Chapter Text
"Aizawa, why is it that lesson plans are such a nightmare to craft?" His papa lamented as he stared over the piece of paper he must have been looking at for hours now. Izuku tried not to giggle.
"You're the one who decided to become a teacher Yagi" Uncle Shota deadpanned and the giggle Izuku had been trying to hold in managed to find it's way out. Give it to his uncle to find a way to be blunt about anything and everything. Though Izuku appreciated the honesty, as too many people hid their intentions behind niceties in the pursuit of such a nebulous concept as being polite. He was assured many times that such a thing was a skill to be admired, but Izuku more often than not just found it annoying. How was he supposed to analyze people if he had to spend extra time making sure the words they said lined up with the words they meant?
Izuku watched curiously as his papa tried to find the right words to say. He never seemed to appreciate bluntness the way some of them did. It didn't bother Izuku as much as it did with everyone else. "Izuku is about to join the hero course!" He said, clearly attempting to defend himself, his body language showed he was defensive but it didn't seem to be that negative. Responding to playful teasing? Sure, but he still seemed a bit insecure about his actions. "I trust your expertise Aizawa, but I've known him for years longer than you, someone has to keep an eye on him."
Izuku sort of resented that. He understood that his brand of chaos took a lot to get used to, but he thought it made things more interesting. Besides, he wanted to save people, didn't he? His whole family did, though they went about it in their own ways. Tenko and Touya helped dad with the vigilante side of things, while he and Hitoshi decided it would be smart to be heroes, make a difference inside the system that clearly needed it with the Hero Public Safety Commission's influence.
He was distracted by his thoughts and observations by Hitoshi walking out of the bathroom, hairbrush in hand.
"Izuku, can I borrow your hairbrush?" He said, cutting into conversation the way Izuku was used to him doing. Izuku didn't mind it, like most things others seemed to take offense to. All Hitoshi was doing was cutting out unnecessary pleasantries to get to the real core of the conversation. Something Izuku could appreciate wholeheartedly. "My own broke again and whatever you and your dad did to yours made it practically indestructible." Izuku hummed in comradery, he knew what it was like to share the pain of untamable hair.
"Of course, Hitoshi, you know mine is quirk reinforced." It had to be, what with the way they had gone through so many hairbrushes before this.
Quirk: Hairbrush protection.
Subject can make any hairbrush unable to be broken just by mere touch. The duration of the quirk seems to last for 30 days until the quirk needs to be reapplied. Useful for obvious reasons but also has potential for other uses. Indestructible hairbrush used as a weapon? How indestructible is indestructible? Where does all the excess energy go?
Izuku shook his head, just another quirk he and his dad picked up while quirk shopping. Something that might have had more negative connotations before they realized the true implications of the combination of a stockpile quirk such as One For All that he got from his papa combining with the quirk acquisition quirk he gained from his dad.
They hadn't realized it when he was younger, though Izuku admitted that was mostly his own fault rather than the fault of anyone around him. He hadn't been keen to share his notes or keen to express the quirks that hadn't been explicitly allowed. His dad had seemed so upset when he had taken quirks from strangers, that Izuku hadn't been the most keen to admit that he kept them. So mostly they went into stockpile while Izuku focused on studying them off on his own. The evidence was there that he kept him considering his notes, since it wouldn't have made sense for him to know that much based on a quirk that he had held for mere minutes, but his notes were apparently also incomprehensible to anyone that wasn't him. Something Izuku found fascinating, since the one quirk he hadn't managed to get his hands on had been an intelligence one. Everyone just seemed to not be able to look at the world with the same brand of analytical mind that Izuku did, especially when it came to quirks. Though he heard rumors that Nezu was one of the most intelligent beings in their world. His fathers seemed intent on him never meeting with the man but Izuku found it rather silly, he was going to UA, was he not?
Either way, he had found his combination of quirks to be a useful tool, since he was also able to pass off a few to his dad. Even without ramifications of losing them himself, again due to the stockpile nature of his quirk. Honestly it was really fascinating to him how both copies of All For One were able to impact each other but he'd never been able to get someone to really understand his rant on that.
"Izuku, the hairbrush?" He jumped. Ah! Yes! He did forget about that, didn't he? Izuku had a bad habit of getting caught up in his own thoughts and forgetting everything else around him. He was attempting to work on it but it was an in progress skill.
"Sorry Hitochan!" He chirped, going to get the brush for the other boy. The two of them were in middle school but that was a period of time that was about to end sooner rather than later. The two of them still had to take the entrance exams but he was well aware it was mostly just redundant. There to show the two of them were what they were. He didn't have any worries for himself or for Hitochan, and though he knew the two of them would win, Hitoshi was more nervous than Izuku by a long shot.
The real question Izuku had faced was what he was going to do in the first place. He had a lot more memories of his early years than many others did and he remembered a time before his dad was the Symbol of the Underground. He still heard whispers of his past life, the Symbol of Evil, the Boogeyman. He knew that before he was the cuddly monster he was now, his dad had been a real one. He was still feared, but he ran things in a much different way than he ever used to. These days he was more of a vigilante, making sure no villains became too rowdy. He'd keep the underground in check, and serious villainy had almost stopped with him there in the center of it. Though of course he couldn't do it alone and that's where The League of Protection came in. Both his brothers and his sister were vigilantes under it. They helped his dad manage the underground and keep the HPSC in check considering how against the whole thing they were.
Then there was his Papa, a real hero, The Symbol of Peace. No one could stand against him, even now when he was semi-retired. No one could have guessed his home life, and for the sake of all of them he'd kept it that way. His uncles, they were all heroes as well, and he'd always looked up to them and the people they were. Izuku knew of the corruption in the hero system, but he also knew most of them saved lives. There were some, especially Endeavor, who gave the profession a bad name though. The Hero Commission especially was a very corrupt group, and Izuku had seen that first hand.
There'd always been the obvious choice, knowing all that. The path that even his papa respected, that ran in the family more than being a hero did. Yet Izuku could see the way he could fix things. Izuku saw that the world had grown corrupt and thought that for him, becoming a hero, fixing the profession, was more important than anything else. He looked up to his papa and knew the world needed people like him, just as much as they needed people like his dad. For Izuku, there was an obvious answer, and it was a sentiment Hitoshi shared.
Another blink, right, they had school, didn't they? Just another step in the path of becoming the person he was meant to be.
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School was, admittedly, a little bit boring these days. Izuku knew most of the content already, and he wasn't as keen at repeating it. Especially when so many adhered to everything Izuku hated. Plastered on smiles, people being fake to each other. The world was filled with so many small lies and expected Izuku to tell them all the same. He'd gotten good at the game, for all it was worth.
It wasn't that Izuku struggled with kindness or understanding others. Izuku was always willing to hold out a hand to someone who needed it, but he was tired of the everyday villains that pretended they weren't. Izuku could see through it, see the lies for what they were, as much as everyone else seemed to ignore them. His sister had been labeled a villain when she drank the blood she so desperately craved. Hitoshi had been labeled one too. It wasn't fair and it frustrated him to no end. Even so, he was aware he couldn't change the state of the world in middle school, he could wait.
Though, it was annoying still being here and having to hide his quirks. He'd be able to use them soon enough but both sort of fell into the category of national secrecy, especially how they were combined. The only quirk ever properly listed was the one of his unknown parent's. It was the first quirk he had other than the two quirks that had been battled for centuries. A bit underwhelming compared to the other two but one he cherished all the same. He may never know who they were but one day he thought it might be nice to.
Either way, the world thought of it as a weak quirk, and while he was never bullied as relentlessly as his brother had been or Hitoshi was, that didn't erase the fact that the world saw him as lesser over something like a quirk. It wasn't really the frustrating part to him as despite having several other quirks he never saw himself as better. The frustrating part was the way people treated quirks like they were the end of the world, like they determined your fate. His brother was quirkless and he led The League of Protection, with the man one might assume would be a natural leader as his right hand man. Hitoshi, Mr. Shota, they both had every reason to be villains but they chose to be heroes instead, because it was important to them. The world didn't even know his quirk but they decided to brush him off just because of some assumption of who he was. It was downright stupid.
Then enter one Bakugo Katsuki.
For Izuku his case was the most frustrating. Because Izuku knew there was something in there, but the world filled his head with the same hate it loved to believe in. The boy wanted to become a hero and Izuku could see how he could become one if he didn't have a simultaneous inferiority and superiority complex. He was on the path to become the next Endeavor but Izuku saw the cracks of how he could become an actual hero. As long as he actually did the work to fix himself and something driving him in the right direction.
Though of course, that didn't make this part any easier.
It was the day when school aspirations were turned in, and Izuku and Hitoshi were never about to lie about something like this. Katsuki was bragging about the fact that he wanted to go to UA and the look Izuku saw cross his teachers face when he recognized an opportunity disgusted him. The teacher could never start something like this, but letting a student say the thing that was on his mind? Well that was just fair game, wasn't it?
"Izuku and Hotoshi, you both also want to go to UA, don't you?" It wasn't a lie, it wasn't even an outright condemnation but he still grinned when he said it, knowing the hell he was about to break loose on the two of them and reveling in it.
The look every student gave the two of them was horrible. Though he knew the first person that was going to speak up. "Haahh? The weakling and the kid with a villainous quirk think they can go to a hero school?" It was said with emotion but Izuku could see the lies baked into the whole thing. Izuku could see the way that everything built into it. Not excusing the damn actions that pissed Izuku off but still surrounding them in a bubble Izuku couldn't wait to burst. Not today really, but eventually.
"Ah yes, maybe not the best career choices," The teacher added on, as if he was being reminded. As if he hadn't orchestrated the whole thing from the ground up. Katsuki pissed him off but this man pissed him off even more.
"We're going to become heroes." Izuku said darkly and he could see the surprised look on everyone's faces. It was silly really, because it wasn't the first time he'd done this, but they always seemed surprised when the kid with the weak quirk stood up to them, even if it was in defense of a family member. "Hitoshi is not a villain and he's going to be a better hero than you could ever be, keeping on like that. I'm going to stand by him, regardless of where the world or others think I should go. I don't care about whatever words you levy at me but don't you dare try to pretend like you know anything about Hitoshi." Then, since it was the end of the day and he didn't want to stay in that hell for any longer, he grabbed Hitoshi's hand and left the stupid classroom.
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The walk back home was more silent than Izuku wanted it to be, though he couldn't blame Hitoshi for it. He'd dealt with too much in the past for him to ever really be ok after a reminder of what the world saw in him. Aldera was hell, but it wasn't really an exception to any rule. Hitoshi had been in much worse schools until he was placed there, Izuku knew there were other worse ones and he couldn't blame Hitoshi for just giving up and wanting to just get through middle school so he could make his way into high school. Where people would realize he actually had a reason to be there.
Hitoshi went straight to his room and Izuku let him, writing in his notes for a little while and worked on his homework. It wasn't long though, before the door opened and in came his brothers from a day at work, they seemed to be arguing about something as they came in but they stopped when they saw Izuku so he wasn't able to really see what the whole thing was about.
"Izuku, how was school?" Touya was the first to ask him, a mischievous grin on the man's face. He stepped forward to ruffle Izuku's hair and Izuku hummed as he leaned into it. He really did enjoy small bit of affection like this from all of his family. "Did you give your teachers shit for me?"
Ignoring Tenko's offended gasp at Touya's language Izuku responded in time. "Yeah! They were being mean to Hitochan and siding with Katsuki so I ripped them a new one." There was more to it than that, it targeted him just as well, but his brothers didn't need to know about all that.
"Hell yeah!" Touya replied, before giving him a high five. Out of anyone in this family he always encouraged Izuku's antics, much to the chagrin of everyone else. He couldn't imagine a life without his older brother and he was happy he didn't have to live in one. It was years ago now that his dad picked him up. Though the simple act of the thing did eventually lead to the huge fight between his dads, Izuku could count it as worth it, considering the fact that it worked out in the end and he got two awesome siblings out of the whole thing.
Then, Touya slipped something out of his pocket and Izuku grinned when he saw what it was. "You did good kid, here's 2000 yen." Izuku was quick to grab the bill and shove it into his pocket so he could keep the thing to himself. It wasn't the first time his big brother gave him gifts and Izuku would often guard the things with his life, knowing what it could get him. Candy, obviously but notebooks, stationary, even bigger things if he saved up.
Though Tenko slapping Touya upside the head and deadpanning, "You spoil him." Was expected too, especially as he added, "He'll go mad with power if you keep giving him random gifts like that."
Touya just chuckled, pulling his hands behind his head and leaning slightly back into them, "I think you don't spoil him enough, really. One of these days Izuku is going to run the world and I hope that he'll remember who his favorite brother is when he does so." Izuku giggled at the joke. It wouldn't be the first time someone in his family mentioned him taking over the world and it also came up more seriously than one might expect. Izuku had no current plans for world domination but he thought he might be a pretty good leader if he did. More often than not though, he just played into it.
"Don't worry Touya!" Izuku said with an exaggerated smile, "You'll be the last one I kill!"
The extra horrified look on Tenko's face was worth it and Izuku grinned at the sight. His brother was used to him being like this, and probably well resigned to it a good while ago. It's just, as he got older he realized how capable his brother was of world domination if he chose that path. Izuku wouldn't really, but everyone around him knew he could, so saying things like this had a greater twinge of horror than they might have otherwise. "Izuku, you're downright terrifying sometimes, y'know?" He said with a sigh before ruffling his hair.
Izuku knew, and he was maybe playing it up a bit more than he usually would but he'd had a rough day and it was fun. Even so, a joke couldn't go on forever. "Where's dad?" Izuku asked because if his brothers were here then dad would probably be home. Unless something big came up.
"Right here Izuku," Came a voice behind them and Izuku smiled when he saw his dad. He looked a lot different than he ever did when Izuku was younger. He still kept up and intimidating presence while at work but at home he looked a lot more relaxed. Freckles identical to Izuku's dotted his face and his hair was longer than the short cut he used to have. He wore it up in a ponytail when he was at work but he let it down most of the time Izuku was there to see it. His eyes were kind, and though Izuku had seen him at work before it was still hard for him to imagine anyone being terrified of the man. "Plotting world domination again?" He asked with a chuckle, "I can tell you, it's not quite all it's chalked up to be."
Izuku giggled and gave his dad a hug, smiling when he saw his papa come up behind him. It had taken a long time for the two of them to get here, but the fond look on his face never failed to warm Izuku's heart.
"Gari, you're home." His papa said softly and cupped his dad's face giving him a kiss. Izuku wasn't the biggest fan of the public display of affection from his parents. What kid was? Still, he remembered enough of his childhood to vastly prefer this. It didn't bother him fully the same way that it bothered Hitoshi when his dads kissed so Izuku kept his mouth shut. "How was work?"
"Good Nori, nothing too exciting happened which you know is always a good thing. No one got hurt at least, on either side." Exciting days were the bad ones, when his dad or his brothers would come back hurt. Sometimes all of them would. This would always be the preference.
The adults would talk longer but Izuku soon grew bored. It was interesting when they discussed the interesting things, like work or the like but they were just talking about dinner and his papa's lesson plans. All things Izuku understood, sure, but not any that would actually interest him. He knew others would say he didn't act like one but he was still a kid. Even if he was also growing up. So he retreated back to his room so he could work on his notes. He'd been studying a couple quirks he'd picked up on the way home from school.
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Static Charge
User can harness the power of small electric shocks when there's a build up of static electricity.
One of several accumulated electricity quirks, though more useful for smaller more controlled shocks. Could be used to power electric devices if out of battery or unable to plug in. Potential use with support gear? General use charging things on a more daily basis? Look into the limits of the electrical power and how powerful the quirk can get.
"-ku"
Emotion Trade
User can exchange emotions between themselves and others. More extreme emotions on either side can be magnified to a certain extent if not controlled. Emotions are pushed onto others but also absorbed.
Probably something to keep off unless absolutely nessesary. Potential as a more complex lie detector quirk, could be paired well with Uncle Masa's quirk as harder to trick but comes with drawbacks as it opens door to be overwhelmed by outside emotions. Also seems to work with pain which is a huge drawback if in a more painful area. How did original user function? Does one get more used to the emotions over time? User would have to control own emotions or the quirk directly almost at all times. Potentially look into further, interview could be interesting.
"Izu-"
Mitus touch
User can turn anything they touch with five fingers into gold.
Owner of the quirk seemed to have been wearing gloves. Didn't give off the aura of someone with tragedy. Early detection? Could have been from some of the new programs dad is getting situated or potentially pre-existing structures.
Dangerous quirk when manifesting, example of why that's so important.
"Izuku, are you not even going to greet your grandmother?"
Izuku snapped out of his thoughts and looked up to see Grandma Nana smiling over him from where he'd been focused on his notes.
"You're back!" He said with an excited grin, putting them to the side and giving her a big hug. It wasn't all that often he actually got to see the vessels these days. Or well, all of them anyway. They had all sort of settled into a proper life now that they could. Izuku's power had only gotten stronger over time. They'd manifested properly when he was 10 but even then they'd been stuck to him. Over time though they'd been able to stray further and further and these days they weren't really stuck to Izuku at all anymore.
It's not that they abandoned him, really, but it had been an adjusting period even after he realized they all deserved the second chance at life they never got. Most of them lived fairly normal, civilian lives.
Kudo and Bruce lived in a beach house together, where Bruce taught a dojo and Kudo mostly just enjoyed his retirement, teaching surfing lessons on Tuesdays.
Hikage was still pretty quiet but he had a nice apartment where he lived with his therapy cat Yuki. He'd always been the quietest when Izuku was younger and he visited less often than the others but he still kept in touch.
Banjo was as loud as ever and found a good home at a construction company. Apparently the daughter of the family who owned it was planning to go to UA next year so Izuku was looking forward to meeting her. He hadn't really gotten the chance to before since she lived to far away but he thought they might have a chance to be good friends from what he heard from him.
En ran a cat cafe. He'd been one of the most resistant to leaving Izuku's side but he'd become good friends with the elderly owner and when he passed he'd agreed to take the place over. It had been good for him and Izuku was greatful he'd also found a home.
Everyone visited fairly regularly but they all did still have their own lives. They'd spent the whole time they were alive with one goal in mind and they all really had deserved their retirement. Izuku missed them all, they'd been there since the moment he could remember, but he understood that well. They couldn't be clung to him forever and Izuku had been the first person to tell them that. No matter how much he missed them, this really was the best way that things could go for all of them. Everyone had left, except for Grandma Nana and Uncle Yoichi.
Of course, they hadn't stuck with him like ghosts. They had their own house in the same neighborhood where Izuku and Hitoshi lived but they visited more often than not. Really, none of the houses really belonged to just one of them. Living together in and out had been a common place thing for all of them. The only reason Izuku had said what he had was because they'd been on vacation for a bit. He hadn't expected them to just pop up like this, not that he was complaining.
"Yep!" His grandma said with her usual grin on her face, "We wanted to make it a surprise but we actually got back while you were out at school, we'd just taken some time to get settled in." Izuku nodded along though he wondered at how she'd gotten into his room. With how distracted he was, she could have just walked in, but it was just as likely that she could have appeared out on thin air. She hadn't stopped being capable of it.
"Are you staying over for dinner?" He asked, though more likely than not they would be. It was rare when any of the families actually ate dinner alone.
"That we are." She said with a smile and Izuku smiled back. Her energy was infectious and he was well willing to admit that he'd missed her. "Actually I came to tell you that it was ready. Considering you'd be so wrapped up in your notes you'd probably forget the time."
Izuku quickly checked his phone and realized he had actually lost track of what time it was. It had been a few hours since he'd gotten so invested in what he was doing. Not that it was anything particularly unusual for him. "Right," he said, putting it back into his pocket, "Sorry, I didn't realize it had gotten this late." He'd still apologize even if he knew he'd probably fall into the same thing again next time he worked on his notes for any prolonged period of time. He was just so fascinated by the wide world of quirks and he'd probably never get tired of it either. Though he'd be able to inspect and use any quirk in the wide world of them, there was such a variety that each one was always so interesting to look into. Even similar quirks always had some level of variation.
"You're still in your head," Nana interrupted him, giving him a gentle tap on the forehead, "But I know telling you to stop is like asking the sun to stop shining. Come on, let's go get some food before you start thinking so much you forget to eat."
"Right." Izuku said with a nod, and then they were off to go eat dinner.
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It was late enough that everyone was asleep, but Touya had still gone back out into the city to sit on this cold ass rooftop. He didn't want to be here right now, he'd rather be in his warm bed, but since he was, he took the waiting time as an excuse to have a smoke break.
It was quiet, for a moment, but he could hear the almost silent flap of red wings as he touched down, could feel the stare of eyes against his back. This wasn't something he'd usually bother with. Someone like this, someone who could be a danger to his family was the exact type of person who deserved to feel his flames. He would have, for anyone else. Touya knew he had every aspect of a traitor. Really, except for the most important part, the actual will to betray them.
"You're late." Was the first thing he said when he stomped out his cigarette.
"Smoking is back for you, y'know-" Came the snarky reply back and Touya scoffed slightly. Of course he knew, but he'd picked up the habit before he'd met his dad and never been able to really kick it. Besides, though he was better than he had been back then, it's not like the smoke inhalation he already dealt with from his quirk could get much worse.
"What are you, my dad?" He snarked back, because that one fact hadn't stopped him from getting on his case. Not that he could be all that angry about the whole thing.
"Wouldn't want you to keel over before I can join the league. You're the only one who's been willing to listen me out." That was a mostly a lie and Hawk's demeanor was pissing him the hell off. Touya wasn't about to do this on his own merit and the only reason Tenko wasn't the one doing it was that no one would let him. He could carry his own in a fight but he also had way too soft of a heart for something like this.
"Yeah, yeah, well don't be so confident you'll get in Birdie." As much as they all could tell there was something more going on... He was still dangerous. Touya didn't trust him as far as he could throw him, and the only reason he didn't tell him to fuck off was because his whole family had savior complexes and he wasn't about to argue against them. From his perspective Hawks was a lost cause, but he could admit he still had his uses.
"Oh come on, you know I've done a lot for you and the league! Where would you guys be without me?" It was played off as a joke but Touya could tell there was a desperation behind those eyes.
"Probably better off," He snapped back, probably a bit too harshly and he could see the way the hero flinched back. Leave it to Hawks to make him feel bad for protecting his family... "Look, do you have anything for us at least, since you're so late?" Even so, he had a job to do, and that job would always be to protect his family.