Chapter Text
Izuku Shigaraki is lost.
He, his older brother, and father had gone out during a hot summer day for their weekly shopping trip, when a really cool vigilante toy had caught his eye. Running over to where the toy was, Izuku barely noticed when his father and brother disappeared in the crowd of people.
When he turned around to point out how cool the figurine was, even with how much his father and brother disapproved of vigilantes, he found himself alone. He blinked his large green eyes at the street full of strangers in shock.
It was strange finding himself alone like this. His father and brother never really ever let him out of their sight, and whenever they did, it was usually because he was locked in his room… from the outside so he wouldn't be able to get out. Not that he blamed them. Izuku knew how much they worried about him.
Especially with his father being the number one hero and his brother one of the top heroes beside their father. Their jobs were dangerous, that's why they always kept Izuku's existence under lock and key. No one other than their family and doctor, who was extremely creepy, knew about Izuku's existence.
They just wanted to make sure Izuku was safe.
There was one day of each week Izuku was able to go out with his father and older brother and that was their shopping trip. It was the highlight of Izuku's week. The day he was always excited for.
What never happened before was getting separated from his family and somehow lost. His father and brother never took their eyes off him, after all. What- what was he supposed to do now? It was rare to be outside like this and Izuku had no idea how he was supposed to find his father and older brother.
Was- was he supposed to ask someone for help?
Looking around, Izuku looked from person to person trying to pick the perfect person to ask for help. Yeah sure, stranger danger like his father and brother always tell him. But it wasn't like Izuku was going to come across a villain wanting revenge on his family.
As he started to walk through the streets, Izuku couldn't help but start to feel nervous at being alone. While he was often alone at home while his father and brother worked, that was always at home, where he was safe. Out here, anything could happen. Like a villain attack, Izuku realized, nervously.
He really hoped not. That sounded scary.
Looking around, there were many people that Izuku could ask for help. Many nice looking people who would probably be glad to help a small child find his family again. None of those caught Izuku’s eyes.
Instead, what caught his attention was a very unnaturally tall man standing off to the side of the crowd. The man was hunched over with his skinny form yet still towered over others in the crowd easily with his front two pieces of blond hair falling over his face. His eyes were shadowed so Izuku was not able to see what they looked like.
The man stood in the shadows making it difficult to read the man’s expression. For whatever reason the man was there, it clearly wasn’t for any good one. Overall, the man was extremely intimidating…. and scrunky.
He was perfect.
Izuku quickly bounded over to where the man stood shadowed from the light. He slowed down the closer he got and hesitated disturbing the man. He looked like he was on the lookout for something important after all. Father told him to always be respectful to people doing things. Even if Izuku never really came in contact with other people.
That’s when he noticed the air around the blond. It felt heavy but not like the oppressive air like his father sometimes had, heavy as there was something important going on. It reminded Izuku whenever he caught his father or brother planning something important for their work.
When bright blue eyes snapped to where he crouched a few ways away, Izuku nearly jumped out of his skin. He froze as the air suddenly became massive and he wasn’t able to breathe in air for his lungs. It was too much, too intense, too heavy-
Then as soon as it appeared the weight vanished. Taking a deep gulp of breath, Izuku blinked rapidly.
“Huh?” he muttered, quietly.
Looking up at the man, he found curious blue eyes staring down at him. From this close, Izuku noted how the man basically towered over him. He had to look all the way up to be able to look at the man's eyes. Woah, he’s so tall! Izuku admired, eyes shining brightly.
For a long moment, the blond simply stared down at Izuku before huffing and turning back to what he was looking at. Izuku tried following his line of sight but couldn’t see what the blond was looking at and gave up. He wasn’t as tall as the man anyway.
Rather than continuing searching for what the man was looking at, Izuku slowly inched closer. He was being respectful! It wasn’t like he was bothering the blond from what he was looking at so father wouldn’t think he was being disrespectful, shut up Tomura. The greenette thought, rolling his eyes.
He was about four feet away when the blond’s blue eyes snapped back at him and froze once again. It was less intense and scary than the first time and instead, this time the man looked more confused at Izuku. Probably wondering why a child was approaching him. Izuku had to admit if he was any other kid, he’d probably be scared of the man. But he wasn’t because his father was the number one hero and All for One was scarier than anyone else!
The blond huffed and looked away and that’s when Izuku slowly crawled closer. He stopped again when the man’s eyes landed on him. If he froze whenever the man was looking, he wouldn’t be seen. That's how it usually worked with Tomura. The man’s eyes narrowed before looking away again.
Izuku snickered under his breath as he crawled closer.
Suddenly he was snatched by the armpits and he squeaked as he was brought up high. He flailed uselessly for a moment before clutching tightly onto the arms who was holding him up. Blinking, Izuku looked up and found himself face to face with the blue eyes of the tall, blond man.
Izuku shot the man a sheepish smile to which he returned with a raised eyebrow. The greenette pulled his limbs closer in discomfort as the blond continued to stare at him silently. Izuku… Izuku probably should've thought this through.
“Do you need something, kid?” the blond asked, jostling Izuku lightly.
Clutching the man's arms tighter, Izuku nodded enthusiastically. “Mmm-hmmm,” he said, looking at the blond with bright eyes.
For a long moment, the two simply stared at each other as the blond waited for Izuku to continue. “Well?” the man prompted. “What is it?”
“I need help,” Izuku admitted.
“You… need help?” the man asked slowly. When Izuku nodded, making the blond's his face twist into confusion. “And you're asking me? Why aren't you asking someone… else?” he asked, frowning.
At that, Izuku shook his head while keeping eye contact with the man. “I didn't want to ask anyone else,” he told the blond, shrugging as best he could while still being held. “Other people aren't as tall as you,” he said.
The blond hummed. “And you've never heard of stranger danger?” he asked, frowning.
The greenette nodded. “Father and older brother taught me about it,” he told the man. “That's why I need help. I can't find them. I'm lost.”
“And you want me to help you find your dad and brother?”
“Yeah,” Izuku nodded, rapidly. “Fast please or else I'll be locked in my room for a long time. I don't like it when I'm locked away for a long time. I can't even go out on the day we go shopping!” he complained, rubbing his eyes.
It was silent before Izuku looked at the man who was simply staring at him blankly. “Locked… in your room?” he asked, his hold on Izuku momentarily tightening. “That… sounds… familiar.”
The greenette perked up. “Really? I didn't know it was like that for other kids,” he said, glad he wouldn't be dropped anytime soon. Sometimes Tomura did that when Izuku wasn't prepared when the older said he was being annoying. “But it's alright since I'm always supposed to be with father or brother… I'm not allowed out by myself.”
Finally, the blond shook his head. “I can’t- look, kid,” he started, sighing. “I'm kind of busy right now, alright? Go find someone else— nicer— to ask to help you find your dad and brother, yeah?”
“But you are nice,” Izuku said, tilting his head to the side. “Father usually tells me that if I try to ask other people for help, they'll hit or completely ignore me,” he said, patting the man's arms lightly.
“Did he now?” the blond asked, a little off guard. “Whatever, I'm sure your dear old dad was just exaggerating. Now, run along,” he said, setting Izuku down on the ground and pushing him lightly away. He shoo-ed the kid and went back to watching.
Instead of walking away, Izuku stayed near enough to continue watching the man. He didn't want to go to someone else for help. Besides, the blond was interesting in Izuku's opinion. Not that he's met many others but the man still caught his attention. And he was nice! Nicer than what father and Tomura always told him people would be.
As the blond continued looking for whatever it is that he was looking for, it was only a few minutes before he sighed in frustration and disappointment. Looks like he couldn't find what he wanted. Izuku felt bad for the man. He was always sad when he couldn't find the things he was looking for.
Turning, the man walked into the alleyway and continued deeper. Izuku quickly scrambled to follow at a distance. He made sure to keep his steps quiet like brother taught him and he creeped through the alley after the blond man. Where was he heading anyway-?
He was startled out of his thoughts when someone jumped out from one of the side doors of the building. Now she looked scary. The woman looked down at him and snarled a nasty look and shouted mean words at him. Father told him he was never supposed to say those words. Neither him or Tomura or they would be locked in their rooms. Though because Tomura was older, he was barely ever put in time out.
Scared out of his mind, Izuku rushed forward deeper into the alley in fear. The woman was loud too. He slammed into the blond man's legs and stumbled back. Oops. The man wasn't supposed to know he was following him.
A sigh escaped the blond's lips and he turned and picked Izuku up to put on his hip. “You should've asked someone else to help you, kid,” the man said, shaking his head. “Then you could've found your family quicker.”
“Izuku,” the greenette murmured, resting his head on the man's shoulder. When the man hummed in question, he repeated himself. “Izuku… Izuku Shi- Mi- Midoriyaaaa,” he stuttered, face going red at the raised eyebrow the man shot him while looking at the green bush on top of his head.
Father did always say to never tell his real name to strangers. Even though he knew the man would never truly let him meet a stranger.
The man hummed. “Alright Midoriya,” he said, continuing walking. “I'm Yagi Toshinori,” he introduced, staring straight ahead.
Gripping the man's shirt, Izuku slowly shook his head. “Izuku, Yagi-san,” he murmured, rubbing his eyes tiredly. His exhaustion from the stressful and exciting day he's had was starting to catch up with him. He just hoped father and Tomura wouldn't be too disappointed when he found them later.
“... Young Izuku,” Yagi-san said, quietly. When a hesitant hand came up to pat Izuku's back, the greenette hummed. Being called Midoriya didn't sound right since that wasn't his actual name, but at least father couldn't be disappointed about that.
As he relaxed more in Yagi-san's hold, Izuku's eyes began drooping. They felt so heavy and it was so hard to move his arms. Not only that, but Yagi-san was really, really warm. Like, more than Izuku.
“Will you wake me up when you find my family?” Izuku asked, quietly.
Yagi-san didn't say anything and was silent. “... Sure, kid,” he murmured, after a long moment.
Sleep pulled Izuku under its peacefulness. He dreamed about his father's white hair and Tomura’s bright red eyes and his mom's green hair and eyes that he inherited. He dreamed of simpler times when mom was still alive and his family didn't have to worry about villains targeting them. He dreamed of happy moments with his mom before she was killed by father's brother.
It wasn't until he started hearing voices that he stirred in his sleep. He quickly noted how he still felt as warm as he did when he fell asleep with Yagi-san holding him. Then he noticed how Yagi-san kept shushing new voices that surrounded the two of them. There- there were surprisingly a lot of new voices.
He kept his breathing deep and peaked his eyes open. Izuku had to force himself not to startle at how many people there were around him and Yagi-san. From what he could count, there were six people surrounding them. All of them wore different expressions and body language.
A man with orange spiky hair and a man with white hair tied back, spiky, were arguing with Yagi-san while the man tried shushing them to be quieter. Behind the two, stood two other men, a short black haired man who covered his lower face and a man with white hair that fell on his shoulders that had a large scar on his face, and stared at the three arguing in silence. The last two, a woman with black hair and a large bald man, stood beside him while watching Yagi-san. That was until the man covering his lower face looked at- at Izuku.
Startling in surprise, Izuku grabbed onto Yagi-san's shirt, who didn't even notice. and fully opened his eyes at the two. Who- who were any of these people? Did they know Yagi-san?
“-Toshinori! You can't just bring a kid here!” the orange haired man said. “Why would you even do that?! Do you know how much danger you're putting us in? Not to mention for the kid as well!”
“It's not like the kid will know who we are,” Yagi-san hissed, quietly. “If you just don't talk about those things, that is.”
“Why would you do this, Eighth?” the spiky white haired man asked, shaking his head.
“I know, just, Kudo, Bruce, be quiet,” Yagi-san whispered, shifting the greenette's weight on his hip. “Look, he was just lost and he came to me! What was I supposed to do when this child was following me?!”
“Get him to stop following you?” the scarred man said, quietly.
Izuku looked up at Yagi-san's tired expression. “I tried,” he said, exasperated. “I was heading back but the kid just kept following me. I didn't know what to do. Besides, he's just lost, the sooner we get him back to his family, the sooner he's out of our hands.”
“Why was he even following you?” the bald man asked. “You're just as terrifying in that form as you are in your larger form, Toshi. You should've easily been able to scare him away,” he pointed out, amused by the situation.
At that, Yagi-san tightened his grip on Izuku. “Well I didn't… and he called me nice?” the blond admitted, slightly confused.
A loud laugh startled Izuku and he found that it had come from the woman. It made him wonder if calling Yagi-san nice was strange. Though Izuku might not have met a lot of people in his life, he knew that Yagi-san was nice. What he didn't notice was that now everyone's attention was solely on him.
“That's definitely something we've never heard before,” the woman said, wiping a tear from her eye while chuckling.
The arms holding him, squeezed him gently getting his attention back to the blond. “Ah, young Izuku, you're awake,” Yagi-san said, staring down at Izuku with his bright blue eyes. “How-.... How are you feeling?” he asked, hesitantly.
Izuku rubbed his eyes. “Yeah, I'm more awake now, Yagi-san,” he told the man. “Where are we? And who are they?” he asked, looking around the large dining room the eight of them were in. It made him wonder if this was Yagi-san's home. He then looked at each person around them.
“Hey, kid, what's your name?” the bald man asked, camping closer.
Eyeing the man, Izuku pressed himself closer to Yagi-san. “Izuku…” he said, hesitantly. “Izuku Midoriya and you?” he dared asking.
“Banjo,” the bald man introduced himself.
When no one else said anything, Izuku turned back to the blond. “We're… at a base,” the man said, slowly. Beside them, Kudo-san face palmed and the others shook their heads. “And these are my friends?”
“Family,” the woman chimed in.
“Acquaintance,” Kudo-san sighed, annoyed.
Izuku blinked at all the different answers. “Wait, base?” he murmured, not noticing how they all tensed. “Like a hero base. Are you guys heroes?” he asked, frowning.
“... No.”
At that, Izuku's mood brightened. “Oh! Oh, I'm relieved,” he admitted. Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief that then turned into sounds of confusion. “Father would be so disappointed if he knew that heroes found me. He really doesn't like other people knowing about me,” he said, fidgeting with his hands.
“Does that have anything to do with why you get ‘locked away for a long time’?” Yagi-san asked, in a tone Izuku wasn't able to read.
He nodded. “Yeah,” he said. “I'm only allowed to see father and older brother during that. They say they wanna keep me all to themselves. I know they're joking and just wanna keep me safe but sometimes… sometimes that scares me,” he admitted, clenching Yagi-san's shirt tightly.
For a moment, things were silent. Izuku looked up at the people around, finding various different expressions on each of them with none of them positive. Did- did Izuku say something wrong? Fear began to crawl up Izuku's throat and he made himself as small as he could.
“That's… familiar,” Kudo-san growled out through gritted teeth. There was a quiet rage and fury in his eyes and made Izuku press himself closer to Yagi-san.
The blond holding Izuku sighed. “I said the same thing,” he murmured. “And you still want to go back to your family?” he asked, skeptically.
Izuku looked up at Yagi-san with wide green eyes, not knowing his affect with them. “Of course,” he said, confused and tilting his head. “They're just trying to keep me safe. The world's a very dangerous place, y'know. Haven't you seen the villains out there?”
Kudo-san snorted. The woman and Banjo-san snickered while the other two shook their heads. Yagi-san simply sighed. “Yes, kid, I know,” he said, sounding resigned. The man hesitated before asking, “... Are you afraid of villains, young Izuku?”
Kudo-san and Bruce-san shot the man an unimpressed look.
Everyone in the room seemed to wait with baited breath. “Hmmm, father tells me a lot of stories about villains,” Izuku started, tapping his chin in thought. *He's told me stories where villains kill kids by tearing them apart piece by piece for fun. Or the ones that villains don't care about anyone or anything other than themselves. And he's told me that villains don't have any goals or dreams for the future.
“I'm as scared of them as the next person,” Izuku answered honestly. “But mostly, I feel bad for them. Father doesn't like it when I symp- sympathize?- with- with villains. They seem to be missing out on a lot of stuff because they're villains. I don't hate them either… even though they basically turned my life upside down.”
When he looked up at everyone, he was met with careful blank faces. Then Yagi-san cleared his throat making Izuku jump. He turned to look up at the blond and tilted his head in a silent question.
“Well, that's… good to know,” the blond said, slowly. “... And don't worry, young Izuku, we'll get you home soon… that is if you even want to go home?” Yagi-san said, squeezing Izuku in an embrace.
“I want to find my family, why wouldn't I?” Izuku asked, genuinely confused.
The blond simply shook his head. “Nevermind,” he muttered. The others started introducing themselves to Izuku as the boy was still held by Yagi-san. Not that he was complaining. The man was comfortable and warm.
He learned that the scarred man was called Hikage Shinomori, the black haired man who covered his lower face was En, and the woman was Nana Shimura. Nana-san’s last name sounded oddly familiar, which made Izuku need to figure out why.
Kudo-san and Bruce-san talked to each other quietly while Shinomori-san and En-san mostly kept to themselves. Nana-san and Banjo-san quietly entertained Izuku along with Yagi-san. The three of them were so nice and were so fun to talk to, Izuku barely noticed as time went on.
That was until Yagi-san looked over at where Kudo-san stood. “Hey, when is Yoichi back? He'll wanna know about this, uh, this little guy,” he said.
Why did that name sound familiar to Izuku? He felt like there was something important to remember about that name. He lightly tapped the man's shoulder. “Who's Yoichi?” he asked, quietly.
“I am.”
Jumping in Yagi-san's hold, Izuku looked around until he found a man standing a few ways awG from their group. The man had white straight hair that fell to his shoulders and bright green unmistakable eyes.
That's when Izuku realized who this man was.
This was Yoichi Shigaraki, brother to Izuku's father, Hisashi Shigaraki, and the killer of Inko, his mom. Yoichi Shigaraki, the villain called First, hell bent on taking down father, along with the rest of his successors. The closest successor to succeed being, Eighth, All Might, to almost kill his father.
Then everything clicked into place.
Yoichi Shigaraki, brother of Hisashi turned villain: First.
Toshitsugu Kudo: Second.
Bruce Lee: Third.
Hikage Shinomori: Fourth.
Daigoro Banjo: Fifth.
En: Sixth.
Nana Shimura: Seventh.
The only one Izuku didn't recognize was Yagi-san, but then he noted the blond hair, blue eyes and powerful air around him. Then he remembered what Bruce-san- Third called Yagi-san: Eighth. Yagi-san was the Eighth, All Might, the man who was almost able to kill Izuku's father.
That's why Izuku recognized Nana Shimura’s name. She was his older brother's biological grandmother. Before Tomura Shigaraki had been rescued and adopted by Izuku's father, he had once been Tenko Shimura. The red eyed boy didn't like to be called by his old name, so Izuku had mostly forgotten about it.
He remembered his father's stories about his villain brother and his successors. His father had tried giving a quirk to his brother but then had accidentally given two. A stock-piling quirk and a longevity quirk. Each holder of the quirk wouldn't age and die unless they were killed. That made them dangerous as they were dead set on killing Izuku's father.
No matter the holder, they all aimed to kill him and everyone associated with him. Like Izuku's mom. Yoichi had killed her as soon as he had found Inko had been Hisashi's wife. That was when everything changed. Izuku was permanently kept secret from the world, never to be known by anyone other than his father and brother… and the doctor.
Eugh.
A fear Izuku had never felt before rode in him and he didn't even notice when his breath began to quicken. Fear, panic, grief, and sorrow all overwhelmed him to the point he lost complete awareness. Yoichi killed his mom and- and All Might came the closest to killing his father-
Izuku couldn't get enough air in his lungs and he started to hyperventilate. He clutched at his chest in panic as his vision blurred. Hey- he was surrounded by his father's enemies. By villains. They- they were going to kill him. This is what happened because he got separated by father and Tomura-
He- Izuku was going to die-
A sob tore through his lips and Izuku felt like he was dying.
A hand settled softly but firmly against his back and pressed him against a warm body. He was too busy trying to get air back in his lungs to focus. His hands were shaking so badly against his clutched shirt.
Tears poured down his cheeks and Izuku wished he was back home with his father and brother. He didn't want to die. He was scared. He was so, so scared. He wanted his- he wanted his dad and Tomura. He was so, so scared of dying.
The hand came up to gently run through his curls. There was a voice above him shushing him quietly but he couldn't hear it. His heart beat was racing so hard against his ribcage that it was all he could hear.
He should have listened to his dad and kept close to him. “I- I don't want to die!” he cried, curling tighter into himself. “Please- please, don't kill me, Yagi-san-AllMight,” he begged, through his sobs.
The man holding him froze for a moment as his blue eyes snapped up over the greenette's head at the others. Their eyes wide with shock at the fact that this kid was able to figure out his villain identity. That- that wasn't normal. Especially only after seeing Yoichi… who was known as the villain, First.
Who, exactly, was this kid?
“I won't kill you,” All Might said softly. He kept running his hand through Izuku's curls in an attempt to calm the young boy. “I promise I won't kill you, young Izuku. Nobody here will hurt you,” the number one villain promised.
“Well…” Izuku heard Kudo-san-Second mutter.
Izuku didn't see the death glare the blond shot Second over his messy head of hair, though he did feel as All Might tightened his hold on Izuku, possessively. It made the boy cry harder, as it reminded him of his father's hugs. He wanted his dad.
While Yagi-san continued trying to calm Izuku down, Yoichi stared at the scene in front of him in confusion. Where did Eighth, their youngest successor, find this bush haired green child??? What did he miss while he was out?
“Who is that?” Yoichi asked, turning to face Nana who stood beside him. “How does he know Toshi is All Might?”
Nana side-glanced him before sighing. “While spying on All for One, this kid got lost from his family and started following Toshi. Unable to get rid of the kid, he brought him here,” she explained, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Had no clue who we even were until you popped in,” Daigoro said.
En hummed. “It's weird, he only put two and two together when he saw you,” he said, quietly. “Whcih means he knows you're First and so the rest of us.”
Frowning, Yoichi looked back over where Toshinori was comforting the young kid. This was probably the most gentle he's ever seen the blond. The man had always been strong and hardheaded whenever he was around the others. Even with just him and Nana, the one who brought him into their business, he'd always put on a strong front.
It was a surprisingly cute scene. Huh, that wasn't much of a shocker considering Toshinori was still the youngest out of all the successors. The younguns were always adorable in Yoichi's opinion, so bright and full of hope. It made him wish he could lock them up in a vault to keep that flame bright forever.
But he wasn't his brother and would never do that! Not Yoichi, never.
“You do realize that we won't be able to let the kid go unless we figure out how he figured us out, right?” he asked his successors. Was this an excuse to know the kid that caught Toshinori’s attention and made the usually ruthless villain soft, better? Maybe.
Nana sighed. “Yeah, we know,” she said, shaking her head.
“I'm not babysitting,” Kudo said, glaring at Yoichi. He turned and walked out of the dining room with Bruce at his ankles. The two never being that far apart from each other. Yoichi shook his head at the two of them, unsurprised.
Extra: Stressed out All Might bc small green crying child.
All Might: Shhhh, it's alright, nobody's going to hurt you, we're all friends here.
Izuku crying and terrified for his life.
Kudo: Are we tho?
Izuku bawling louder.
All Might planning the man's end, while the other holders hide their laugh.
Extra: Yoichi, being as old as All for One, watching the younger successors.
Yoichi: Oh, they're all so young and adorable.
Kudo, who knows full well how old First is, sighs: They're adults, First.
Yoichi, cooing at his successors: Yeah, but they're so full hope and happy, look at them. Wait- is that a child?
Kudo, glaring hard: No, First, Eighth does not need a successor yet. First, Yoichi, no. We don't need a Ninth yet- YOICHI-