Chapter Text
The day is the same (is it?)
Alarm clock rings.
It says 5:00 AM, good. Too early for his mother to be up and yell at him for being a terrible son.
Too early to be banished to cleaning and cooking. It was early enough to sit on rooftops that were higher than he should be sitting on. He always felt the burning compulsion to jump. He’d made peace with it.
Early mornings were reserved for rooftop sitting. He’d found one on top of an apartment building. The sky was filled with beautiful orange, pink and blue hues with white wispy clouds. He knew today wouldn’t be a good day, but the sky made things better.
What if it was his last time seeing the sunrise? Today’s sunrise was like no other. It was ethereal and he wished this was the last thing he saw. He absentmindedly looked down, wondering if this was his best way out. It was but he didn’t jump.
He wanted to see the sun rise and rise until the day started and hell was no longer frozen in place. The fear to begin the day would always build. It was like an elevator of reluctance slowly creeping up his throat and seizing his throat from forming any coherent words. It was okay, he didn’t need to talk to enjoy this.
Today, he felt he was a little too close to falling into the calm abyss of eternal darkness.
Hoisting his legs back onto the concrete roof, he took one more look at the edge and dragged his feet to Aldera Middle School. His hell was no longer frozen in time and he just had to face the condemning music once again.
His mother once said he was a bitter ungrateful brat. He disagreed. He wasn’t ungrateful, if he was why would he watch the sunrise with stars in his eyes? If he was ungrateful why would he thank his bullies for giving him the pain he deserved? Why would he thank his mother for nothing but neglect and pain, and thank his father for doing nothing but disappearing? He was bitter. He was angry but he hid it under a smile and long curly green hair.
The anger built and built and when he couldn’t hold it in--
He didn’t lash out. No. He couldn’t let others suffer at the hands of his anger. That would be cruel and too much like Bakugou.
He let himself feel his anger.
His mother wouldn’t care if his wrist were slit or not. Neither would his teachers. So he made no effort to hide his anger.
His wrists would drip with blood every so often.
So what? No one cared.
He wanted to be a hero but he was stretched as thin as thread. No one believed in him.
He only kind of believed in himself. He’d trained and studied, he’d even cleaned a beach.
He just couldn’t take any more.
He walked into class and saw his desk crowded with fake suicide notes and spider lillies.
Maybe- maybe he could use one- No.
No he doesn’t need one.
He pushed them off of his desk and sat up to listen ( he didn’t need to, he already finished middle school and a bunch of high school courses) to the teacher.
He’d zoned out. He saw a villain fight on the way to school. He had a million critiques for the villain and the heroes.
The villain had been too slow, they’d have to work on speed. They had the quirk and they didn’t have to steal a purse just for attention. They could’ve ravaged the entire city if they pleased, so why a purse?
Izuku figured the man was desperate. He was probably poor, some hero got him and he got labeled villain immediately, causing him to be arrested and charged.
That was just about the villain.
Kamui Woods was taking too long to subdue the villain, he was worried about being flashy and that wasn’t a good move. He should’ve just gotten in position then do his special move. It would’ve made things much easier.
Don’t even get him started on Mt. Lady.
“So it’s been brought to my attention that it’s time to choose which high schools you all will be going to.” That sentence brought Izuku out of his thoughts. The teacher stared straight at him with a menacing look.
He should just spit out the insult. They didn’t hurt much anymore.
The teacher looked away and addressed the class.
“I’d hand out these career aptitude tests… but why do that when you’re all going the hero route!”
So he doesn’t exist anymore. Fun.
“Don’t group me in with these lumps of losers! They’ll be lucky to end up as sidekicks for some D-lister!”
The class protested.
Izuku wanted to jump off that roof.
“Hey Bakugou, you wanted to go to Yuuei right?” The teacher asks.
“No way!”
“That school only has a 0.2% acceptance rate!”
Bakugou scoffs and jumps onto his desk, jabbing a finger at his chest.
“I ace all the mock tests! Have the best quirk for hero work! And I’m better than all you shitty extras!” Bakugou sneered with immense pride.
“Hey Midoriya? Didn’t you want to go to Yuuei too?”
And the shoe dropped, the clock struck twelve and Izuku was now Deku.
Bakugou jumped down from his desk angrily. “HAH?!” He walked over and broke his desk with an explosion. Izuku fell to the floor, hitting the linoleum.
“YOU THINK YOU CAN GET INTO YUUEI DEKU?! YOU’RE BELOW THESE REJECTS AND DEFINITELY BELOW ME! YOU’RE USELESS AND WORTHLESS! YOU’D DIE IN THE EXAM!” He didn’t have the energy to defend himself. He was tired.
He didn’t even move to stop the incoming explosive fist.
He stopped screaming years ago, but this was different.
Bakugou aimed the brunt of the heat at his eye.
He screamed.
It burned.
His eyesight in his right eye flickered and went out.
Did he? Did he actually go that far?
Bakugou removed his hand and had a satisfied grin. Izuku was looking at him in horror.
His long hair only covered half of the blistering burn and Izuku could only see out of his left eye.
“Midoriya, stop disturbing the class.” The teacher scolded.
Izuku just stared in horror.
He couldn’t see properly and he was still being a nuisance? How would he even care for this? He hoped he could walk straight. He knew how to care for burns.. Maybe the quirkless clinic would take him?
He couldn’t- what if he just jumped?
No.
No he has- he has- he has-
Nothing. He has nothing.
He didn’t realize the bell had rang or that Bakugou was burning his shoulder and monologuing, however he did hear Bakugou’s last words.
“Y’know if you want a quirk that badly, just pray for a quirk in your next life.. And take a swan dive off the roof of a building!”
Why did Izuku feel a blinding rage?
Why did he want to murder him?
Why did he not feel bad when he thought about it?
He didn’t know. He thought about the apartment building. He really did want to jump off.
He could be a hero in another life maybe?
He picked up his mangled notebook and walked around aimlessly
Something slipped down his throat and he was drowning.
This was unpleasant. At least he’d die-
TEXAS SMASH!
Or not.
The man slapped him awake. He cried out in pain, he slapped his eye. It would probably get infected due to the sewage. Izuku couldn’t deal with this.
Maybe All Might could give him a reason to stay?
“All Might!”
“I must go!”
“Wait!” He yelled, grabbing onto the blonde’s pant leg. He was suddenly flying in the air.
“Let go!”
Maybe- no.
“I can’t!”
“Oh.. right.”
They land on… the apartment building. All Might tries to hurry off again
“Wait!”
“No! I will not wait!”
“Can I be a quirkless hero?!”
The man deflates into a skeleton of a human. The boy gapes and the man explains that a man, villain, destroyed him five years ago in a fight erased from the internet.
“To answer your question… no, a quirkless person cannot become a hero. It’s foolish to believe such a notion. They should stick to being useless.”
The door shuts with a clang.
The ledge was looking appealing.
When a string, even the strongest of them all are stretched too thin, they snap. His string used to be a steel rope, it was practically unbreakable, but then the doctor said he was quirkless.
A strand broke off, it was okay, he was still strong.
He told Bakugou and Bakugou had him shunned.
Another two strands fell from the steel rope.
He tried to play with them.
Three strands.
He wanted to eat his lunch with them.
Two strands.
He called Bakugou, Kacchan.
Ten strands.
Bakugou told him he was worthless.
Thirty strands.
All of the sudden his rope was no longer steel. It was a regular rope that would break under too much pressure and stress and friction.
and
it
did.
He got stretched too thin.
--
All for One couldn’t see. He hadn’t been able to for far too long. He didn’t know what his son looked like anymore. He had hoped Inko was taking care of him, he hoped he was happy. That’s all he deserved. Happiness.
His son was sweet, with a sunshine filled smile. He’d lost his sight quirks for years and hadn’t been able to see his beautiful son.
Today that would change.
The doctor finally fixed him enough to let an internal sight quirk work. He just needed to find his son.
He searched Aldera and didn’t find anything, he searched their home and didn’t find anything however there was a note that had an address for an apartment building in Izuku’s room (which was filled with All Might, much to AFO’s dismay).
He looked in the apartment building and didn’t find him.
Then he was filled with dread.
Because he sensed the boy on the roof.
His boy had long green and black hair with a few freckles and-
A burn on his eye.
How?
He saw the boy talking to All Might. All for One had a talent for reading lips.
“Can I be a quirkless hero?!”
He wants to be a hero huh? He could do it (he internally hoped he wouldn’t get OFA)
All Might better say yes.
“To answer your question… no, a quirkless person cannot become a hero. It’s foolish to believe such a notion. They should stick to being useless.”
What?! No! HOW DARE HE?! HOW DARE HE SAY THAT-
He left the boy on a roof.
He left his boy on a roof after crushing his dreams.
“Kurogiri! Send a portal to the apartment buildings on xxxx street! Right over the ledge of the apartment building.”
“Why-”
“NOW!”
--
He took off his shoes. He had nothing and no one.
It was fine, no one would miss him. He left his notebook he’d fished out of the pond next to his shoes.
He took a deep breath and looked at the sky. It wasn’t as pretty as it’d been this morning, but it’d make do as the last thing he’d see.
He stepped onto the ledge and jumped into the inviting abyss.
--
He watched him take off his shoes and he prayed to any god out there that Kurogiri was quick enough and that he could save his boy.
He knew he hadn’t been around but he didn’t know how bad it could get.
Then he watched him step onto the ledge.
And jump off.
--
Izuku was excited to die. He wanted to know if the abyss was better than living.
Then he fell into a purple and black portal and landed in a bar.
He passed out from exhaustion and pain in his eye and shoulder.
--
The boy landed with a thump in the middle of the bar. He looked like a wreck. Tears streaming down his face, eye and shoulder burnt- was that his eye that was messed up?
His long green hair stunk of sewage.
What happened? Kurogiri had to wonder.
It was good that Shigaraki was not here at the moment.
He decided to get the boy cleaned up and get someone to fix his eye and shoulder.
He teleported over to get (steal) some burn supplies. He didn’t know why All for One wanted to save this boy, but they looked alike and he seemed to care a lot-
Oh my god, it’s his kid.
He pushed that thought away and focused on the task. He couldn’t ask the doctor to fix the kid, he’d turn him into a noumu, or break him and put the pieces in the wrong spots.
He’d have to take a nurse out of a hospital maybe? Yeah. That’d work.
--
All for One was going insane.
His kid tried and almost succeeded in killing himself.
Why did he have to try?
Why did All Might have to crush his dreams?
Why wasn’t he happy?
He decided to call Inko.
“Oh! Hisashi! How are you?”
She didn’t know.. Alright, he wouldn’t tell her, he wanted to know how she was treating Izuku.
“I’m good sweetheart, I was calling to see how Izuku was doing?”
“Oh… He’s doing well. Why are you asking?”
That was not a promising sentence. At. All.
“I just wanted to know how my son was doing.”
“I thought you hated that menace. He’s nothing but a nuisance.”
“A menace? That’s what you think Izuku is?”
“Izuku? Oh sorry, I'm just so used to hearing Deku. Yes, he’s a menace . He’s quirkless.”
Deku… as in useless?
“Did you know Izuku just tried to commit suicide? That he wouldn’t be alive if one of my subordinates hadn’t saved him?”
“You- care?! I thought you hated that child! That you’d come back if he just killed himself! I was trying to get him to-”
“To what?” He snapped. If she thought Izuku was the reason he left, what did she do to him?
“To kill himself! He’s useless! It’s better if he were just dead!” She yelled.
He was beyond furious (he’d kill her)
“Bye Inko. Don’t come near me or my son ever again.”
He clicked the end call button and sighed. He really needed to apologize to his son if that’s what Inko was saying. He probably thinks he wants nothing to do with him.
“Kurogiri.”
“Yes?”
“...How is Izuku doing?”
Kurogiri sighed.
“Who?”
“The green haired boy.”
“He has a second degree burn on his shoulder in the shape of a hand-”
“A hand?!”
“Yes, probably someone with a fire or heat quirk. There’s also permanent damage to his eye and the area around it.”
“How bad?”
“He’s blind in his right eye and the area around it also had second degree burns… in the shape of a small starburst. Maybe an-”
“Explosion. Katsuki Bakugou.” The man sighed. This was bad.
“Can I see him?”
“Yes.”
--
Izuku loved... painkillers.
He didn’t get them often enough. He’d learned to push the pain to the back of his mind but when he managed to steal from a pharmacy or get them off this girl with a drug quirk he saw every once in a while. He felt like he was on cloud nine. He wasn’t hurting right now and he had to thank whatever god was watching over him-
Wait.
He jumped off a roof. He should be dead. Why isn’t he dead?
He wanted to be dead. Painkillers weren’t enough to make him want to stay on this earth.
This horrifying, hate-filled earth that was nothing but cruel to him.
He wondered where he was. This wasn’t a hospital.
He tried to sit up and realized that one, he couldn’t see out of his right eye (he then remembered the explosion) , two, that there was a tall man wearing black and a life support mask.
What the fuck?
“Ah! Izuku please lay back down.” He recognized that voice but how did he know his name?
“Who the fuck are you?”
The man sighed. “I’m usually known as All for One, All Might’s arch nemesis, but your mother knows me as Hisashi Midoriya but you can call me dad.”
“...dad? You’re my dad?! Mom?! Wait is she here? She’ll-”
“Do nothing. She will not hurt you anymore. She is not allowed here.”
“O-oh.” He says in relief. There’s one thing (okay multiple) he doesn’t understand.
“I thought- I thought you hated me!” He says, voice breaking with tears. He didn’t want to cry. God he didn’t want to but he just couldn’t handle the rolling waves of despair coming in and he was crashing.
(he wished he’d just die)
The man- dad (?) Places a hand on his shoulder. “I could never hate you.”
He breaks.
He sobs (wails even) through his angry, frustrated, and relieved emotions. He doesn’t know why he had to be saved, but at least someone loved him.
“Let it all out Izuku.”
So he does. He screams and cries. He eventually resorts to violence because how dare this wonderful man disappear for so long, leaving him with her.
“I-” hit “Loved you!” hit “You didn’t have to leave!” hit “I thought-” hit “ YOU HATED ME !”
He stopped and slumped off the bed. The man crouched down cradling Izuku in his arms.
“Why don’t you hate me? I’m useless and worthless and even All Might hates me… I wish you didn’t save me. Can’t you just kill me already?” He asks almost too softly for All for One to hear.
Almost.
--
His son is so.. Broken. It hurts to hear him scream and cry.
Hearing what he said hurt even more.
“Why don’t you hate me? I’m useless and worthless and even All Might hates me… I wish you didn’t save me. Can’t you just kill me already?”
His son didn’t want to be here anymore. Of course he knew his son was suicidal but it didn’t make it hurt any less.
All for One didn’t know how to comfort anyone. He just did what he thought good fathers did.
Reassure him and give him as much love as possible.
“I will not kill you Izuku. You are my son and I love you. You are not useless and worthless. I don’t know how much more I can say that you are worth it. So what if All Might hates you? He hates me too. And for good reason may I add.”
That got a small laugh from the boy. He hugged him closer.
“You are worth it. Go to sleep. When you wake up we have to talk about what happened and not just to your eye.”
“M’kay.”
-=-
Izuku was.. Conflicted.
His father looked like a potato that resembled Hisashi Midoriya (somehow).
He was really kind and he actually took care of his injuries but, he couldn’t trust him just yet.
After all, how did he even get here?
He had no clue but he’d tolerated Izuku so far.
No one ever tolerated or even loved him.
Maybe he could.. Tell him?
Yeah.
He was angry about the fact that his right eye was no longer functioning. It pissed him off how the teacher ignored it.
They ignored his horrified screams when they tried to push him off the roof of Aldera.
They ignored him being blown halfway across the courtyard.
They ignored his limps and small cries of pain.
They ignored his A’s and accused him of cheating.
They ignored when the girl with the persuasion quirk tried to make him kiss her (he did he’d just never admit it out of shame)
They ignored the spider lilies and the death threats.
They ignore everything.
-=-
All for One needed a way to tell Tomura that he had a son (that tried to kill himself barely four hours ago).
He also wanted to know if Izuku even wanted to be a hero anymore (he’d support the decision if he did or didn’t).
He didn’t know anything.
“Kurogiri? When is Tomura coming back?”
“In about 30 minutes. Why?”
He sighed. “How should I tell Tomura that Izuku is my son and that he’ll be staying with us now?”
“Hm.. Maybe just say it like that, except explain a bit more and don’t phrase it like you’re replacing him. Also Izuku is awake.”
“Thank you.”
The television clicks off and All for One has to have a discussion with his son.