Chapter Text
Izuku was floating in nothingness. Anguish ran through his body. Sadness cut him down to the bone. His father was dead. He was worse than dead. He was gone, and there was some man walking around with his face and body, with his voice. A man who was going to come after Izuku with everything he had. Now he was here. Alone.
Not quite, Nephew.
He found himself standing in a room. Or... half of a room? A place certainly, one hurtling through the darkness of All for One. Before him, the vestiges. Almost all of them lined up in a small half circle, all in chairs. Uncle Yoichi sat in the center, the chairs on either side of him empty. The missing two users were back against the wall, but they were facing him, arms crossed. “Hello, Izuku.” Yoichi said
“....hi.” Izuku said softly.
Nana smiled “How are you?”
He shook his head “Not... not great.” Tears leaked from his eyes “I’m... he-” He covered his face with his hands “I can’t do this... I can’t keep doing this anymore. This isn’t fair.”
Yoichi stood, walking to Izuku. Gently, he took his hands and lowered them “Hey,” He said “I know.” He held his hands tightly “I know this is hard. I know this is terrible. Izuku, I’m so sorry this happened to you. But your father sacrificed himself to save you. Had he not done that, All for One would be in your body. He’d have One for All. He’d have us. He made sure you can live and fight back.”
“I... I don’t want to anymore.” He said “I just... I want this to stop. I want to go back- I’d have never taken this stupid quirk if I had known...”
The ghostly yellow Toshinori shuddered.
Yoichi squeezed his hands. Izuku looked at him. They were exactly the same height. “I understand.” He said “I didn’t want it. I never wanted this quirk but... You have it. There’s no running. No one can stop Hisashi. No one but you.” He said “...Do you think you can?”
He cried “I- I can’t... I can’t kill him. I couldn’t-”
“What if he gives you no choice?” Shun, the second user called “If it means him, or the world what do you do?”
Kenji, beside him on the wall “There’s got to be another way.”
“You know as well as I do what that man’s capable of. He killed us. He killed Yoichi, he killed me, and then hunted you down. The only one of us he didn’t murder was Higake and that’s just because Higake hid himself for 2 decades.”
Higake sighed from his seat “Not for lack of trying. Danger Sense was probably the only reason I was able to avoid him.”
“Izuku, there might be only one option here and that’s death.” Shun said “You need to understand you might have to make that ugly choice.”
Nana sighed “Shun, he’s a child.”
“Didn’t stop you from giving the quirk to a middle schooler.” Kenji argued.
She stood up from her chair “We all know Toshinori was the obvious choice! Look at how much good he did. For nearly 40 years he held One for All and he changed the world. He made himself a pillar! He’s the reason Japan has had this golden era!”
En pulled his coat up over his mouth “You could also argue Toshinori is the reason the world is falling so hard. He was the pillar. One for All is a powerful quirk but can one person bear the weight of the world alone like that? No one is infallible. Not even Toshinori.”
“Oh come on En.” Daigoro called “knock it off with your philosophy.”
“I thought my philosophy was why you picked me in the first place.” En said smoothly. “I’m a thinker. You said that was what One for All needed when you practically force fed me your blood.”
“Let’s not get off topic, like fucking always.” Shun sighed “Izuku, look at me.” he said and strode forward. Yoichi moved so he could stand in front of Izuku. “If it came down to it, if it meant the end of the world otherwise, could you kill your own father?” He asked.
Izuku wasn’t sure. He loved his father. But... “My father is already dead.” He whispered.
Kenji huffed “What about killing anyone at all?”
He shook his head “...There has to be another way.” Izuku said “I don’t want him, or Shigaraki to die. They need to face justice for their crimes, but... I can’t make the call if they live or die. That’s... heroes are meant to protect. Not kill.” He said finally. “...There has to be another way.” Yoichi was right. It didn’t matter what he wanted. He’d already agreed. He’d taken Toshinori’s quirk. This was his burden now. His torch. He would carry it across the finish line. “And I’m going to find it.” He said more determined than ever.
The users all looked at each other. Kenji pushed himself off the wall and walked to join Shun and Yoichi. “Ok. I already let you have Fa-jin, but... Ok. We’re in.”
Shun sighed “Gear Shift is yours.” he said “I still can’t say if I agree that there is another option but... I’ll follow you on this one.”
Nana smiled “Please save Tenko. In whatever way you can.”
“I admire your philosophy.” En said “I’m by your side.”
“Fuck yeah!” Daigoro cried, pumping his fist into the air “I’m putting all my money on the little guy solving this peacefully!”
Higake chuckled “You don’t have money, Daigoro.” He turned his gaze to Izuku “I’ve been with you from the start, trying to keep you safe.”
“My sweet Nephew.” Yoichi said, ruffling his hair “I’ll always be with you.” He said, and pressed a kiss to his forehead.
***
Izuku sat up in bed, wide awake. He felt... odd. His body was in mild pain but nothing he hadn’t experienced before. His arms were healed. He lifted his hospital shirt to look down. He had a large scar on his stomach where the spear had impaled him. It was dark out. The room was empty. His phone sat on a charger next to him. He grabbed it and checked the time. Almost midnight.
He had to leave. Right now. He stood up and looked around the room. His hero outfit was still here. It had seen better days. His gloves had been mangled but- with some quick tears using One for All he managed to salvage the parts that went around his hands, giving him short black fingerless gloves with brass knuckles. The rest of his outfit was mostly in one piece if a little tattered around the edges. His shoes were still together, and his metal soles, while scratched, were usable.
With his costume however was a familiar yellow scarf. Gran Torino’s. He’d never gotten the chance to check on him after Shigaraki had... Gran Torino must be dead. Someone had given Izuku his cape. He clutched it to his chest. But he did not cry. “Oh Gran...” He mumbled. He got himself dressed, and pulled the scarf over his outfit. He packed his yellow backpack and stopped into the small bathroom in the room. He stopped, staring at his reflection.
There was a stark white streak in front of his head. His hair was mostly it’s normal green, though much longer and shaggier than he normally kept it, and there in the front, just above his left eye, was a massive streak of white. He touched it gently. It felt smoother than the rest of his hair. It felt like Dad’s.
He shook his head and finished in there before heading back out into the main hospital room, and headed for the door but-
It slid open.
Toshinori stood in the doorway, holding a coffee cup. “Izuku!” he cried dropping it to the floor. He crossed the room and pulled him into a tight hug “Oh my god, Izuku.” He said. Izuku found his face being pulled into his thin chest. The smell of linen and misty cologne filled his nose. He sagged into the grip. Long thin fingers ran through his hair “I didn’t... we weren’t sure... Oh Izuku I’m so sorry.”
He pulled back “Tosh... it’s ok. I mean-” he sighed “It’s not ok. But... It’s not your fault. This is no one’s fault. No one but All for One’s.” He looked up at his step father “But it’s going to be ok. I’m going to stop him. But... I need to get stronger first.”
Toshinori looked him over “...What do you have planned? Just come back to school, we can train there, keep you safe and-”
“I’m not going back to UA.” Izuku said “Dad is going to come for me. I can’t risk making anyone else a target. Not you, not Shouto, not Kacchan, not anyone. I have to go alone.”
He shook his head “Izuku, it’s not safe out there. Hisashi- All for One... we just got word. He broke into Tartarus. There was a mass breakout. Hundreds of the most dangerous villains in Japan are on the streets now.”
Izuku’s eyes widened “No... no that’s perfect for me.” He said “I mean- terrible they’re out my god that’s gonna be a lot of work rounding them up- fuck we gotta move quick but... All for One basically just gave me ammunition. Hundreds of strong quirks out there. For the taking.” He said.
Toshinori frowned “...You want to hunt down more quirks?”
He nodded “I’m going to. Right now.”
He grabbed Izuku by the shoulders “Are you crazy? Izuku you just went through something horrible! You still need to heal, your father-” Toshinori cut himself off. His eyes watered.
Right... Izuku hadn’t just lost a father. Toshinori had lost his partner. Izuku hugged him like a vice grip “...I’m sorry Tosh...”
Toshinori hugged him back. “...I miss him so much it hurts.”
He nodded “...Me too.” Eventually, Izuku pulled away. “I’m going to slip out. Before everyone wakes up. I’ll hit the streets. Protect people, train, steal villain quirks and get stronger. I can do it. I can defeat Dad, and Shigaraki.” He said “I can do it. I have to do it.”
“What about your friends? What about Shouto?” He asked.
Izuku sighed “They’ll be angry I left but... I think they’ll find it in their hearts forgive me after I’m done.”
“...You shouldn’t just leave without any warning at all.” He said.
That was a good point. His friends had always said they wanted to be there for him. Shouto hated it when he lied. He lied.... So much. Plus if he ran off no explanation the whole class would come after him. That was the worst case scenario. “I’ll leave them letters. Do you have any paper?” He asked.
“...No but I can find some.” Toshinori sighed.
***
It didn’t take long. Izuku soon had a stack of letters. Most of them the same, with slight variations for certain friends. His closest friends got personal letters. All that was left was Shouto and Kacchan- oh fuck Kacchan.
“...So... Kacchan really lost his quirk?”
Toshinori, who sat at Izuku’s bedside the whole time, now with a fresh coffee in hand, nodded. “He did.” He said. “He said he’s still going to pursue being a hero. Quirkless or not.”
Izuku couldn’t help but laugh at the irony. “That filthy hypocrite.” He said “Hold on. I’ll be back.” He hopped up from the bed.
“Where are you going?” Toshinori asked following him to the door.
“Gonna go give something to Kacchan.” He said “Which way is his room?” Toshinori pointed the way “Right. I’ll be back.” He said and walked off. Toshinori walked out of the room too, but headed a different way.
Izuku found the right hospital room and hesitated. What if he was still awake? He had to risk it. Slowly, he slid the door open. Inside he found an odd, but rather endearing scene. Kacchan and Shouto in bed together. They had their hospital beds pushed together, cuddling in the darkness. He bit back a smile at the cuteness of it.
He desperately wanted to crawl into the bed between them.
Instead he walked around to Shouto’s side. His boyfriend looked so cute in his sleep. Peaceful and relaxed. Izuku floated above him slightly and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “I’ll come back to you. I promise.” He whispered. He moved to the other side of the bed and gently laid all five fingers over Kacchan’s face.
Pull left his void.
“Take care of her for me, ok Kacchan?” He whispered. He pulled his hand back, taking in the mental image of the two most important people in his life together. “...bye.” He said and turned away from them, hoping it wouldn’t be for the last time.
He got back to his hospital room and finished the last two letters, Shouto’s first then one for Kacchan.
Dear Kacchan,
I’m sorry.
If I had been faster, you wouldn’t have lost your quirk. It’s all my fault. I’m so sorry Kacchan. I’m also sorry for leaving with just a note but I know if I tried to say goodbye properly you’d never let me just leave. But I have to go.
This is between me and my father. He’s going to come after me. I can’t be near any of you. He nearly killed you and the others. I can’t do that. I won’t let anyone else get hurt for me, or die for me. Not ever again.
I’m taking Gran Torino’s scarf? Is that from you? If so, thank you Kacchan. He... he was a very important teacher to me. He taught me a lot about One for All and how to use it. Thank you. I decided I should leave you with something as well.
Pull.
My mom’s quirk. It’s... very special to me, as you know. Please take good care of her ok? I have a whole notebook filled with how my quirks work. Shouto knows where it is. He can help you learn how to use Pull. I’m sure you’ll be great at it. You were always so smart, Kacchan. Smarter than me.
I decided to tell everyone in class my secrets. About Dad, about my quirks. The whole story. It’s what’s in the rest of these letters. I wrote one for everyone. Can you make sure they all get them? Thank you.
I’m going to get stronger. All for One whipped us out with just a handful of quirks and not a care in the world. He’s too powerful. The breakout of Tartarus is going to help. I’m going to hunt down as many of them as possible and steal their quirks. Hopefully, I can make it out alive.
I love you Kacchan. You’ve always been my best friend. I know we’ve had our differences... But when it came down to it I always knew I could depend on you. It’s always been us, hasn’t it? I’ll be back soon, then you can yell at me and beat me up as much as you want ok?
Love Izuku
He folded the letter and sealed it in the envelope next to Shouto’s. He left them on top. He picked up his phone, only to put it back down again. Phones were traceable. No need for it. Toshinori wasn’t back yet... Maybe he should take this moment to slip out. He walked back to the door only to open it as Toshinori was reaching for the handle.
“There you are.” Toshinori said “...Are you ready?”
He nodded “I’m.. I’m gonna go now. The sooner I get out there the better.” He said
“Izuku-” Toshinori said softly “Please be careful.” He said “I... We’ll be in touch ok? I’m going to support you in this.” He grabbed Izuku’s hand “I can get you support gear- we’ll make this as easy on you as we can. I... I talked to Hawks and Endeavor. I told them everything. About us. They took it well and are going to help. We’re going to get you a communicator and a tracker, a secure one. We’re going to help you find quirks and take them. We have a plan.”
Izuku blinked “...Wow. That’s-” That would help him actually. “Thank you.”
Toshinori nodded “Of course.” He pulled something from his pocket “Here.” It was a set of car keys. Dad’s keys. “Something for you.” He said.
Izuku looked down at the simple keyring, the only chain on it being a faded All Might one Izuku had won in an arcade corner years ago. “...Thank you.” He whispered. He grabbed Toshinori in for a hug and pulled back “I love you.”
“I love you too.” He said. “We’ll see each other soon.”
Izuku nodded “Right. Bye... Dad.” He said and ran from the room. He made his way down to the lobby. The night nurses made no attempt to stop him. He supposed Toshinori had taken care of his check out paperwork.
He walked out of the front doors into the crisp spring night air.
“Just where do you think you’re going?” A voice asked. Izuku squeaked and turned on his heel. Touya had strolled out of the hospital behind him. He was dressed simply.
“...I was hoping to just slip out.” He said back.
“I heard.” Touya remarked and strolled up to him. “Quirk hunting, eh? By yourself?”
He nodded “I have to go alone. No one else will be able to keep up besides... It’s my dad. I have to be the one to finish this.”
Touya ruffled his hair “I’m coming.” He said, as if it were obvious. “You don’t want the others to come because you don’t want them to get hurt right? Well I don’t want you to get hurt. You and Shouto are serious about each other right?”
Izuku hesitated but firmly pressed forward “I’ll marry him someday.”
“That makes us,” Touya said, pressing closer “Brothers.” He smiled softly. Softer than Izuku had ever seen him. Something about Touya had... changed. “As your new big brother, I’m staying with you. Got it? I can help. I won’t be dead weight. Even if I just section off your fights so no one gets in the way. I’m your...” He sighed “Can’t believe I’m about to say this, but I’m your sidekick.”
Izuku hesitated. “...Are you sure? Touya, this is going to be very dangerous.”
“My entire life has been dangerous. Besides, you’re about to be living on the streets. From 16 on I lived on the streets. I know how to hunt and scavenge.”
“...Fine.” Izuku said “But we’re doing this my way. If things get crazy and I tell you to run, you run, got it? You have to promise me.”
“Cross my heart.” Touya smiled
He nodded “Alright then.” He noticed Touya had a bag slung over his back “Already packed?”
“All Might came into Dad and I’s room to chat and as soon as I heard your plan I got to work packing. The old man gave me stuff. He said he’d have more for me, and they’d be in touch. Keigo is gonna be helping out a lot too.”
Izuku shifted a brow “Keigo?”
“Ah-” Touya blushed “Hawks. His given name.” He said.
He nodded and led Touya through the parking lot “I see. You two are close.”
“We’re in love.” Touya said right back.
“That’s nice.” He found what he was looking for. “Here we are. Our ride.”
They had walked up to his father’s red beat up pick up truck. It was the first thing his father bought after coming home. Izuku had a lot of memories in this thing. The several months they spent picking up Takoba, to the late night drives, all of it. Even the few times Dad had let him drive. Dad wasn’t one to own a lot of things but...
This was Dad’s last true possession.
“...This thing looks like it’ll fall apart.” Touya said
“It runs fine. It just got a big tune up before Christmas so it runs like a dream now. Can you drive stick?” He asked him.
“I can’t drive at all.” Touya laughed
Izuku grinned “Looks like I’m driving then. Get in, load your stuff in the back seat.” He held up his dad’s keys, jiggling them.
***
It was the next afternoon. The entire class had been discharged from the hospital and taken back to their UA dorms. Everyone, but Deku. Ochako chewed on her lip as they all sat around the common room. Hesitantly, she laid her hand over the scar that was on her abdomen. Iida had a matching on. She sat between him and Tsuyu on the same couch.
Todoroki looked terrible. She did notice though, he was wearing Deku’s favorite sweater. The green one with the rabbit Todoroki had given him for his 16th birthday way back in July. He and Bakugou were the last ones to come back down from changing. They had been through the most. They stood on the other side of the room away from everyone. They were talking quietly and seemed to decide on something. They turned to the class together. “So.” Bakugou started. “...We should all talk about Deku.”
“Yeah.” Shinsou started. He and Kaminari were pressed together on the floor “Where is Izuku? I heard from a nurse that he woke up last night. Why isn’t he here?” He asked
Todoroki simply opened up the bag he had on his shoulder. He pulled out a large stack of envelopes. He quickly walked around, handing them out to each of them. Everyone got one, all of them reading their names on the back. “...Izuku left you all these.”
Ochako looked down at hers and ripped it open. Inside was a neat handwritten note from Deku. She read it.
Dear Ochako,
I’m so sorry.
I’ve been doing a lot of lying. To you. To almost everyone. But I’m ready to come out with the truth now. You know, my dad and All for One are one in the same. That he was split up into two people. That I have his quirk, All for One. That’s all true. But... I have another quirk. One that I didn’t take with All for One. One that was given to me.
It’s called One for All. The brother quirk of All for One. 200 years ago, my dad had a younger brother named Yoichi. Yoichi was thought to be quirkless but he had an indivisible quirk. One that could pass the quirk on. Useless on its own. But my dad forced a quirk onto him. A simple strength stockpiling quirk. But combined they made something very special. A quirk you could pass on like a torch. Each user is stronger than the last.
I am the 9th user.
All Might was the 8th.
It’s why he and I’s quirks are so similar. My super strength IS his quirk. He gave it to me. Almost 2 years ago, he gave me One for All so I could be his successor.
Now it’s time for me to step up into that role. Dad is going to come for me. He will hunt me down. So I have to get stronger. I’m going to gather up as many quirks as I can and try and master One for All so I can use 100% of its power. This is something I have to do on my own. I’m sorry.
I love you Ochako. You are one of my absolute best friends. Thank you for always being there for me. I promise I’ll come home ok? Then you and the entire squad can beat me up and everything! I’m going to try and do my best to come back.
Love Izuku.
She lowered the letter. She looked up to Bakugou and Todoroki “...Did you two know?” She asked.
“Since Kamino.” Bakugou said “Everything.”
Iida looked down at his own letter “...I had no idea he was dealing with so much. I mean... We knew about his father-”
“This is insane.” Sero said “He- holy shit do you guys understand what this means for Midoriya?” He asked, “Midoriya is potentially the most powerful person on the face of the planet. All Might’s quirk and the potential to steal any quirk he wants? Wait, are all his ‘mutations’ just stolen quirks?”
“...Actually.” Todoroki said quietly. “Not all of them.” He held up a notebook. “A few of them are the quirks of the previous users of One for All. The rest are stolen from villains in life or death situations.”
Iida nodded “He stole Stain’s quirk.” He said “I watched that happen.”
“Exactly. He also made the quirks he came into contact with stronger. It’s why I can produce blue fire. Back at the Sport’s festival, I asked Izuku to take my fire side. It was impossible to just take one side, so he took both. He gave it back at once but... The damage had been done. My quirk became much more volatile after. The same thing happened with Aizawa-sensei’s quirk back at the USJ.”
Tsuyu’s eyes lit up “‘I promise as soon as this is over, I will give it back.’ That’s what he meant, kero. He was talking about his quirk.”
“This is insane.” Ashido said “My god poor Mido... He must be hurting so badly. With his dad and his quirks...”
“How many does he even have?” Ojiro said.
Todoroki sighed “I’m not even sure. During the fight he used... I think 2 I had never seen him use before. He had his father’s Fire Breath and he said something about Fa-jin when he took out Giganto Machia. So that would make it, if you include All for One... Fifteen.”
“Fourteen.” Bakugou said. He held out his hand and summoned the TV remote from the table. It flew right to his hand. “Bastard gave me his mother’s quirk.”
This time it was Yaoyorozu who spoke up “Wait... Midoriya-kun said that he inherited his mother’s quirk?”
Bakugou shook his head “He discovered he had All for One when he accidentally stole Pull on her deathbed. The first time he used it was to grab the blanket to pull it up over her corpse.”
Gasps and cries filled the room. “My god...” Jirou said softly “...Fucking hell so back in Kamino All for One-”
“Was his dad as well, yeah.” Bakugou said.
Todoroki looked away. “That’s why it affected him so badly. His own father- or at least someone who looked and sounded like him, tortured him.”
Ashido and Hagakure were both crying now. Kaminari wasn’t far behind. Shinsou stared down at his letter “...He’s an idiot.” he said finally.
“We know.” Bakugou sighed. Ochako silently agreed as tears rolled down her cheeks.
Deku is a fucking idiot.