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Izuku always knew his father was a villain. He tried not to let that fact get inside his head too often. Izuku doesn’t know how to feel about being directly related to a villain for a boy who immensely idolizes heroes and loves the idea of saving others.
Izuku doesn’t know what type of villain his father is, whether he’s powerful or not is an unknown factor to the young boy. For all Izuku knows about his father, is that his quirk is fire breath and that both he and his mother split up when he was young.
Izuku doesn’t remember his mother that well. He knows she had straight green hair and Izuku’s eyes, but that’s about it. According to his father, she was uninteresting in being a mother at the time and left all the parenting responsibilities to Izuku’s father.
Izuku’s family isn’t typical; he understands that. Where there should be petty arguments here and there about who does the dishes, there are heavy conversations about quirks and the weaknesses of those said quirks. The conversations Iuzku has with his father are inherently educational and filled with knowledge. Izuku never had the luxury of tossing a baseball with his father at a nearby park or having his father attend events for parents to join the child on school days. That’s not how their relationship worked.
That’s not to say that Izuku doesn’t love his father and appreciate what he does. Because of course, Izuku loves his father. He comes home occasionally with a new All Might figure for him. On days that are filled with relentless bullying for his lack of quirk, his father makes katsudon and makes sure to do the dishes that night without saying anything. It’s a silent type of love and understanding that Izuku’s not entirely hesitant on developing.
If anyone were to compartmentalize it though, they’d find that Izuku was distant from his father. Despite all the kindnesses his father brings to the table occasionally, they’ve never been close. Izuku doesn’t share the same relationship Kacchan has with Mr. Bakugo. He’d say it was more like a strong mentor that has very developed conversations about quirks with each other. Maybe a business arrangement with a roommate. Either way, Izuku feels that he still loves his father, after all, he is his father.
It’s not until Izuku is around ten that his father doesn’t return home for a day. One day turns into two, and two turns into three. While Izuku is aware of his father’s career choice, he hasn’t heard of any villain getting caught by any hero that matches his father’s description. He doesn’t get any knocks are his door, asking him questions or guiding him to the nearest orphanage. He’s scared his father died. He’s scared about what will happen next. There are questions about whether or not he should report the incident. But here's the rebuttal if he does bring attention to the topic, it could end up harming Izuku’s father and making the situation worse. Besides, Izuku is used to his father’s occasional business trips. It happens, and it provides them with food. At least, that’s what Izuku is left to believe.
About four days later, a week since he had last seen his father, Izuku hears a knock at the door. With shaky legs and quiet footsteps, Izuku slowly creaks the door open, appraising who’s standing in front of the door.
“Izuku?” A man in a white coat questions. Strangely enough, it looks like the doctor diagnosed Izuku as quirkless.
Hesitantly, Izuku replies with, “Yes?”
“I’m Dr. Garaki. I work closely with your father. We’re friends. I’m sure you’ve noticed that your father hasn’t been around as of late, yes?”
Izuku’s not sure if he should trust the man. He’s scared it’s a trap. With his father’s business, Izuku has always had a lingering fear that someone was willing to kidnap him because of his father’s deeds. This fear doesn’t go away now, but Izuku still answers, “I know. Is… is there something wrong? Is my father okay?”
He has about a billion other questions. If the doctor is informed about his line of work, then he wonders if he knows about his father’s villain identity.
“The good news is that he’s alive. He recently had an extreme encounter with a hero,” Ah, Izuku thinks, he knows. But it still leaves the question of whether or not he can be trusted completely. “However, he has been injured. He’s not going to look the same. He’s not going to be the same person who walked out of this door to you.”
Izuku, as curious as he is, is afraid. What is that supposed to mean?
“In a few days, he’ll be back, but be warned. He’s going to be carrying around a lot of machinery that’d to keep him alive, right now. More importantly, Izuku, he’s going to need help with his recovery.”
This is what ultimately stumps Izuku. His father was injured. Badly injured. He suffered such intense wounds that he needs machinery that’s keeping him alive. But this stemmed from a hero. Likely from a hero trying to prevent his father from doing heinous acts. But his father escaped prison and returned home. How could Izuku not help?
He was in conflict. He wanted to help because that was the right thing to do, however, he didn’t want to help a villain of all people recover just to inflict more harm on the world. But heroes aren’t supposed to be the justices. They’re just supposed to attack, save, and capture. Anything that happens next is up to the law.
When his father returned, Izuku was stunned into silence. No longer did he see his father’s red eyes.No longer did his father sport his white hair. All that was left was his mouth which was covered by a breathing mask. Even more shocking, his father was in a wheelchair.
“Izuku, take me to my office, please.”
That’s another thing Izuku forgot. His father was always a major fan of proper manners. It freaked Izuku out sometimes, especially now. It was freaky, to say the least. Izuku so badly wanted to ask. He so badly wanted to bolt out of their house to the nearest police station because whatever hero was able to inflict this much damage must’ve been powerful. And to require such a powerful hero meant that his father must’ve done very bad things.
But that was the thing. Izuku couldn’t find anything about his father or the fight that took place. It made no sense to him. He had so many questions. He was so confused.
“Izuku, come. Let’s discuss some things, my boy.”
Hesitantly, Izuku approached his father with calculated steps. This was his father he was talking about. Izuku had to take care of his father. This was the only family he had. This was the only place he wasn’t hated. This is the best that Izuku could get. So, if it meant aiding a villain, then Izuku would have to do what he had to do.