Chapter Text
Rainbow lights flashed from the glowing arch over the round metal platform. Colorful shadows cast over the steel countertops and glass cabinets. The laboratory smelled like chemicals and lightning. Energy crackled up the steel arch as it spun in all directions like a top.
Hisashi Shigaraki stood with his hands in his pockets, so close that the static leapt off the arch to dance down his scarred face. It could not harm him, thanks to one of his many quirks. Another quirk transmitted images from a camera overhead to his brain, letting him see the colors despite his missing eyes.
Over the crackling, Dr. Garaki shouted, “Master, be careful! The electricity might damage your breathing equipment.” The doctor stood before an electric panel in the back of the room, adjusting a dial.
All for One did not take orders from anyone. Hisashi merely lifted an eyebrow and strengthened the quirk protecting his breathing mask. Half a dozen quirks lurked on his fingertips, ready for use.
The air inside the archway blurred. A hazy image formed on the other side: a teenager with white hair. He lay tucked under a plaid bedcover, chewing on a lock of his hair in his sleep. The surrounding walls were covered with superhero posters, with Captain Hero claiming a prominent place above the bed.
Hisashi’s heart twisted. Heedless of the lightning crackling around him, he reached out his hand. His fingers went straight through the image. On the other side, he felt only the cold sterile air of the laboratory. He cursed with words that hadn’t been used for nearly a century.
For the last century, Hisashi had tried to resurrect his younger brother using the corpse preserved in the basement. He’d tried to steal One for All in hopes of retrieving a memories or a quirk ghost to implant in a robot or clone. He’d obtained a dozen different quirks related to time-travel, but none of them could go back far enough or change the past. Dr. Garaki had theorized that time was like rubber, always snapping back into place after being bent. It was a great pity that this natural law had proven immutable, because Hisashi had many things he wanted to change (including the loss of his face at the hands of a certain blond brute.)
When Hisashi had obtained a quirk that let him see into the past, he’d nearly lost himself in the visions of his younger brother alive, well, and happy. Dr. Garaki had snapped him out of his stupor by creating a device that amplified the power of quirks. Hisashi had figured out how to combine his past sight ability with a quirk that let him transport himself into images.
But no matter how Hisashi pushed his hand, he couldn’t reach into the past. “Increase the power level,” he snarled.
Sweat dripping down his nose, Dr. Garaki cried, “It’s about to blow!”
“I’ll cover us if it explodes. Do it!”
The air screeched as Dr. Garaki turned up the dial. The lightning completely overtook the arch in a blaze that would have blinded Hisashi if he still had eyes. He could feel the power surging up his arm, every quirk in his body going insane.
His lips peeled back from the force pushing him away, Hisashi pressed his hand against the vision once again. As his arm finally sank through, he felt the cooler, breezy air on the other side. The sleeves of his suit had caught fire but he paid no attention. Reaching down, Hisashi touched his younger brother’s head. He’d patted the corpse many times, but for the first time in a century, he felt warm skin and life. A choked sob escaped the back of his throat.
Yoichi murmured in his sleep, “Big brother, if you picked my lock and snuck into my bedroom again then I will murder you.”
This was bad. If Yoichi woke up, then time would throw Hisashi out before past events could change. Tightening his grip, Hisashi activated a third quirk: one that duplicated objects. The original holder had never been able to replicate living things or anything larger than a book. But in his enhanced state, Hisashi believed he could copy a whole person. The copying was important, because the original Yoichi needed to live his original life or time would reject the change. This had better work.
The screaming of the air tormented Hisashi’s damaged ears. Bits of his suit fell off in cinders. He had a fireproofing quirk to protect his skin, but the flames were venturing dangerously close to his breathing apparatus.
With a pop of displaced air, a second Yoichi appeared with his eyes closed, dangling from Hisashi’s grip by his hair. He still wore the same blue pajamas with a white sheep pattern. Coming awake with a scream of pain, he started to open his eyes. The Yoichi on the bed groaned and tossed off his covers.
Grunting, Hisashi pulled them both backwards.
The machine exploded. White foam drenched Hisashi. Looking up, he saw Dr. Garaki standing over him holding a fire extinguisher.
His teeth chattering, Hisashi said, “Excellent work, doctor. Please leave me with my brother. We have a lot to talk about. You will be greatly rewarded for your efforts later.”
There was a gleam in the doctor’s eye that made Hisashi wonder if he would regret writing a blank check. Oh well, any number of quirk experiments would be worth it. For now, Dr. Garaki inclined his head, tossed over a fire blanket, and departed. He’d always been good at obeying orders, one of his many useful qualities.
Hisashi shivered as he wrapped the blanket around him. He felt cold and damp, and he’d lost both of his suit arms. Immediately he went to check up on his brother, reaching out for the soaked hair.
Yoichi sat up abruptly, knocking the hand away. “Where the hell am I and why does it smell like a child’s wading pool?” Upon seeing Hisashi’s scarred face, he recoiled. “AHHHHHHHHHH! I’ve been abducted by ugly aliens! Don’t you dare try to probe me or my big brother will kick your ass!”
Hisashi’s irritation at being pushed away was replaced by pleasure that his little brother called out to him for protection. This was why he’d picked a teenage version, though he could have grabbed any Yoichi from any point in time. Hisashi wanted a little brother who still trusted and loved him. Seventeen years old had been just before Yoichi went off to college. Once exposed to outside influences, he’d started getting strange ideas about independence and suspicions about his brother’s criminal activities. If all went well, this Yoichi would never find out about All for One. Yoichi would live a peaceful life inside the illusion Hisashi had crafted to contain his wife and son.
“It’s me, Hisashi, your older brother. You’re in the future.” Hisashi had prepared a speech to convince his little brother. “Remember when you were eight years old and drank too much grape soda before going to sleep, so you wet the bed? I helped you clean the sheets in secret and swore on my Demon King figurine that I would never tell anyone. Only the two of us know about.”
Shivering, his arms wrapped around his wet body and his teeth chattering, Yoichi glared. “Nice try, imposter! My older brother was the one who wet the bed and I helped him cover it up.”
Hisashi’s brain did a record scratch. “Excuse me? You little brat! You were so grateful that you swore eternal loyalty to me and then later you—” He stopped before he said anything incriminating about their fight.
“Like hell!” Yoichi jabbed a finger. “Big brother promised me a favor and then acted like he didn’t remember it later—hey, come to think of it, it would be just like my brother to rewrite history so I was the one in the embarrassing position and even sincerely convince himself of it too.” His eyes narrowed. “I’ll believe you if you answer one question. Which animal bit your ass during your high school graduation picnic: a swan or a goose?”
Hisashi crossed his arms. “I have no memory of what you’re talking about.”
“It is you! Only you would be too prideful to admit it even to prove your identity!” Yoichi lunged forward and grabbed Hisashi’s head. “Big brother, what happened? Where are we? How did you hurt your face? Who do I need to beat up in revenge?”
Hisashi smiled, getting a warm fuzzy feeling from a little brother who would attack anyone who hurt him. Back in the past, they’d been ride-or-die for each other. Stroking his little brother’s hair, Hisashi said, “You should see the other guy. I’m fine, I have powers to let me see. We’re in the future. In the past, you died. I pulled you forward in time right before your death in order to save you.” Hisashi did not consider this a lie because the little brother who loved him unconditionally had died when he’d found out about All for One. “I spent years finding powers to let me breach time itself, all for your sake.”
Yoichi clutched his head. “I’m…dead? I can’t go back?”
“No, you’re alive, because I saved you. I rewrote reality to bring you back.” Pride filled Hisashi’s voice. “I’ll always save you and protect you, as I promised when we were children. Just like I told you after the bed wetting incident that was still totally you.”
Yoichi sniffled. Hisashi gathered his baby brother into his arms and pulled the blanket around both of them. Yoichi broke down into sobs. Yet despite his tears, he whispered, “Thank you for saving me, big brother.”
Joy exploded inside Hisashi’s heart. He clutched tighter. This was all he’d ever wanted.
Yoichi shifted, fiddling with the edge of his light grey suit. One thing hadn’t changed even after decades—his big brother still loved dressing him up. The clothing was perfectly in his size, but anxiety made him twitchy.
Yoichi still couldn’t wrap his head around the idea that a century had passed. Trust his brother to find a way to live forever even as a wrinkly potato. Hisashi’s immortality was easily the most realistic part of the nightmare Yoichi had found himself trapped in. How could he go to bed as normal and wake up to discover he’d died, then been resurrected? Yoichi hated to lose all his dreams and the college he’d worked so hard to get accepted into. Even more so, he hated to imagine what his untimely death must have done to his older brother. They were each other’s only family. Hisashi spending so much time resurrecting him proved that he hadn’t coped healthily.
In the past or present, Yoichi had no one in the world except Hisashi. As long as his big brother was here, he would adapt to this strange new world.
But apparently Hisashi had a wife and son now. Yoichi used to worry that his brother was far too closed off from other people, so it was a relief. At least Hisashi hadn’t been completely alone after Yoichi had…had died. How strange it felt to think that. Yoichi hoped his other self hadn’t suffered. According to his brother, he’d been in a car accident.
Apparently Hisashi hadn’t told his wife and son about being a relic from ancient history. He claimed it was for their own protection, saying that the authorities would be so very interested in his ancient knowledge they might take his family hostage. Yoichi was suspicious of this explanation. Big brother always had an excuse for lying. But Hisashi had looked so uncharacteristically serious when asking Yoichi to keep it a secret that he’d agreed. Yoichi simply didn’t know enough about this time period to risk it. Maybe the government had gotten even worse (and that would be saying something.)
Of course Yoichi was eager to meet his sister-in-law and nephew, but he felt nervous about seeing them right away. Hisashi hadn’t even let Yoichi do a little google research before cleaning him up and stuffing him into a black Porsche. Looking out the window, Yoichi saw people walking down the sidewalk with a wide array of hair colors and mutations. Apparently meta-abilities had become the norm, which made Yoichi feel a bit smug that his college application essay had been correct.
Hisashi pulled the car into the driveway of a Japanese-style home with a flat roof, big windows, bamboo walls, and a wooden veranda. A sculpted conifer tree leaned over the rock garden and small pond.
Unlocking the front door, Hisashi called, “I’m home!”
A green-haired woman and a teenage boy appeared so quickly they must have been waiting for them to arrive. The women bowed slightly. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Yoichi. My name is Inko Midoriya. My husband has told me a great deal about you, although some of the details were confusing. I thought you’d be older.”
“You know how forgetful I am,” Hisashi said boisterously. “I forgot to tell you that Yoichi has been cryogenically frozen for years. Completely slipped my mind. Whoopsie!”
“I meant he sounded older in some of your stories.” Inko’s forehead wrinkled, then she smiled, chasing the lines away. “I’m so very grateful that you’ve recovered from your illness and you can finally meet us. Welcome to our home. We’ll be your family from now on. This is my son, Izuku.”
Izuku Midoriya peered up shyly from under his bangs. He had eyes the exact same shade of green as Yoichi’s, and when their gazes met, it took Yoichi’s breath away. With his curly hair and freckles, Izuku looked like a miniature Hisashi, though even cuter than Yoichi’s memories. Izuku said, “I’m glad you’re home, Dad. Good to meet you, Uncle Yoichi. Gosh, it feels strange to call you that when you don’t look much older than me.”
Hisashi said, “Izuku is fourteen, so you’re three years apart. Why, that’s less of an age gap than we have, little brother—I mean, than we used to have.” He chuckled.
“Huh, I can see why it would feel strange to call me an uncle,” Yoichi said. “You can just call me Yoichi.” How weird, to be closer in age to his nephew than his brother. Being a century older would probably make Hisashi even more insufferably bossy.
“Thank you.” Izuku grinned. “My spring break will be in a week, and Mom said I could take time off middle school until then to spend time with Dad and help Un—Yoichi get accumulated.” He looked very pleased to be free from school, which Yoichi could understand. What teenager didn’t dislike school?
“After two weeks you have to go back to school, mind you,” Inko said. “You need to study for your high school entrance exams.”
“I study better at home.” Izuku sighed. “Less explosions.”
“Explosions?” Yoichi drew back. “Big brother told me the riots were over…uh, I mean…” He’d been talking about the riots during the dawn of the age of quirks. He groped for a cover story but did not know enough about current events to justify what he’d said.
Blinking, Izuku explained, “A kid at my school has an explosions quirk.”
“Quirk? As in he really likes setting off explosions? That seems a lot more than quirky…” Yoichi frowned. “Oh, do you mean a meta ability?”
From the sudden silence and the way Inko and Izuku stared at him, Yoichi realized he’d said something wrong.
Izuku cleared his throat. “The correct term is quirk. People don’t say meta ability anymore.” It was considered a very rude word, a throwback to the days when those with powers had been discriminated against.
Yoichi flushed bright crimson. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t even realize a different word existed! Someone didn’t tell me anything or even let me look at the internet before taking me here.” He glared daggers at his older brother.
Hisashi coughed. “Please forgive him, he’s been in a coma.”
Just how long had that coma lasted? Metahuman and meta ability hadn’t been commonly used for decades, before Yoichi would have been born. Izuku bit his lip to stop himself from mumbling as he rapidly ran through several interesting options. He did not think his uncle was lying. Yoichi had clearly never heard the word quirk before. Then had Yoichi been raised by a cult like Humarise or the Metahuman Liberation Army? But why would Hisashi have kept that a secret? Unless there was even more to the story?
With a gracious smile, Inko easily accepted the explanation. “Izuku will help teach you and get you caught up.”
“I’ll be here, too.” Hisashi put an arm around his younger brother’s shoulders.
“You’re here to stay, Dad?” Izuku asked hopefully. This was his father’s first visit home since the accident that had scarred his face. Hisashi still called and wrote letters, but that wasn’t the same. At first Izuku had accepted that his father was too injured to communicate but after years had passed, he’d started to feel abandoned.
Mussing his son’s curls, Hisashi said, “I’ll at least stay until the end of your spring break. I need to help Yoichi recover. It will be lovely to spend time with family.”
Izuku smiled in order to cover up his hurt that his father had only come home for Yoichi’s sake. He shouldn’t be greedy. To distract himself, he turned his mind to his upcoming investigation. “By the way, Yoichi, what quirk do you have?” It was a standard question to ask people, but more importantly, the information would make it easier to research Yoichi online.
“I don’t have one,” Yoichi said. “I’m told that’s unusual? Um.”
“It runs in the family,” Hisashi said loudly.
“That’s right, I don’t have a quirk either.” Izuku smiled reassuringly. It would be nice to have someone else to hang out with, but also, this was interesting. He raised Humarise higher on his list of suspects.
Hisashi stuck close to Yoichi, sitting next to him on the couch while Inko made bibimbap for dinner in the kitchen. During dinner, Hisashi tried to feed Yoichi, only to get his hand batted away. Izuku watched with bemusement. Flushing, Yoichi muttered, “Knock it off, big brother. At least don’t act like this in front of my nephew.” He cast Izuku a nervous look. He’d been jumpy and talked little since his blunder.
Izuku suppressed a pang of jealousy. It had been so long since his father was home, but Hisashi had focused all his attention on someone else. Izuku wondered if his father would spend another few years away without visiting next time he left for America. Or would Hisashi come back more often to see Yoichi? Izuku didn’t know which would hurt more.
After dinner, Hisashi said, “We should watch one of our old favorite superhero movies.”
“Or a new one,” Yoichi said. “Gosh, I have a century of hero films to catch up on.” He laughed loudly. “I mean, it feels like a century!”
“I’m not into superhero films,” Inko said. “You boys have fun.” She carried the dishes into the kitchen, starting the water running.
“How about the fifth Captain Hero OVA?” Yoichi asked eagerly. Turning to Izuku, he said, “That’s my favorite.”
“Ugh, Captain Hero?” Hisashi’s nose wrinkled. “The OVAs aren’t very accessible to someone who hasn’t seen the anime. Besides, we don’t have any copies in the house.”
“Hisashi Shigaraki! Do you mean to tell me that my nephew has never seen Captain Hero!?” Yoichi drew himself up to his full height. “This is an outrage!”
Looking between them, Izuku filed away that last name for a later google search. He’d known his father had taken his mother’s family name, but he’d never heard his father’s original last name before.
Hisashi muttered, “I was hardly going to let my beloved son near such a bad influence after…” He swallowed down his words. “What about a Spiderman film? You always loved Spiderman.”
Refusing to let the topic be changed, Yoichi crossed his arms and growled, “What happened to my old Captain Hero collection? Big brother, why aren’t you meeting my eyes?”
Hisashi sighed. “Yoichi, I wasn’t sure how to tell you this, but your Captain Hero collection had a tragic accident. It repeatedly tripped and fell into a bank vault, then buried itself a hundred meters under the ocean.”
“NOOOOOOOOOOO!” Yoichi wailed, tears rolling down his cheeks. Hisashi tried to put his arms around him and comfort him, but Yoichi pushed him away.
It looked like his existence had been forgotten, so Izuku headed upstairs. Sitting in front of his desktop computer, he wrote down his father’s name while it was fresh in his mind. He tried several different combinations of kanji. A google search didn’t turn up anything, though. Most people had at least a bit of an online profile but there was nothing on his father under either of his last names.
There was nothing on Yoichi Shigaraki either. Izuku looked for reports on missing children. Interestingly, a conspiracy theorist blog called HatesFireLovesConspiracies claimed that Humarise had been kidnapping quirkless children. However Izuku couldn’t find anything to substantiate this. Humarise was very good about keeping information about themselves secret.
Half an hour later, Hisashi knocked on the door. “I’ve calmed Yoichi down even though I had to promise to retrieve his silly collection. Ugh, and I’ll have to keep him from finding the corpse in the vault.”
“The corpse?” Izuku asked.
“Oops, I didn’t mean to say that out loud.” Hisashi chuckled. “Your uncle’s old merch collection…has a…horse inside. The horse ate some old comic books. Yeah, they do that.”
“No, you distinctly said corpse.” Izuku stared harder.
“Anyway, we agreed to watch Yoichi’s favorite Spiderman reboot. Come on, he’s making popcorn. Inko promised to sprinkle extra butter and cinnamon on top.”
Biting a lock of hair, Izuku muttered, “I’m surprised you even noticed I was gone.”
Hisashi clasped his hands together in front of his body. “Why would you say that, ducky?” His eyes widened. “Are you jealous of Yoichi?” His nose crinkled as a huge grin spread across his face. “That’s adorable. I’ve been looking after Yoichi carefully because I’m worried about his illness. He’s been lost to me for so long, you see. I understand that having another kid in the house is an adjustment for an only child.”
Izuku hadn’t meant to start this conversation, but now he figured he might as well get it out in the open. “Well, you didn’t notice that you hadn’t visited home in years. I don’t think you can blame that one on Yoichi.”
The smile dropped off Hisashi’s face. “I’m sorry, ducky.” He went over and put a hand on Izuku’s shoulder. “I was busy with…many things, including…ensuring Yoichi’s safe return to the family. Time…I have trouble keeping track of time at my age. I promise from now on I’ll pay more attention to you. I never meant to make you feel neglected. I love you a lot, you know that?”
Izuku wondered how much time would need to be spent looking after a coma patient. And his father wasn’t old enough to be senile. Something definitely felt fishy about this story. But his father was trying, so Izuku would try too. “Love you too, Dad. Let’s watch the movie.”
Hisashi lifted Izuku out of his chair, grabbed his hands, and spun him around the room. In fact, Hisashi didn’t let go of Izuku’s hand while walking down the stairs or sitting on the couch. Hisashi spent the entire movie cuddling and trying to feed Izuku popcorn.
Whoa, despite several years of neglect Izuku was already tired of his dad after several minutes. Pushing on his father’s face, Izuku said, “Never mind, this is enough attention, you can go back to doting on Yoichi now.”
“Tough luck, kiddo.” Yoichi pushed Hisashi back at Izuku. “He’s all yours.”
To be honest, Yoichi felt disappointed by the future. He’d expected technology to progress more. If not immersive virtual reality then there should at least be flying cars! He’d also hoped the world would have become more peaceful and civilized, but the news definitely said otherwise. It looked like as soon as people with quirks had become the majority, they’d started bullying the quirkless instead, which was a very sad statement on humanity.
Even so, at least a world full of people with superpowers was awesome. Yoichi had joined an online forum dedicated to analyzing quirks for fun. The more different and unique quirks he learned about, the more Yoichi kept wondering if he truly didn’t have a power. After all, he had white hair and white pupils. What if he had a minor quirk too hidden for him to ever discover?
Yoichi had downloaded a list of unusual quirks online and tried them all. Holding the fridge door open, he glared at the strawberries and tried to make them sweeter. Alas, they tasted the same. He ordered a hundred and twenty one different flavors of juice from the grocery store, because he’d read about someone who had a power that would only activate after drinking a particular flavor of juice. After he’d drunk so much he felt sick, he lay on his bed and tried to activate a lucid dreaming quirk or an out of body quirk.
The next morning, Yoichi entered the living room with his list in his hand. One poster had the ability to project images from her mind onto a television screen, but only when she was doing a handstand.
Yoichi put his hands on the floor and tried to lift his legs. He’d been skilled at handstands in elementary school, but he hadn’t tried one in years. He wobbled and slipped.
Determinedly, Yoichi pulled over an armchair and used it to steady himself as he slowly rested all his weight on his hands. Upside-down, he wobbled. He tried to look at the television, but his hair had fallen over his face. Desperately he blew at his hair, trying to see.
Izuku walked into the living room holding a can of clam juice. “This stuff is surprisingly good.” Taking a sip, he looked at Yoichi. “Are you trying to project your mental images on the television screen?”
Defeated, Yoichi collapsed. He lay on the rug with his arms spreadeagled, panting. “How did you guess?”
Izuku half-shrugged. “I went through the same list of rare and difficult to discover quirks as a kid. I wanted so badly to become a hero.”
Yoichi sighed. “I know.”
“It’s not that there’s anything wrong with being quirkless, but no matter how many times I tell myself that, I’ve always thought that powers are cool.”
“I know!” Yoichi sat up and pushed the hair out of his face. “I wonder if falling into a pit of radioactive waste would help me.”
Izuku looked alarmed. “Certainly not, you’d die. Did someone tell you to jump into a pit and wish for a quirk in another life? Because people are jerks.”
“No, no, it was a reference to old comic books. A lot of characters got superpowers from exposure to radiation. Writers didn’t understand radiation as well back then—turns out it just gives you cancer.”
“Oh.” Izuku slurped his juice. “Are you a time-traveler?”
Yoichi jolted. “How did you know?”
Izuku shrugged. “You gave yourself away a couple times now.” He sat down on the couch.
“Yes, you’re right. I don’t mind telling you. Apparently big brother pulled me forward in time to save my life. I’m from the dawn of the age of quirks.” Yoichi relaxed against the couch next to his nephew. “I don’t understand why Hisashi wanted to keep it secret so badly. He’s worried the authorities would take me into custody, but why not at least tell our family?”
Izuku said, “Dad probably doesn’t want to answer any questions from Mom about why he is from the dawn of the age of quirks.”
“True.” Yoichi laughed.
“Immortality is a weird mutation to go with fire-breathing.”
“Actually, big brother has the ability to steal quirks.”
“And Dad never gave one to me!?” Izuku sat bolt upright. “I’m going to kill him!”
“I know, right?” Yoichi groaned. “I’ve begged him for a quirk for years but he always has excuses. He says that most quirks are harmful to weak bodies but I think he just doesn’t want to share.”
“Or he doesn’t want to admit whatever shady business he’s involved in,” Izuku grumbled. “I’ve been researching extensively over my break, and I’m pretty sure my father’s company doesn’t exist.”
Oh, dear, that did sound a lot like big brother. Yoichi’s frown deepened. “Ugh, if big brother hadn’t left on another ‘business emergency’ yesterday then I would shake an answer out of him.”
Izuku clasped his hands together. “We should figure out what my dad is up to, then use the information to blackmail quirks out of him.”
“Whoa, why did I never think of such a great idea?” Yoichi grabbed Izuku’s hand and shook it. “Nephew, you’re a genius! Next time big brother comes home, let’s steal his briefcase.”
“So sometime next year?” Izuku grumbled.
Yoichi sighed. “I see big brother didn’t become any less of a workaholic over the years. If anything, he’s gotten worse.”
“He wasn’t home when you were a kid either?” Izuku asked, biting his lip.
“Nah, he’d leave on business trips all the time. Then he’d get pissy that I didn’t hop to spend time with him whenever he came home.”
“Oh.” Izuku flushed and covered his face with his hands. “I’m a terrible person.”
“Why would you say that?” Yoichi asked, concerned.
Izuku sniffled. “Because I feel relieved my dad didn’t pay more attention to you than me. I was a little happy when he left early because if he’d stuck around for you then I would have felt worthless. I-I’m selfish.”
“No, you’re not.” Yoichi grabbed Izuku’s hands. “Anyone would feel like that. I got frustrated all the time when my brother chose work over me. He’s always been like that. He thinks people are dolls he can lock away in a safe and then take out to play with when he feels like it.” Yoichi offered a tissue.
“Thanks.” Izuku wiped his nose. “At least Dad didn’t transfer to America because I’m not good enough. Or because I’m quirkless.”
“Definitely not for that reason. Big brother could have given you a quirk. He really should have. Clearly they’re considered essential in this day and age.” Yoichi scowled. “Who cares about him and his precious business? We can still investigate him even if he doesn’t come home. We can become heroes! We’ll start out looking into small crimes, then develop connections to track down information about Hisashi.” To be honest, this was just an excuse for Yoichi to indulge his childhood hero dreams in a world where powers were real. Big brother probably wasn’t hiding anything more exciting than identity fraud.
Paling, Izuku looked away. “But neither of us have a quirk.”
Yoichi slammed his fist down on the coffee table. “Kids these days need quirks to do everything! Back in my day, if you wanted to become a hero but didn’t have a superpower then you dressed up like a bat and became a vigilante.”
“A…bat? The kind of bat with wings?”
“We’re probably not rich enough to become Batman.” Yoichi tapped his chin. “Would your allowance buy a flamethrower?”
“I’ve already got an All Might Flamethrower. It was a rare merch item.” Izuku’s shoulders hunched over. Rapid mumbles emerged from his lips: “But Dad insisted on locking it up in a safe, and I don’t know anything about fighting, everyone says it’s crazy to become a hero without a quirk…but I do really want to blackmail Dad and make him give me quirks…I deserve half a dozen as compensation…”
Yoichi slung an arm over Izuku’s shoulder. “Nephew, I promise you, most quirks cannot withstand a flamethrower. We can do this. Want me to teach you martial arts?”
Izuku’s eyes sparkled eagerly. “Yes, please!”
Yoichi cracked his knuckles. “First, I’ll show you how to break into a safe.”
“Here’s the safe.” Izuku lifted up a landscape painting to reveal a square metal cover. “Dad designed it to look like a miniature bank vault. Mom says he has a strange obsession.”
A chill inched down Yoichi’s spine. Maybe he was nervous about being shown up in front of his nephew if he failed to crack the safe. He shook the odd feeling off. Opening a bag of tools recently purchased, Yoichi said, “Let me show you how the master works.”
Izuku was a fast learner, handing Yoichi his tools and watching eagerly. In short order, Yoichi had the vault/safe open. Beaming, Izuku picked up his flamethrower. It had felt yellow hair tufts sticking out of the canister and blue eyes on the side like frog’s eyes. “Ah, it’s been so long since I’ve seen this. My precious merch, locked away out of sight.”
“That looks awesome,” Yoichi said. It looked more creepy than heroic, especially the eyes that seemed to follow him around the room. But Batman had always said that vigilantes needed to strike fear in the hearts of criminals. “Hmm, I wonder if I could get a Captain Hero flamethrower custom-made.”
Inko stuck her head around the corner. “What are you doing, boys?”
Izuku and Yoichi exchanged panicked glances. Yoichi tried to hide the bag behind his back. Izuku slammed the safe door shut.
Inko smiled “Oh, Yoichi, you can pick locks too? You didn’t need to buy tools, I have my old lockpicks in my closet.”
Izuku’s jaw dropped. “Mom?”
“I did have a life before I quit my job to look after you, sweetie.” Inko touched a hand to her face. “How delightful, that you inherited my instincts. I understand being curious but no using the flamethrower in the house.”
“There’s a good reason for this,” Yoichi said. He exchanged a frantic glance with Izuku, trying to come up with a reason.
Izuku cried, “We’re creating costumes for a hero con!”
“Yeah!” Yoichi nodded rapidly. “We’re going as…flamethrower-wielding vigilantes.”
“How fun!” Inko clapped her hands. “Would you like me to help you design your costumes?”
“Um, yes, that would be lovely of you, ma’am,” Yoichi said.
“You can call me big sister.” Inko tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. “Follow me. I have a notebook in my sewing room. I assume Izuku wants something All Might inspired? But perhaps in green? Yes, I have ideas already!”
One training montage later, Izuku finally felt ready to become a hero. Or a vigilante. Same difference. His uncle had taught him how to make like you were going to kick the enemy in the balls and then poke their eyes out, and his mother had made two beautiful costumes. Izuku picked up a green hoodie with rabbit ears, feeling the soft wool. It came with a red belt, white gloves, and a respirator with rabbit whiskers.
Yoichi smiled as he put on his coat. “It fits perfectly, big sister.” The white coat looked like a shrine priest costume with golden embroidery and light green lining. “I love the mask.” He picked up the white fox’s mask with green swirls.
“Thank you.” Inko beamed. “Your masks are made of a bullet-proof alloy. I found the materials in the safe.”
“Where did Dad get something like that?” Izuku asked.
“Who knows?” Inko laughed. “Hisashi doesn’t ask questions about my past and I don’t ask questions about his present. That’s the basis of our relationship.”
“Big brother has always been tricky.” Yoichi shrugged.
This didn’t seem to be any surprise to his mother and uncle, but it was much more difficult for Izuku to digest. Until recently, he’d been convinced his father was an ordinary salaryman. However, he was far too excited for his first hero-ing to worry about it.
Inko said, “I obtained a flamethrower for Yoichi too, so you’ll be matching.”
“It’s lovely!” Yoichi cried, his finger inching for the trigger.
“Nuh-uh, not until you’re out of the house. Have fun at the ‘convention.’” Inko winked and handed them both boxed lunches.
“So where do we find crime?” Izuku asked as they walked down the street.
“I don’t know.” Yoichi shrugged. “Back in my day, you just had to appear in public with a funny hair color and you’d get attacked. There were riots everywhere. The police had just plain given up on being able to stop criminals with powers or mobs without powers. The military was ruling the city, badly. We couldn’t even tell which soldiers were deserters because both groups were looting. It would have been super-easy to be a vigilante back then, but for some reason my older brother didn’t want to allow me out of the house. Ugh! What a wasted opportunity!” He clenched his fist.
Izuku had a cover story prepared if anyone asked why they had costumes and flamethrowers, but no one challenged them. People were used to heroes walking around in costumes. Izuku suspected their young age made them seem less suspicious. Nevertheless, he adjusted the carboard cover he’d used to make his flamethrower look fake.
Looking around, Yoichi said, “People walk the streets unarmed. Gosh, Japan sure has become peaceful. Even the police don’t carry guns. Is that because they use their meta—sorry, quirks?”
Izuku shook his head. “No, the police aren’t allowed to use their quirks. They mostly just arrest villains the heroes have already subdued.”
“Whoa, what a stupid idea. Even if their lives might be in danger or they might be able to protect others, they just…don’t use their natural abilities? Also, I don’t like letting celebrities be police. I just got here and I can already tell that since heroes get more money and power the more villains they take down, that creates perverse incentives for them as law enforcement.” Yoichi winced. “I hate to admit that big brother was right about anything, but society has clearly not been handling the transition to a quirked majority very well. Have you experienced much quirkless discrimination?”
Looking into his uncle’s guileless wide eyes, Izuku didn’t know what to say. He hated talking about his problems in middle school. He couldn’t bring himself to let word of the bullying reach his mother, who blamed herself too much. His pride would not let him ask for help. On television, heroes never needed help. Putting himself in the position of someone to be saved would feel like confirmation that he could never become a hero. However, Izuku couldn’t bring himself to lie when he knew that Yoichi might shortly face the discrimination up close and personal. He equivocated: “I’ve heard a lot of stories about bullying, but I’m just lucky, I guess.”
“People never change, huh.” Yoichi shook his head.
Izuku changed the subject. “We should think up a better strategy than just walking around hoping we run into a villain.”
Yoichi grumbled, “To think that big brother always says I have a natural ability to attract trouble, yet I can’t even pull one measly purse snatcher…”
Izuku nodded. “Oh, yeah, my mom says the same about me.” He scrolled on his phone. “I’m checking a hero fan site. They’re great about reporting hero spottings but we don’t want to deal with a crime that a pro already has covered. We’d be arrested. Hmm, there’s a thread on areas that lack hero patrols. Let’s check them out.”
They ended up walking along the docks, looking out at the bay. Fishermen bustled around them. A worker carrying a net called, “Nice cosplay! Are you imitating a new hero?”
Izuku called back, “I’m Rabbit Might!” He got a thumbs-up in return.
Yoichi said, “This doesn’t look like a bad part of town.”
“It’s not.” Izuku scanned the docks. “That’s why I thought it was odd that there aren’t any hero patrols here. It’s almost like someone is diverting them.”
“A mystery!” Yoichi’s eyes lit up. He rubbed his palms together. “I’ve been watching Scooby-Doo all my life for this.”
Izuku tapped his phone. “A regular poster with the handle HatesFireLovesConspiracies thinks that there’s contraband in some supposedly abandoned warehouses. He believes a villain is bribing the heroes to stay away.”
“Fire is awesome but we should check out the tip anyway,” Yoichi said.
A dozen warehouses in a row had been painted tan. Yoichi and Izuku crawled up the ledge around the door to peer into the windows. Instead of boxes, they saw machinery inside, condensing liquid into a barrel. Men in dark suits moved around.
Yoichi whispered, “That looks suspicious.”
“They’re making trigger,” Izuku hissed. He recognized the symbols on the barrel.
“Ah, trigger, how horrible.” Yoichi nodded. “Um, what’s trigger? Does it blow up or something?”
“It’s an addictive drug that causes people’s quirks to run out of control and hurt them.”
“Oh, dear, that really is bad. Should we call the police?”
“Definitely.” As much though Izuku wanted to play the hero, he’d gotten way beyond his pay grade. He hadn’t seriously expected to find anything based on an online conspiracy theorist’s tip. The nonsense that HatesFireLovesConspiracies regularly spouted about Endeavor didn’t seem very credible. Izuku had just wanted to have fun playing hero. His palms felt sweaty as he reached for his phone.
“Hey! You up there!” Standing outside the door, a man in a black suit pointed up at them. “What are you doing…master, did you get a de-aging quirk?” The lines on his face deepened. “And a duplication quirk? There are two of you and you both look so much like him…”
Yoichi took advantage of this distraction to leap down from the roof and slam into the goon with his feet. Then he quickly tasered the fallen man.
More people of various genders and mutations poured out of the warehouse. Determined not to be useless, Izuku leapt down from the roof and landed on a goon’s back. Remembering his training, Izuku tasered the man. He successfully knocked his first target into another woman, causing her to fall down too. At such close range he did not dare use the flamethrower.
Sensing rather than seeing a presence behind him, Izuku whirled around and stuck out his taser. The lizard mutant grabbed his arm, twisted it and forcing him to drop his weapon. As a clawed hand reached for him, Izuku bit down hard enough to draw blood.
“Hey! Stay away from my nephew!” Yoichi punched the lizard mutant.
“AHHHHHHH! That’s the boss’ scary voice! We’re sorry!” For some strange reason, the rest of the goons ran away.
Dusting his hands, Yoichi said, “That was odd. Do you think I have a secret scary voice quirk?”
“It didn’t affect me, so probably not.” Izuku stepped through the open door and looked around the warehouse. “There’s no one in here now. Should we burn this place down?”
“That kind of great thinking makes you my partner!” Yoichi grinned and flipped a switch. “Flame on!”
In retrospect, they should have done more research into the flammable properties of the chemicals inside the warehouse. As Izuku and Yoichi fled the explosion and gas cloud, Izuku pressed the shortcut on his phone to call emergency services. He figured the loud noises spoke for themselves. Luckily he’d already prepared a burner phone.
But before the heroes could arrive, the duo nearly ran into a man with a scarred face. Izuku screeched to a stop just before slamming his face into the lanky chest. The man looked mostly dead with patches of purple skin and crude stiches all over. His coat appeared deliberately tattered and dirt nearly obscured his many piercings. Crossing his arms, he cried, “Hey, I’m Dabi and this is my territory! I’m the only flammable villain allowed!”
Yoichi coughed. “We’re vigilantes, actually.”
Dabi’s scowl deepened. “Even worse! This is Endeavor’s territory, and I can’t have you bringing down his crime rates. I’m the man who will destroy the Flame Hero.”
“Are you a chuunibyou?” Yoichi asked, his nose wrinkling. A foul stench came off the filthy hobo.
Dabi shrieked, “I don’t want to hear that from a cosplayer with a cardboard flamethrower!”
“He’s got a point,” Izuku admitted.
“Hey, our flamethrowers are real,” Yoichi said.
“Stop!” Eraserhead stood behind them, his scarf waving in the wind. He tugged up his goggles. “I don’t know what’s going on here, but I’m pretty sure someone should be under arrest.”
Izuku skipped over. “Eraserhead! I’m a big fan! Can I have your autograph?”
Eraserhead gaped. “Uh…I didn’t think I had fans…I mean…what a shame, I don’t have anything to write on.”
“No worries, I always carry notebooks.” Izuku whipped one out. He held out his pen with puppy eyes.
Looking cornered, Eraserhead signed. “About that fire—”
Yoichi interrupted, “You can’t charge us with vigilantism because we don’t have quirks! We used flamethrowers instead! Quirkless power!”
Eraserhead stared wearily. “Do you realize arson is still a crime whether you have a quirk or not? And you just admitted to it?” His scarf shot out.
Dropping low, Izuku headbutted Dabi’s knees. Dabi fell on top of Eraserhead. Izuku screamed, “Arrest him instead, he’s after the number two hero!”
As the two of them ran away, Dabi’s faint voice could be heard: “Help, help, I’m being oppressed!”
After a successful heroism mission, Yoichi and Izuku lounged on the sofa drinking hot chocolate. Cookies had been provided by Inko, who probably realized they hadn’t been at a hero convention but was continuing her policy of not asking questions. When she’d collected their costumes, she’d cheerfully told them that a bit of lemon in the wash was great at getting out trigger gas.
As the adrenaline wore off, Izuku’s heart raced and his legs felt shaky. He couldn’t believe he’d done that. Kacchan and everyone else at school definitely would never believe that useless Deku had defeated both heroes and villains. A small smile tugged at Izuku’s lips. He couldn’t bring himself to regret anything. His treasured autograph was tucked away in his pocket.
Yoichi said, “You were amazing, Izuku. Your quick thinking saved both of us from Eraserhead and the scarred weirdo!”
Izuku blushed. “You were awesome, too. You took down even more goons and burned down most of the warehouse.”
“Setting the warehouse on fire didn’t turn out to be such a good idea, but I’ll take credit anyway.” Yoichi shrugged. “You win some and you lose some in the heroism business.”
Looking at his phone, Izuku gasped. “Hey, check this article out. We’re already in the news. We’ve got vigilante names.”
“Aw, but I wanted to come up with my own name,” Yoichi said. “What are they calling us?” He looked over his nephew’s shoulder.
“The Green Rabbit and the White-Haired Menace.”
“Huh? Couldn’t I at least have been the Noble Kitsune?” Yoichi clutched his hair. “I wanted to be One for All…”
“It gets way more interesting.” Izuku scrolled down. “Uh, we’re being given credit for finding the long-lost Touya Todoroki and reuniting him with his family. This picture…Touya was scar boy! Funny, he did not look like a rich kid at the time. Oh whoa, we’re on national news.” Izuku felt a little faint.
“That’s a lot for our first time on patrol,” Yoichi said, echoing Izuku’s thoughts. “Do you think maybe we both have a hidden quirk for attracting danger? By working together, it could have had an exponential effect.” He sounded so serious that it didn’t seem like he was joking until a grin broke out across his face.
Izuku exploded into giggles. They both laughed helplessly, sending their hot chocolate shaking in their mugs.
“So we’re doing that again?” Yoichi asked.
“Hell yes,” Izuku said.
OMAKE TIME!
Omake: Incorrect Quotes, Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Eraserhead: You’re under arrest.
Dabi: Ah, now we see the violence inherent in the system. Social rejects dressing up in spandex are no basis for a system of law enforcement. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical cosplay convention.
Eraserhead: Do you never shut up?
Dabi: Help, help, I’m being oppressed!
#
Omake: RIP All for One’s Ego
Izuku: So you think my dad is involved in something illegal?
Yoichi: Yeah but I doubt it’s anything exciting. Hisashi is probably evading taxes or embezzling from his company. He doesn’t have the attention span to make it big as a villain—he couldn’t even finish reading Captain Hero.
Hisashi: Resisting…urge…to monologue…
#
Omake: The Yuuto Crossover
Izuku: Who taught you how to use a flamethrower, Uncle Yoichi?
Yoichi: Ah, the good old days with my mentor Hanaka Miura. She taught me everything there is to know about vigilantism. It’s actually just one sentence long: set bad guys on fire.
Yuuto: You may have stolen my mentor, my flamethrower, and my costume, but you’re about to regret it, because my costume comes with the White-Haired Menace nickname.
#
Omake: Shortly After the Time-Travel
Hisashi: Yoichi, I don’t know how to break this to you, but you’ve been dead for a century.
Yoichi: All my favorite anime, comics, and fanfics must be completed!
Hisashi: I didn’t expect that to be your first reaction.
Yoichi: My second reaction is that I haven’t updated my own fanfics in a century. Time to get started.
Hisashi: …Oh, no.
Yoichi: Big brother, why do my fanfictions have dozens of chapters that I don’t remember writing?
Hisashi: Um. I updated them for you?
Yoichi: I don’t believe for one second that you wrote Captain Hero defeating the Demon King with one punch. You’re lying!
Hisashi: Uh, would you believe someone hacked your account?
Yoichi: If someone wanted to write a sequel to my works then they could, I gave blanket permission in my author’s note.
Hisashi: Would you believe…in ghosts?
#
Omake: In the Void
Second: Whoa, Yoichi, I’m so sorry.
Nana: I’m appalled that your brother callously replaced you like that.
Banjo: Poor First, he’s so upset that he’s rocking back and forth without talking. Oh, his mouth is opening! He’s about to explode!
Yoichi: I’M FREE! SUCKS TO BE YOU, CLONE! YOU’RE STUCK WITH BIG BROTHER NOW!