the situation and wordlessly begins making them all cocoa. God, he misses hot cocoa. 

   “I AM READY, LORD!”  

   “Right…Is he going to stay there all night?”  

Izuku crosses his arms and points out the obvious – the other boy is scared. 

   “Well, if he comes out, I’ll get that muzzle off him. And he can have some cocoa.”  

   “…Promise you won’t send him away?”  

“Oh son, your father won’t do that, I promise.” 

    “He won’t leave this house until I am certain he’s going somewhere safe. Where he WON’T have to wear a muzzle.”  

Izuku thinks about it for a minute and then nods. The child doesn’t immediately move. When he does slowly climb out from his hiding spot, they wince. The bushy, unkempt purple hair and torn, baggy clothes are almost excusable, but the large bruise on his cheek, the muzzle, and how he seems only seconds away from bolting from the room are huge red flags. 

“Hisashi will either call his lawyer or murder whoever did that.” 

“Maybe both?” 

   “Right. Does he have a name?”  

   “Dunno. What’s your name?”  

   ”Hitoshi.”  

After the muzzle is removed, the poor child winces as he moves his jaw, and Yoshito happily informs them that Hisashi is wondering if Rei would mind watching the two while he pops out and murders someone, however, since he’s been trying to cut back on not-strictly-legal activities. So the next course of action is to call his lawyer and Tsukauchi. They need to file a police report, after all, and they might as well do it with someone that will be on their side... Aaand... 

   “…Does Hitoshi have a favorite hero?”  

Izuku realizes where his father is going with this and follows along. 

    “Oh yeah! Mine’s All Might. Who’s yours?”  

The boy hesitates, obviously uncertain. Hisashi can see him examining Izuku’s face, probably searching for any sign of deception. But Hisashi knows his son and knows he’s genuinely curious. And, after a few seconds, Hitoshi speaks. 

   “Eraserhead. He’s a really cool underground hero…”  

Oh. 

Well, isn’t that convenient. 

-

The kid is still scared and it shows: he’s still tense, ready to run at any second. He still tried the chocolate biscuits, so that’s something. 

  “Hitoshi! Eraserhead’s here!”  

Hitoshi hesitantly stands up and peers over the back of the sofa. 

  “Did you pick up another stray?”  

“Watch it! You’re the original stray!” 

“Oh, he’s just jealous.” 

The kid seems torn between maintaining eye contact with his idol and looking over at Izuku, who simply tells the adults how he found Hitoshi, and the kid in question doesn’t seem to understand why everyone is upset about the muzzle – which is alarming. 

Armor kid is quick to reassure the kid that he’s safe now, that they are  heroes . 

Eraserhead doesn’t seem to really be paying attention to his friend, because he’s staring at Hitoshi with a frown. It’s… kind of unnerving, and Hitoshi is about to duck back behind the sofa when the hero groans and rubs at his eyes. 

  “Shit. You’re that kid from before.”  

  “You know him, Eraser?”  

  “I ran into him a few days ago. I… Some kids were beating him up. I just… walked him home, and… And left him.”  

Oh. 

Oh God, he must feel so guilty right now. 

Inko is tearing up. 

  “It’s alright. I deserved it. I shouldn’t have used my Quirk.”  

Inko looks at the young boy with a sad look on her face. 

“Oh, dear... He clearly has been through the system.” 

  “What’s your Quirk?”  

Hitoshi glances over at the other boy, and seem to be insecure for some reason as he glances down at the sofa. 

  “It’s called Brainwashing. It… If I say something, and someone says something back, I can control them.”  

“Oh, poor dear.” 

“Inko-san?” 

“He has probably been through rough times because of his quirk. Young children who are quirkless or have “villainous” quirks are completely ignored or mistreated... If not by the other children, then by the adults.”. 

There’s a moment of silence, and then... 

  “Oh my gosh, that’s so cool! How long does it last? How many people can you control at once? How far can it reach? You can make them do things, right? What can you make them do? You should be a hero! You could make villains just walk to jail! Wait here, I’ll get my notebook! Papa papa   papa ! Hitoshi has such an awesome Quirk!”  

“Zuku, please let him breathe.” 

“He’s right you know?” 

“He would probably be better at underground work. The fewer people know about his quirk, the better. Also, a quick trip to a support agency won’t hurt.” 

  “…Izuku likes Quirks. But seriously, he has a point. A Quirk like that could be really useful.”  

Hitoshi glances up at the man, probably surprised by the statement, and blurts out that he wants to be a hero. 

  “Me too! We can be heroes together! Oh, my friends want to be heroes too! We could all work for the same agency!”  

Hitoshi can’t hold back the sob that bursts free. 

But he also can’t stop smiling. 

- 

Hitoshi got adopted by Eraserhead a few months later. 

Nana and Inko cheer. 

Especially Inko. 

“SURPRISE!”  

Hitoshi almost screams when the lights go back on. He spins around and stares at Izuku, Tenya, and Shoto, all grinning at him, wearing party hats. Behind them, Mic is beaming, camera in hand. 

  “Happy birthday, Hitoshi!”  

  “Best wishes!”  

  “Felicitations!”  

  “…What does that mean?”  

“I swear, this kid reads a dictionary for fun.” 

   “…I thought Izuku couldn’t come.”  

Everyone freezes. Hitoshi turns to stare at Eraserhead because he doesn't understand - he doesn't... 

  "I changed my mind. Look... Everyone here can agree Izuku seems to attract situations, right?"  

“BRO!” 

“We know, but hey!” 

“That’s something we are sensible about!”  

Everyone nods, even a rather flushed Izuku. 

   "And... I don't want you to get hurt, Hitoshi, not if I can help it. But... Well, if it means so much to you, you boys can still see each other. But, there are conditions. When you boys meet, I need to know beforehand what you'll be doing and where. And there has to be an adult present. And if, god forbid, there are any... situations, and there isn't an adult there or said adult is unconscious, Izuku is to Summon someone immediately. Preferably me. Is that clear?"  

  “Yes, Mister Eraserhead , sir.”  

It’s always cute to see Izuku being polite. Hitoshi can't help but laugh as he nods. 

  "Now, come on. Kurogiri made you a cake."  

And then Hitoshi throws his arms around him and says: 

  “Thanks, dad.”  

“Awwn!” 

Chapter Text

    “I think we should go to Naruhata!”  

    “Why would we want to go to Naruhata?”  

    “Research!”  

Both Inko and Yoshito stare at Izuku with suspicion. Tenya, being the voice of reason that he is, asks what his friend wants to research in Naruhata. 

    “Well, there have been a few incidents. You know, those weird villains. And heroes! And vigilantes!”  

    “Absolutely not! We are not going to Naruhata!”  

“Thank! You!”

“Mini armor kid, that’s why we love you!” 

    “But we won’t do anything dangerous! We’ll just… walk around for a bit!”  

“Sure.”

    “Yes, but…”  

    “It’s not that dangerous. Dad patrols it, and he lets me go out on my own during the day. Not far, but… Well, you know how paranoid he is.”  

Shoto and Tenya exchange looks. Aizawa is almost as protective as Hisashi, and, as a hero, probably knows how dangerous Naruhata truly is. But Hitoshi can always be relied upon to take Izuku’s side, and… He is rather fond of situations . 

    “…I just don’t know. I don’t think Uncle Hisashi would approve us wandering around an area known for weird villain attacks unsupervised.”  

“Exactly!” 

   “What if we had an adult with us?”  

   “Well, then, I suppose…”  

“No, don’t give in!” 

“Wait, maybe he’ll give a nice suggestion.” 

He suggests that Gigantomachia could come with them. 

“HE DOESN’T COUNT!” 

   “But why? He’s over eighteen, he’s human – therefore, he’s an adult!”  

“Young man ‘this is not the time for loopholes!” 

Shoto slowly looks over at the giant, who is watching them all with an indulgent smile. It’s not that they don’t love Machia – they all do, really, – and the boys are well aware the man would protect them with his life, but… Well, there is no universe in which Machia could be classified as a responsible adult. 

But, since the longer they spend out in Naruhata, the longer they’ll be grounded for, Shoto decides to get straight to the point. 

    “…Izuku, what do you think Uncle Hisashi would say?”  

    “We’re not doing anything wrong. Just… walking around.”  

“In an area that has had a higher than the usual number of villain attacks. 

    “…Okay, yes…”  

“And I’m guessing you didn’t tell your father where you’d be.” 

    “…I said we’d be looking around some shops with Hitoshi.”  

“Izuku, don’t drag the boy into this!” 

It’s good to know that those two are immune to Izuku’s cuteness. Meanwhile, Shoto absently waves off a bee that appears out of nowhere, focused on the conversation. But it doesn’t seem keen to leave him alone, and he winces as he feels another sting him on the back of the neck. 

Ouch. 

And then he cries out in horror for some reason. He stares down at his hands because they can already see the air over his left side shimmering with the heat… 

…And then it stops, and the boy stares dumbfounded down at his hands as the street around him erupts into complete chaos. 

Fortunately, Yukiyama is not alone; one of his friends grabs him by the wrist and pulls him along as they all dash across the street, away from the pandemonium. Tenya is going so fast, probably only seconds from activating Engine, and Shoto almost trips more than once. But finally, they reach the relative safety of a small alley and the four boys collapse behind a dumpster. 

    “Holy shit. What the fuck was that?”  

    “…There was a bee. There was a bee, and… And heat, and…”  

And then he finally understands what happened, and he snaps his head up. 

    “…Sorry. I… I kind of panicked…”  

“What?” 

“Flaming garbage of a father is out there. What would happen if he saw Shouto?” 

“Or lost control of his quirk?” 

“Good point.”. 

    “I do not think we can leave yet. There’s a lot of fighting, and… Oh look, it’s Tensei!”  

It’s rather fun, watching the heroes, even if they’ll probably get in trouble later; Izuku cheers when Midnight takes down a villain; Hitoshi laughs when he spots Present Mic in action. Tenya is beaming with pride, watching his brother at work, and although Shoto flinches when he spots Endeavor, the man is busy, and the presence of his friends helps ease his fears, especially when they all move just a little closer to him. 

Shoto is just basking in the warmth that comes from being surrounded by people that love him when he realizes someone is missing. 

    “…Where’s Machia?”  

    “Oh, he’s…Where’s he gone?”  

No, no, no, no, no, no, no. 

    “…I know where he is.”  

    “What?”  

    “Where?”  

“Oh shit.” 

“Indeed.” 

     “YOU MADE LITTLE LORD CRY!”  

     “…Run?”  

Yukiyama, you shouldn't be even asking! 

    “…Shouldn’t we…”  

A car is thrown in Present Mics direction. 

    “...Okay, never mind.”  

“He’s in so much trouble.” 

“I hope so!” 

They stare at Inko. 

“What? There are limits! I hope he gets grounded!” 

Later.  

     “IZUKU!”  

"Grounded!".

Chapter Text

       “…I’m really not sure about this.”  

      “Come on, Uncle Hisashi. It’ll be fine.”  

“For the last time, he’s not your uncle!” 

     “Come on, Uncle Hisashi. It’ll be perfectly safe! There’ll be like a dozen heroes there.”  

“Goddamn it armor kid, you just jinxed it." 

     “With all due respect, Mr.  Midoriya, Ingenium has a point. I doubt any villains would be foolish enough to attack the party.” 

Both the Shigaraki brothers said the same thing at the same time. Hisashi, of course, spoke from experience. Yoshito did not. 

     “Except for EVERY VILLAIN THAT HAS SOMETHING TO PROVE! Seriously, what do they teach you at U.A.?”  

“Honestly! It’s like they never read a comic in their lives!” 

“Yoshi, repeat after me: just because superpowers exist, that doesn’t mean comic books are reliable or valid sources of information.” 

      “Kurogiri – to the Tokyo Sky Egg!”  

“My adopted son is not your personal taxi.” 

As if to prove a point, Kurogiri says the same thing and sits down on the sofa. 

      “…But…”  

     “Please, Kurogiri?”  

“That’s how it’s done.”. 

“Izuku’s puppy eyes always work.” 

The area they emerge in is a nice, mostly empty corridor near where the performers are getting ready. Almost as soon as the Gate is closed, a familiar figure launches itself at Izuku. Let it be known that they had no clue that Hitoshi would be there. 

      “Papa, can we go see the heroes?!”  

They can tell Hisashi is tempted to refuse. But then sweet, blessed Kurogiri clears his throat. 

       “Sir, I’d like to go greet Shino…”  

      “Alright, fine. Whatever Kurogiri says, goes. Am I understood?”  

     “Yes, papa!”  

Hisashi informs that he will be at the VIP section and then watches as the four boys turn and bolt in the direction of the performer's area, Present Mic close on their heels. Kurogiri nods to him one last time and follows at a more sedate pace, warping a red rose from somewhere. 

And then, just as Hisashi wonders whether he should treat himself to a drink, he hears the voice. 

     “Madara?”  

“What?” 

Shimura laughs. 

“That’s my boy Inko.” 

“Oh. He is... Very tall.” 

Daigoro laughs out loud, agreeing with the statement. 

     “It’s you, isn’t it? From the graveyard? Madara?”  

“I don’t mean to be rude but... Why is he calling Hisashi that?” 

“He made a mistake some years back and never got corrected.” 

“Oh.” 

      “Yagi.”  

They are all ignoring Tensei snickering. 

     “I thought it was you! ...Is he alright?”  

     “Oh, he’s always like that. I suspect brain damage.”  

Valid. 

“I mean, he basically runs. The boy definitely hit his head at some point in his career.” 

     “I wasn’t aware you knew any heroes.”  

     “It’s not by choice, I assure you. But his brother is my son’s best friend.”  

    “The incredible, amazing one?”  

“That would be him.” 

      “Aw, thanks, Uncle Hi…”  

     “Unfortunately, it skipped his brother.”  

Hah! 

      “I was just on my way to the VIP section.”  

     “Oh, me too! I’m looking forward to this! Normally – well, I don’t usually get to be in the audience.”  

“I wonder why.” 

“Yeah, you are like, so subtle.” 

Nana elbows Shiro. Hard. 

     “…And how’s your son?”  

     “Oh, he’s doing great! In fact… Tenko, come to say hi!”  

Tenko is a sullen teenager dressed in a baggy black hoodie, completely engrossed in playing on a battered black PSP. He tilts his head and lets out a vague grunt of acknowledgment. 

“Oh wow, Nan-.” 

“Throw the first stone who never been through an angsty teenager phase.”. 

No one spoke. 

“That’s what I thought.” 

Nana laughs louder. 

“Thank you Inko.” 

“Well, mothers have to stick together, don’t you think? Besides, he seems like a charming young man.”. 

     “How is your son doing?”  

     “Oh, he’s fine. He’s currently terrorizing a few heroes with his friends.”  

That’s scarily accurate. And the way Yagi flinches and looks around, almost as if he’s expecting Izuku to appear out of thin air and demand an autograph seems to improve Hisashi’s mood immensely. He chuckles and settles in to wait for Izuku to resurface. 

It’s a good ten minutes later when the lights are being turned down, that the door to the VIP area opens again and four excited boys rush in. 

     “Papa, guess what? I…”  

Hisashi can identify the exact minute Izuku recognizes the other adult present; his son freezes, he gasps, and Hisashi just manages to slap a hand over Izuku’s mouth before he exclaims, 

     “OFFIGOSHITZAWRITE!”  

"You've already met him!"

"Yeah, when he was three."

     “I think All Might’s here undercover. And I think he’d probably prefer nobody finds out, alright?”  

     “Yes, Uncle Hisashi.”  

     “How did you…”  

    “Seriously? You don’t exactly blend in, dad!”  

    “Really?”  

"Dude.”. 

“You’re tall, blonde, and loud.”. 

“Your trademark is laughing loudly and smashing things.”. 

Shimura hit them with quite some force and both Hoshizu and Shiro take the blows like champions. 

    “Well, I am here undercover. So, perhaps, you’d be willing to keep my secret? Maybe in exchange for an autograph?”  

“He is worth more than that!” 

“Yeah, dude.”. 

    “How about a photo?”  

“To start it.” 

They end up missing the first few minutes of the show, because Hisashi can’t quite bring himself to end their little photoshoot. It’s hard because Izuku is grinning like a maniac, yes, but Shoto can’t seem to bring himself to look at the camera, almost like he is afraid All Might will vanish the minute he looks away. Finally, they all take their seats; and if Hisashi wipes at his eyes, well, no one else notices, and no one needs to know if he happens to make a few copies for himself when he has them printed for Rei. 

And, dammit, the event doesn’t get any easier when Captain Celebrity, the big idiot, decides to show everyone a photo of his newborn and wife. The man is almost certainly in big trouble, Hisashi is sure; there are few women that look stunning after however many hours in labor, and fewer still that would agree to photos taken at that time to be widely shared. Hisashi glances over at his Izuku and wipes at his eyes, feeling particularly paternal for a second. 

And then the man laughs as poor Captain Celebrity promptly calls his wife and gets yelled at. 

The hero hurries offstage and the show continues. It’s not terribly interesting to them, just a number of heroes showing off when suddenly the building starts to shake. Then once more before the light goes out. 

“I KNEW IT!” 

“Yoshito!” 

Hisashi swears and rushes in the direction of the VIP area, grateful for the emergency lighting when he collides with a dark figure that seems to blend into the shadows. 

     “Sir! I already sent the boys home. If it would be alright, I would like to go offer my assistance to Shino.”  

“Oh, God bless you Kurogiri!” 

    “Yes. Yes, go ahead. I’ll just…”  

    “Uncle Hisashi! Uncle Hisashi, where’s Tenya?!”  

    “I sent the boys home. I’ll just…”  

     “Yes, fine.”  

     “We can’t get in contact with anyone outside. And… I thought about what you said, and… What’s happening?”  

This is not a question from a scared teenager; this is a professional hero asking for his opinion. And, although he might not know it, there is probably no one better suited to dealing with this situation. 

     “No contact – they probably cut off electronic signals. Yes, a strong pulse would knock that and the lights out. Doubly effective – people are more likely to panic in the dark. Lifts are down – so they’ll make sure the stairs are inaccessible. We’re trapped. In a hangar above the ground… Hostages? They could be planning to break in and attack – no, ineffective. Too many heroes, too messy. Too difficult. A statement. Maximum capacity – fifty thousand, plus staff. Fifty thousand hostages, fifty thousand lives… Fifty thousand victims.”  

So that’s where Izuku gets it from. 

      “Bring down the Sky Egg, and at least half those present will likely die. And most of the survivors will be seriously injured. Even if only ten thousand dies, they’re dying in the center of Tokyo, at an event put on by and attended by heroes. That right there – that’s a statement. A declaration. Someone put in a lot of effort…”  

“By whom?” 

“I don’t know, but he is flipping through his Villains Rolodex.” 

“His  what  now?” 

    “I’ll go warn the others. Do you… We can’t find Captain Celebrity; could you go look for him?”  

    “I am not getting involved. This is not my problem. I am going home, to make  sure the boys don’t burn the house down.”  

“What?!” 

“Dude, I get it that you don’t have a license but what the hell?” 

    “But…Fine. You know what? Fine. You want to step aside and – not do anything? Fine!”  

He takes off, almost colliding with another member of staff, and Hisashi sighs and nods to himself. This is the best course of action; he’s not a hero, he’s not going to get involved. He’ll go home, and help the boys set up for a sleepover. And… 

“He is really going away?” 

“Jesus.” 

“Inko is not amused. In fact, she is furiously glaring at her husband as we speak.” 

“God damn, it’s the angry wife look  ™. ”  

“MIDORIYA HISASHI, DON’T YOU DARE! HE HAS A SON! YOU TURN BACK RIGHT NOW MISTER!” 

He does. 

“... Is it possible that he hear that?” 

“Beats me. How are the boys?” 

They all look over to Yoshito, who is muttering up a storm right now. Fortunately, they are quite fluent in the Shigaraki mutter  ™.  

“They are wondering if everyone is alright... Oh, Shoto is confident, that’s good – since Nana’s kid and Hisashi are here, he’s not worried. Ah crap, Machia! Quick, think of a lie Izuku! Yes, good Tenya! Just bullshit your way through it. I mean, he’s not really lying per se but... Oh look, Izuku is talking- yes, good! Go for the ego!  Excuse me,  my kid is strong enough Iida! Well, never mind, it worked.” 

“...What?” 

“They are safe, it’s fine. Hey, look, it's Captain Kardashian.” 

“WHAT?!”  

“You know he is not from the States right? Besides, what does that make Nana’s kid?.”. 

“Excuse me, Eighth is the furthest thing from a Kardashian! He is like a young and blond Morgan Freeman!” 

“Can you  please  stop talking in references we don’t understand?!” 

“Quiet.” 

“Crap, he seems tired.”. 

The villain just drops, completely unconscious after receiving Hisashi’s blow. 

“Oh my.” 

“Midoriya-san, are you blushing?” 

“W-what? N-no, of course not!!” 

“You totally are.” 

“HOSHIZU-SAN!” 

For a few seconds, Captain Celebrity stares down at the crater the thing created. Then he looks back up to where it was just before, almost expecting it to be there, ready to attack. And then the former villain appears in front of him; he blinks and shakes his head, because now he’s certainly hallucinating, and his head is swimming, and his vision is going dark around the edges… 

…And just before everything goes black, he hears a voice exclaim, 

     “No – don’t faint now, dammit!”  

“HA! NOW YOU HAVE TO CARRY THAT JERK BACK!” 

“Well, no.”  

“He can just drop him somewhere. The dude already hit his head.” 

“Guys.” 

“All of you, shut it. He’s already carrying the damn idiot.”