Chapter Text
Toshinori can not think of a time when he has ever been more terrified.
He is perfectly safe, inconceivably happy, and utterly terrified. In his arms is the smallest person that he has ever had the privilege to encounter.
He weighs three kilograms, maybe, and from the crown of his head to the tip of his toes is only a little more than half the length of Toshinori’s forearm.
“Wow,” Toshinori breathes because there is nothing else to say. He’s awestruck, his entire being consumed by this tiny, fragile little baby with pale blue eyes and a dusting of moss green hair.
“Toshi,” Inko says, tired but so, so happy, “Introduce yourself to our baby, It’s only polite.”
She’s joking, obviously, but it’s a good idea. Toshinori presses the most gentle kiss against the baby’s browbone and whispers, careful not to accidentally wake the babe.
“Hello, Izuku,” He whispers, “I’m your father. I am so happy to meet you.”
Loving Inko had been terrifying in its own way. The parts of his soul that weren’t dedicated to the Symbol of Peace had felt atrophied after years of neglect, but she was worth rebuilding, worth loving.
That fear, the fear of messing up and disappointing her, scaring her, endangering her, is nothing compared to the terror that consumes Toshinori holding this child.
“I love you,” He breathes, “I love you so much, Izuku.”
Inko leans her head against Toshinori’s shoulder and his heart is so, so full.
For the very first time, he understands just how much he has to lose.
-
Ten years ago, when Toshinori was fresh from his U.A. Class A Graduation, the difference between his body when he used One for All and when he was off duty was negligible. He was fit, strong.
He supposes he still is now, but in a different way. Toshinori Yagi would not be mistaken for All Might in a dark room. His body is smaller where All Might continued to grow following the conclusion of Toshinori’s growth spurt and his shoulders are more narrow than All Might’s. He’s still obviously healthy, obviously active, but in the way an athlete is in comparison to a god.
It is the strangest blessing in disguise, that All Might is evolved in a way that Toshinori Yagi is not.
Because Toshinori Yagi is not All Might, Toshinori can get married without endangering his partner. It’s a quiet affair, Inko’s brother and Toshi’s little sister, along with a very small selection of their friends. Ryuko and Mirai are the only other heroes present. They’ll keep the secret. Toshinori essentially raised Ryuko and Mirai adores his older sister.
(The day that Toshinori met Inko lives in near-perfect clarity in his mind. It was unplanned, Inko dropping by Might Tower to surprise Mirai on a school break. She was still in graduate school at that point, charcoal brushed along her fingers and scientific theory texts weighing down her arms, but she had a few hours and a feeling that her brother needed a hug.
Severe, careful Mirai had run across the lobby floor to scoop her up off the ground into a tight hug. She laughed, swaying in his arms, and it was the best sound Toshinori had ever heard. Inko’s forest green hair swung behind her, falling out of the haphazard bun she had put it in. She was made of paint smudges and smiles and had strawberry Kit Kats peaking out of the pocket of her overalls.
Toshinori must have been staring because Mirai lightly slapped Toshinori on the cheek in a show of brotherly disapproval. At the contact, Mirai froze. He looked between Inko and Toshinori, brows furrowed in a complicated expression, before smoothing.
“Ink,” Mirai said mildly, “I have a meeting in a few minutes with a detective that I am afraid I cannot miss. Would you mind waiting with my associate Yagi until we are finished?”)
Toshinori feels safe, with them as his keepers. They are the best protectors he can imagine for the safety of his wife and child.
-
Izuku takes after Inko most clearly in looks, recognizably her child from a mile away, but he looks like Toshinori too. His eyes, as he’s growing older, have changed from the pale blue associated with infants into the bright, almost supernatural blue that Toshinori got from his mother. The shade of his skin matches neatly against Toshinori’s too, paler than Inko.
Sure, he’s All Might during the day, working at his agency and saving Japan with a smile, but he’s Toshinori at home.
“Oh no,” Toshinori says robotically, opening the door into the apartment, “It seems that a villain is coming to get me. Whoever will come and save me?”
A happy little voice squeals as tiny toddler feet strike against the linoleum floor.
“I will save you!” Izuku yells, throwing himself at Toshinori.
Toshinori catches him, lifting the little boy up to his chest for a tight hug.
“Oh thank you, Izuku-Might,” Toshinori says, “You’re my hero.”
“Good evening Toshi,” Inko calls from their little home office, “How was work, honey?”
“All Might stopped a train,” Toshinori says mildly, Izuku-Might clinging to his chest like a monkey as they walk down the hall, “Fought a man made of ooze.”
“What did my husband do?” Inko asks, her smile bright,
“Paperwork.”
“Mm,” Inko says, standing from her desk to kiss Toshinori briefly, “Proud of you and your paperwork for coming home safe.”
“I do my best,” Toshinori says, “How was your day?”
“Busy,” Inko says, “It was touch and go, but the proofs got sent out for client finalization during nap time. How was your day, Izuku-Might?”
Izuku squeals excitedly again, wiggling until Toshinori puts him down. He runs across the room and grabs a plastic DVD Case, showing it to Toshinori excitedly.
“All Might All Animated!” He says, “See! See! Do you see?”
“I see,” Toshinori says. Beside him, Inko looks like she’s trying her hardest not to laugh, but she’s quickly losing the battle.
She thinks it’s funny how much Izuku loves All Might, which is why the All Might merch in their home seems to multiply when he isn’t looking. Mirai must be her supplier because All Might All Animated doesn’t come out on DVD for another three weeks. “Alright then, Izuku-Might, we have to save the day elsewhere while Mom finishes up her work. Let’s try the kitchen first!”
-
The closer they get to Izuku’s fourth birthday, the more Toshinori worries about it.
“I was quirkless, before,” He whispers to Inko, “It’s hard.”
“I know,” Inko says, pulling the covers up closer around them in bed.
“Maybe we should try and pull back on the Hero Subject,” Toshinori says, “I know it’s all he wants but I don’t want to crush him.”
Toshinori is All Might, but he has not given his child a born quirk. Toshinori feels like he’s cheating Izuku in some irrational, unshakable way.
“It makes him happy,” Inko says, “I want him to be happy.”
-
Izuku’s very first strong memory is of the doctor’s office.
They’re looking at pictures, up on a big computer screen. They’re of Izuku, he knows because they have his name on them, but they’re of the itty bitty bones in his feet.
Beside him, Inko holds Izuku’s hand very, very tight.
She does not want to be here. Izuku doesn’t understand. Normally, Mom is just fine at the doctor’s office. They have talks in the car before they walk inside, about how it’s important to get checkups, and that they’re very good for him. After the doctor, Izuku and Mom go out for smoothies.
“The kindergarten told us that we needed to bring him in,” Inko says to the doctor, “That they were concerned regarding Izuku being a late bloomer.”
“Pardon my asking,” The doctor says, “But you’re fourth generation, yes? As far as quirks, I mean.”
“Yes,” Inko says, “I have an attraction quirk. I can pull small objects towards me.”
“And your husband?”
“My husband is quirkless,” Inko says. Her grip tightens around Izuku’s fingers again. He squeezes back. It feels almost like a game, both of them squeezing, squeezing, squeezing tight.
“I’m afraid there’s no hope for him,” The doctor says, “I’ll notify the school of his quirkless status and file his null paperwork.”
The smoothie Inko buys Izuku this time is mango. Izuku likes that it’s orange, the color happy and bright.
Inko looks at him, swirling his straw in his cup, and sniffles.
“Mom,” Izuku says, snapping to attention, “Is your smoothie bad? I’ll trade!”
“No, baby,” Inko says, brushing Izuku’s curls out of his face, “The smoothie is very tasty. Thank you for picking it out. I’m just a little sad.”
Izuku freezes. His happy orange smoothie no longer has his attention.
“Is it because I’m broken?” He asks, his voice uncharacteristically quiet.
“ You are not broken,” Inko corrects quickly, her voice sure and firm, “ You are absolutely perfect, Izuku. I’m sad because I know you’re going to have to be a fighter, like your father, and we hoped things would be easier for you.”
“Dad’s not a fighter,” Izuku says, “Dad does paperwork. I beat him at rock-paper-scissors all the time.”
“That’s true,” Inko laughs, “Dad is good at a lot of things, but he’s very bad at rock-paper-scissors.”
“Mom?” Izuku asks, feeling very small, “Can I still be a hero?”
“It’ll be hard,” Inko says, “But you’re clever and brave and kind . If you really want to, and you’re willing to put in the work, I think you can be a great hero.”
-
At seven, Izuku knows he’s not going to be the kind of hero All Might is. He’s young, not stupid. He knows that being quirkless, he’s going to have to do things differently.
He still watches the interviews, still watches the fights, because it’s All Might, okay? He’s the coolest.
The interviews after fights are fun because even though All Might is breathing hard and covered in a million kinds of dirt, he looks thrilled. Later, Izuku will realize that this is an effect caused by an adrenaline rush, but right now he just adjusts his markers and paper on the coffee table, fidgeting excitedly as he sketches the heroes on the screen. All Might talks about how he’s glad to help, happy that there were no casualties, and is excited to continue his work helping the people of Japan.
They happen much less frequently, but Izuku likes the interviews in studios a lot too.
Something special about All Might is that he is one of the few heroes with a secret identity. The public doesn’t know his name or where he’s from.
It’s kind of like a mystery. Izuku wonders if he’ll be able to solve it some day.
All Might sits politely on a couch that looks too small for him and speaks with Present Mic. It’s special for Present Mic to do a video interview. There are not very many heroes he does this for, preferring the radio. Even this video was not shot live but was instead uploaded as a video to the Put Your Hands Up HeroTube.
Izuku understands why they do it this way. All Might is special. People like to see him, like to see him smiling. It’s not the same, having him on the radio.
“All Might!” Present Mic says, “Let’s get this out of the way before we move on to the fun stuff. Every time I announce that I’ll be having you back, I get the same question: Who are you?”
All Might laughs good-naturedly. He does not appear frustrated with the repetition of the question.
“Mic,” He says, “I’m All Might. Isn’t the only thing that matters is that I am here?"
“I think so,” Present Mic says, “People are curious though! Do you ever think that you’ll tell the public your name?”
“Maybe someday,” All Might says, “It’s not because I want to hide from the people of Japan. Being the Number One hero is an honor that I treasure, but it comes with risk. My wife and son are civilians. Keeping my identity secret helps keep them safe.”
“Do they know?” Present Mic asks.
“My wife does,” All Might says, “I try my best not to keep secrets from her, as difficult as it is in our line of work. We’ve agreed to wait until our son is a bit older to tell him. Secrets are hard for small boys to understand.”
“I understand completely,” Present Mic says, “Now, All Might, let's move on to some listener questions! This one is from a Miss Miyata–”
-
Izuku would never tell anyone, but sometimes he thinks his Uncle Mirai might be Sir Nighteye.
It would be very silly, for his uncle to be All Might’s only sidekick, but it would be the kind of silly that makes sense. Uncle Mirai and Sir Nighteye have the same color hair and the same color eyes. Izuku thinks that their faces are shaped differently, with Uncle Mirai’s being smoother than Sir Nighteye’s, but that might just be because Sir Nighteye wears pointy glasses that make everything else seem pointy too.
Izuku knows all about Sir Nighteye’s quirk. Obviously he does, because Sir Nighteye is All Might’s partner and Izuku knows everything there is to know about All Might.
Sir Nighteye’s quirk is called Foresight. It lets him see into the future of a person, which helps Sir Nighteye make smart choices. Uncle Mirai calls his quirk Guessing Game. It helps him guess how many fingers Izuku is going to hold up or what color Mom’s shirt is going to be when she opens the door. It’s not quite like Sir Nighteye’s but it’s close.
Sometimes, Izuku wonders if he likes heroes like Sir Nighteye and Eraserhead more than he likes All Might.
All Might is the best, he’s the Number One. He’s kind of perfect: big and strong and powerful. He saves everyone with a smile. He’s so perfect that he doesn’t seem real to Izuku. All Might can change the weather with one super-powered punch and can lift buildings without breaking a sweat. It’s fantastic, more like a myth than a man.
Sir Nighteye’s quirk is great for thinking. Izuku doesn’t have a quirk, but he likes to believe he’s good at thinking too. Maybe he can be a hero like that.
-
Some children compare hands with their parents. They press their palms together in a prolonged high-five and catalog the differences.
Izuku knows that his hands look like his mother’s. They’re both art people and he’s grown up drawing alongside her at her big work desk. Izuku gets pencils and markers while Inko draws on a big computer screen. She taught him how to hold a pencil, the same way she does, and they mirror each other.
Izuku draws a lot; some of his drawings end up on the coveted space of their refrigerator door. There’s a drawing of Kacchan, his hair spiky and his eyes cherry red. The latest All Might drawing lives on the fridge, carefully shaded and colored so that it’s almost perfect. His drawing of the cat that lives in the building next door is bracketed by a school drawing of a mountain, carefully created by teacher instruction.
Only two of Inko’s drawings live on the fridge.
The first is on Izuku’s insistence. There is a pretty diagram of a camellia flower for an ecology textbook she illustrated. All of the little pieces on the little white flower are named first in Japanese, then in Latin. Izuku doesn’t know much about flowers, but he knows camellias are the kind that his Dad brings Mom when he gets back from long work trips. That makes camellias important .
The second piece is Inko’s pick, two smaller skeletal diagrams side-by-side on a crisp sheet of cardstock. There are two feet, identical in every way but one. The left foot has a single pinky joint, whereas the right pinky has two.
Izuku is pretty sure that his Mom didn’t draw the skeletal feet for work. It’s not often that quirkless bodies are used as examples in medical texts. The drawing is a type of present. It is special like Izuku is special, like how his Dad is special. When Izuku goes and gets milk for his morning cereal, the drawing is there to meet him.
It’s a quiet evening. Toshinori was able to come home before supper. Izuku doesn’t really know what his Dad does, but he knows his work is very important. There’s a lot of paperwork involved, a lot of math. It keeps Toshinori very busy.
Tonight, they have time for a movie before Izuku will have to go to bed. They’re watching the newest All Might All Animated , the fifth in the series. Dad thinks they’re silly, but Mom loves the All Might All Animated movies as much as Izuku does, so they watch them religiously.
Sitting on the couch in their bare feet, Izuku can see the similarities. Izuku’s feet are smaller than his father’s, but they’re shaped the same. They both have long, wiggly pinky toes.
“Look,” Izuku says, nudging his foot up against Toshinori’s, “We match.”