Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

The final school bell rang, signaling the end of the day.

Izuku sighed, putting his notebook into his backpack. As he was storing away his items, he looked out the school window. Groups of children were chatting as they walked home together. Izuku watched their interaction with a tint of sadness. His eyes became distant as he slipped into his memories. 

He used to also have his own group of friends who walked home together, had lunch together and did things together. But when he was diagnosed quirkless, he had grown apart from his friends, especially with his childhood playmate, Bakugo Katsuki, or as Izuku called him ‘Kacchan’.

The boy was one of his neighbors and used to play together all the time. But their relationship changed drastically when Izuku was officially quirkless. In the present, he could barely even see the boy, lest talk to him. Even if they did speak, usually under no other circumstances, Kacchan reacted with the rudest attitude that showed he did not want to interact with him even for a single second. If it weren’t for the fact that Izuku knew Kacchan had a powerful quirk that could destroy him if he ever wanted; he would have thought Kacchan was… afraid of him. 

After all, before the silent treatment happened, Izuku was bullied by Katsuki, himself. Kacchan used to send explosions to his face, his body and sometimes destroy his notebooks. While it did hurt whenever Kacchan used his quirk on him, it was a miracle that the boy did not leave scars or marks. Perhaps that’s another indication of how Kacchan was extremely efficient with his quirk. But one day, Kacchan was especially upset and had left burn marks on his face and clothes after a nasty explosion. He had tried his hardest to cover the scars and forced a smile to hide the bullying from his overprotective father. There’s the fact that Izuku didn’t want to further worry the busy man that his father is, but there’s another underlying reason is because he didn’t want to cause more overprotectiveness that his father already had for him. After Izuku’s quirkless diagnosis, his father had taken coddling him to another level and Izuku hated it. If he knew that Izuku was bullied, the coddling would surely never stop! 

Yet, the man still noticed the unusual red from the particular sore spot that had taken the direct impact from Kacchan’s explosions. Despite Izuku claiming it was an accident he had inflicted upon himself when he used the stove, his father didn’t buy it for a second. Curses. Why was Izuku such a horrible liar? He had forced Izuku to tell the whole story, from start to finish, wanting every single little detail. Izuku, knowing he’s caught red-handed, could only spill the truth. But he did try his best to diffuse his father’s rage by describing the situation in the mildest way possible. 

“It was just silly games between friends” Izuku tried to make it sound, but Hisashi would not budge. It was the first time Izuku felt such raw anger from his father. He actually felt fear during that moment, particularly for his childhood friend, who is the huge reason for this situation. 

“Dad…please. I’m completely fine. So, let’s just put it behind us…okay?...please?” Izuku carefully spoke to the man who was muttering something unintelligible, gently tugging on his sleeve. 

Hisashi’s thoughts snapped back to his son. Thankfully, the murderous gaze was gone when it settled on Izuku. “Oh baby. No need to look so afraid. I will never be angry at you for something like this! Bakugo Katsuki…on the other hand…” Izuku mentally shivered at his father’s dark growl at the end.

“Please dad. Please don’t hurt him.”  Izuku begged, letting his father hug him in hopes of calming the man’s temper. 

“Shh baby. You don’t need to worry anymore okay? Bakugo Katsuki will never hurt you ever again.” Hisashi didn’t directly answer Izuku’s plea, instead he continued to press kisses on Izuku’s forehead and whispered sweet promises to him.

Izuku, who is gradually becoming more uneasy because of Hisashi’s words, pushed his father away from the hug, and looked him in the eye. “Please dad. Promise me, you won’t hurt Kacchan. It’s…not worth it….I..I..I don’t want you to end up in jail…” Izuku stuttered at the end, when he noticed the swirling darkness behind his father’s red eyes. 

When Izuku was a child, it wasn’t obvious. But as Izuku grew older, he noticed the darkness was also rapidly growing as well. It was scary, and sent shivers down Izuku’s spine. 

Fortunately, the darkness subsided and Hisashi smiled, caging Izuku into another tight hug, “Okay sweetheart. As you wish, I promise that I won’t hurt him. Now aren’t you the most precious boy! Worried that your daddy will be locked up and you’ll never see him, do you?” 

Izuku laughed, trying to maintain his father’s good mood, “Haha..! yeah, I - uh, don’t want to lose you dad. You’re the only family I have left.”

“Oh darling! You speak the sweetest words!” Hisashi gave Izuku a tight squeeze which led the boy to slap his father’s back to indicate he needed some space to breathe. “Don’t worry baby, daddy will never leave you. It’s a promise.”  Hisashi smiled, booping Izuku on the nose.

“Haha…great…” Izuku forced a smile. 

“Yo, Midoriya. Are you okay? Class’s over, what are you doing just standing there?”

“Ah! Sorry! I guess I spaced out a bit.” Izuku smiled shyly, rubbing on the back of his head. “See you tomorrow!” He waved goodbye to the student who was on cleaning duty and left the classroom.

Izuku was listening to all-might theme songs on his earphones while swiping on his smartphone as he steadily continued his way home. Unbeknownst to him, the manhole under him was rattling uncontrollably.

“My my, look who I have here. Bakugo Katsuki. It’s been quite long since we’ve seen each other. I do hope you still continued your promise to me, hmm?” 

Katsuki snarled angrily at the smirking Midoriya Hisashi. This bastard had the same look as the time the incident happened. As much as Katsuki hates to admit it, Deku’s bastard father still gives him the major creeps.

“Woah, you know this dude, Katsuki?” An extra asked, looking tentatively at Hisashi.

The other extra stood behind them, his fear apparent, “He’s hella tall.”

“Ah, Katsuki’s friends are you? I’m Midoriya Hisashi. Izuku’s father.” The bastard smiled his fuckass smile.

“What! You’re Midoriya’s dad?!” The bolder extra exclaimed, shocked. 

“Leave them alone, old man. They’re just dumbass extras.” Katsuki growled, standing in front. No, he’s not protecting those damned nobodies. He refused to admit that he was scared that this man would do anything to him them. “I haven't talked to De-Izuku for the past few months.” 

Katsuki cursed himself at the slip-up, but he’d rather die than to show fear to this bastard. This scenario was exactly the same as that time.

It was that day when Katsuki was more pissed off than usual because he had gotten the same grade as that dumbass Deku. So, he lost control for a bit and landed some bruises on the nerd. Then, the next day, he was met with this lunatic who was Midoriya Hisashi. Before the incident, Katsuki had met Deku’s dad before, and thought the man was just a fake that Deku had hired to act as a parent to cover up his true identity as a quirkless orphan. After all, Deku did not have the man’s overwhelming presence, nor did he inherit the man’s height or appearance, sans the curly hair. Regardless, Katsuki could see that the man was someone who had loved Deku with all of his heart, a bit too much in his opinion but he kept his mouth shut at the calculating glare the man shot him. But all in all, he had thought Midoriya Hisashi was just a helicopter parent, until he showed his true colors to Katsuki. 

Katsuki and Hisashi met by coincidence (on Katsuki’s part anyway) on the street. It was while he went out grocery shopping with his old hag. When the man knew about the bullying, he was strangely calm. While he didn’t scream or yell at Katsuki, he could feel the boiling fury under Hisashi’s skin that was threatening to spill over and explode. The man didn’t physically hurt him. He had just looked at Katsuki with the most terrifying gaze that left Katsuki having nightmares (which he would never admit to anyone else) about it for months. After that, he placed a hand on Katsuki's shoulder. He didn’t squeeze or scratch, nothing. It was just a simple gesture; but Katsuki felt something was ripped away from him in the most painful and agonizing way possible. 

He felt his whole body was on fire, explosions were going off on every inch of his skin, but when he looked at his own physical state, nothing had happened. But the pain was so real, Katsuki had to physically gnaw on his lower lip to prevent him from screaming help, this bastard was killing him, please help-

“Katsuki. Are you listening to me?” The man had the fucking audacity to look at him with a confused expression. 

“Katsuki! How could you do that to poor Izuku?! You ought to know better!” His old hag reprimanded, giving him a whack over the head. 

What had happened? Katsuki could barely focus on the conversation that is happening with his mom and this… fucker . His eyes were threatening to close and just let his mind faint from the overflowing pain , pain , pain signals that were firing in his brain. But he had forced them open. He refused to succumb to this bastard. 

“I’m so, so , so sorry, Mr Midoriya. I’ll educate this arrogant boy of mine. And I’ll make sure he makes it up to Izuku.” Bakugo Mitsuki bowed apologetically, while forcing Katsuki to also bow in retrospect, “Hey, you too Katsuki! At least show some decency to say sorry!”

“Like…hell, I’d say sorry…to this….asshole!” Katsuki forced the words through gritted teeth and angry snarls. His curled fist shaking in fury, wishing to punch this bastard’s face. 

“ENOUGH Katsuki!” Mitsuki raised her voice, uncaring about the passerby’s look of concern. 

“It appears that Katsuki here has issues not only with my dear Izuku, but also with me.” Hisashi hummed, his tone showed that he was scheming something, “Mrs Bakugo, it seems that your education for your child had very much failed. Forgive me for what I’m about to ask, did you perhaps…contribute to the reason for Katsuki’s barbaric actions?”

“I– No! Never! I’d never tell my son to hurt Izuku!” Mitsuki didn’t expect such hostility towards herself. Yet, the result was set in stone, and her son was in the wrong. Thus, she could only keep her head down in shame and silence, while enduring the calculating and questioning gaze from the crowd. 

“You…! leave my old hag out…of your business, asshole!” Katsuki roared. Nobody shit-talks his own mom but him! 

“See, Mrs Bakugo? Your son reacted with only aggression. The same reason why my dear Izuku was bullied and injured in the first place.” Hisashi sighed loudly, shaking his head as he gave a stern frown.

Katsuki just knew it was intentional. This asshole was trying to make him and his mom look bad in front of a crowd! Oh, when he gets his hand on Hisashi’s neck, he’s going to wring it so bad that Izuku’s going to be looking for a new dad. 

While Hisashi’s plan had no effect on Katsuki, it did influence Mitsuki. The blonde woman put a hand on Katsuki’s shoulder, forcing her son to calm down, desperately hoping not to escalate the situation any further. 

Then, she turned her attention to the tall man in front of her, “Please, Mr Midoriya, let us take this conversation…in a more private setting.” She pleaded, now wary of the judging gaze from the crowd, “My house is not that far from here, please, let us continue there.”

Katsuki’s eyes widened in shock. How did his gullible old hag fall for the bastard’s trick so easily?!  Before he could even retort to the suggestion, Hisashi had already accepted with a winning shit-eating grin that Katsuki wanted to explode his face in. And within no time, they had arrived back at Katsuki’s home, and his mom had served this bastard tea! TEA! Katsuki actually wanted to ram his head into concrete. 

The only good thing was that the pain had stopped, for now. Katsuki eyed the intruder warily. 

“Thank you for saving my remaining dignity, Mr Midoriya.” Mitsuki forced a smile, sitting at the opposite sofa and beside her son. Katsuki had insisted on joining the conversation despite Mitsuki saying it was adult talk.

Hisashi sipped on his cup, “No worries. I apologize. I get…worked up when it’s concerning Izuku. He’s my only family, you see. Surely, you can understand my anger when I heard he’s bullied by his supposed ‘best-friend’ nonetheless.” 

Katsuki scoffed at the glare directed towards him by both adults. 

“Yes, I’m truly sorry, Mr Midoriya.” Mitsuki had repeated her apology again, but the sincerity in her words only increased. 

“Not me. That nerd deserved it for getting in my way.” Katsuki growled. His grin widening at Hisashi’s sudden stiff posture. Oooh, that hit a nerve, did it? “He’s a useless, quirkless, nobody..” Katsuki continued, feral smirk growing wider at Hisashi’s increasingly tight grip on the cup that it was starting to show cracks, “...that should just jump off a roof and die.” 

The cup cracked and broke. 

At the same time, Katsuki’s pain returned tenfold. Everything was burning, everything was hurting, his skin felt like it’s being peeled and scorched by flames, his senses could only feel pain , pain , pain , pain . The pain was so sudden and intense which caught Katsuki off guard then led the boy to let out a blood-curdling scream. His pupils that were once hazy and unfocused due to the immense pain slowly regained their sight. The first thing that Katsuki saw was fire. Apparently, not only his body felt like it was burning, his house had actually caught fire. 

Mom! Katsuki’s mind immediately went to his mother who was supposed to be beside him, and his heart fell rock bottom. Beside him, was once his mother, now just indescribable burnt charcoal. 

“No, no, no, this can’t be happening!!!!” Katsuki felt all his nerves suddenly go haywire. “Mom! Mom! MOM!  PLEASE WAKE UP!” While he prided himself as a strong person who is able to take on every situation. At his core, he’s still just a teenager who has yet to step into society. Everything is happening too fast right now, and all he can do is to cling on his mother, begging her to wake up and give him her usual bear hug and tell him that everything’s alright. 

“Bakugo Katsuki…I despise you with every fiber in my being… But I had promised my dearest, sweetest Izuku to not kill you…such a shame…but I suppose this could be a sufficient compromise.” 

That voice snapped Katsuki out of his trance. All of his fear morphed into anger. This fucker is the reason for this outcome…He’ll murder him right here and now! Perfect record, hero dream be damned! He'll avenge his mother and home! 

“GIVE HER BACK! GIVE ME MY MOM BACK!” Katsuki screamed, sending an explosion towards the source of the voice.

However, the man suddenly appeared in another direction and swiftly caught his head in his palm. Katsuki who usually talked loudly fell completely silent as fear drenched his whole body. This…monster could easily crush his skull like a speck of dust. This…monster…will kill him, just like how he killed his mother…

The memory of his mother pulled him back from fear and immediately burned with anger. “I’’LL KILL YO-”  Katsuki’s palms sparked with explosions.

But Hisashi had no intention of entertaining this annoying brat any further and easily crushed his skull. 

Katsuki felt unbearable pain for one moment, and then nothing. 

He was dead. 

After who knows how long, he suddenly woke up in an unfamiliar room with white sheets and tubes stuck into his nose. Oh. He was in the hospital. Did he not die?

“Oh, Katsuki! You’ve woken up! Thank goodness! The doctor said you have a high chance of not waking up…! But I knew you’d pull through! You’re my strongest baby after all!”  

His…mother? hugged him in a tight yet careful embrace, wary of not putting too much pressure to hurt him. Katsuki reflectively hugged his mother back. He refused to admit that he dropped a few tears there and then. 

“Mom…you’re okay.” Katsuki couldn’t help the smile. Thank god. 

Then, he suddenly remembered that man who Katsuki was sure was the one responsible for this whole mess, his wounds, his mother’s tears, everything. “Mom, where’s Deku’s dad? Did he hurt you? What happened?” Katsuki would personally hunt the bastard down if he did. 

“Of course not, Katsuki. It’s just…you suddenly screamed and started losing control of your quirk. Mr Midoriya actually helped to calm you down. After some time, you just…fell unconscious. We thought that you were probably just tired from using your quirk. So, we moved you to your bedroom and let you rest. After that, Mr Midoriya left and I promised him that you’d never bully Izuku again. But after a long time, you still wouldn’t wake up. Your father and I got worried so we brought you to the hospital. The doctor said you didn’t have any physical injuries but you were suddenly in a coma. The doctor said…we could only hope that you’d wake up…. We…we didn’t know what to do, Katsuki…but I prayed and believed you’d wake up, you’d come back to us. Because our baby boy is going to become a hero stronger than All Might…” His mother started to cry and hugged Katsuki again, afraid that her son would leave her again.

Katsuki was digesting the whole situation, his mind registering everything that occurred. While he felt anger, and desperately wished to tear Hisashi into pieces; his fear that Hisashi would next target his parents won against his anger.

Fine. Katsuki yield. He’d leave that nerd Deku and his crazy lunatic father alone. He didn’t want anything to do with them in the first place. 

“Hm, that’s good to hear, Bakugo Katsuki. I do hope you’d keep it up”  But Katsuki could hear the ‘or-else’  Hisashi implied. “Then, I really should get going. I hope to make gyudon for my precious Izuku today, so best to have an early start. See you kids later.” 

“Bye, Mr Midoriya!” The two extras waved, while Katsuki maintained his glare even after Hisashi’s silhouette was gone. 

Hope that fucker trips over a rock and die. Katsuki sneered as his mood turned from bad to worse. 

The same time when Katsuki and Hisashi's confrontation, Izuku Midoriya was on his way home.

The manhole rattled. A gooey green slime creature suddenly burst forward that shook the ground. Izuku who felt the impact, turned around to see the commotion, was first shocked then afraid. Even without a quirk, Izuku knew this man? creature? was definitely bad news!

“Oh my! Look here! A perfect cloak!” The green smile wasted no time and engulfed Izuku in its slimy tentacles, slipping multiple tentacles into the child’s body, through the mouth, the nose, any body part that is possible. 

Izuku had tried furiously to claw away the slime but it would not work. The liquid kept entering his body and he could feel his strength as well as his consciousness fading away rapidly. 

Is this how he’s going to die..? No..! He still…wanted to become…

“No fear, for I am here!” 

…a hero!

The last thing Izuku saw was the very figure that he idolized ever since he was a child.

All might? Izuku wondered as everything faded to black.

Though, not for long, when he felt someone or something furiously tapping on his cheek. 

Izuku opened his eyes, only to see his favorite hero had indeed been the one to save him. 

“A-all-all might!?!?!?”  Izuku jumped, his brain jammed at the sight of his hero. God, All might was the one that saved him, it was a dream come true! Dying there and then suddenly doesn’t seem like a bad way to go! 

The buff hero laughed his iconic laugh, confirming his identity. “Yes, my boy. I have to say, I don’t usually let others get caught up by my hero-ing. But it was thanks to you that I was able to successfully capture this villain! Thank you, my boy!”

“It-it’s no problem! Please wait, before you go!” Izuku was a grade A hero fanboy. It’s not everyday he gets the chance to meet All Might, so he must have this autograph even at the cost of his life!  However, imagine his surprise, in which he expressed with a shriek, when he noticed his notebook had already been signed by his hero.

This will definitely be his prized possession, nothing his father says will not be able to change that fact.

“Now I have to go. Please continue to support me and let us meet again in front of the TV!” All Might announced, already preparing to leave. 

Izuku reached out, grabbing the man’s pockets, “Please wait! I ha—” Before he could even finish, All Might leaped.

Suddenly, Izuku was in the air and he screamed. While he knew All Might had superpowered jumps, he did not expect to experience it firsthand. 

All Might felt an unusual weight and noticed Izuku who was gripping on his pants for his dear life. It shocked the heck out of him. “He-hey! I know you’re my fan! But this is seriously too much! Let go!” 

“I…can’t!! If I let go now…I’d die!!!” The boy struggled with his words because of the wind rushing at his face. 

All might froze then nodded, “Good point. Hold on tight then.” 

They landed on an open rooftop and Izuku felt his life flashed before his eyes. “That was extremely dangerous of you to do. You ought to know better, kid.” He refocused his gaze and saw All Might…? looking disapprovingly at Izuku. 

“Who..!? Are you?!” Izuku yelped, jumping a few steps backward.

This stranger does resemble All Might with his own yellow tufts and sharp blue eyes. However, the changes were still too bizarre to even imagine this person was THE All Might. All Might was the legendary bulky hero who had his signature smile on his face and dramatic poses 24/7, whereas this stranger, admittedly also well-built, looked like an ordinary person!   

The man raised his eyebrow then suddenly as if he understood the situation, he quickly pulled out a small mirror from his pocket and looked at his reflection. After that, a loud groan came from him.

“Well, young lad. It seems you gave me quite a scare that I forgot to maintain my hero look.” The man laughed. The tone sounded exactly like All Might, except it was not the iconic ‘HA-HA-HA’, instead it was just regular laughter. “But rest assured, I am All Might. My other look was mainly to act as a show, to show the villains that I am ready to fight at any chance! That’s the duty of the symbol of peace after all. Ah, but my boy please do me a favor and keep this reveal to yourself, yes?” 

Though their appearance is different, their presence is similar. Hence, Izuku believed this man’s words. He couldn’t believe it. Everything felt like a dream (again!). This ultra-secret reveal of All Might that only he knew?! Kacchan would be soooo jealous! 

“Well, now that I see you’re okay. It’s time for me to leave. Knock on the door and someone will help you down, young lad.” All Might instructed, as he headed for the railing to prepare for another jump.

“Please wait! I want to ask you something! Something especially important!”  Izuku quickly blurted, scared that the hero would leave once again.

“What is it, young man?” All Might suppose he could spare some minutes. It wasn’t as if he’s on a time limit and there’s currently no emergencies ongoing. 

You're quirkless, Izuku. 

You wanna go to UA, Midoriya? Haha! That's funny!

What can you do, you useless Deku?! 

You could never become a hero without a quirk, sweetheart. 

“Can someone quirkless become a hero?!” Izuku yelled, pushing away the voices in his head. He squeezed his eyes shut as he gripped the hem of this shirt. He was nervous. To him, All Might was his idol and the reason for his passion in heroics. Thus, his words weigh much more than anyone else. 

However, what the man said broke Izuku’s heart. 

“....My boy. As a professional hero, every day I had to battle thousands of villains to save civilians from danger. This is a dangerous career where everyone in it has to risk their lives. For me to say something as naive as ‘you can become a hero without a quirk!’ would be discarding the severity and respect for this job and every other pro-heroes.” 

The more All Might continued to speak, the more Izuku felt hurt. He refused to let All Might see him cry, so he ducked his head, hiding his tears. 

“Pro-heroing is not some game, young man. Those who have quirks are already fighting for their lives in battles; lest to say those who are quirkless.” The hero suddenly appeared in front of Izuku, gently but firmly placing his hands on Izuku’s shoulder to let his words sink into his head, “If I say that it's okay for you to become a hero without a quirk. That means I’m at risk sending you to an already losing battle. The consequences are either life or death. Do you understand, young man?”

Izuku nodded numbly. What more is there to say? All Might had made it crystal clear. Izuku is quirkless. There was no way for Izuku to become a hero. 

“Good. Listen well young man, It’s good to have dreams, but it’s equally important to grasp the reality” All Might stepped back, letting Izuku process his thoughts. 

An awkward silence filled the air. 

All might cough, as an effort to clear the atmosphere, “Well, I seriously must go. It has been….a nice talk with you. But evil never stops and so justice must keep working around the clock! Farewell, young man!”  The hero said as he prepared to depart.  

Seeing that Izuku had nothing more to add, All Might left with a swift leap. Seeing there’s nothing more to cling to, Izuku could only take heavy strides back home. 

He walked on autopilot, mind foggy and heavy with memories of the past. He had tried his very hardest to tune out the laughing, taunting, and disapproving voices; but to no avail they only rang louder in his ears. He had once thought that they were just teasing him, and all he had to do was to keep fighting for his dream. It had hurt when they continued to disregard his dreams and efforts, but nothing could compare to what All Might had said to him. His idol, the reason for his persistence even during his bullying years, had told him that his efforts could never be enough, was the final straw that broke his strong heart. 

“Stupid, stupid Izuku. You knew this was reality, didn’t you?! That’s why you tried so hard to cling to every little thing that gave you hope.” Izuku snapped at himself when he found the tears would not stop! 

As he continued to berate himself, an explosion shocked him out of his trance.

“A…hero fight..at the arcade..?” Did his feet bring him here out of habit? Izuku frowned, but he couldn’t stop himself. He kept squeezing forward to see those whom he admired up front, even though he could never be one of them. 

It’s just the last time, then he’d stop for good. Izuku told himself, just like how he told himself every other time.

When Izuku was close enough to get a good look, his heart dropped. 

It was the slime monster that once suffocated him. And the one that’s his new victim is….Kacchan! How?! He thought All Might had captured him already— Suddenly, Izuku remembered his meeting with All Might. The bottle that he detained with the criminal had fell because Izuku tugged too tightly on the hero! So, that means…It was all his fault..!

The realization made Izuku feel sick, a growing dread swirling in his stomach. 

The current heroes at the scene were unable to effectively defeat the victim. Moreover, with the hostage at hand, they could not do anything risky. So, Kacchan could only suffer whilst waiting for appropriate help. 

The more Izuku saw, the dread continued to grow bigger. Please…someone…anyone...a hero, please save him! He begged miserably in his heart. 

But everything skidded to a stop, when his eyes locked on with Kacchan. 

Suddenly, even without him realizing it, his body had already propelled towards the scene.

All might have been searching high and low for the villain, right after the departure from the meeting with the green-haired teenager. The villain was a sneaky one, able to travel in the sewers effectively which meant he was able to move around without the detection of the public, which made finding him even more difficult.

Suddenly, he saw the news that was currently displayed on the big screen of Might Tower. Might Tower has multiple big screens showing villain attacks all around Japan. Its main use is not only to inform the public of said location and allow them to avoid it, but it’s also for All Might who can immediately spring into action and arrive as quickly as possible. 

Which apparently was a good idea from the architect of Might Tower. All Might now knew where the villain was located. Apparently, it was in the far east of Japan, whereas All Might is in the far north. No wonder, All Might could not see it!

Wait for me, citizens of Japan, for I am here!! All Might promised in his head, and quickly powered up his quirk to reach the destination. 

He was the number 1 hero for a reason. Within just 30 minutes, he had already reached the crime scene. But he was so stunned at the current scenario that he could not even dive straight into action. 

Imagine his surprise when the green-haired young man whom he told that he could not be a hero, was the only one who helped save the boy. Even the other…heroes…can those even be called a hero? were just standing there agape. 

The young man suddenly ran towards the slime monster, and threw his backpack towards the villain, which was surprisingly smart of the boy who used it to block the villain’s eyesight. However, without a quirk, the boy could only do so much. When the boy had arrived at the victim’s side, he could only claw helplessly at the liquid.

“Even you ask me…I don’t know why I ran!!…I..just lost control…! Even though I knew…I couldn’t win, I had…to try! Because it looks like you were asking for help!!!” The boy suddenly screamed after talking to the victim. 

All Might’s heart moved. He resonated with the boy’s words, in fact ‘resonated’ may be an understatement. He saw a past version of himself in the boy during that moment. However, there was no more time for sentimentals when he noticed the villain raising a fist, preparing to attack the boy. So, he quickly entered the battlefield and blocked the villain’s moves. 

“It seems that I have…underestimated you, my boy!” All Might grinned at the shocked boy who looked at him with awe. After confirming the child had no injuries, his attention shifted back to the villain, and with a mighty swing of his fist, he punched the villain. The wind pressure was strong enough to create a hurricane which forced the liquid-like villain to forcefully lose his grip and was quickly contained once again by the other heroes. 

All Might raised a fist, securing his victory to the crowd. But his eyes lingered on the headstrong Izuku who was reeling from the sheer power of All Might’s strength in person. 

Him, running into the villain attack that he could not win, may have been a futile and even close to suicidal intervention; but it definitely showed his resolve and will. 

After Izuku recovered, he was met face-to-face with the pro heroes ‘Kamui Woods’ and ‘Death Arms’. Initially, Izuku would have been thrilled to talk to them, but now he wished they would let him go quickly when he knew they were here to scold him for Izuku’s reckless behaviors.

Thankfully though, they left as soon as there was another emergency villain attack in another area. So Izuku took this chance to quickly leave the scene and return home. It was later than usual, and his dad would surely start to worry like the overprotective parent that he was. 

“Oi! Deku!’ 

“Huh? Ka..cchan?” 

Izuku, who was on his walk back home, turned around by the familiar call. It had been months when Kacchan actually called him.

“I…I didn’t ask for your help! Okay! You…You didn’t save me! I could have handled it on my own! You got that! Damned nerd!” Kacchan had yelled, as if trying to prove a point to Izuku…or himself? Well, Izuku didn’t have the guts to ask him anyway, unless he was asking for Kacchan to blow up his face again. 

After Kacchan had left, Izuku was about to continue his own journey home, but was stopped once again by another voice. This time, it’s the voice that he dreams of every night.

“On the contrary, I think you did save the boy, young man.” 

“All…Might?! Wh-Why are you here!?” Izuku cried. His inner fanboy screams in happiness at the second chance to see his idol, but another part of him is worried that he’ll just start scolding him again. 

“Why, I came to correct myself and propose an offer to you, my boy!” All Might laughed.

Then, the hero suddenly disappeared into another figure. It was the ‘true’ All Might, without his hero form. 

“Did you know of the traits of all the top heroes? They say that top heroes leave legends ever since their school days. Most of them end with ‘My body reacted before I could think!’. That’s the same for you, isn’t it, young man?” All Might paused, noticing the younger boy who suddenly knelt, clutching his shirt, and nodded heavily at All Might’s statement. 

He…was the same! Izuku yelled in his heart. Oh, why is the world so cruel? He was the same, and yet everyone said he could never become a hero…! Izuku tried so, so hard to stop the tears, his heart hurt so, so much. 

“Let me correct myself, young man. You, who ran straight into the battlefield regardless of your lack of quirk, you who was the one who took action instead of the other heroes on standby, who proved yourself. If it were you, then you can be a hero.” All Might spoke, and Izuku could swear he saw pride in his eyes, which made Izuku felt like bawling his eyes out. 

All might….had said…it. 

The words he desperately wanted, no, needed , to hear. 

With that, the emotions that Izuku had held back all his life, had overflowed. No longer could he stop the tears from rolling down his cheeks as he let out an angry yet relieved cry .

“You’re quirkless, Izuku.”

“Midoriya?? You want to go to UA?! Haha! That’s funny!”

“What can a quirkless Deku like you do?! ”

“You can never become a hero, sweetheart. ”

All of it. All of the doubt and hostility towards him seemed so irrelevant now. Because, his effort had finally been acknowledged by the very person who gave him reason to continue despite other’s suspicions. 

All Might had said he can become a hero. 

And that is all that matters. 

“Ahem. Now let me continue, my boy.” All Might coughed into his palm. “As I mentioned before, I do have an offer for you.”

Izuku, who finally felt his emotions calm down, tilted his head in question, “O…ffer?”

All Might chuckled, “Yes, offer, my boy. Originally, I was not yet searching for a successor until I’m near retiring from heroics. But, well, then I saw you, who has everything I want in a successor, if I had wanted to search for one. Young man, you are brave, passionate, strong, and all the more! Your courageous heart moved me, and I am here to ask if you are willing to become my student, or well, successor if you allow it to be.” 

Izuku couldn’t believe his ears. Is this really happening? All Might, asking him?! Quirkless Midoriya Izuku?! to learn under his wing?! Did he actually die from the villain attack, and imagine this very scenario of his dreams?! 

“You don’t need to give me a reply immediately.” All Might said, after noticing the too long of a pause, “You can just think about it–”

“Yes! I want to become a hero!” Izuku, who finally came back to reality, quickly cut in and accepted. In fear, that he may never get another chance like this ever again. “I want to learn under you, and become a hero like you! I want to save people with a smile and tell them ‘it’s okay, I’m here!’ like how you’d always do! I want to be someone who can bring peace and hope to people! I want to become like you, All Might!”

All Might smiled softly at his? boy (wow, that felt weird…but nice.), “I’m sure you can, my boy.”

He almost cooed at the childlike wonder in his boy’s eyes when he affirmed Izuku’s dreams. Then, he blinked and blushed when he noticed how soft he was going for this kid who he had just met for a few hours.

“Well, meet me at the Takoba Municipal Beach Park so we can start your training in becoming a hero, my boy!” All Might quickly said, regaining his consciousness. 

Izuku grinned happily, “Yes!”

Izuku hasn't felt so much happiness for such a long time. Even his steps had a little skip to it as he hummed to his favorite All Might theme song on his way back home. 

“Izuku! My son!” 

“Dad!?”

Izuku was shocked when he was suddenly squished by the tall man that is his father. Why was his dad out here?!

“Oh sweetheart, are you ok?! It’s been so late and you haven’t returned home! Oh, I was so worried. Then I saw the news about the slime attack, and I saw you in it, and I just had to find you! Are you hurt? Bruises? Cuts? When I get my hands on that disgusting, slimy excuse of an existence, I will personally rip his gut out–”

“Dad. Dad. I’m okay.” Izuku calmed the older man with a squeeze, which brought the man back to his senses, “See? I’m perfectly fine.”

Hisashi analyzed his son’s facial features and knew that he was not playing adult and lying. Izuku was telling the truth. However, that doesn’t mean he’s going to let some filth that dare to touch his son go clean without appropriate torture. But, Izuku was getting worried, so he hid his thoughts and reciprocated his son’s hug.

“Thank goodness Izuku. Now do you see my son? How dangerous is it in this world? Can you understand why I don’t allow you to become a hero?” While Hisashi despaired upon the fact that this had happened to his baby boy, he also had hoped that this would be a valuable lesson to Izuku.

Izuku, however, frowned immediately. “Dad. Stop. You don’t know that!” Hoping to change his father’s opinion on this matter, Izuku continued, “You saw All Might saved the day on the news, didn’t you? You know Dad, he told me that I could become a hero! And–”

However, Izuku’s words died on his throat when he noticed the darkness in his father’s eyes suddenly bursting forward, much clearer and murkier than anytime else he had seen. It scared Izuku, right down to his very core.

“Izuku, my dearest, sweetest, boy.” Hisashi started, caressing his son’s cheek, feeling the softness under his fingers. Oh, how he truly loves Izuku with all of his heart. “All Might is nothing but a buffoon who speaks without going through his brain, an utter imbecile who talks big but in reality is nothing but another useless hero who I can squash under my foot if I ever so wanted.”

His words struck fear in Izuku, but the way he spoke about All Might raised anger in Izuku as well. How dare his father talk about All Might like this! All Might, who is the only one who acknowledged and supported him! Izuku had wanted to retort, and say that his father was wrong about All Might. But, Izuku couldn’t even open his mouth because his father was looking at him with such a terrifying gaze that it was as if he was daring Izuku to speak up to him. 

And Izuku had a gut feeling that if he said anything that was not what his father had wanted to hear. His life, as well as his only chance at achieving his dream with All Might will immediately go down the drain. So, he stayed quiet. Resorting to keeping his head down, refusing to meet his father’s eyes that scared him. 

“Darling Izuku, you cannot become a hero, quirk or no quirk. I do. not. allow it. You are my son, mine. Not that disgraceful All Might. My word is law and you will follow it as it is for your own good, my dear.” Hisashi ended with a finality that left Izuku mentally shivering because of the dark possessiveness in his father's voice. 

Then, Izuku felt a gentle hand pushing his head up. “Aww, baby. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you, don’t cry sweetheart.” his father cooed, kissing his tears away. “It’s a serious matter so I had to make sure you understand the severity of the situation, Izuku. Now that you understand, let’s go home okay? I made gyudon today! I’m sure you’re going to love it!” His father smiled and reached out his hand.

Izuku shakily took his father’s hand. Thank god, he didn’t talk to him about All Might’s offer. He had a gut feeling that everything would have gone way worse if he knew about that. Izuku took a sneaky glance at his father, who had now supposedly returned to normal.

But Izuku knew something had changed, permanently. And judging from the increasingly heavier darkness that had no indication of subsiding in his father’s eyes. He was right. 

It was 3am in the morning at the Midoriya household. 

Hisashi sighed, cleaning his hands in the sink after he had personally killed off the slime villain who had touched his son. The villain was sentenced to jail for 5 years, but Hisashi deemed it too light of a punishment.

Only death would suffice for those who dare steal his precious Izuku away from him.

Chapter Text

“Since you all are already third years, it’s time you guys start planning for the future. More specifically, it’s time for you guys to choose your high schools!” Izuku’s middle teacher spoke at the near end of the period while looking at the paper in his hands.

Then, he sighed, throwing it on the desk, “I don’t even why the school asks for this, it’s obvious that you all are going for the hero programs!”

“Heck yeahhh!”

The class screamed in glee, flexing their quirks. 

“And I see that Bakugo here is aiming for UA High School,” The teacher announced as he looked through the stack of handed papers. 

The other kids let out a shocked scream, staring at the yellow blonde who is currently enjoying the rain of attention. 

“No way, that prestigious high school?!”

“It’s said that their acceptance rate is less than 1 in 300! That’s seriously crazy!”

“I heard that all the top heroes came from there!”

Katsuki laughed arrogantly, jumping on his desk, ignoring his teacher's cry of ‘Bakugo, no vandalism!’. His quirk flashed dangerously on his palm, as he smirked widely, too scary to be friendly in Izuku’s opinion. “Listen here you extras! Top heroes leave legends from their school days, and my legend is going to be the only one from this crappy school to be accepted at UA. You guys are going to one day see Bakugo Katsuki, as the No.1 Hero!! So, you extras had better stay out of my way, ya hear me!?”

Then, the blonde suddenly laughed, as if he said something funny, “Hah! What am I saying? You extras can’t even pass the entrance exam with those weakass quirks! That's why you’re extras! HAHHAHA!”

The class groaned, while some glared. “That’s so rude Katsuki! What’s your deal?!” One of the students complained, and the others slowly agreed.

Secretly, Izuku wondered the same but didn’t dare voice it out, in fear of another bullying. Granted the boy had not touched Izuku since a few months ago, but it’s better to stay safe than sorry. He really did not want Kacchan to anger his father anymore. 

“Huh. Now that I think of it” The teacher mumbled as he rummaged through the papers, finally finding the one’s he’s looking for, “Midoriya here is also applying for UA High right?”  When he first saw the application and the name on the same paper, he had to do a double-take. 

The class erupted into loud laughter.

“You!? Midoriya!? Seriously?! You won't get past the first exam!”

“Someone quirkless like you to enter UA is unthinkable!”

Before he would have joined in the laughs, but now he could only feel fear crept up his spine at the scenario. Because the last time Mr Midoriya as well as his son had come for a school visit about Bakugo Katsuki’s bullying and questioned the school’s incompetence in protecting his son. Let’s just say it was an unforgettable day for everyone present. If it weren’t for Midoriya Izuku helplessly claiming that he’s okay, Mr Midoriya would have killed someone (albeit he didn’t make any move to do so, but the sheer presence he emitted led the teacher to believe so), and the fact that someone may be himself; the teacher had made sure to actively stop Bakugo from bullying Midoriya from then on. 

“Okay you guys, quit it.” The teacher slammed the papers on the desk, creating a loud noise that stopped the students from speaking any further. Unfortunately, that did not quell everyone, at least it wasn’t enough for Bakugo Katsuki.

The blonde was shaking in pure fury. But the teacher could only thank god, when the blonde just turned to Izuku with the most scary glare for a 15-year-old to have, whilst growing and snarling like an angry dog that’s close to biting someone to death. Then, he just angrily shoved himself back into his seat. The tables and chairs rattled loudly, but that’s the most of the commotion. The teacher sighed in relief, inwardly thanking that he avoided another visit from Midoriya Hisashi.

Izuku Midoriya, the victim of said glare, also appeared shocked. After all, Kacchan was once so mad when he got the same grade as Izuku that he exploded his face. The boy had expected it would be even worse when it was about his very dream, which serves as the reason for his surprise when the boy had just given him the nastiest glare he had ever seen and sat back down.

But Izuku was grateful for this outcome. This meant he could have more time with All Might later instead of trying to placate Kacchan’s anger. 

“Alright. Well. That’s all. Class dismissed.” The teacher announced and hurriedly left the room. He really did not want to be responsible for anything about Midoriya Izuku anymore. His father is too scary of a burden to handle! 

Izuku quickly scampered towards the meeting point with All Might, which is the Takoba Municipal Beach Park. 

After the incident with the slime villain, and Izuku suspects his interaction with All Might, led his father to grow antsy than usual. Since then, he had set a curfew for Izuku, and demanded that he return home before 5pm. Or else he’s going to, Izuku quote his father’s words: ‘literally and physically turn Japan upside down so I can drag you back home or so help me, Izuku’ . And so, every day for the next 10 months, he had to run to the beach park after school to avoid wasting precious time. Thankfully, Izuku was in his last year, which meant his school classes will end at 12pm, to ensure that students had enough time to revise for their final school test.

In total, he has 5 hours with All Might every day. It wasn’t much. So he had to make every second count. 

“Young Midoriya! You’re here.” All Might, who was in his civilian form, smiled as he jogged over.

The more Izuku sees this form of All Might, the more he can see the resemblance between the two forms. Both of them had the same warm yet powerful aura, and they also had the same smile that was able to put people’s fear away. 

Izuku hopes someday he can become someone like that.

“I didn’t expect you to be here so early. You’re really into this huh?” All Might grinned. He likes a proactive soul! And the fact that his successor has one just makes him like him even more! 

Izuku smiled shyly, “Well, It’s always my dream to become a hero. And, I’m so behind my peers who have their quirk all their lives, so I have to work even harder than everyone!” Izuku looked down to his fist, unlike Kacchan which can fire explosions, he could do nothing. He clutched it tightly, silently vowing to himself that he will definitely become a strong hero. 

All Might felt his heart grow soft at his successor’s words. Oh, he had just the best luck! His successor is the cutest! Even his predecessor would be jealous of his catch! 

“I just know you will, my boy. But first thing first, before we start our training regime, I want to share a secret with you. Remember what I said on the rooftop? I still stand by what I said. However, it is important to note that a quirk does not make one a hero, while it’s also important for a hero to have a quirk to be able to defend themselves. It’s not the core requirement. What makes a person a hero is the heart to save people, which you, young Midoriya, no doubt have! Which is why I believe you can become a hero.” 

Seeing his all-time favorite idol, All Might, say so many good things about him and once again reaffirm his dreams, made Izuku feel giddy. But, he refused to embarrass himself again, in front of All Might no less! So he sucked up his tears, and let out a blinding smile.

Which made All Might almost want to shield himself from the radiance of Izuku’s smile. God, and to think he had the most iconic smile. His little successor here, may already outshine him in that aspect! 

“As such I have chosen you, who have one of the most heroic hearts I have ever seen, as my successor. I have no intention of sending you to the battlefield without a quirk, where you can die too easily. This is the cruel reality of heroism, Young Midoriya.” The thought of his successor dying, just like his own mentor, made All Might grip his knuckles angrily. He would have ripped apart the enemy into shreds, symbol of peace be damned, he would have spilled blood. He refused to have anyone he held dear ripped away from him again. 

But if he were to show such anger in front of young Midoriya, he would no doubt be petrified. So, All Might smiled instead, hiding away his dark thoughts as he continued on. “And so, I have decided to train you under my wing, until you are ready to inherit my quirk.”

Izuku stared agape at All Might. Shock apparent on his face. “In..herit..? A quirk..?”

“Haha! I know it’s hard to believe my boy. But, it’s the truth. My quirk is passed down through many generations of others cultivating its power. It is essentially the combined will of those who are seeking to help and heroic hearts. Its name is…One for All.”

One for All. Izuku repeated in his head. Just by hearing the name, Izuku could feel a gush of incomprehensible power. Then, he thought of a worrying question, “But All Might if I take One for All, would that make you quirkless instead?”  He didn’t want that to be the demise of his idol. 

The world needed All Might. 

All Might laughed, shaking his head. “Not to worry, young Midoriya! One for All is the crystallization of many powers. It will keep growing stronger with each new generation. One For All will always have a piece of their past wielders, which in turn, makes the past wielders will also always have a piece of One for All within them. My mentor told me, that even when she passed on One for All to me, she can still feel the connection between herself and the quirk, hence she is still able to draw out its power.” 

Izuku could feel sorrow whenever All Might talks about his mentor. He was curious about her, but figured it would be disrespectful so he chose to be quiet as of now. 

All Might continued, not noticing Izuku’s turmoil, “In a sense, we are eternally bound together through One for All. That’s what she would always say. My mentor thought it was a romantic aspect of the quirk. I didn’t understand until she…” Suddenly, he stopped talking as if reminiscing a painful memory that hurts too much to talk about.

“I think that’s wonderful of her to say.”  Instead, it was Izuku who spoke. He had a gentle smile on his face that couldn’t help but to draw All Might’s attention. “I think it’s her way of saying she’ll be with you, no matter what happens. She’ll be a part of you, and become your strength. If you were to ever lose your way, she’d want you to know she’ll be right beside you.”  

At that moment, All Might thought he had seen his deceased mentor through Izuku. His heart clenched and he just knew he made the right choice in making Izuku his successor. He promised himself as well as his mentor that he would do anything to protect his boy. Even if it meant fighting the world, he would gladly do so, anything for his young successor. 

Even if he knew that the world needed All Might, but All Might needed Izuku. 

“Right.” All Might cleared his throat, continuing, “But before I can pass on to you, an appropriate vessel is needed. Or else your limbs would...break.” All Might tried to choose his words carefully, not wanting to scare the child. “But no worries, my boy! That’s why I put together a training regime, tailored just for you! I call it the ‘Pass the Exam! American Dream Plan!” Hoping to reassure his successor, All Might whipped out a paper and handed it over to the boy.

Izuku skimmed through it, and felt surprised. “Wow, even the sleeping hours are controlled.”

“But seriously, this is going to be extremely hard. Do you think you can handle it?” All Might asked, his eyes shining expectantly. 

And how could Izuku let down his idol when he’s looking at Izuku like that! Thus, he grinned and nodded heavily. “Yes!”

It was so tiring yet so much fun training with All Might, Izuku had cut too close to being late. His father also knew when Izuku noticed the taller man crossing his arms with a stern stare when Izuku entered the door. 

Just as Izuku closed the door, the long hand of the clock struck 12, which made it 5 pm sharp.

“Well, I suppose you did return home at 5.” Hisashi sighed at his son’s sheepish smile.

Then he knelt down at Izuku’s height, checking his son for any bruises and cuts. Ever since the villain attack, his father had made a habit of thoroughly inspecting Izuku for any injuries as he knew his darling son had the tendency to cover up any wound he got. Even if he was bleeding out on the floor, he would stubbornly claim he was painting. It made Hisashi sigh in resignation and fume in rage. Make no mistake, He would never raise his hand at his sweetheart, but that didn’t go the same for those who were responsible for hurting Izuku. Whether directly or indirectly involved, Hisashi couldn’t care less; anything that may have a correlation would have been slaughtered by him. 

Izuku sighed internally in relief. He knew of this routine, that’s why he made sure to take a quick shower at a bathhouse near their apartment. If his father had seen all the dust and dirt, his secret would have been uncovered immediately. 

“Dad, I’m fine!” Izuku whined, pushing his father away. He didn’t object to his father’s routine mainly because he was afraid of the darkness in his eyes. But it had been a full 5 minutes of him just pinching his cheek, patting his head, kissing his forehead, and tapping his nose. Izuku started to wonder if this was just an excuse for his father to be affectionate with him. 

Hisashi chuckled. He supposed he had been found out by his dear son who is ever so observant. While it was true that he was doing this to avoid Izuku hiding a wound from him, but he just couldn’t stop himself when he saw his precious baby in front of him, he just had to show his love! 

Giving Izuku a final tight squeeze, “Alright baby. Go and freshen up while I make dinner okay? You must be very hungry after school.” 

“Ah Dad! Wait! I have a request!” Izuku stopped his father by pulling on his shirt. Why must his father be so tall? He could barely reach his chest. 

Hisashi internally cooed at his son’s cuteness. Izuku still did the same exact gesture when he was a toddler. It was proof that Izuku was still his baby and needed his protection, love, and care. As long as the request is acceptable, Hisashi would do anything for his baby boy! If he wanted a star, Hisashi would tear down the sky just for him. 

“Yes, Izuku?” Hisashi asked.

His son showed him a paper. It consists of a weekly meal plan. Assessing the nutrition Izuku was getting, it was a diet regime suited for a bodybuilder. 

Hisashi narrowed his eyes. Is his darling son still having the naive dream of becoming a hero? Had he honestly not learned his lesson? Hisashi thought he had made himself very clear.

“Uh, don’t get the wrong idea dad!” Izuku quickly spoke when he saw his dad’s mood dampen almost instantly, and his red eyes darken. He gulped when he saw those eyes staring at his own, but forced himself to continue, “It’s just that…I thought to gain some muscle! I want to be able to, uh, defend myself. I figured that since...I could…never become a hero…" Izuku felt a sharp pain when he said that. But that's okay, it's only just for show and All Might believed in him! Strengthening his resolve, Izuku pushed through, "I should at least be able to protect myself! And well, the school, uh, wants us to write our future plans…and I gave it a lot of thought…and well, since I won’t become a hero…I thought that by becoming an inventor, I…could still help heroes!  So I want to become a hero support item inventor…and well, I want to uhhh, get stronger so I can actually lift the things I want to build! And, well, uh! Being a hero supporter, may, well, get some enemies from time to time right? It’s uh, good to be prepared!” Izuku blurted out a makeshift lie on the spot. 

He couldn’t let his dad suspect anything! This thought was so strong that it unknowingly made his eyes twinkle bright with unshakable will.

Hisashi held some suspicions but he was too happy to hear that his baby son had finally let go of that naive dream. He couldn’t describe how proud he was when he saw how fierce his son’s eyes burned with resolve. Oh, it must be the truth! Very well, he will give Izuku the benefit of the doubt and trust in his baby son. 

“Oh baby, you wouldn’t believe how happy I am to hear that!” Unable to contain himself, Hisashi dove into another hug, squishing Izuku’s cheeks with his own. “Don't worry about enemies, mkay? Daddy will decimate anything and everything that will hurt you, so don't you worry your cute little head about it!" Hisashi grinned, booping Izuku's nose.

Sometimes Izuku wonders if his father meant it...

Surely not.

For his own sanity, no.

His father had always talked about the craziest things. This was no different. 

As Izuku slowly pulled back from his thoughts, he saw his father's gleaming red eyes shine as a warning, "Alright, I’ll believe you, Izuku. But beware, if you were to lie to me, you ought to know that the consequences are something you cannot bear.” 

Izuku gulped under the dark glow of his father’s eyes, but nodded. He felt guilty for lying to his father, but it would be worth it. As long as he kept it a secret from him, he would be okay. They both would be okay. Izuku would get to be a hero and his dad didn't need to worry. 

Satisfied by Izuku’s response, Hisashi smiled. “Good to see you understand, baby. Now go. Shoo. Take a nice bath and relax. I’ll go and cook the dinner that you wanted.”  

Izuku sat in his bathtub, rearranging the recent events and figuring out his next move.

He was training with All Might to become a hero, and he was given a strict training plan to follow through. He had successfully cleared the first obstacle which was the meal plan given by All Might. Since his dad was the one responsible for cooking up all the food, he had to ask him to follow the regime which was difficult as it could raise suspicions from the man. But thankfully, the lie had worked enough for his dad to agree to his request. Now, Izuku had to work with the lie he had given if any sudden scenarios popped up. He had to make sure every lie fit in consistently to avoid any questions from his dad.

It was okay. The first obstacle had been cleared. Now, all he had to do was pull through the physical training part of the regime. The UA exams were another painful event that he had to cover up from his dad and he had no idea how. 

Izuku sighed, dunking his head into the waters. 

Then, he remembered his father’s dark red eyes that looked so ominous that sent chills down Izuku’s spine. 

“Izuku! Dinner’s ready! Come down quickly when you’re done!”  His father’s voice had jolted him from his train of thought. 

Izuku quickly rose from the tub, calling back, “Coming dad!”

He tried to calm his frantic breathing. His father would get suspicious. 

It was okay. Izuku would make it so.

Chapter Text

7 months before the UA entrance exam

It was going to be 10 months of hell for Izuku. 

Currently, he’s in the process of suffering for 3 months.

7 months more to go. 

Everyday he had to clean up every single piece of trash, no matter big or small, until the once deserted beach was spotless. That was essentially his training regime from All Might. But there’s still so much left, that it made Izuku wonder if he could really do it. The biggest could go to physically moving a truck. Sometimes he had to carry All Might, who weighed over 200 pounds! While running around the beach. His arms felt sore and tired constantly, most of the time aching so much that he could barely grip his pencil properly when doing schoolwork. On top of that, he also had to do cardio exercise while lifting weights to build muscle.

His father would definitely forbid Izuku to continue his training if he were to ever know about this, hence Izuku could only try his best to cover up his pain back home. 

Aside from that, he also had to maintain a good score for his final year exams as UA not only focus on practical physical tests, they also require their applicants to be sufficient in theoretical knowledge as well. Moreover, the meal plan was quickly getting bland when needing to repeat the same dish every single week. Thankfully, Izuku’s father had excellent cooking skills which made every week much more bearable. 

Izuku had never been so exhausted in his life. But he wouldn’t give up. Not even he was finally given a chance to chase his dream. Regardless of how persistent Izuku’s will is, his body cannot function by stubbornness alone. Even when he hadn’t noticed it, he was slowly hitting his breaking point.

During one day of his usual training with All Might, his body had finally succumbed to restlessness. Izuku was supposed to be moving trash from the beach to the truck outside the park’s gate, and during that run he was carrying a broken fridge. 

Izuku felt his mind suddenly become cloudy as his vision was getting disoriented. His feet were heavy and every step felt like he was dragging himself through a muddy swamp. The only thing Izuku could focus on was the fact that he was currently training and he had to–

Before he could even finish the thought in his head, Izuku felt his own body collapse. His consciousness foggy.

The noise stirred All Might’s attention and he felt his heart drop at his successor’s body on the ground. The memory of his own mentor body and Izuku’s momentarily contrasted with each other which led the No.1 hero to pull Izuku into his arms even before he could register in his own head. He also didn’t notice that his grip on Izuku was unusually tight. 

Izuku, who now regained his clear thinking after getting deep breaths of air inside his lungs, found himself suddenly in the arms of his idol. 

His face flushed with embarrassment. How could he collapse in front of All Might?!?! And even worse is the fact that he was carried like a baby! Oh, he could never look into All Might’s face ever again!

“Young Midoriya! Oh god, you scared me! Are you okay?!” While carrying Izuku in one of his arms, All Might frantically touched Izuku’s face, observing for any signs of injuries then gradually moving to other parts of his body, “What happened?! Are you hurt?”

Uh, All Might is becoming to feel like his own father in this aspect. Izuku didn’t know if this was considered a good change or a bad one.

“I’m fine All Might!” Izuku squeaked, moving his head to duck another barrage of All Might’s fussing in reflex. 

All Might frowned. Even if he only met young Midoriya for a short 3 months now, he knew his young successor had a stubborn streak of holding out until he was forced to stop. It was endearing and admirable at first, but it slowly turned into worry and frustration when he would not lean even on All Might himself. 

“You are surely NOT fine!” All Might chastised with a stern voice and pinched brow, “You could have hit your head and gotten yourself hurt. I know you are aiming for UA. For that, you must train hard, but it would not do you well if you were to injure yourself before the entrance exams even begin! Do you really want to risk failing the exams before even starting?” 

Izuku snapped, “I’m not as weak as you think! It’s just a mistake and I won’t do it in the future! I will become a hero even if it kills me!” He already had had enough of people thinking his quirklessness was equivalent to being a failure. He was someone who was going to become a hero, and he did not need people, especially like his father, or even All Might, coddling him like he was a child!

All Might felt coldness settle at his heart. His stomach churned at Izuku’s words. His successor…His precious boy, dying..? No. He will never allow it. Even if he had to kill every single villain that came across Izuku, he would. He would rather die than to allow another tragedy like his mentor to happen to Izuku. Izuku’s safety prevails over anything and everything else. 

“I will become a hero! I will! Even if you think I’m still too weak to become one! I’ll prove you wrong!” Izuku, who was high in emotions, couldn't stop talking. The memories of his father’s overprotectiveness, his refusal to support Izuku’s dream; combined with All Might’s recent fussing whenever Izuku got a bruise, had made everything even more unbearable. The last straw of the camel’s back was when All Might was hinting at Izuku being unable to pass the exam, which overlapped with his memory of his father saying he couldn’t become a hero. All this time, he had suppressed all his feelings; now that the dam was opened, everything was overflowing. “You’re the one that told me that I can become a hero, All Might. So, please don’t take it away from me! Please let me prove it!” Izuku pleaded, his eyes brimming with tears with frustration. 

“Oh my boy.” All Might gasped, grasping the situation a bit better now. He bent down and hugged the smaller boy, hoping to soothe the distress in his heart. “I never implied that you can’t become one. Why would you ever think of that?! If it came down to the point that only 1 person could become a hero, I couldn’t think of anyone but you!” 

Izuku hiccupped, a sob caught in his throat. “Really?”

“Truly, from the deepest depths of my heart.”  All Might promised. His successor was the purest heart he had ever seen after his mentor.

“I was just worried that you overworked yourself. Seeing you fall on the ground like that had triggered some unpleasant memories.” All Might admitted. Then, he sat on the ground, turning his attention back to the sky. “I suppose it’s about time I told you about my mentor.”

Izuku followed suit, rubbing on his eyes to wipe away the remaining tears. “Your mentor?”

“Yes. Her name was Shimura Nana.” All Might smiled. Any memory with her always managed to brighten his mood. “She was an excellent hero. It was her that taught me to save people with a smile. She always believed that people who smiled, even in the face of danger, were the strongest people.”

Izuku had seen almost every article, every news and every video of his favorite hero. But it was the first time that he had seen this side of All Might. It made him feel a bit closer to the man.

“She…died when facing a villain named All for One.” All might spat the name as if it was burning his mouth. Such hatred from heroes like All Might that always shine with kindness made Izuku’s skin crawl with fear. “She had tried to fight him herself, even when her power alone was not enough. She tried to protect me with her death. That’s why I reacted badly whenever you didn’t know your limits. I didn’t want you to end up like her.” 

Izuku saw the sincerity in All Might’s eyes and sighed in relief. “Oh. I see. I thought you were regretting that you chose me as your successor.” Izuku could laugh at the thought now. 

“Never. You are the only one for my quirk.” All Might denied within a heartbeat. “But now I am curious what it is that made you think so?” 

Izuku fell silent, contemplating if he should come clean. Then, he saw All Might’s worried glance. He supposed that since All Might had already shared his secret, it would only be fair that he did the same.

It was okay, Izuku reassured himself, this man was different from his father.

“My dad…he never believed that I could become a hero. He’d always worry that I was too weak and would have died, because of my quirklessness. Every time I got hurt, he would always make it another reason for my weakness as a quirkless, and refused to accept my dream as a hero. That’s why I hate it when I show weakness, it kinda reminds me about my dad's arrogance. I mean, I know that losing Mom probably made him more paranoid than your average parent. But, that was just too much y’know?” 

All Might listened, letting Izuku express his frustration. Honestly, he could understand his father’s point of view. Izuku would be an amazing hero. His heart is in the right place and he had both the drive and tenacity for it. However, if he didn’t have One for All to pass on, he wouldn’t be able to bring himself to support him like this. His young successor had a tendency to run into trouble headfirst. Without a quirk like One for All to back up his desire, he would have gotten hurt too much for All Might’s liking. And he couldn’t accept Izuku being close to anything like death.

“I know you told me to keep this quirk a secret, and I will. You gave me the chance to chase my dreams after all! So, when I get into UA and successfully become a strong hero. Dad will surely change his opinion of me!” Izuku suddenly blushed, rubbing his head shyly, “Don’t get me wrong! I may hate it when he coddles me but I love my dad. He’s all that I have left. 

Seeing young Midoriya work so hard for his father’s approval made All Might twitch in a feeling that he couldn’t describe. Did his father neglect his precious boy just because of his quirklessness? Such irresponsibility! All Might felt another tinge of the unknown feeling seeing his successor claim to love his father. And what does Izuku mean when he said he only had his father? All Might will always be by his side!

A man who refused to love Izuku as who he is was unworthy of Izuku’s love!

All Might raised a brow at his conclusion. What on earth had led to this outcome? Weirdly, he couldn’t bring himself to disagree with it. If his boy’s father would not love Izuku like a good father would, All Might would gladly do so! Not that All Might didn’t already. 

5 months before the UA entrance exam

It was 7pm at the Midoriya household. 

“Izuku, darling. Come help set the table!” Hisashi called his son who was watching the news on the television.

“Okay!” Izuku worked fast. And the father and son was able to quickly enjoy dinner.

“Mhm, thanks for the food dad! It’s good!” Izuku smiled, munching on a piece of pickled radish. 

Hisashi chuckled, wiping away the rice on Izuku’s cheek. Oh how precious. “I’m glad, sweetheart.”

Izuku gobbled down his meal. The training with All Might had always worked up his appetite. His father was on the side, nagging about eating slowly, as usual. He claimed that he was worried about Izuku choking on his food. But he shrugged it off as one of his father’s overprotectiveness. 

It was always eggs over white rice with grilled fish, with a side of pickled radish and miso soup for Friday. It was planned so Izuku had enough protein to grow muscle. Usually, Izuku would silently groan over the repetitive dishes. He knew it was no choice since it was part of the diet that he chose it for himself, but it didn’t mean he had to like it! But today was especially tiring since he had already finished half of his progress after an unusual hard grind. All Might had fretted over him like always, but Izuku pushed through and he was proud of his success. As it stands, he was so hungry that he didn’t complain as long as he had food. 

When Izuku finished his meal, his father was still halfway through his own portion. After having a full belly, Izuku could finally think of the next step in his ‘getting to UA’  plan. Which was: How on earth was he going to tell his father that he was planning to apply for UA?

Izuku sighed, sipping on his miso soup. He thought about it long and hard, and yet he still couldn’t think of an idea.

“Izuku, baby. Is anything the matter? You look troubled.” Hisashi asked, noticing his precious son’s long face. 

Izuku flinched but quickly calmed himself down. He didn’t want to arouse his father’s suspicions. He couldn’t say ‘everything’s fine!’. His father would immediately know Izuku was hiding something from him. That would not only induce doubts in his father, but also worsen his mood. He always took it horribly whenever Izuku held secrets. His father always taught Izuku that he should always be truthful with him because father-and-son should be each other’s most trusted partner. 

To add on to the fact, he was hiding a secret like becoming a hero behind his back…

Izuku didn’t even want to think about the consequences.

“I…I was thinking of which high school to apply to.” Izuku started carefully. Technically, it wasn’t a lie. While UA was his no.1 choice, there was always a chance that he would fail the entrance exam. If that were to happen, then he would need to have a backup plan ready. 

Hisashi hummed, chewing on his rice. Then, he took apart some of the fish and steadied it in front of Izuku. In which the boy opened his mouth and allowed his father to feed him. Hisashi always loved to see his precious baby enjoying his cooking. The feeling of Izuku needing him for daily activities such as eating fills him up with great joy. The days he spent putting effort into learning culinary skills were not wasted. 

“Oh really? Which school are you considering? I heard there are some schools that specialize in nurturing support items inventors. There’s 1 near Musutafu itself called Tairo High. Well, there’s another one also in Shizuoka prefecture. It’s called Shiasaki High, and their support course was slowly gaining a lot of recognition. But it’s a bit further from our home.” Hisashi noted, stuffing another pickled radish into Izuku’s mouth. He internally cooed at Izuku’s chewing face. It was adorable! Like a little rabbit! Oh, what was he talking about? No rabbit came close to Izuku’s cuteness.  

Izuku nodded, swallowing. “Well, I’m actually thinking of Enjo High in Roponggi. Their support courses are the most famous in Japan.” Izuku boasted himself as a grade-A hero nerd, hence he also did extensive research about anything that is hero related. So basic knowledge like this was normal for him.

Hisashi’s movement paused for a second. Then, it resumed as if nothing happened. “I see.” He said in monotone. 

Izuku, feeling the shift in atmosphere, especially after noticing the heavy aura and darkened eyes from his father, didn’t dare to say anything. He was confused on why that had irritated his father. He was okay with him going for support courses and even recommended some schools to him. So why the sudden change?

They both sat in silence. Hisashi occasionally fed him some random bites of food, and Izuku accepted it in fear of once again setting off his father.

“Izuku, darling. Did you enjoy your dinner?” Hisashi suddenly asked.

Izuku jolted in shock. After processing the words from his father, quickly nodded his head. A forced smile on his face as he tried to appease the man. “Of course! I love your cooking dad! You make the best food! Especially your katsudon!” Izuku took his chance to shower his father with praise, knowing the man’s mood will brighten after that. 

Which it did. And the suffocating atmosphere lightened up a bit so that Izuku can breathe a bit freely now. 

Hisashi smiled, “I’m happy that you think so. Now, in regards to that, would you not think it’s a bad idea to study in Roponggi? If you were to study at Enjo High, then you’d need to stay at the dorms, where you can’t enjoy my cooking anymore?” 

Izuku blinked. So…was this what he thought it was…? “Ah….I suppose so?” He was utterly confused, and his voice showed it. 

Hisashi’s smile widened. “So you agree, my son! That’s why you can see studying at Enjo High is a bad idea, yes?”  Then, he continued with a more lighter tone, “While I understand that Enjo High is the best choice, and you, my child deserves nothing less than best. But surely, with your talent, I’m sure you can flourish even at a high school like Shiasaki High. Moreover, you’d never be able to eat my katsudon that you enjoy oh so much. Would you really prefer a feeble school over your father’s cooking?”  

Izuku sighed. He understood the situation now. He should have expected it, especially with his father’s ridiculous overprotectiveness and possessiveness that he harbored for Izuku. “Dad…you…could have just said you didn’t want me to leave you.” 

Hisashi chuckled. He didn’t appear to be flustered at this change of event. “Would you stay with me if I had said so?” The man asked instead. 

Izuku pouted. He was worried for nothing! “Uh, yeah...sure.” Izuku’s aiming for UA anyways, which was also in Musutafu. Hopefully it would become an advantage for him when it comes the time where he had to tell his dad about his enrollment to UA. 

For now though. Izuku glanced back to his father who was now washing the dishes at the sink. Judging from his father’s violent reaction just now, It would be best if he held off on the information.

1 week before the UA entrance exam

All Might was in his civilian form while on his way to the daily training ground for him and Izuku Midoriya. 

UA’s entrance exam was soon arriving, which means it was also soon due the time when he passed on his quirk to his soon-to-be successor.

The no.1 hero sighed. He was worried if Izuku was able to finish his training program. When he had planned it, he didn’t expect him to complete by 100% as it was close to impossible for a quirkless. But he was hoping Izuku could finish at least 75% of it. 

Another thing that he didn’t expect was his boy, screaming at the top of his lungs while standing on the top of a pile of rubbish, with the beach park spotless without even a speck of dust.

“You-young Izuku!” During the 10 months of training, they had gotten close enough for All Might to call his successor on a first-name basis, much to his pleasure. 

He felt his heart drop when seeing Izuku lose his balance and fell. Unconsciously, he buffed up to his hero form and, within a blink of an eye, he had already caught Izuku in his arms.

“All…Might…” His silly boy murmured with a smile despite his body covered in dirt and wounds from the training. “I did it!” He sighed out.

The older man was torn between either reprimanding Izuku for his recklessness or showering him with all his praise and attention. However, seeing Izuku’s expectant gaze, his choice had already been made.

With a big smile, All Might nodded with his signature grin while putting the boy on the ground as he deflated into his civilian form. “You did! I’m so very proud of you, young Izuku!”  He squeezed the child’s face, expressing his pride and joy, momentarily forgetting about his worries, “You’ve definitely grown much stronger than the first time we’ve met! Oh, just look at you! Finally more muscles than bones!” The older man gushed, pinching Izuku’s cheek.

Izuku smiled shyly. He used to fidget nervously when it comes to All Might’s affection, not used to people touching him except his father. But as they spent more time together, he started to get used to his antics as well. 

“Now, as your mentor, I should still remind you that you shouldn’t push yourself like you did just now. If i hadn’t caught you, you’d most probably hurt yourself.” All Might sighed seeing Izuku’s pout, “Please don’t pout young Izuku, you know that’s the truth.” 

In the past, Izuku would have been annoyed at the comment, but now that he knew All Might didn’t see Izuku’s mistake as his weakness as a quirkless, instead, it was All Might just being anxious, he had grown more accepting towards All Might’s worries. Though, sometimes it can still be a bit domineering, Izuku was able to accept it better than his father’s treatment. 

As if trying to appease the young boy, All Might gave Izuku a bento box. “Remember that you said you were craving some curry? While it’s not ideal for your meal plan, a little splurging won’t hurt.” The no.1 hero gave a wink.

Izuku’s pout turned to a surprised but pleased grin, eagerly accepting the food. Under All Might’s expectant gaze, Izuku scooped a spoonful of rice mixed with curry paste into his mouth.

“It’s delicious!” Izuku commented, already eating another bite.

All Might sighed in relief, “Thank god. I…actually made it myself you see. So, I was worried if it was not up to your liking.” 

It was shocking to see All Might, who was usually oozing with confidence, acting shy. The knowledge that All Might had cooked curry for Izuku just because of his craving made it even more comforting. Curry had easily risen to become one of his new favorite foods, next to katsudon. 

Within a few big bites and the help of a healthy appetite, Izuku had devoured the meal. And now, they could continue on the moment that they both have been waiting for. 

“Young Izuku, before we start with the crowning ceremony. I just want to say, I am so proud of you, my boy. I know that I said that many times before, but I just wanted you to really feel my emotions. You were able to finish your training before 1 week of the exams and you had exceeded my expectations! Well done! You still have a long way to go to build enough muscle to fully wield One for All, but you are now at the starting line, you are now officially suitable to inherit my quirk!” All Might smiled, gesturing to Izuku’s effort, which is the pile of trash behind them.

Izuku’s lips wobbled, looking down at his hands. While they are still unable to do any cool moves. They are certainly different from before. His once clean and soft hands, now rough with scars. “I feel like I’m cheating…You’ve done so much for me, All Might…I’m too privileged..!” Izuku admitted, a grateful smile on his face.

All Might shook his head, gently holding Izuku closer to his side, “Don’t say that, young Izuku. It’s your own hard work that paid off!”

After letting Izuku calm down his emotions, All Might continued while plucking a strand of hair, looking at it with a sentimental gaze, “Nana told me this too: There are two types of people in this world, those who are lucky with it, those who have earned it. Take that to heart.”

Izuku watched as All Might reached out the hair to him. 

“This is the power that you have earned it yourself, young Izuku. Wear it with pride.” All Might had said. 

With All Might’s words ringing in his head, Izuku hardened his gaze with a new stronger resolve and nodded, “Yes!”

All Might smiled, his iconic smile shining under the sun, “Eat it.”

Izuku froze.

Present time, 6am in the morning, 2 hours before the exam

Izuku jumped from his dream. It was the memory of when he received All Might’s power by swallowing a string of his hair. While he loved All Might will all of his heart, eating a piece of hair was too much. He knew that he had to ingest All Might’s DNA to successfully finish the quirk transfer. But, it was still disgusting! Up until now, he remembered the tingly and hairy sensation down at his throat. Ugh.

Currently though, that was the least of his worries.

Today was the UA entrance exam, and he had yet to figure out a good excuse to convince his father to allow him to pursue the most prestigious school in all of Japan. 

Should he go behind his father's back again? Izuku sighed at the thought. He really didn’t want to. But it seemed like he didn’t have any other choice. 

He still had 2 hours before the exams started. His home from UA required him to travel in a 20 minute shinkansen train ride. So he still had some time to think of a last minute lie.

After freshening up, he went to the common room to get some breakfast.

His father was already awake like usual. But what’s not usual is that he's currently wearing his expensive, tailored business suit while slipping on his equally expensive leather boots with a suitcase in his hand.

“...Dad..? where are you going?” Izuku decided to speak up.

Hisashi turned around and raised his brow, “Izuku? You’re up early.”

Izuku nodded, “Yeah, a bad dream.” 

Hisashi cooed, gesturing Izuku to come over with both of his outstretched arms. In which, Izuku easily understood and complied, hugging his father.

“Aww, my baby boy had a nightmare?” Hisashi teased with a gentle kiss on Izuku's forehead. 

The younger boy flushed at the jab. His father always treated him like a baby! “No! It’s…just a weird dream.”  Izuku retorted grumpily

Hisashi chuckled, pinching his cheek, “Alright, alright, sweetheart. Now to answer your question, I've actually been called for an emergency business trip. I had wanted to bring you with me, but…the location is somewhat dangerous, and I would never let my darling boy get hurt under my supervision.” Hisashi’s eyes gleamed menacingly. 

Izuku stood frozen, allowing his father to pamper him with affectionate kisses and hugs. His mind processing the implication.

“I’ll be gone, longest, for about 1 week. I packed some food in the fridge so you can just reheat it in the oven if you’re hungry. I also left some money in my office, just in case. If you have any problems, just give me a call, and I swear I'll appear right before you! You're my baby so you're my first priority, don't you forget that. I promise to try my best to come home earlier okay? Promise me to stay safe, sweetheart. I’m trusting you here.” Hisashi said.

Thankfully, Izuku was able to snap out of his trance at just the right time, and nodded heavily. He hugged his father tightly, in an attempt to cover his gleeful smile from his father. “I promise dad! I won’t let you down!”

Well, it doesn’t count as going behind his father’s back if he will never know right?! 

It’s like the gods above are finally helping him become a hero! 

Can this day get any better?!

Hisashi made sure that he was completely out of Izuku’s sight before phoning Dr. Tsubasa. His son knew the man as their family doctor and one of his colleagues. Which, technically, isn't wrong. But his son and his ever heroic heart, would have never allowed their business to continue. Usually, Hisashi hated anything that was hero-related, but when it comes to his son; Izuku was surprisingly more endearing than annoying in Hisashi’s eyes, which was more proof that his son was perfect in any way.

“Hello Doctor. Tell Kurogiri to prepare a Warp Gate near Shinjuku mall at Shizuoka prefecture. I expect it will be ready when I arrive. I had to leave my precious baby son for this matter, and I expect to finish it within a week, lest you want to lose your head. Who knows how lonely Izuku will be without his dear father around.”  

“Ye-Ye-Yes, my lord! Right away!” 

The threat worked splendidly. The doctor squeaked out an affirmative and hurried as he was told. 

Hisashi shook his head, ending the call. How disgraceful. Nothing like his precious Izuku.

He had told the doctor to let Tomura handle acquiring the Nomu specimen. But the young boy was still very immature with his quirk, thus lacking both the ability to detain them effectively without decaying them. Utterly insolent. But no matter, the boy’s hatred was too useful to give up over some simple mistake. He will be a splendid pawn for Hisashi’s upcoming plan. 

After clearing business, his mind drifted over to his precious son. This was the first time that he left Izuku for such a long period of time. He wanted to bring Izuku with him, but acquiring Nomu specimens was a dangerous task. Those deranged low-life scum were the type to go insane and hurt anything they could get their hands on. Thus, he would not risk putting Izuku in that position. 

Despite all logical thoughts, Hisashi will surely miss his dear boy, who always managed to brighten his every day with his adorable smile. Izuku could never live properly without the love and care from Hisashi. The thought of his baby boy suffering without his father protecting and caring for him, made Hisashi’s heart clenched in anger and worry. 

He desperately hope Izuku will be safe and sound within the week he's gone. Or else, Hisashi wouldn't know what he'd do. Well, maybe he'd burn down the whole world for Izuku's revenge. Only destruction on that scale will be enough to quelle his anger and be enough as appropriate revenge for hurting his precious son. Though, Izuku would be upset at him.

Hisashi sighed. Oh, his son was son was so sweet and pure, but for the wrong people.

When he had arrived at the meeting point, a purple portal had already opened up waiting for his arrival.

“Lord All For One.” His servant, Kurogiri, bowed in respect.

Ah, it’s been some time since he was addressed as such. Hisashi mused, as he stepped into the portal. 

The sooner he finished, the faster he could go back to his baby Izuku.

Chapter Text

After waving goodbye and sending his father off, Izuku dove back to his room and changed into his uniform as he prepared to depart for UA.

Even though his father did not show it, he was a wealthy businessman. According to him, he owned his own company, hence he was able to work from home for most of the time. Even so, as the CEO, if there were any emergencies, he still had to travel back to headquarters in America. He just couldn’t believe today was one of those days! How lucky was he!?

On that note, he couldn’t recall a single day that his father had left him alone ever since…his mother had passed. From his earliest memories, he had always been with his father, but he did remember alongside them for a short period of time, was a beautiful woman who had green hair similar to his own. Though he could not picture her face, he did remember the warm fuzziness whenever he was near her. He was curious about the woman, but his father always had a pained expression whenever he mentioned her. So, Izuku could never bring himself to ask about her. 

From that day on, his father took overprotective and gave it another meaning. He had turned into one of those ‘helicopter parents’ that he once saw in a television show. It was insufferable!

But now wasn’t the time to think about that.  

Shaking away the irrelevant thoughts, Izuku forced himself to focus on the obstacle at hand, which was the UA entrance exam that was starting in another hour and a half. 

It’s okay. He could do it. With his father out of the equation, he could put all his attention into the exams. It’s a golden opportunity that he could not waste. He will do it! He will make sure of it!

Internally pumping himself up, Izuku finished his breakfast and exited his apartment.

On his way to the train station, he received a sudden text message from All Might.

'Good morning, Young Izuku! Are you on your way to UA?'

Izuku smiled, replying to his all-time idol.

'Good morning, All Might! Yes, I am!'

'Great! Stop by Dagobah Beach Park alright? I have something to give you.'

'Oh, sure, See you then!'

Izuku checked the time. 6.40 am. He still had time to spare. And so, the green-haired boy rushed to the meeting point.

When he arrived he saw his idol was waiting for him in his civilian form. 

“All Might!” Izuku called.

The larger man smiled, “Young Izuku!” 

It was then that Izuku noticed a bento box in All Might’s hand. 

The older man coughed, a red blush on his cheeks. He had always acted so carefully around Izuku, which made the younger boy fluster. Because it was supposed to be the other way around. All Might was his idol! He should be the one being vigilant! 

“I, well, since your exams are coming up soon. Within the next hour, I reckon? I prepared something special as a good luck charm.” All Might grinned, handing over the bento box to his successor. 

Izuku raised his brow, “What is it?” 

Seeing that All Might did not give a response, Izuku opened the bento.

It was chopped-up roasted turkey! 

“In America, people have turkey for Thanksgiving. It’s a festival to express our gratitude. In my case, well, I’m grateful for being able to meet you, Young Izuku. Before meeting you, I had never imagined that I could feel such happiness. Every day, you keep impressing me and showing me sides of the world that I’ve never been able to see on my own.” 

Izuku stared agape at All Might. Was he dreaming?! He never thought those words were something he would hear from All Might! And it’s towards him no less!

“Th-That’s my line, All Might! You’re the one that taught me so much…” Izuku blurted, smiling shyly, “I would have never gotten to this point without you…I’m so happy to have you in my life!”

All Might laughed boisterously, “I’m so pleased to hear that! It seems our feelings are mutual.” 

“But is that the only thing you had wanted to say?”  Izuku tilted his head. It was rather weird for someone so busy as All Might to call him out just because he had wanted to give him a bento.

“Well, I was also a bit worried about your family situation. Young Izuku, you mentioned that your father doesn't support you as a hero, yes? How did he take it when you applied for UA?”  All Might asked. Secretly, he had hoped that the other rival man would upset his dear successor so All Might could show him his good grace, proving him as the better role model; but not too much that Izuku would be crying, or else he might need to have a word with the so-called ‘father’. 

Izuku gulped, debating what to answer. Does UA require parental permission beforehand for the entrance exam? Would All Might forbid him if he knew that Izuku’s father did not allow him to become a hero?  

“Ah, well, my dad actually left for a business trip overseas. So, I couldn’t talk to him properly about this yet” Izuku answered. It was technically the truth. He didn’t have enough time to think of a good enough excuse before his dad had left the house. 

The thought that he had to explain everything to his father when he came back led Izuku to heave a loud sigh. 

All Might who misread the situation, silently cursed the man. Being Izuku’s father was an honor like no other, and that foolish man had not cherished it like he ought to! All Might thought Izuku was upset that his father was not present for his big day. The ‘father’ should be glad that dear Young Izuku was such a strong and understandable little boy. Had his precious successor dropped even a single tear, All Might would have needed to ‘talk’ with the older Midoriya about proper parenting and hopefully custody transfer.

In any case, All Might was prepared to become the support that Izuku rightfully deserved.

“No worries, my boy. I will always be here for you.” All Might promised to both himself and Izuku as he gave the younger boy a tight hug. 

Soon, his young Izuku can see that All Might is the better choice for a father figure, despite their lack of blood relation. He will prove it to his dear boy! And what better time to start than now? Unlike the irresponsible ‘father’ who left at such an important event in Izuku’s life, a respectful father should show their utmost support through both actions and words. Which is exactly what All Might is going to do. In fact, while Izuku’s ‘father’ was too busy with his ‘business’ overseas, in which All Might figured was just a pathetic excuse given by the man but he wasn’t going to say anything to Izuku about it to avoid further upsetting his dear successor; All Might is going to personally bring his dear successor to the school, as his heartfelt encouragement towards Izuku’s dream. 

“I know my boy, How about I drive you to UA? I’m also heading there myself for some business.” All Might clicked on his car keys and a personalized armored sports car with multiple support items geared within the vehicle made a beep.

Izuku’s eyes bulged. It was the Hercules!! All Might’s personal armored sports car that was created and designed for him by the genius scientist David Shield! It was one of the most privileged honors that an All Might fan could have ever imagined! And Izuku was being offered a chance?!! There’s just no way he could reject!!!!!!!!!!

“Really?! Are you really okay with that?!?!” Overwhelmed by emotions, Izuku’s eyes sparkled brightly. 

All Might felt his heart swell with pride. See, what the ‘father’ couldn’t do, All Might could! And he was doing such a great job already! “Of course my boy!” 

Hercules being a sports car that All Might frequently uses to catch villains was extremely fast. Izuku and All Might had easily reached UA campus within minutes.

All Might is a national figure with a reputation that exceeds many, hence he had to, reluctantly, leave his precious successor to his own and hurriedly enter the campus to avoid drawing unwanted attention towards the boy. His fans are passionate as they are dangerous. If they caught wind of his secret training with Young Izuku, they would surely swarm the poor boy with suffocating attention and maybe threats from jealousy. All Might dearly hoped he didn't need to show his dark side to his fans. But he will if he must. Izuku is his precious successor after all. 

Fortunately, the UA entrance exams are starting soon and he will be able to see his precious boy in action once again.

Izuku headed into the administrative center to finish his sign-up for the entrance exams.

He was a bundle of anxiety and nerves. Just then, he had accidentally tripped on his feet and almost fell, but thankfully a brown-haired girl had prevented that by floating him at the last second with her quirk. Then, he had the unfortunate luck of running into Katsuki Bakugo who looked like he was trying his hardest to not jump at him. And he even let his mumbling habit go wild to the point that disturbed a glasses-wearing student and subsequently the whole stadium. 

“It’s fine. It’s fine.” Izuku tried to calm down, “Everything will be fine as long as I pass the exam.” He reasoned, by reminding himself that that was the most important reason as to why he was currently standing here.

It’s not fine. It’s not fine. IT'S NOT FINE!

Izuku’s approaching the end of the exam, approximately 5 minutes left as a matter of fact, and had yet to get even a SINGLE point. It was all too nerve-wracking since this was his first time having to go through a test that required high physical capabilities. This was NOT Izuku’s forte. No thanks to his father who had made sure all the activities he had at middle school were 'safe' and for a quirkless (God, Izuku hated his dad for doing that! Because of the special treatment, his classmates had teased him non-stop during P.E classes). Moreover, the warning from All Might kept ringing in his mind, subconsciously holding him back from using the newly acquired quirk. The No.1 hero had stated that using One For All may bring backlashes ranging from mild to severe, depending on the owner’s physique, and Izuku did NOT have much confidence in his body. 

There’s one! 

Izuku skidded to a stop as a 1-pointer robot appeared before him. 

I have to–!

Before he could even curl his hand into a fist, the robot was destroyed by a laser beam.

“Merci for the point~!” A blonde haired boy smiled, “Hope to see you next time…” But the mirth in his eyes says otherwise. 

“That’s 20…!” Another contestant had burned down another robot near him.

The glasses boy that once ridiculed Izuku smashed through a robot with his engine-powered legs. “36!”

At this rate, Izuku’s doomed to fail if he doesn’t think of something! The pressure and nerves were starting to make his thoughts spiral, and god did he want to puke to get rid of the nauseating feeling in his stomach. 

“Ahhh!”

A scream of help broke his thought.

As soon as he laid eyes on a girl who got her leg crushed under debris, his mind went blank. By the time he regained clarity, he was already soaring through the sky and destroyed the giant robot which had almost crushed the girl in pain.  

All Might would have transformed into his hero form and rushed to his dear successor’s side if it weren’t for Eraserhead holding him in place with his capture scarf and his Erasure active. 

“Calm yourself, All Might.” Nedzu had probably expected this outcome and ordered Eraserhead to intervene beforehand. “Surely you haven’t forgotten about the rule that spectators are forbidden from entering the training grounds, no?” 

“Young Izuku is literally falling to his death!” All Might seethed. His heart thumping even harder at every second his boy was dropping. 

“If you were actually paying attention, instead of staring at your favorite kid, All Might. You’d notice someone is trying to save the green brat.” Eraserhead grumbled, tightening his hold on the top hero who wouldn't stop squirming. 

True to his word, the girl, Uraraka Ochako the screen showed, who was saved by Izuku, was now returning the favor by saving Izuku with her quirk. 

All Might couldn’t help but feel a sense of jealousy – He had wanted to be the one to save his kid; and a little bit of resentment – it’s because of the other contestants who kept taking away the remaining points that led Izuku resorting to this outcome. It’s a secret, but he especially disliked that blonde who taunted Izuku by saying ‘Hope to see you again’. It’s not fair to his kid. The others had their quirks all their lives, and his Izuku barely had it for a week.  

“NOW can I go and see Young Izuku?” All Might grunted, as the cloth around him started to loosen. He was worried sick about his kid. From what he saw, Izuku's arms had been destroyed from using OFA, and All Might was trying so very hard to hold back the urge to throw Eraserhead over his shoulder because the hero was stopping All Might from seeing Izuku. 

“Relax All Might. Recovery Girl is on duty. Your kid is fine.” Midnight reasoned. But All Might thought she was just trying to downplay his kid’s injury which made him click his tongue in annoyance. Seriously, did they not see how badly hurt his kid is? Maybe he should have just punched a hole through the wall and forced his way to Izuku.

“We still have to decide on the results, All Might.” Snipe reminded. 

His kid was more important than results! All Might opened his mouth, wanting to rebut. But the timer rang, cutting his words off.

The entrance exam had ended.

All Might saw from the screen that his precious Young Izuku was teary-eyed at the realization that he had scored 0 points for probably the most important test in his life. Izuku’s tears made his heart clench and he swore he WILL get his kid into UA, one way or another. Surely, his status as the No.1 Hero had to have some credit. 

“Now isn’t this interesting.” Nedzu mused. “This is the first time that we had someone save another at the expense of his own well-being.” 

“I mean, it was heroic for him to save the girl, yeah. But he didn’t even get a single point throughout the whole exam. Is he really cut out for this?" Vlad King sighed, unsure whether to pass or deny the kid.

All Might bristled, “My boy who didn't have a single point was the only one who ran into action, while everyone else just stood there.” 

“Maybe so…” Midnight trailed off. The vague response exposed her hesitance.

No one, except All Might, had given a pass to Izuku Midoriya.

“If Young Izuku isn’t in, then you can consider your request for me to join the staff is rejected.” All Might stated coldly. The silence in the room was fueling his anger. His kid had shown a self-sacrificing spirit so beautifully compared to every other contestant. No one had come close to being a hero like his kid. He would go as far as to say his kid was the one who showed the most potential. How dare they not acknowledge that? He understands there are rules to the exam, and there are other criteria to grading; but how could they not be moved at Izuku’s display of peak heroism? 

“...I see you hold the boy in high regard, All Might." Nedzu was the first to break the tension, “Very well. I shall trust in your decision.”

A beep rang throughout the room, and another light brightened, showing that Nedzu had given Izuku the pass.

Slowly, multiple beeps followed; and the red ‘fail’ on Izuku Midoriya’s profile changed to a green ‘pass’.

Only one red light remained until the end of the grading. All Might narrowed his eyes at the lone hero who stood his ground, unwilling to see the good in his kid. It was Eraserhead, the upcoming homeroom teacher for Class 1-A, Izuku’s class, to All Might’s distaste.

All Might’s going to need a word if he saw Eraserhead even dare to harm or treat his dear protege unfairly. But for now, he’d give the underground hero the benefit of the doubt. 

“Oh my god All Might I'm so sorry I failed you so bad I didn’t think I couldn’t even get a single point I’m such a disappointment I know if you want to take your quirk back–” Izuku choked on a sob, stopping his rambling. He couldn’t help the tears running down his cheek right after accepting the call from All Might. It was just so frustrating! All Might had helped him to get even a chance at entering UA and Izuku blew it. Why couldn’t he be stronger?!

“Hey now, Young Izuku. You’re no disappointment. You saved a girl while everyone else stood there didn’t you? You’re a hero, kid.” All Might comforted. His voice was usually loud and booming, now tuned to soft and mellow, to avoid further upsetting his kid. Oh, how he wished he could run over to Izuku’s side, swoop him into a hug while wiping away his tears.

Alas, documentation of UA staff was troublesome and time-consuming. Understandable as being the top hero academy in Japan, they had to ensure their staff was the cream of the crop with excellent and clean track records. But his Izuku was crying and he would much rather be there holding his kid, supporting him than doing boring paperwork. The only reason stopping him from doing so was Nedzu threatening that he wouldn’t get to teach Izuku if he left. The warning was more terrifying than any villain he had faced. With no other choice, All Might hoped that the surprise of him being Izuku’s heroics teacher would be enough to cheer him up afterward. 

Izuku’s emotions were starting to settle down, but before he could continue talking to All Might; his phone had started to vibrate, indicating another call had come in.

Oh God. It was his dad. All the remaining sadness quickly dissipated as anxiety and fear replaced them. Oh no, Oh no, Oh no. If his dad found out about his tryouts at UA… Izuku didn’t even want to imagine what punishment awaited him! His dad would be so furious and upset! He could barely accept Izuku playing volleyball as he claimed it might hurt his arms, much less fighting robots! 

“All Might I’m sorry but I have to take this call see you later bye” Izuku blurted, not caring if All Might understood the jumble of words and ended the call. 

All Might frowned at not being able to say goodbye before Izuku ended the call. It must have been that blasted ‘father’. Was Izuku being pressured? Or was this a type of punishment? Is his precious kid going to cry? Oh, just the idea made All Might’s blood boil, so much so that the pen in his hand snapped in half. 

The sharp ‘crack’ made the teachers around him jump in surprise, except for one. 

Aizawa was the unfortunate soul that Nedzu had assigned to help with All Might’s paperwork. “That’s school property, All Might. I’ll have to ask you to pay up.” He didn’t even flinch at the sudden noise, merely replying flatly, without a change in emotion. 

All Might sighed, reaching over to his wallet. His inner malice towards the man that is Izuku’s father grew. 

After taking a few deep breaths to ensure his voice was back to normal, Izuku accepted his father’s call.

“Good evening baby. Are you okay? You were later than usual in answering my call, later by 3 seconds in fact. Is everything alright?” His father’s worried tone came from the other end. Unlike All Might's loud and powerful, like a warrior's battle cry; his father’s voice was deep and smooth, like a hypnotic spell. 

“Oh, uh sorry, Dad. I was heating up dinner just now. So I couldn’t pick up immediately.” Izuku scrambled for a lie. His dad could NOT know about his relationship with All Might, or else hell would have broken loose. 

His dad hummed, Izuku didn’t know if he bought the excuse, but he desperately hoped he did.

“I see. Be careful with the microwave sweetie. I wouldn't want you to burn yourself.” His dad said.

Izuku quickly followed along, hoping to ease any suspicion, “Yeah, I’ll be careful. Thanks, Dad.” 

“...Izuku, why are trying to hide it? You know how I feel about you keeping secrets from me. I know you’ve been crying because of how ragged you are breathing. What is happening? Tell me.” 

Gosh darn it. He had tried so hard to compose himself too. Why must his dad figure him out so well?!

“...Sweetie? Baby? Izuku? If you don’t confess right now. I’m going to return to Japan immediately and–” Seeing that Izuku has yet to respond, his father hardened his voice.

“Ok! Ok! I’ll come clean…It’s…because I missed you.” Fortunately, just like how his father knows Izuku well, Izuku also knows his father well. He knows what he likes to hear, and how to play his cards effectively. “We…never been so long without each other… so I was… a bit nervous without you…” Izuku carefully chose his words, in hopes that it would be enough to appease his father and drop the topic.

Thankfully, it seemed to work as his father cooed with his usual babying tone, “Oh baby. Aren’t you just adorable! Daddy misses you too. Don’t worry I’ll–”

Out of the blue, Izuku could hear an ear-piercing cry for help that sent shivers up his spine from how desperate the voice sounded. It was so loud that it even covered up his dad’s voice. What the heck? Where did that come from?! 

“Ah. It seems there’s a villain incident.” Why is his dad so calm?!

“Villain!? Are you okay, Dad?!” Izuku quickly followed up, worry intensifying. 

His father chuckled. Is his dad not afraid?! “I’m perfectly fine, Izuku. But it seems that I have a sudden emergency. I have to go now, baby. You make sure to stay safe and eat your dinner while it’s hot, okay? See you soon, sweetheart.” 

With that, the phone call ended. While Izuku was worried sick about his dad, he couldn’t help but to breathe a sigh of relief when the topic ended at a relatively safe conclusion. 

The blissful smile when talking to his son immediately disappeared as he glanced down at the pathetic waste of space who dared to interrupt his moment with his baby.

“Didn’t I tell you to keep your mouth shut?” All For One was not in a good mood, and it showed through how hard he was gripping the victim’s skull. His hands were insanely large, enough to grab hold of the victim’s whole skull.

“It…hurts…! Please…let me…go!” The victim pleaded, using the last of his strength to claw on All For One’s hand, begging for release.

“It hurts, does it? Very well. Do allow me to help you relive that.” 

“Wait! No–”

Before the victim could continue, All For One clenched his hand; the skull in his hold cracked and deformed into shattered bones and disfigured organs as reddish sticky blood ran down his fingers. 

How disgraceful. 

All For One’s indifferent eyes held no emotions as he threw the now headless corpse to the side, then pulled out a handkerchief to wipe away the mess on his hands. Usually, he would be more careful and tidy, but he was admittedly enraged when his time with his baby was forced to be cut short.

No matter. The doctor should still be able to make do with the corpse even at this less-than-desirable state. 

“Master! Good news! I have successfully figured out the theoretical mappings to bioengineer a flying Nomu! Now all that is left is a suitable vessel.” Doctor Tsubasa hurried over while holding his blueprint. His smile was so big that it was squishing the fat on his face. 

How disgraceful. 

All For One hummed, “Whatever do you mean Doctor? We already have a vessel. Have you forgotten? Your grandson, a bearer of a flying quirk?” Oh yes, the stunned fearful face on the doctor was much better than any trace of happiness. 

Is it petty for an adult to take revenge on a child? Maybe so. But All For One couldn’t care less, especially when he knew that disgusting brat of the doctor had helped Bakugo Katsuki in bullying his precious son during middle school.

“My…my grandson, Master?” The doctor repeated, stammering.

How disgraceful.

“Do you not hear me the first time, doctor?” All For One merely raised an eyebrow. But it was enough to imply to his faithful servant that he was unsatisfied with how he had to repeat himself.

Scared out of his mind, the doctor kneeled before his king, “Loud and clear, Master!”

“Splendid.” All For One spared not another look as he turned to leave the foul-smelling lab, uncaring if the doctor was still kneeling or dead.

How disgraceful.

How disgraceful.

How dis–

His thoughts were halted when a familiar ringtone rang. It was his personalized notification ringtone for his son. The ringtone was his Izuku's first words when he was just a baby. He had called him ‘Da-da!’ and Hisashi loved the moment more than anything in the world.

'Be safe, dad. I love you!'

It was a message from Izuku. Just a short, simple text. But Hisashi couldn’t help being entranced by it, his disgust for the world cleansed by his son’s mere 6 words. 

How precious .

It had been a week since UA’s entrance exam. 

Today was the day Izuku got his results.

While he had little to no hope, All Might had constantly reassured him to have faith in himself, and that everything will work out fine. Izuku’s not sure whether All Might was just being nice and comforting him, or the hero knew about the results. And he couldn’t share the news with his dad who was still kept in the dark about his UA tryouts. In the end, Izuku could only endure this stressful waiting by himself.

Thankfully, the wait was not gruelingly long. Izuku was having his lunch, though his unsettling anxiety was making it hard to swallow the delicious omelet his dad had left in the fridge. Then, it happened. The doorbell rang. With his lunch immediately forgotten, Izuku had already sprinted to the door. He greeted the mailman with a nervous smile, and politely gave his thanks before he shakily took the envelope with the UA seal.

Oh god. Oh god. It’s here. It’s here. Izuku gulped, internally freaking out. He didn’t even realize that he had returned to his room with the envelope placed on his messy desk. 

Ok, Izuku. Let’s just get this over it. The young teen closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, calming his nerves. All Might said to trust myself, so I will! That gave Izuku the courage to snatch the envelope and quickly ripped it apart. 

A circular hologram disc fell out of the letter and dropped on his desk. The collision accidentally started the device as a holographic All Might appeared before him.

“I AM HEREEE! In a hologram!” The digital No.1 Hero laughed loudly. If All Might were physically here, his loud laughter would have intensified tenfold at how adorably shocked Izuku looked right now. “Now, I know you were doubting whether you were accepted into UA, Young Izuku. While you did score 0 points in the fighting department; but you did what no other contestant did. You saved Young Uraraka even… to the point of destroying…which we WILL have a talk about.” Even through the hologram, Izuku could feel his mentor’s displeasure which made him sigh. “In any case, for your heroic deed, you have scored higher than any contestant to take the entrance exam in the heroics department!”

Izuku gasped. It…couldn’t be...?! Was this really happening…?? He was stunned to silence, seemingly unable to believe this was reality. Was this really going how he thought it was going…?!

The holographic All Might had a wide, proud smile, confirming his suspicions. “Welcome to your hero academia, Young Izuku!” 

The holographic All Might had disappeared as the message ended. But, Izuku quickly received a message from the real All Might through his phone.

'Have you seen your letter?'

'I told you everything would be fine!'

'Are you busy? Can we meet up at the usual spot?' 

Izuku laughed, wiping away the stray tears that leaked from how overwhelmed he felt just now, as he typed back a reply.

'I'm free. I’ll see you at the beach, All Might!'

It was already 7 in the evening when All Might and Izuku met each other at the beach. 

“Young Izuku! There you are. I hope you aren’t too bothered coming out all the way here.” All Might greeted first, a smile plastered on his face.

Izuku returned an equally happy grin, “No, No! I’m happy you called me out actually! Cause…well, I wanted…to share this happiness with you.” Izuku’s voice got softer and quieter at the end, as a shy blush tinted his freckled cheeks.

All Might tried so hard to resist, but alas how could he? When he felt equally delighted that Izuku shared mutual feelings like his own. So, succumbing to his urge for once, All Might hugged Izuku in a tight embrace, which made the poor fanboy explode in embarrassment but still eagerly return the hug. 

No words were exchanged, but both of them understood each other, and could feel powerful, raw emotions from their hug. 

“I’m so proud of you, my boy! You did so well!” All Might released the boy in contentment after finally fulfilling his secret desire. “However–” His jolly tone suddenly dropped. Izuku froze and was about to move away, but ultimately wasn’t fast enough to dodge All Might from pinching his cheek as the older man started reprimanding, “ What you did was too reckless, young man! I almost had a heart attack when I saw you break your arm and then fall to your death. What if Young Uraraka wasn’t there, what then hmm?! Honestly, I’m thanking the stars that Recovery Girl managed to patch you up without lingering injuries.”

“I’m so-sowwy!” Izuku tried his best to apologize clearly. But it was hard with All Might pulling at his cheek.

All Might sighed loudly, releasing his hold. It’s unfair how adorable his protege was that he couldn’t stay angry at the boy. Oh well, it wasn’t his boy’s fault anyway. It could never be his fault. He’d just have to make sure nothing like that would happen again to his precious kid. 

“Alright, Alright. How about we go out for some ramen, my boy? I know a good ramen joint down the street. Consider it my treat. It’s a special occasion after all.” All Might suggested, trying to cheer up his boy who was looking at him grumpily after abusing his cheek. 

He laughed seeing how Izuku’s eyes sparkled at the invitation. His boy was indeed the cutest in the whole world!

Izuku burped, rubbing his satisfied tummy after the hearty dinner with his idol. He even ate 2 bowls of ramen as payback! Serves All Might right for teasing him! The teen was so happy at the quality time with All Might that he didn’t notice there was a pair of leather shoes at the entrance.

“Izuku. Come.” 

It was a voice Izuku did not expect to hear in another few days. The glee was immediately replaced by fear, especially at how cold his father sounded. 

“D-Dad!” The young teen quickly rushed to the living room, the source of the voice.

There his dad was. The man was sitting on the couch with an indifferent look that Izuku couldn’t fully decipher. One thing’s for sure though, and it was that Izuku was so, so, so screwed. 

And the main reason was probably the ripped envelope sitting on the table. 

Chapter Text

Hisashi Midoriya couldn't help but smile at the sight of his son, especially since he hadn’t seen his adorable freckled face for a week. But, his anger and disappointment were so strong at the moment, it made his smile seem more threatening than welcoming. 

“Izuku. What is this?”

“Da-Dad! I-I-I know this seems–”

“ENOUGH excuses, Izuku.” 

This was the first time that Hisashi had raised his voice at Izuku. It was enough to scare Izuku into silence, his thoughts became jumbled because of the interruption. At that moment, his only thought was how grateful he was when he kept the hologram disc in his hidden compartment in his drawer that his father hadn't discovered yet.  

“Have you been going behind my back, baby?”

“Have you been lying to me? About everything?!”

“Are you trying to abandon me? Is that it? Escape to another place? I will never allow that!”

“What were you doing when I was gone? Why is there a UA letter for you? Why didn’t I know about this?”

“How could you not tell me ! I’m your father! You’re forbidden to keep secrets from me!”

“I love you so, so much . and THIS is how you repay me?!”

“Don’t you dare run away from me!”

Izuku jolted and let out a scared squeak when he felt his father’s hand on his shoulder, holding him in place. You couldn’t blame him for backing away from his father; not when the older man was looming over him with such a terrifying aura, his red eyes brimming with insanity, and his footsteps kept getting louder at every accusation he threw at Izuku. 

“Izuku Midoriya. You’d better answer me right now . I promise you, you will NOT like your punishment. And the longer you keep quiet, the worse it’s going to get.” Hisashi was always so gentle with him, Izuku didn’t know his father was capable of such strength. Even after the muscle Izuku gained from training with All Might, muscles that are enough to physically move a truck; it wasn’t enough to break free from his father’s grip.

“I–” Izuku’s words got caught up in his throat.

This situation was so foreign for Izuku. He didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know what to do. He always tried listening to his Dad, so he had never been this upset with him before, and it was scaring him. Izuku tried coming up with a solution, but his dad was still yelling at him, so it was too distracting for him to properly think.

In the end, all Izuku could do was to let his tears leak, “Daddy…Daddy! Daddy! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” At this moment, all he knew was his Dad had always hugged him and whispered sweet promises into his ears whenever he cried and scared. He hoped his Dad would still do the same, because right now he’s terrified to death and the tears were proof of that.

Thankfully, Izuku gambled right.

“Oh, Izuku...” Hearing his son’s ‘daddy’ snapped Hisashi out of his angry trance. How long had he heard that? No matter how much Hisashi bribed and begged, his baby had refused to call him that ever since he started middle school.

Only when his baby boy was scared to death and needed his father would Izuku call him ‘Daddy’. 

Now being able to clearly see his son’s tears made Hisashi immediately regain his clarity. What had he done? Despite his inner desire raging, to finally have Izuku safely tucked in his room forever, Hisashi pushed away the thought. His son was crying. His son needed him.  

“There, There, sweetie.” Hisashi scooped his dearest son into a hug, gently bouncing the child as an effort to calm him, “I’m sorry, Izuku. Daddy was too mean just now, wasn't he?” He chuckled when he felt a soft nod from his son who was curling to his chest. Hisashi continued to hum a soft lullaby, one that he used to sing to his baby when he was a tiny toddler. He kept humming, only slowly stopping when he felt Izuku’s ragged breaths slowly quell into steady breathing.

“Have you settled down now, darling boy?” Hisashi crooned, hoping to ease his son. 

Izuku nodded, lifting his head from the shoulder to finally meet his father’s eyes. Hisashi’s heart broke even more upon seeing the leftover tear beads hanging on his son’s emerald orbs. Gently wiping away the tears, Hisashi pressed a kiss to his son’s forehead, “Alright darling. However this is still a big issue so the talk is mandatory. Can we have a civilized chat, baby? Just you and me? Father and son?” 

“Okay…” 

“Good. I’m so proud of you, baby! My strongest little sweetheart.” Hisashi smiled proudly, continuing to splatter kisses on his son’s face as a ‘reward’.

Now that Izuku calmed down, he finally noticed how embarrassing this ordeal has been. He was 15, being cradled by his father like a toddler, and his father was engaging in baby-talk with him throughout his whole outburst. God, he wanted to crawl into a hole and die from embarrassment.

“Dad. Um. Can you let me go now…? Please?” Izuku finally spoke up, seeing how his father made no intention of releasing him. In fact, the older Midoriya had sat back on the couch, readjusting Izuku into a more comfortable position, and proceeded to cuddle with him. 

Hisashi chuckled. “Consider this…one of your punishments, baby.” How could he resist? When Izuku was in his arms, where he rightfully belonged. It’s been too long since Hisashi had gotten the chance to hold his baby boy like this. 

Izuku sighed, but remained silent. Disobedience now would just upset his father, and that’s the last thing he needed right now. 

“Alright baby, Now, I expect no more secrets, just truths, are you able to do that?” Hisashi paused, waiting for Izuku to give a response. If Izuku refused to abide by this rule, then the following chat would be futile. 

Izuku frowned. He really couldn’t tell his father the whole truth, he knows his father would never approve! Not to mention, he was accepted to UA! His dream school! His one dream that he thought was once impossible, now reaching out to him. He will not give up. No matter what.

Determined, Izuku nodded, agreeing to his father’s request.

He will pull through! Or else everything would be in vain if his Dad pried the truth out of him.

“That’s my sweet baby.” Hisashi pressed another kiss to his son’s cheek to express his satisfaction. “First question: Why did I find a UA letter in your room? When did you have the idea of applying for UA? Why didn’t you tell me? Did someone pushed you to do it? You’d tell me who it was if it happened, yes? We called every day, every morning, afternoon and night, why hadn’t you brought it up? Had I not found it, would you have decided to keep this a secret from me? I—”

“Dad please! You gotta let me speak if you want answers!” Izuku slapped a hand to his father’s mouth, physically stopping the older man from drowning him in questions. 

Hisashi chuckled, kissing his son’s palm before pulling it away from his lips. “Ah yes. Sorry sweetie, it’s just that I have a lot of questions you see. I hoped you’d be able to alleviate my worries once and for all.”

“I’ll try… So, about UA. I…actually joined their entrance exam…on the day you left. I saw their advertisement a few days ago, and…I just didn’t know how to tell you! I didn’t want to keep a secret from you Dad, it’s just…I didn’t know what to say. After that…well, I thought I might as well try out for their support course!” Izuku had no other choice. He could only spin his once innocent lie into a makeshift reality, hoping it was concrete enough to fool his genius of a father. 

Hisashi sighed, a bit disappointed, “Izuku, you know you can tell me anything right? You mustn't hesitate to talk to me. I’m your father, and I’m the only one that truly cares about you in this whole world. No one loves you more than I do, my little sweetheart.” As if to emphasize his point, the man leaned and placed a gentle kiss on Izuku’s nose.

Izuku resisted the urge to roll his eyes. This again. Ever since he was a baby, his father had pounded into him that he and his father only had each other. It was fine for little Izuku since he spends most of his time with his father; but things are different now. He grew up, and his once little world was no more; it became bigger and wider. But his father seemed to dislike the idea.  

“Okay, Dad.” Disagreeing with his father brought no benefits, so Izuku opted for ambiguity. “Anyways, I was actually accepted into UA…Can you believe it, Dad?! Me! In UA! This…is everything I had hoped for! I’m…so lucky!” Izuku couldn’t help the excitement seeping into his tone. He had always wanted to share this happiness with his father, and now he could, despite being in an undesirable situation. As overbearing as the man may be, he was still Izuku’s family. One that stayed with him his whole life, accompanied him through lonely nights, and quoting his father’s word because it technically is the truth, ‘loved him more than anyone else in the world’. 

“Personally, I think UA’s the one that’s too lucky to have you. You’re amazing, kind, sweet, heroic, adorable, caring, compassionate, selfless to the point that sometimes I want to lock you in the house from hurting yourself.” Hisashi offered his opinions, smiling as he petted his son’s green curls. 

Izuku laughed nervously, “That’s funny, Dad. But you really don’t need to. I promise I’ll be careful.” At least he hoped it was his father joking, but with how his father didn’t reply, merely humming with smiling red eyes showed anything but so. 

“Now that we got the whole situation out of the way, we should move on to how exactly we should proceed with your invitation from UA.” Hisashi didn’t notice, but the boy in his arms did, at how he spat with disdain when speaking about UA. 

His father hated heroes, Izuku knew; but does this hatred really extend to a school too? What exactly did the heroes do to him to gain such intense hate? Izuku could never understand. But he wasn’t going to let his father’s feelings affect his own dreams. 

So, Izuku spoke up before Hisashi, “Dad. I…actually wanted to attend UA.”

Izuku winced, when his father’s gentle arms holding him became tense and his grip tightening. 

“Baby–”

Unwilling to give his father time to retort, Izuku continued, “Dad please. I worked really, really hard for this! You know how it’s my biggest dream to study at UA, don’t you? Um, just so you know, I applied for just the support course, nothing hero related! I-I-I given up…to become a hero for you dad, won’t you let me have just this? Please?” His father’s persuasive skills are unmatched, so Izuku could only strike first, hoping it would be a quick victory to avoid having the tables turned on him.

Hisashi sighed, pushing aside Izuku’s bangs, “Izuku, must it really be UA? There’s thousands of good support schools too, you know? Kirin High and Asaki High are also near us, and have a good enough reputation.”

“I know, but UA is my dream, Dad!” Izuku groaned, frustration made his eyes slightly wet, “I…want to stay with you too. That’s one of the reasons why UA is my dream school, because it’s near enough that I can stay at home with you after school every day. I…thought you’d be happy about that.” Izuku mumbled, excitement deflating into disappointment. 

Believe it or not, that’s the truth. Yes, UA may be All Might’s alma mater, and his dream was to follow in his idol’s footsteps. But, his dream isn’t JUST All Might, it’s also his father too. He wants to make his father happy and proud. And maybe, it’s because of that sincerity, Izuku was able to make Hisashi listen to him.

“Oh baby.” Hisashi just couldn’t stand such a sad face on his son. It doesn’t suit him. Or rather, Hisashi will not allow it. Hisashi’s motto when it comes to his baby was: his Izuku can have anything he wants. He would have burned Japan down to ashes if he ever wanted it.

Well. It’s just a support course. And UA, unfortunately in Hisashi’s opinion, is a first-class all rounder academy. Their heroes, support, general studies, even business were all top tier, with high rankings on all of Japan’s academy list. Moreover, with how prominent those vile, barbaric heroes are running rampant, it’s highly unlikely to have any school free from heroes and their influence. Therefore, perhaps it would be the same in any school he went to. As long as Izuku’s not entering the hero course, it should be fine. That’s the only line Hisashi had, yes, as long as Izuku doesn’t cross it, then nothing would be any different. 

Though his son being in UA would be a bit risky, since Tomura would be…‘visiting’ the campus not soon later; but Izuku should be fine in the support course as it did not require for him to be on the battlefield or anywhere near the frontlines. Yes, that’s right. All Hisashi had to do was to make sure Tomura’s destruction was strictly limited to the hero student’s vicinity. Afterall, it was the father’s job to protect his baby boy, and his Izuku should be able to have anything and everything he wanted. His dearest, precious, sweetest, kindest, cutest–

“Dad…Dad? Dad! You’re mumbling again.” Izuku had to raise his voice to snap his father out of his feverish rant. He was talking so fast and so quietly that Izuku couldn’t catch what he was saying. But, judging from how his father’s once tense expression now relaxed into his normal, soothing smile, Izuku guessed it worked out for him. 

“Oh sorry baby. I got lost in my thoughts again.” The older man chuckled, finally releasing Izuku to his own feet and holding out the ripped letter to him. “Here you go, Izuku. You need this to enroll into UA right?”

Izuku couldn’t resist the turn on the corner of his lips, a grin so wide that it might have split his face in half, “Re-really? Yo-you’re ok with it?!” It was like he was in a dream!

Hisashi smiled, pinching his son’s cheek at how adorable he looks, “Yes, baby. Aren’t you happy?”

“Happy! Super happy! Dad! I love you so much! Thank you!” However, his smile froze, and a sense of unease grew, when he couldn’t pull the letter from his father’s iron grip. “Um Dad–”

Suddenly, Hisashi released the letter and immediately switched to holding his son’s chin, forcing his boy to stare at him right in his eyes, unable to look away. “Baby. I need you to promise me, okay? That everything you said just now was the absolute truth. Promise me right now, that you’re not going behind my back, promise me that you’ll stay obediently and not run into danger, promise me that you won’t try to become a hero.”

Izuku gulped. But there was no going back now, it’s either go big or go home (literally). “Okay, Dad. I promise.” That said, Izuku isn’t a quitter, and he isn’t giving up that easily!

Chapter Text

Despite the relatively acceptable conclusion derived from the Midoriyas’ argument yesterday; Izuku was unfortunately still not let off the hook by his father. His punishment was being grounded for the weekend, forcing him to miss out on the latest hero convention featuring the Top 10 heroes at a nearby mall. 

Izuku was a grade-A hero fanboy and had never missed a single visit to Hero-Expo, ever since he was 3 years old and learned about heroes from an All Might cartoon program. As a true hero fan, Izuku believes missing out on Hero-Expo was blasphemy! His reputation would get tarnished and he’d lose all his privileges to have priority access to the latest hero merchandise. Not to mention this year’s convention had a whole section of All Might merch that he had saved up for months. So, you can see how this was his greatest nightmare. But no matter how much he bribed and begged his father, the older man would not budge. He cried for hours at the realization that he was doomed when his father still refused to cave as the Hero-Expo opening ceremony started. 

Thankfully All Might, bless his soul and heart, his beloved mentor had called him over the phone to surprise him that he had saved up a few limited All Might merchandise from the convention just for Izuku. Izuku cried again, this time from tears of joy, as he profusely gave thanks and sang praises to the man. Secretly, just because of that, he gave All Might another point on his best person in the world list, but his father didn’t need to know that.

“Izuku baby. Don’t you think that’s a bit too much? ” Hisashi failed to suppress his groan as Izuku picked yet another All Might pen into the shopping basket. His adorable son had bought everything in All Might theme. Mighty Backpack, Eraser Might, Ruler Might, and how many Pencil Might was that again? Honestly, Hisashi was bound to have a nightmare about that blonde oaf tonight. 

Izuku gaped at his father as if he spoke nonsense. “There’s never ‘too much’ All Might merch!” He huffed, getting some Notebook Mights into the basket, and added another Pencil Might.

“Surely, there’s a limit before it gets insufferable.” Hisashi argued, returning the pencil back to the shelf; but stopping halfway upon his baby’s saddened, teary look. Heaving a sigh, he resigned and placed the pencil back on the pile with the others. On the bright side, he was rewarded with his baby’s endearing smile and a kiss on his cheek, which instantly made Hisashi melt under his son’s affection and his annoyance gone.

“Wow! That’s a new All Might action figure, can we get it, Dad!? Oh! This Golden Era All Might figurine is a limited edition! And on its final rerun. I won’t miss it this time! Look, Dad! This is the updated model of the one I have! Remember the Silver Age All Might in America set!? I need this! Can we please get all of them, Dad!? Please! Please! Please!”

Hisashi stared at how his son was jumping from shelf to shelf, mouth running non-stop as he grabbed hold of each toy on display. He had expected this reaction, this same cycle always repeats whenever they arrive at the hero-merch aisle. The things Hisashi did for love, the man shook his head and smiled; albeit a bit strained but still dripping with fondness for his son. 

“Fine, baby. Put it in.” 

“Oh Thank you! Thank you! You’re the best, Dad! I love you!!!” 

“I love you more, baby.”

“You’re wrong, I love you more!”

“Nonsense. You can’t possibly love me more than I love you, baby.”

“Noooooooo, I loveeee youuuuuu!!”

Hisashi laughed loudly, all the strain in his smile washed away with pure joy when his sweetest boy had suddenly latched on his side, hugging it tightly whilst threatening to drown Hisashi with love and affection if he didn’t yield.  

If All Might was here, his jaw would drop at how his arch-nemesis was holding a basket full of All Might merchandise while snuggling with his son and cooing about love. Then again, the fool would probably be too jealous at how All For One had the world’s most perfect son who adored him while he had no one. Ha.

“Good evening, Young Izuku! You’re a bit late today.” All Might smiled, hands stretched out to catch Izuku’s sweater that was tossed to him. It had been a routine at this point. As Izuku couldn’t let his Dad know about his secret training sessions, he had to leave the house wearing normal attire on the outer layer to hide his workout clothes underneath. As such, he could only change into more appropriate clothes when he arrived at the training site. 

“Oh yeah, sorry about that. My Dad held me up longer than usual after dinner today.” Izuku apologized while stretching his body to avoid straining his muscles. Today’s training was muscle training after all. All Might was generous enough to bring his own equipment with his truck for Izuku to practice with, sparing the younger boy the hassle of applying for a gym membership.

All Might stared intently at Izuku jumping upwards to grab the pull-up bar. He had already set up the equipment while waiting for his successor’s arrival. After ensuring that Izuku had a firm and steady grip, he started counting Izuku's quota of 1000 pull-ups per day. 

“Really now? Let me guess, you used the ‘you’re gonna go out with your friends that you met at the UA exam’ excuse didn’t you?” All Might only started initiating conversation, after confirming that his boy was safe and showed no signs of slipping off the bar.

Izuku chuckled, though it sounded a bit out of breath due to exercising simultaneously, “Ho-How did yo-you kn-know..?” Each word was followed with a puff of breath.

“You were always 15 minutes late whenever you used the ‘I'm going out with friends’ excuse.” All Might laughed at the embarrassed flush of his successor’s ears, tinting it an adorable red. “Don’t worry, Young Izuku. I’m not upset or anything. It’s not yours to blame anyway.” That’s right. It’s the boy’s lousy, clingy father to blame. “I’m just glad you came at the end.” The No.1 Hero smiled reassuringly and softly dapped away the sweat on his boy’s forehead before it rolled into his eyes. His height was considered towering compared to Izuku, so the man could easily wipe it away by standing straight and not causing too much disruption. 

Izuku smiled gratefully to his mentor as he successfully finished the first set of 20 pull-ups. Then, he dropped to his feet, grabbing a cooled sports drink to rest for a while.

“Great work my boy! You finished that faster than last week by 10 seconds! You did all 20 pull-ups within 2 minutes and 50 seconds. Very impressive.” All Might complimented, happily ruffling his favorite boy’s messy curls uncaring about the sweat sticking to his palm. 

Feeling proud, All Might decided Izuku deserved a well-earned reward, “How do you feel about supper? Remember that ramen joint we always go to after training? I heard they’re releasing a new flavor called Cheesy Might Hellflame Udon” Well, it’s not like All Might disliked spoiling his boy. It’s precisely because he’s doing it so often that he’s worried that the kid might think it’s weird. So, this brought him a good rationale to pamper Izuku. 

“Really? Ack–!” Izuku choked from chugging his drink too fast and the excitement from All Might’s invitation; in which the older hero quickly reacted by patting the boy’s back to soothe Izuku’s coughing storm. 

All Might frowned with pinched eyebrows, “Relax, my boy. We have ramen at least once a week, and we spend time almost every day. Yet, you’re still so excited around me?” Though his mentor’s clear blue eyes held concern for his accident just now; it also had flashes of mirth, tenderness…and, if Izuku dare say from how often Izuku also saw in his father’s eyes,…love…?

“I mean you’re All Might! You’re my No.1 hero! You’re so cool and nice! I love spending time with you! And I want to be near yo-ou…and be…just…like…you ” Izuku trailed off, starting to feel the awkwardness settling in, and his cheeks flaring red. God, how could he say that in front of his all-time idol! Now the man’s going to think he’s creepy!

To his pleasant surprise, All Might laughed loudly; not with mockery, rather with amusement. “Oh you flatter me, my boy. If anything, it’s my honor to spend time with you.” 

“No way! I’m your biggest fan! That should come from me, All Might! It’s my honor, not the other way around.” Izuku waved his hands frantically, denying the statement. His near-bursting All Might fanboy heart couldn’t couldn’t take it! 

All Might gestured Izuku back to the pull-up bar as rest time was up, which the younger boy quickly obliged, eager for the promised ramen. “No. I said it first, so it’s my honor, Young Izuku. As your mentor, I order you to accept it.” All Might smirked, pulling the ‘teacher’ card.

“N-no fair! Yo-you can’t do th-that!” Izuku pouted, quickly finishing yet another set. Perhaps it was due to his mentor’s teasing that made his adrenaline pumping more than usual, he had finished it quicker than the first.

All Might passed Izuku a towel which the boy accepted with a smile and rubbed away the sweat dripping down his chin, “I can and I will. No excuses, Young Izuku!” 

“Noooooo!” Izuku whined loudly, earning yet another barrage of laughter from his mentor. 

If All For One was here, he’d probably be plotting how to hurt his arch-nemesis' precious successor to get revenge. All Might would have torn the bastard into shreds if he even dared to harbor the thought. Or maybe the 1000-year-old social recluse geezer would probably be too jealous and immediately die at the sight of All Might having the best kid. Heh.

“Okay, baby. You got everything? Did you miss anything? How about your umbrella, bento, pencil case? Tell me if you get into trouble, okay?”

“I did. Nope. Yes, Yes, Yes. I know, jeez Dad!” 

Izuku whined at how embarrassing his father was right now. The man was constantly retying his tie, checking the contents in his bag, and kissing his cheek for the 5th time now. He’s 16 years old, he didn’t need his father fussing over him like a kindergartener!

“Dad. I really gotta go now!” Izuku reminded his father while pointing at the clock. He only had 30 more minutes before his class started, and he refused to be late on his very first day! Pray tell, why is his dad retying his tie for the 3rd time?!

“Alright. All done, baby!” Hisashi smiled, finally satisfied with his handiwork. 

Izuku sighed in relief, and was about to sprint out the door; but his father’s hand on his shoulder stopped him once again.

“What, Dad!?” Izuku couldn’t help the tiny annoyance seep into his voice.

Hisashi smiled. Usually, his father’s smile was confident and mysterious; but this time, it held a gentleness that only a father could have, “I’m so proud of you, Izuku.” 

Izuku’s breath hitched on his throat. He knew his father loved him. It was obvious from how much he loved to cuddle, kiss, and spoil Izuku with gifts as often as he could. But, it was only through these far-in-between and extremely rare moments of sincere and genuine expressions of love that Izuku truly knows his father does indeed love him.

“Thanks, Dad. I’m off!” Gone with the annoyance, Izuku set off with a new sense of pure, unfiltered joy.

“I’m your homeroom teacher, Aizawa Shouta. We’re going to have a quirk apprehension test where you’ll need to use your quirks in various physical tests. However, it’s not going to be that easy.” Aizawa glared, tone hardening as if to shut down the increasing chatter from his class, “Because the last place is getting expelled.” 

The student’s ‘it’s going to be a breeze’ attitude dispelled almost instantly, and Aizawa felt a sadistic smirk climbing up his lips. Now, each student was nervously looking around themselves, like they were trying to assess the other person’s abilities to give themselves a sense of confidence. 

While it might have worked for others, it merely caused more distress to Izuku who was internally hyperventilating. Sure, he had countless training sessions with All Might every night before the first year started, but he hadn’t learned how to correctly wield his quirk yet. That’s because the first time he used his quirk, he had exploded his whole arm which caused major psychological trauma; not to himself surprisingly, rather to his mentor All Might. The No.1 hero strictly forbade Izuku from using OFA until he deemed that Izuku built enough muscle to endure the backlashes for the quirk. 

It’d be fine, it’d be fine . Izuku slowly calmed down after hearing Aizawa explain the specifics and the rules of the exam. Apparently, the exams given were still doable with normal physical capabilities. As long as Izuku did his best, he might still have a chance. He had trained his body for at least 10 months, hardcore cardio and various muscle-building non-stop, even following dietary instructions to the T every day. Izuku took a long, deep breath and was able to ground himself back to reality, away from the unhelpful thoughts. He’d be fine .

“Alright, any questions?” Aizawa scanned his class, but no raised hands.

“Good. First up, 100 meters run. Tenya Iida, Mina Ashido, Asui Tsuyu, and Sato Rikido, you four first.”

Aizawa continues to call another group, and another, and another. Izuku sees their time, 7 seconds? 8 seconds? That ice guy finished it in 4 seconds?! Izuku hated to admit it but reality is indeed cruel, some achievements are impossible without the help of a quirk. 

Soon, it was Izuku’s turn. He stood on the starting line with his resolve strengthened. He knelt in a starting position, waiting for Aizawa to blow the whistle.

However…if the situation comes that he was forced to take desperate measures… Sorry, All Might, I might have to break our promise . Izuku apologized silently, but his eyes shone with determination. He promised himself that he would become a hero. And if that meant breaking his arm again to ensure his spot in the class, then so be it. 

“Oh dear, Young Izuku, please, please be careful!” All Might unconsciously bit on his fingers, his eyes fixed on his dearest successor who was running his hardest at the track. The hero was hiding behind a tree, big enough to hide his large stature, as he secretly watched his boy perform. Now he knows it sounds suspicious and really creepy in hindsight, but he just wanted to make sure Izuku was fine and safe. He didn't trust Eraserhead to provide appropriate attention and care to his protege so he’d figured to be on the ready, and take matters into his own hands if necessary. 

“No!” He gasped, unconsciously crushing a 20-inch tree trunk by gripping it too tightly when he saw his dearest boy almost trip and fall face-first to the ground. Thankfully, the boy had great balance and avoided it, which led All Might to release a big sigh of relief and finally notice the disaster in his hands.

Surely, Nedzu wouldn’t notice a single tree missing right…?

Unbeknownst to All Might, Aizawa did pay attention to his protege. A lot of attention, in fact. 

11 seconds. Not bad for normal running; but not good enough to get at the level with his classmates . Aizawa glanced at Izuku’s time. His thoughts running.

Whatever. I’ll see as the boy goes on . Deciding it’s futile to think about useless predictions, Aizawa continued with the exams.

“Next is an undercover test. Remember you have 3 minutes to hide and make sure you’re not caught. This is to test your stealth skills. Hagakure Tooru, Ochako Uraraka, Kirishima Eijirou, Aoyama Yuuga. You four are up first.”

Hisashi closed his laptop after he sent the finished document to his workplace that indicated the proceeding procedures for the week. He looked at the clock. 2 pm. Izuku was still at school. Hisashi sighed. Back when Izuku was attending middle school, his baby son would have already returned home by now, and he would have cuddled and kissed him, complimenting him on a day well done and that he was so proud of him. But now in high school, Izuku only ended classes at 5 pm, which was unbearable for Hisashi.

How empty this building is without Izuku. Hisashi mused, spacing into the ceiling.

Oh right. Izuku said that he was craving for Katsudon recently. Surely that as dinner tonight would make him happy. 

Mind made up, Hisashi left the house to obtain the necessary ingredients. Thinking of Izuku, doing things for Izuku, and cooking for Izuku, always made Hisashi feel a sense of peace and happiness unlike any other. Dear god, he really does love his son, oh so much.  

This is bad. This is bad. This is bad. What am I going to do?

Izuku gripped the ball tightly. He had tried to keep his despair at bay, but as the exam inched nearer to its end, the barrier was also slowly breaking apart. This was already the last exam, Izuku was still in last place, and Izuku was the last one to be called. His classmates’ quirks were able to score them a few of the highest scores in different tests; but Izuku who only used his bodily capabilities, just managed to get average, sometimes even less-than-average, scores throughout the whole exam. 

If I can’t get a high score here, then I’m doomed! Izuku snapped his eyes closed, desperately trying to come up with a strategy, a clue, a chance, a hint, anything for him to turn the tables around. But he only came to 1 solution.

“Why is Deku-kun taking so long?” Uraraka Ochako, who Izuku had befriended when he arrived at school, asked in worry. Is her friend hurt during the test somehow?

Iida Tenya, a student who was also present at the time Izuku met Ochako, then subsequently also introduced himself to the two, “Perhaps Midoriya-kun is thinking of a strategy? He does need an extremely high score to increase his ranking.” He knew this friend of his was not to be underestimated, especially after the entrance exam.   

Bakugo Katsuki scoffed when he heard that. Not his fault that they’re talking so loud. So he’d thought to open their eyes because as if it wasn’t obvious enough throughout the whole exam. “The reason Deku’s stalling is because he’s quirkless, dumbasses. He can’t win, so he’s trying to earn some pity points. Stupid Nerd.”

Ochako frowned at the hostility. Tenya however raised a brow at Katsuki’s statement. “Quirkless? Didn’t you know what he did at the entrance exam?” He asked.

Huh ? Bakugo narrowed his eyes, not liking the sound of it.

But the three’s attention got stolen away when the student in question was making a move. 

Izuku reeled his hands back. He had no choice. It was do or die, and he’d be damned if he died without a fight. He was going to power up One For All and give it his best shot.

Determined and dead-set, Izuku released the ball.

However, things didn’t go as planned. The ball merely flew a pitiful 10 meters before it hit the ground. The impact was not heavy, but it managed to sink Izuku’s heart. 

“I knew you’d do that. Ugh. That’s why I said you’re not fit to be here, Izuku Midoriya.” 

All Might felt his heart at his throat upon seeing his dear boy powering up his quirk again. Oh No, No, No! The horrifying image of Izuku lying on the ground, hands twisted at an angle impossible for normal people. Is he dead? Dead! Dead just like Nana! NO! Protect! Protect! Kill enemies!  He had to slam his foot in the ground so hard that his feet was buried in the dirt, to physically stop himself from rushing to Izuku’s side.

No. His boy isn’t dead, just heavily injured that last time, though it didn’t make All Might feel any better, but it’s still better than being dead. This time was the same, his boy isn’t dead; he’s still standing, confused but safe . 

Hisashi grimaced. This store usually had a complete range of products. So, why couldn’t he find any potatoes in the grocery store today? How was he supposed to make the best Katsudon for his baby boy now? He refused to have anything less than perfect when it came to his Izuku. Resigning to his fate, Hisashi could only search at another grocery store, even if it was a bit further than his home.

Why did he have a really bad feeling now? Oh, if anything happened to his Izuku, he’d tear down Japan into rubber. 

Izuku shakily faced his teacher, who had red eyes and levitating hair. No wonder his quirk was unable to work. Izuku now understood when he laid eyes on the man in front of him. Hero: Eraserhead, with a very unique quirk that had the ability to erase someone’s quirk by looking at them. Izuku suspected that’s exactly what happened to him the moment he threw the ball. 

“Uh—!” Izuku was silenced by Eraserhead’s infamous capture weapon wrapping him in a human-sized cocoon.

“Recklessly using your quirk like that, will not only endanger yourself, but the other heroes on the job. Do you expect to become a useless doll who can’t move after saving a single person? Hoping the other heroes to pick up your slack, risking their lives to do so? You can’t be a hero, kid. Not with how you use your quirk like a newborn infant.”

Seeing how Izuku finally quieted down, Aizawa released his hold. “Throw your ball and get this over with.”

No matter if he chose to throw or forfeited, He’s got no potential. Aizawa concluded, staring at the child who was muttering up a storm under his breath with uninterested eyes. 

The boy reeled back his arm, and the ball flew so fast that it broke the sound barrier. Aizawa sighed, already expecting another headache to write yet another report. So, the boy decided to push through. Stubborn, but it’s what he had predicted from his performance at the entrance exams.

But imagine his surprise when the boy didn’t immediately fall to the ground with a broken arm. Instead, he was still standing, with green eyes burning with a fiery fighting spirit and unwavering determination. He could still move, as the boy took a step forward, and curled his fingers into a fist. He could still smile, as the boy grinned, albeit shakily probably due to pain from his broken fingers.

“I can still move, Sensei! I…can still be a hero!” The kid, Izuku Midoriya, stated loudly. It was like the boy had unlimited resolve pushing him forward.

Aizawa tried to suppress the curl of the corner of his lips. This kid…

The ball dropped, and the machine declared the kid’s score to be 310 meters. It surpassed Katsuki’s 309 meters, becoming a new high score (next to Uraraka's infinity) among his classmates. 

Fine . Aizawa admitted to himself, secretly, that it was impressive. This kid…had more potential than he thought .

All Might stopped Aizawa who was walking back to the teacher’s lounge after he had announced that the expulsion was merely a deception to ensure everyone did their best and that everyone had passed.

“Aizawa-kun. Don’t you think you were a bit too harsh on Young Izuku?” All Might had tried to keep his bubbling anger from his tone, but from the way Aizawa raised his eyebrow showed it had failed. “My boy had power unlike any of the students, and a heroic spirit that even most adults lack. He was destined to be here.” 

"This is my class, All Might. How I conduct my lessons is my own concerns.” Aizawa sighed, as he sidestepped, bypassing the No.1 Hero, continuing his journey back to his office that had a delicious cup of coffee waiting for him. 

In a blink of an eye, All Might appeared back in front of Aizawa, his large body blocking any possible means of exit. “Aizawa-kun. I’m starting to think that you're having a personal bias against my boy. If you can’t see how deserving Young Izuku is, then…perhaps you’re the one who needs the exam.” The No.1 hero was famous for his wide smile that brought security to the public; but right now, Aizawa thinks it's more threatening than anything. 

Still, Aizawa was a hero who had been through many more tragedies than most, so this was still unable to faze him. “I guess it's too bad you’re not my teacher huh, All Might?” With his capture scarf, the underground hero easily escaped by swinging himself across buildings.

All Might narrowed his eyes, but made no move to follow the agile hero. He was sure Aizawa got the message, and Young Izuku was still in the class, so he’d still back down for now. 

Izuku smiled happily, walking down the street back to his house. This was the first time he took the train back home with friends! Iida and Ochako are really nice people! But their home required them to get off at different stations, and Izuku's station was the earliest compared to his two friends, so he still had to walk the remaining road alone.

Well, he technically wasn’t completely alone.

Izuku nervously glanced at Katsuki who was keeping at least a 10 meters distance from him, walking at the front. The boy had angrily tried to strangle Izuku after he found out that he wasn’t quirkless. Izuku was used to Katsuki’s anger; but this time it felt more…emotional and Izuku…was the cause of such psychological distress. So, Izuku had tried to talk to the boy, but got angrily brushed off. Katsuki demanded to know where the quirk originated from; however, Izuku remembered that One For All is a secret, thus he could only offer some ‘technically a truth but not really’ statements to Katsuki, which further angered the boy of the ‘bullshit excuses’ given to him.

Izuku’s train of thought broke when Katsuki took a turn, disappearing from his sight. After ensuring that the explosive blonde was gone, Izuku allowed himself to hope with a smile, that regardless it might have pissed off Katsuki; the talk was able to give solace, at least a little, to him.  

Not soon after, Izuku could see his own home in view. Smiling as he quickened his pace, the boy swung open his apartment door, “I’m home!” 

“Welcome ba–?!?! Izuku baby!!! What’s with your finger?!” Hisashi screamed, dropping the spoon in his hands, as he rushed toward his baby boy. Sharp red eyes brimming with concern as he gingerly held the bandaged finger to assess the damages. “What happened baby?! Did someone hurt you!?” A hurried tone mixed with restrained anger revealed how anxious his father was currently feeling. 

Izuku shook his head, laughing nervously, “I accidentally hurt my finger when I was creating support equipment for my assignment, Dad. Nothing to worry about!” 

“I’m your father, Izuku. Of course I worry.” Hisashi tutted.

“Umm, yeah sure, Dad. Anyway, I’m starving! What’s for dinner!” Izuku quickly switched the topic as he retreated his finger, “Woah! That smells good! Is that beef stew?” Izuku sniffed the air.

Hisashi held back the urge to force Izuku to accept his pampering, and chuckled fondly while petting his son’s green curls, “That’s right. And Katsudon too.”

“Katsudon too?!! You’re the best, Dad!” And there’s the award-winning smile that Hisashi hoped to see.

“I know, baby. Go and sit, everything is ready. Food is best eaten when it’s hot after all.”

“Don’t mind if I do! Dad, did you know at school today I met some new kids who were really cool!”

The chatter from Izuku added a sense of liveliness to the once quiet house that Hisahi was alone in; the welcomed difference made the older man smile endearingly at his precious baby boy.

At the same time, in a dimly lit bar.

A pastel blue-haired young man was reading a document sent by his teacher while his nails raked at his exposed neck, creating multiple scratch marks. 

The title of the document was bolded “USJ Infiltration Plan”.

Chapter Text

“Deku-kun, can you help me with this question? I still couldn’t understand Aizawa-sensei’s lecture just now.” Ochako pleaded, hands pressed together.

Izuku blushed. Oh god, a pretty girl asking a nerd like him (Thank you Katsuki for berating the poor boy that it became one of his self-identity.) a question?! It’s like in all those TV shows! “Su-sure, Uraraka-san! Here, I’ll lend you some of my notes too!” When Ochako scooted closer, while eagerly staring at him with her notebooks readied; he went into overload, devolving into a stuttering mess. 

“Midoriya-kun. Are you okay?! You’re so red!” Tenya exclaimed worriedly when the freckled boy beside him started to flush a deep red from head to toe.

Izuku felt his head spinning from how hard Tenya was rocking him by his shoulders. But, unlike the treatment he had from middle school; he didn’t detect any signs of hostility from Tenya or Ochako, only sincere concerns.

So this is what having friends felt, the thought made him smile in peace and giddiness.

“So, how’s school today, baby?” 

“O-Oh, It’s great Dad! Today, we learned about applied quirk science! I got to analyze a bunch of different scenarios and create suitable machines to support different quirks! It’s really interesting!” Thankfully, Izuku prepared for this scenario. He even bought some textbooks from the support course to understand their lessons, just in case his dad asked him.

Hisashi smiled, wiping away the rice hanging on his son’s mouth with a handkerchief, “I’m sure you were able to do splendidly. You always had a talent for quirk observation. Those notebooks you kept were fantastically written.” 

Seeing how his dad bought it, it looked like his hard work of memorizing a section from the support course textbook had paid off. Still, it’s better to speak as little as possible to avoid making the lie bigger, and in turn a higher possibility for him to mess up.

Izuku stuffed the remaining rice and chicken into his mouth, “Can I have seconds, Dad?” The growing boy with a healthy appetite smiled brightly, ending the previous conversation.

Hisashi chuckled, nodding as he took the bowl for refill, “Of course, baby. I’m glad you liked it, it’s a new recipe I followed online.” 

The chatter continues, but this time into a topic about Hisashi’s afternoon activities. 

“What were you three thinking? That stunt of yours was completely irrational and foolish. I expected better from you three, especially you Midoriya. You broke your fingers, how many times is it… third time this week? I’ve been lecturing you every day about self-preservation. How is it that it’s still not in your head?” Aizawa felt another pounding headache creeping in. It amplified upon laying eyes on the destroyed training grounds.

“Sorry, Sensei. It’s my fault. I was the one who came up with the idea. So, please don’t involve Sero-kun and Kaminari-kun.” Izuku quickly took the initiative to apologize, heads lowered as shame reddened his face.

“Hey, man. It’s not all you! We had our wrongs too.” Kaminari swung his arms around Izuku’s shoulder, as he shakily met Aizawa’s angry yet amused eyes, “That’s why Aizawa-sensei you can’t just punish Midoriya here ok?” 

Sero joined in the huddle, also laughing fearfully. “Kaminari’s right, Midoriya. We’re all in this together. We’re the ones who decided to join of our own accord. You’re not to blame for our own actions” The black-haired boy smiled nervously at Izuku. Despite being scared to death, he tried to reassure Izuku.

“Guys…” Izuku gaped in shock. 

“Ridiculous.” Aizawa grunted, messaging his eyebrow before it stuck together from frowning all the time. “As punishment, you three will clean up this mess and each write an apology letter. If any of you are hurt, you will report to me ASAP.”

After a final scan ensuring all three of his students were indeed unharmed, the teacher left to supervise the other kids.

“But for real though, your idea of a throwable stun gun with me hurling Kaminari to the enemy using my tape, is so genius!” Sero whispered to Izuku’s ear after seeing Aizawa had walked a fair distance from them.

Kaminari grinned, nodding.

Izuku allowed himself to smile along with his friends. For the first time, he didn't feel terrified at a teacher, and experienced how fun it was to mess around with friends.

Back in middle school, no matter whose fault it was, as long as it involved Izuku, all the blame would befall on his shoulders. He had been used to it. His classmates would throw him under the bus; his teachers would ignore his explanations, instead just pin the wrong on Izuku every time as the solution.

What he wasn't familiar with, was how his teachers’ lectures weren’t mainly exploitations of his kindness, instead, it was concern for his health and safety. He hadn't expected his friends would stand by his side, much less shoulder the punishment alongside him.

But the change was invited. It made his life happier. Izuku was happier.

“Unbelievable!” All Might, or Toshinori when he introduced himself as Class 1A’s heroics teacher, growled, crushing his comms in frustration. Yes. He's ignoring how his other students flinched at his display of anger. Because right now, he was beyond livid. 

It was supposed to be a fun session of hero training. But of course, everything had to go south with the last group, because it involved his precious successor. 

The training required a group of four. Young Izuku was paired with Ochako Uraraka acting as the hero team, whereas Bakugo Katsuki was a team with Tenya Iida as the villain team. It was supposed to be a friendly fire. The hero team was asked to capture the villain team, whereas the villain team had to protect a fake bomb inside the building until the time limit ended.

However, Bakugo Katsuki refused time and time again to listen to Toshinori’s warnings because that ignorant boy was too absorbed in his own emotions. He was overly prideful, too selfish, disregarding the safety of Toshinori’s precious boy, even going so far as to release a fully charged explosion that might kill his Young Izuku. 

Oh, that moment made Toshinori feel a scorching rage similar to when All For One had killed his mentor, Nana Shimura. The only reason why Toshinori didn't immediately restrain Katsuki was because of how strongly his dearest boy wanted the match to continue. Toshinori wanted so desperately to tear Bakugo away from his boy (and maybe into shreds); but he also wanted to respect Young Izuku’s wishes. Alas, his successor’s pleading green eyes had won him over.

In the end, his boy had won by sacrificing an arm. Toshinori was so proud of Izuku, but also so upset about Katsuki for pushing his boy to such extremes. Unable to even look at Katsuki because he feared hurting the boy out of uncontrolled anger, he had left the class, leaving Aizawa to summarize the remaining lessons. For now, his priority was to find his boy.

That's how he found himself face-to-face with his dear successor who had his arm bandaged on the infirmary bed.

“How are you feeling, my boy?” Toshinori asked softly, patting Izuku's green curls.

Izuku smiled reassuringly, “I'm fine, All Might. Recovery girl was able to heal me up nicely.”

Toshinori sighed, sadness mixed with anger, “I'm so sorry, my boy. You’ve gotten hurt because of me. I should have immediately failed Young Bakugo when he showed such unbefitting hostility!” 

“No! It's…fine, All Might. You really… don't have to fail Kacchan. I learned from Uraraka-san’s message that you lectured Kacchan in front of the whole class. I didn't think you'd be so angry, All Might.” Izuku laughed nervously. His idol was always portrayed to be all forgiving and generously kind; so hearing how Ochako described All Might as ‘scary’ and ‘fearful’ was still unbelievable to Izuku.

Toshinori huffed, “Of course I'm upset. Not only Young Bakugo ignored my warnings, but he had actually hurt you, my dear boy.” Honestly, the boy was lucky he was a hero student and not a villain, else Toshinori would have released a Detroit Smash so powerful that it might bash his brain into mush.

Then the No.1 hero gently pinched his boy’s cheek, “If anything, Young Izuku. You're the one who should be more furious!”

“We-well that's because Kacchan…seemed more distressed than angry to me…" Izuku tried to defuse the situation, "And at that moment, it's like he was… scared, that's why he lashed out so badly. Um. I just think Kacchan was still figuring his feelings, that's all!” Izuku quickly ended the conversation at the unimpressed, deadpan stare from his mentor.

Toshinori sighed loudly, shaking his head, “Seriously, does your heroism know no bounds? You're much too nice, Young Izuku!”

During results day, Toshinori still failed Bakugo. On paper, he reasoned it was a logical marking deduction, such as unnecessary collateral damages that could injure civilians. Secretly though, he knew it was because Young Bakugo had both directly threatened his Young Izuku and indirectly caused the boy to injure an arm.

Toshinori had to do it. If he hadn't, he would have felt disgusted at himself that he couldn't even digest the bowl of ramen. Nobody hurt his boy and got away with it. But Izuku didn't need to know that. He smiled happily at Izuku who was slurping his miso ramen. He had suggested taking the boy out as a celebration for passing the hero vs villain test.

All Izuku knew was how happy and excited he was to spend quality time with his mentor. 

All in all, Izuku loves his UA life. Everything seemed to be on the right track for him.

Until…it’s not.

How could this happen?

It was supposed to be an exciting lesson. They were at USJ, getting a chance to have an on-hand experience with rescue missions, and they even had the rescue specialist hero 13, with them! 

However, Izuku knew this lesson was destined to be ruined when an eerie misty portal along with a blue-haired man appeared in the middle of the USJ stadium. Multiple villains poured out of the portal, some even looked scarily inhumane. Those…monsters (because they can't possibly be humans !) had brains protruding from their skulls, multiple patches of different skin sewed together to create a body, and facial structure that couldn't be described unless you’ve seen it for yourself. 

“13, protect the children!” Their ever-reliable homeroom teacher Aizawa had already sprung into action when his students were still stunned speechless from terror.

Aizawa had tried to protect them by rushing into battle. He easily took out hordes after hordes of normal villains; but as soon as those peculiar monsters joined the fray, the fight immediately swayed to the villains’ victory. Aizawa was captured hostage, currently being held down by the biggest monster and the blue-haired teenager was cackling on the side. 

“E-everyone! Can anyone call for All Might-sensei?!” Tenya was the first to snap back to reality. He had to get it together. He was the class president for god’s sake! He had his classmates to protect, especially now that their teacher was in trouble.

“My phone's jammed!” Jiro exclaimed, showing her phone. Her words were true as her phone's screen showed ‘No signal’.

“Same here!” 

“Me too!”

“Are we gonna die?!” Mineta finally broke under pressure. 

“Can it, grape head! Or else I'm going to kill you before those losers do!” Katsuki growled, effectively silencing Mineta’s sobs. 

Then the blonde smirked, bloodthirsty hunger flashed in his eyes, “I’m gonna show all of you weaklings, what a true hero does in these situations!”

With that, the blonde entered the battlefield, explosions firing out on every second. 

“Man! Bakugo's hogging all the spotlight!” Kirishima suddenly felt a sense of confidence after seeing a classmate defeating waves of enemies. If Katsuki could do it, then he's not gonna fall behind too! 

With Katsuki bringing out everyone’s courage, one by one the students joined the battle, everyone giving their very best to do their part in defeating enemies. Nonetheless, their experiences as heroes are limited; therefore, they can only do so much until they realize they were slowly backed into a corner. The differences in combat power were contrasted even heavily when the monsters also joined in the fight. These monsters were so ridiculously powerful that none of them, even the class strongest Katsuki and Shoto, couldn’t bruise them. Hence, the students were forced to spread thinner by retreating to avoid engaging in combat with the monsters. 

Izuku gritted his teeth as he knocked another villain out cold, careful to not harm the individual more than necessary. “They just keep coming!” The boy suddenly gasped, pushing Ochako away before he could warn her, and sent a punch to the villain who came from her blind spot. 

“Oh no, Deku-kun! Look out!” Ochako cried. She was busy handling another two villains at the moment, so she couldn’t help her friend who was about to be attacked by another villain who pounced at the chance when Izuku’s attention was snatched. 

Her worries proved to be trivial as the villain suddenly disappeared from their sight, as if it were just a hallucination. But when they squinted their eyes, they could see the villain was embedded into the stadium wall with his head twisted into an impossible angel. The reason for this is probably the large, bulky figure in front of them who was clutching his fist so tightly that his veins were starting to pop.

“All Might-sensei!” Both Izuku and Ochako cried in relief as the No.1 Hero of Japan, the strongest of all heroes, had arrived. Now that All Might is here, surely everything will be fine! 

Said strongest hero immediately scurry to Izuku’s side, and carefully helped him to his feet. “Young Izuku! You scared me to death! What happened to your phone?! It was out of signal and I couldn’t even send a single text to it! Are you alright?! Hurt anywhere!? Bruises? Cuts?” His attention was fully fixated on his boy, coddling him so much that he didn’t even notice Ochako who was right beside Izuku. 

For once, Izuku thanked Toshinori’s clinginess. The mentor-and-disciple were texting on Izuku’s bus ride to USJ. Toshinori had to supervise Class 1-B at that time, and Izuku had to attend his own classes; so, he hadn’t joined in Class 1-A’s trip to USJ. To make up for the regret of missing out on his boy’s growth, Toshinori had been texting him non-stop ever since Izuku got on the bus. It seemed that Toshinori instantly sprung into action when he noticed Izuku didn’t reply within 5 seconds and that his own messages couldn’t get through. 

“I-I’m fine, All Might.” Izuku flushed. He knew it was a dangerous situation, but did All Might really have to embarrass him in front of his friend? Just look at the teasing smirk Ochako was throwing his way!

“Any-anyway, All Might! Please! You gotta save Aizawa-sensei!” Izuku quickly pulled his mentor’s attention back to the issue at hand by pointing towards the middle where Aizawa was held. 

Toshinori frowned. He really didn’t want to leave his boy, just to save another. He wanted to bring Izuku to a safe place, far from danger, before he could focus on saving others and doing hero work. But with how sudden this emergency happened, it didn’t seem plausible. 

Instead, the No.1 hero raised to his full height, facing the horde of enemies. “Stand down, Young Izuku. I will handle this.” Toshinori ordered, authority laced his voice. 

“But All Might, I can help!” Of course his dear successor, with his ever heroic heart, would not agree to sit still.

“No, Young Izuku. This is an order.” Now finally noticing the girl who was with them all this time, he instructed, “Young Uraraka, you too, stay behind me. And make sure Young Izuku stays put!” With that, he was off. He will not accept even a single cut from his successor. Hopefully, the young girl was able to persuade his boy to stay back. 

“Deku-kun! No!” Ochako quickly ran and hugged Izuku from behind, effectively stopping Izuku by giving him the shock of his lifetime. The poor boy immediately froze when he felt a softness pressing on his back.

That said, having this ultra-rare close view of seeing his all-time hero in action, quickly brought his consciousness back. Toshinori easily ended wave after wave of enemies with a single punch, even the monsters seemed to be no match for him! But, Izuku’s hope immediately shattered when the biggest monster, that was supposed to be holding Aizawa-sensei, suddenly appeared in front of Toshinori and evened out Toshinori’s punch with his own! A creature that was able to take on All Might’s devastating punches like that?! It was unheard of! 

Toshinori himself was also surprised at how durable these monsters are. But, he wasn’t the No.1 hero just for show. Before fighting this monster, he had already cleared out the remaining no-name villains and less durable monsters. Now all that was left were 5 of these relatively tankier monsters that seemed to need more than a regular punch. He could easily finish them with a more powerful Manchester Smash, but that’d be too powerful and it might harm the other students along with it. Toshinori wouldn’t forgive himself if he had accidentally harmed his precious boy. 

Izuku gasped in shock. All Might always dominated all of his fights with his enemies. This was the first time he saw Toshinori struggling and it made him worried. Not to mention, All Might was fighting 5 of them at the same time. 

As Izuku observed the battle, he noticed a portal suddenly appeared right behind Toshinori. A hand came out from it. Izuku was a smart boy. He was watching intently at the villains, and his mind quickly supplied what exactly was happening. The monsters were just a distraction, the main executioner was the blue-haired man who appeared along with the portal user. 

Memories of Aizawa-sensei’s skin turning into ashes upon the man’s touch flashed across his mind. 

“Deku-kun! No! Come back!” 

He probably didn’t notice it until Ochako had called out for him; but he had already arrived behind All Might, blocking the mysterious man’s path. Izuku threw his fist, trying to protect his mentor by taking on the hidden mastermind.

“You brat! How did you get here so fast!” The man snarled, furious that his plan was foiled; but everything was not yet over. “Kurogiri!” He screamed.

Suddenly, another portal opened between them. It made Izuku’s fist go past the man, narrowly saving the man from his punch; but the man’s hands weren't affected by the portal’s interruption, and was still inching closer towards Izuku’s face.

Izuku was speechless. Everything happened so fast that it left Izuku more confused than scared. Was he about to die?

However the same couldn’t be said for All Might whose attention was immediately stolen when he noticed a blur of green shot pass him with ridiculous speed. He could recognize his boy from a mile away and the increase in speed made no difference. Seeing how his successor not only broke both of his legs from using OFA, but also the growing fear behind his eyes at the villain’s hands growing closer, made Toshinori lose all his rationality. 

You might hurt the other students, All Might! What about Justice, All Might?! You’re the symbol of peace, this level of destruction is unacceptable! Toshinori had tried to persuade himself to think it through, to choose an alternative; but during that moment, he surprisingly couldn’t care less. None of that mattered anymore. His dear boy Young Izuku was in grave danger, and all he could think of was to protect him. The best way to do that was to eliminate the threat that dared to come at his boy.

Faster than breathing, Toshinori reacted. He grabbed Izuku and tucked the boy safely into his chest, reeling back his arm to release his strongest attack yet. The whole stadium shook like it’s been through a grade 10 earthquake. The ceiling was torn and blown away, and the entirety of the stadium walls were forcefully ripped apart and into shreds, Rows after rows of trees were pulled up from their roots from the powerful gusts of residuating wind from All Might’s punch. The 5 remaining monsters were instantly sliced into meat slices when they came into contact with the mere wind pressure of Toshinori’s punch, whereas the other students as well as the fallen villains were blown away. Thankfully, Momo Yaoyorozu was able to secure them by creating a net to catch them before they flew too far. The two mastermind villains, the blue-haired man and the portal quirk user were nowhere to be seen after the wind and dust died down. 

Before, the stadium was loud with the fighting between heroes and villains; but seeing pure, raw, unparalleled power stunned everyone into silence. 

Fortunately, the uneasy silence did not last for long. “Backup is here!” All the UA staff had arrived.

All hero students, as well as Aizawa and 13 were escorted by the teachers to accept medical treatment. Every student…except the one that's being held by Toshinori. All Might was hugging the boy so tightly that it was as if he was trying to become one with the boy. The other teachers could only look nervously at each other, unsure how to proceed; because when Midnight had wanted to take the boy away, Toshinori had growled and bared his teeth at her, showing extremely hostility. 

“All Might. You were too reckless! You destroyed the whole USJ training ground! What were you thinking using so much power like this?! You could have seriously hurt one of the students! You should have used another tactic–” Pushed to the brink of annoyance, Vlad King berated the No.1 hero.

But he was cut off by All Might’s low whisper, “They almost hurt him…They almost killed him. My Young Izuku. I should have slaughtered them for that. Stop me and I’ll deal with you , first.” The threat sent shivers up the teacher’s spine from how intimidating Toshinori sounded.  

“Now, Now, Vlad. Everyone is fine and well, that should be the utmost priority no? UA’s funds can easily cover the cost of rebuilding USJ, so there are no worries. And, All Might. If you hadn’t noticed, your boy in your arms there, is in grave injuries no? Both of his legs seemed to need immediate medical attention. Don’t you think that is more important right now?”

Nedzu’s reminder successfully helped Toshinori in coming back to his senses. Not even giving an answer and ignoring the stares from his co-workers, the large man picked up his successor who had passed out in pain and rushed to the infirmary room.

I will protect you, Young Izuku. I won’t let you die like Nana. Toshinori promised to himself, his hold tightening on his dearest boy as his pace quickened.

“No! NO! NOO! It’s all because of that damned brat! Stupid, annoying, insect of a brat!” The mysterious man shrieked, angrily trashing every furniture he could get his hands on.

The portal quirk user, or also known as Kurogiri, tried to soothe the man, “Shigaraki Tomura, please calm yourself. The Master would not be pleased if–”

But it proved to be futile when the man merely just threw another chair at him, yelling at him to “shut up!”. 

Wasting all of his alternative options, Kurogiri could only phone the master. No matter how angry Shigaraki Tomura may be, he always listens to the master. Only the master has the ability to do that. 

On the other side of the phone, Hisashi who is also known as All For One sighed when his eyes saw the caller ID. What did his incompetent successor do this time? Couldn’t they see that he was busy cooking omurice for his son’s dinner? 

Nevertheless, he picked up. “What is it, Kurogiri?”

“Master. The USJ infiltration plan had failed. Tomura Shigaraki seemed to take this failure especially bad. Please, before he destroys the whole bar, stop him.” It must have been a terrible situation, to even have Kurogiri sound desperate. 

All For One sighed again. He still had a few hours before his son came home. So, he relented. “Fine. Open the portal.”

Immediately, the portal that once appeared in USJ, now appeared in the Midoriya household.

The warm cozy apartment shifted into a destroyed bar after Hisashi stepped through the portal. Not only that, he found his protege was screaming about an ‘All Might Junior’ that had ruined the plan. 

All For One decided to first let the younger boy release his feelings. It’d be much easier to communicate with the boy once he flushed the intense emotions out of his system. Thus, he’ll stay behind and listen to his rant for now. But soon found himself also unable to keep cool, and increasingly distressed as Tomura continued to describe the supposedly ‘hero brat’. There was only a single person he could think of after all that description. But, he desperately hoped it was just a mere coincidence.

“That stupid, good for nothing, hero brat! Stupid green hair, stupid freckles, stupid green eyes!” Tomura who once again failed to contain his anger, angrily disintegrated another chair by gripping it with his 5 fingers. 

Wait what?

“Stupid! Stupid! I want to tear his dumb green curls apart!”

Izuku had green curls… but surely anyone can too…right?

“I want to gouge out his stupid green eyes!”

Green hair and green eyes….Well, colored contacts are common nowadays…no…?

“Stupid Stupid freckles! I want to skin him alive just to burn those freckles into a fire! Those four stupid freckles!”

Freckles… and even four at that…No. No way. People could just draw freckles on their faces. Just like people drew moles with make-up pens…right?

“And that stupid stupid smile when he tried to save that stupid stupid All Might! Stupid All Might Junior! With his stupid all Might smile! And that stupid overpowered strength that’s just like stupid All Might! Everything is so stupid stupid stupid!” Tomura screamed, marching over to destroy another piece of furniture.

No NoNono NONONONONOoNoNONONOONONONONONOONNONONONno ! He trusts his boy! His baby wouldn't lie to him! No way! Lies! No! Izuku would never NONONO!

Tomura was forced to stop in his tracks when he felt a hand on his shoulder. The raging villain was about to decay the bastard that dared to touch him when he was so angry. But he froze in surprise when he saw it was his Sensei. He should be glad to see him, but with how poker-faced the man looked right now, made him feel fear more than happiness. Sensei was always smiling, no matter if he was happy, angry, or disappointed. 

The only situation when his Sensei has a stoned face with no smile is when he is at his angriest. 

“Tomura.” The man spoke.

“Uh, yes, sensei?” The fear made Tomura mellow down, anger fizzing away. 

“Is this the boy you were talking about?” All For One showed Tomura a photo.

It was the exact green-haired nuisance that destroyed his plans! Unable to control his anger and hatred, Tomura snarled, “Yes. It’s that stupid brat! I should have killed—”

Before he could even finish, he found himself being choked by his Sensei. The man was tall, unbelievably so, that when he grabbed Tomura by his collar and lifted him into the air, it was choking him in the process. 

“No harm shall come to the boy. Unless you want your head ripped off from your body, Tomura.” His Sensei commanded. His tone promised that he would show no mercy if this rule was broken. 

Fearful and confused, Tomura asked, “Se-sensei?”

However, Hisashi didn’t reply to him, merely ordering them to stay low as they already attracted enough unwanted attention, then left through the portal that led him back to his apartment.

His baby had a quirk? And he’s in UA’s hero course? Hisashi expected him to go crazy at how much his precious son had lied and kept so many secrets from him. But surprisingly, he’s calm and his mind empty. 

All Hisashi wanted right now was to see his Izuku.

As the clock continues ticking, signaling the passing of time. He sat on the couch, spacing out, quiet.

Tick tock 12pm. 

Tick tock 1pm. 

Tick tock 2pm. 

Tick tock 3pm.

Tick tock 4pm. 

This silence painted the usually warm and cozy Midoriya apartment into an eerie and suffocating atmosphere, one that’s even more scary than a haunted house, which technically is reasonable especially with how terrifyingly standstill Hisashi went, as if the man became a corpse. 

Tick Tock . 5 pm. 

“Dad. I’m home!”

However when Hisashi laid eyes on his son, everything exploded.