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Izuku woke up to the sound of his mother’s voice. For a brief moment he thought he was in the hospital with his grandparents, where he would bear witness to his mother’s final moments. (At least, he should have been with her until the very end, but like a cowardly crybaby he ran away.)
And yet, he found himself quickly wiping the tears away when he saw the familiar ceiling of the ship he’s called home for almost ten years now.
In fact, as he checked the date on the clock they picked up from a collector of rare and exotic items, he realized it had been exactly ten years on the dot.
This fact brought an almost bitter smile to his face as he crawled out of his bed and made his way to the galley where the rest of his new family were likely to have gathered.
“Morning squirt, how’d you sleep?”
With cheeks slightly pink, especially considering he’s actually taller than the older jacterite, Izuku put on a smile. “As good as I could, considering the date,” he said, carefully eyeballing those bright yellow legs which hid a pair of thrusters that were part of the elder’s body.
In spite of his age, Torino could still easily mop the floor with everyone on board before someone could offer him a sweet treat as a peace offering.
“Has it really been a decade by your home planet’s standards?”
He nodded, soon receiving a sympathetic pat on the arm by the elder.
“Alright, run along and go see Toshinori already. I heard he had something to give you, call it an anniversary present or something.”
Taking the opportunity for what it is, Izuku made his way into the galley to grab a breakfast to then take to the captain’s quarters. On the way there he greeted the rest of the Ravagers with the best smile he could muster on his face, each of them going slightly softer than normal—as if remembering what the date was.
It is as he enters the captain’s quarters where he sees Toshinori in his more skeletal form, which was a natural state of a skeieto, his back turned towards the door as he seemed to be studying something out of the window. Though that soon changed when the door shut behind Izuku, the skeieto already turning around to look at him with bright flaming blue eyes.
“You wanted to see me, Captain?” Izuku asked.
The captain smiled as the flames sprouted from his eyes and enveloped his skeleton-like form until he stood much broader and like that of a large human man with a lot of muscles, were it not for his golden hair looking like it was on fire and the fact that his “muscles” were actually some kind of hard shell-like substance. Even still, he had a wide smile on his face as he lifted Izuku up and sat him in one of the many chairs that littered the office.
However, he could see in those flaming blue eyes that the smile was just for show, as they held a serious look to them.
As if telling him that they were about to have an important and, frankly, difficult discussion ahead of them.
“You remember the day we brought you aboard the ship? And the reason why?”
So it was that type of discussion.
Even with that thought, Izuku nodded because it was a story that none of them would ever forget.
“Did the Buyer try to harass you again?” He asked, because this was the only reason why Toshinori would bring this up. The thought that some powerful being wanted Izuku for what they could only assume to be nefarious purposes continued to loom over them, and he remembered when he first learned this information.
It was a difficult pill to swallow, but he’s had five years to cope with it at this point.
He isn’t that same small child they first picked up after all.
Toshinori nodded quietly.
“He recently left his planet to take matters into his own hands.”
When hearing that, Izuku felt like he had a massive lump in his throat that would not let him swallow. The idea that this monster who literally paid people to abduct him was still after him put a sour taste in his mouth, especially when he knows that this very same monster would likely do everything he could to hit Toshinori where it hurts.
“Izuku, can you promise me something?”
“Of course! What is it?”
Smoke slipped through the seams of the outer shell that covered Toshinori’s body as blue and yellow flames spread from the tips of his fingers all the way up his body until he returned to his natural state.
He crouched down until he was eye-level with Izuku, a bony hand gently resting on his shoulder.
“Promise that you will stay as far from All for One as possible, please.”
For a moment Izuku stared at the captain before nodding.
“I will do my best to stay away from him.”
Even then, there was little he could do when All for One himself was the pursuer.
—
When Izuku made that promise two years ago, he didn’t think it would take this long for it to be broken.
Then again he spent most of his time on the ship with the Ravagers as opposed to taking on jobs, but this particular job was something he knew he was capable of doing on his own. Plus it was supposed to be a quick one—in and out before anyone realized he had left to pick up the artifact.
Unfortunately he was interrupted the moment he landed the small ship he “borrowed” from the main ship, not even able to go out and grab the artifact when he saw a second ship appear and land right next to his. For a moment he considered taking off and going back to the main ship, but when the scanner identified this strange ship as an ally to All for One he knew he couldn’t do just that.
Because that would mean bringing All for One’s wrath down on the Ravagers who betrayed him some twelve years ago.
Plus, at least by Earth standards, Izuku is a grown adult who should be able to face this monster and tell him that he will in no uncertain terms hear him out.
At least, that was the plan until he saw a young looking skeieto walk down the ramp behind All for One himself.
His hands clenched into fists as he remembered the story Toshinori told him of what happened to his home planet—when invaders appeared and started to mindlessly slaughter everyone there. Were it not for Toshinori’s mothers and younger brother, then he likely would have perished with the rest of his kind.
And yet…there’s another skeieto right there who had a red glow coming from his eyes and hair that flashed between white and pale blue flames.
Whoever this skeieto was, he’s likely what All for One has held over Toshinori’s head for so long to get the children he paid the Ravagers to grab for him in spite of their code.
With a deep breath, Izuku already started to think about a plan.
While rough in theory and with a very low chance of success, he knows this is likely a golden opportunity disguised as a dire situation.
First he will see what All for One wants, find a way to gain his and the skeieto’s trust, and then escape with the skeieto back to the Ravagers where they will no longer have to fear anything from All for One.
He took a moment to compose himself as he finally left the small ship to talk to the being that paid for his abduction, already bracing himself for whatever manipulation tactics the monster could pull out of his ass.
“I didn’t think anyone else was after the artifact,” Izuku said, doing his best to feign confidence to hopefully prevent either of the two from sniffing out his nerves. He even tried his best to stand as straight as possible, though he soon realized that both All for One and the skeieto towered over him.
The smile he received from All for One was downright predatory as he moved to get right into Izuku’s personal space.
“Not at all, what need would a Celestial like myself have for such an old and outdated relic? No, I came here the moment my scanners picked up your ship and found only one lifeform onboard.”
For a moment Izuku waited, half expecting All for One to unceremoniously pick him up and drag him off. However it seemed he was checking to see if Izuku would go with him willingly as opposed to taking him by force. While unexpected, he will take what he can get as he remains unmoving.
“Is this out of a fear of missing out on the rest of your offspring’s life?” He finally asked.
The smile dropped from All for One’s face, instead replaced with a blank expression and Izuku isn’t sure what scared him more. A grin like that of a predator, or an expression that did not reveal what the monster was thinking.
“They told me about you and all of your offspring, kids that you hired them to grab and bring to you for reasons none of us know. Was it out of a sense of obligation or…?” he trailed off, realizing that he needs to dial it back before All for One reacts in an unpleasant manner. “Sorry, I guess I’m still not over the loss of my mother…”
While that did hold some semblance of truth, he hoped it would be enough to get All for One to not jump to drastic measures.
He noticed something flash across All for One’s face, a look that bordered on smug until it quickly morphed into one of sorrow and longing. But he figured a good chunk of it was an act, which made the words that came out of his mouth that much harder to believe.
“Yes, when I heard your mother developed cancer I was devastated. I truly loved her more than anything, and seeing you standing right before me…a product of that love, you know you look just like her. But, oh where was I?”
What has Izuku wondering, as he picks apart All for One’s words, is the fact that he brought up hearing about his mother having cancer even though it shouldn’t be possible.
No one had a way to contact Izuku’s father, and considering he was likely in a different galaxy entirely…
He quickly pushed those suspicions to the back of his mind.
He needs All for One to believe he’s buying into this garbage so he can get the skeieto out of there.
“Anyway, I paid the Ravagers to bring you to me so I could properly raise and take care of you…but it appears I might be too late. You look grown by terran standards.”
Izuku took a deep breath and braced himself as he forced a sheepish smile on his face.
“Well, on Earth there’s a saying that it’s never too late if you put in a genuine effort.”
All for One returned the smile, though it looked far too wide as he held a hand out to Izuku.
“Come then, we should make up for lost time on my planet.”
My as if he owned an entire planet, which wouldn’t be a stretch considering the type of monster that stood in front of him.
But Izuku still took the offered hand and followed him onto the strange ship, his eyes never leaving the skeieto.
“Tomura, set a course for home.”
“Yes Master.”
He just hoped his plan would work out in the end.
–
When he didn’t see Izuku in the galley with the rest of the Ravagers, Toshinori knew he should be concerned—worried even. Ever since they brought him onboard and he decided to not give the boy to All for One, he’s found himself growing increasingly attached and fearful for the young terran because he knew what would eventually happen.
All for One is not known for his patience, and he likely suspected that the Ravagers decided to go back on their deal.
As he went to the hangar where they keep their smaller ships, he let out a curse when he noticed one of them was missing.
Which means Izuku must have gone off on his own to grab the latest bounty they found for an old artifact. He remembered how he hoped to have this be a mission he and Izuku could go on together, but his boy must have thought it would have been a quick trip.
And, ordinarily at least, a mission like this would have had him back by now if he left while a majority of the crew were sleeping. But the fact that the ship was missing did not bode well.
Knowing their luck, All for One might have been waiting for a moment when he could catch Izuku alone and if All for One still has Tenko-
If Toshinori had the capacity for it, he knows he would have gone pale at the realization.
Izuku knows what happened to Toshinori’s original planet, and he’s aware of what kind of monster All for One is, so if he were to see Tenko then it’s likely that Izuku would have taken the bait laid out for him.
After taking a moment to collect himself, Toshinori pulled out his communicator and hooked it up to the intercom.
“Attention Ravagers, I want every last one of you to report to the hangar immediately!”
He just hoped that they would be able to reach Izuku on time, before he potentially suffers the same fate as his many half-siblings.
—
For a moment, Tomura did not know what to think about the boy his master brought home.
No matter where he went, the boy followed him like a lost anatiling—and then his master was not too far behind.
Initially it was amusing watching his master attempt to pull the boy in for silly games that likely originated from the boy’s birth planet, but soon it started to irritate him when the boy gave a half-assed effort in bonding with the master. Instead, the boy was more intent on following Tomura everywhere.
Expressing nothing but a sickening sense of kindness and friendliness towards him when Tomura could have easily destroyed him, at least…he could have before they brought the boy to the master’s domain, where the master then unlocked the boy’s Celestial heritage for him.
Now he isn’t so sure if he can put a scratch on the boy if he wanted to.
So instead he contented himself with trying to shoo the boy away, but he remained persistent.
Even now, as he tried to pointedly ignore him while walking through one of the perfectly manicured gardens the master maintains.
“-then there was the time when Torino roped me into one of his pranks on the captain. It was actually kind of fun, though I will admit that the captain set himself on fire and proceeded to scare the piss out of us both—and then he laughed about it and said it was a good prank!”
Tomura tried to ignore him.
“What about you? Do you have any fun stories like that?”
The boy was far too persistent for his liking.
“Or even dreams? Have you ever thought about what you want to do?”
Did it even matter?
Pretty soon the master will get this boy to help him with his grand plan, and then there will be nothing left in the world. Surely this boy knows this, so why is he even putting it off for so long? Why is he so insistent on this farce?
“I think you would like being a Ravager.”
That finally got a snort out of Tomura.
“And deal with you on a daily basis? No thanks.”
The boy only smiled.
“You don’t have to be part of the same group of Ravagers as me, you could join Aizawa’s crew instead of ours for example.”
Tomura took a deep breath, already prepared to tell the boy that soon it wouldn’t matter.
There would be no more Ravagers, no more planets, galaxies, or even a universe—but he held himself from saying as much because he knows the master is watching them both.
But the idea of being part of a crew, especially one led by Eraserhead, was appealing in a way he’s never considered.
Maybe in another timeline he could have, but this is not that.
“You should go back to the master, I’m sure he wants to spend more time with you.”
For a moment the boy hesitated before finally speaking up, as if he didn’t know that the master quite literally is the very planet they’re standing on.
“I know he isn’t up to any good…and I suspect, somehow at least, he caused my mother to die. All of these powers he boasts about as a Celestial, it wouldn’t be too far-fetched for him to somehow put that tumor in her brain.”
Tomura stiffened.
While he knows the master can and will use underhanded tactics to get what he wants, he didn’t think he would go so far as to kill a child’s mother. He could have sworn the other children his master had brought to him were either willingly given up or their mothers died of natural causes.
But to kill the mother of his own child…and maybe more.
“If you suspected and even knew, then why would you…?”
“Because you reminded me of Captain Toshinori, he is a skeieto like you.”
As he watched the boy walk away, Tomura couldn’t help the sense of guilt he started to feel.
Because with the boy revealing that he knows the truth, that all of this was one giant farce, he sealed his fate like the rest of his siblings.
Surely Tomura should just turn a blind eye and let the boy’s sealed fate come to pass, but a small part of him thought it would be a shame to have this happen.
And what would this supposed other skeieto think?
Would he accept that this was an inevitability and move on, or would he break down at losing what he could only infer to be a core part of a new family?
For a moment he stayed rooted in place, until he finally turned and made his way to the ship he and the master took to retrieve the boy.
He just hoped that the master was well occupied and the Ravagers were quick enough, otherwise it would be an impossible mess for them to clean up.
–
“Izuku, what’s this I hear about you suspecting I put that tumor in your mother? Surely you know that I would never do something so heinous to the woman I loved.”
He should have known All for One was watching them, but he found he did not regret his words as he looked the Celestial in the eye and stood up as tall as he could.
“You can quit with the act, do you honestly think I believe every little thing that came out of your mouth the moment we met? Maybe if I was still a child then I would have bought into it, but nothing you have told me adds up.”
Izuku then held up a hand when he noticed All for One was about to speak again.
“I know I have, or at least had, other siblings through your little forays throughout the cosmos. Waiting for what you planted to grow so you can then make the Ravagers collect them, and for what? To see if any of them inherited your powers?”
The monster that stood before him frowned.
“Compared to me, you are still but a child who does not understand my vision for the universe. But there is still time for you to see things my way,” he said, holding out a hand as he tried to put on a smile. Unfortunately his smile was still far too wide and predatory to give any semblance of comfort.
“You can trust me, can’t you?”
He shook his head and stood firm.
“I’m not the gullible child you think I am.”
Izuku stood across from All for One and stared at him, waiting and challenging him to try something. To open his mouth and try to spin his pretty little poison in an attempt to sway him.
And he could see All for One was staring at him, studying him, as if wondering if Izuku was bluffing or if he was serious about this.
“What a shame.”
Those were the last words Izuku heard before a bright flash of white light hit him, tendrils from it seeping right into his chest as he felt them dig in deep and pull.
And all he could do was scream.
Scream for something, or even someone, but deep down he knew no one was coming for him.
He failed to convince Tomura to run away with him. He failed to uphold his promise to Toshinori.
Toshinori…would he ever see the captain ever again? Or would he die right here without getting a chance to apologize and explain?
For a brief moment he closed his eyes, about ready to just fade away…and maybe finally join his mother in the afterlife. Where he could properly apologize to her for running away instead of facing her.
But then, he noticed a slight shift.
The tendrils grabbing at him, draining him, had weakened their grip.
“Izuku!”
That was Toshinori’s voice.
But how was he here? And why?
At the thought of his captain right there, likely moments away from witnessing Izuku’s end, he realized that he didn’t want it to end like this.
Not with his captain there to watch, not when there might be another chance in the future to save Tomura.
He forced his eyes open and moved his arms, though everything felt sluggish as he reached and grabbed at the loosened tendrils and yanked as hard as he could.
Not even knowing what he was doing at that moment, he primarily followed his instincts as he continued to pull even as All for One started to yell.
Even as the monster attempted to yank back.
But he likely never experienced someone who was actually willing to fight back.
It was like this tug of war lasted an eternity and no time at all, until it ended with Izuku giving one final yank.
Ripping away the tendrils as they shifted from their white glow into a bright green, every last one of them digging directly through All for One’s form and into the crust of the planet they stood on.
Digging further and further, deeper than he expected, until he felt them wrap around something and squeeze until whatever it was popped like a grape.
For a moment, when Izuku landed on his hands and knees, he panted as he took in his surroundings.
All around him, the foliage started to crumble and fade to dust. The stone beneath him shifted and rolled, until he felt a pair of arms grab him and carry him away.
“Captain…how?”
His captain looked down and smiled.
“We were already on our way here when we noticed you went missing, and then we got a message from Tenko- I mean Tomura, which expedited our journey here. I’m just glad we were able to make it on time.”
Izuku smiled as he leaned against the warm heat that his captain produced, allowing it to lull him into a deep slumber.
Because he knows he’s safe now.
—
As Izuku stood in the hangar, he found himself smiling as he watched Tomura take one of the small ships. A part of him had hoped that maybe Tomura would have changed his mind, that he would at least stay for Toshinori’s sake, but he also knew that Tomura was his own person and should be free to make his own choice for himself.
And if that means traveling through galaxies to figure out what he wants, then who is Izuku to stop him?
Even still, the goodbye felt bittersweet as he watched the ship leave for whatever destination Tomura selected for himself.
He remained standing there in silence even as everyone else had long since returned to their quarters to get some sleep.
With a deep breath, Izuku lowered himself until he was sitting on the ground and watching the stars through the viewport. He remained like that even as he felt the captain sit down next to him.
“It must be hard, losing another parent…even if he was a scumbag.”
Izuku blinked and shook his head.
“No, I only lost one parent,” he admitted with a soft smile as he leaned his head against Toshinori’s shoulder, “And I lost her over a decade ago. But I still have my father.”
For a moment they remained silent, but soon he felt a single arm wrap around him in a gentle hug.
“For what it’s worth…I hoped to become like that for you.”
With a smile, he relaxed into the side hug before reaching an arm around to return it.
–
As he drifted through the cosmos to a place he had vowed to never return to, he found himself humming lightly as he took in the remains of the planet.
The remains of the Celestial, his brother.
“It appears your hubris was your undoing, brother,” he said, already turning his attention to where he felt the energy of another Celestial—a youngling at that.
Perhaps…he should find a way to meet his nephew?