Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

When Izuku woke up in a park, he had expected that perhaps he'd been placed in one of Aizawa's surprise 'hell' courses, the ones that tested survival while the Pro Hero in question watched from a distance to make sure he wouldn't get himself hurt. It wasn't the first time that he and the class were placed in a location and expected to find clues that would point him in the direction of a destination he needed to get to.

He had gotten up, looking around to grow accustomed to the surrounding area, only to realize that he was either in a bad part of town where half the houses had been torched and knocked over or there had been a serious battle that had taken place recently.

Very recently if the still flickering flames on some of the houses were any indication, the sky was dark indicating it was still nighttime and no one was on the streets, the few houses that weren't destroyed were boarded up with planks. A sound made Izuku turn only to see a stray dog standing a little ways off next to a tree in the park, it was like the place was a ghost town.

He pulled his mask onto his face, he didn't want the wrong people getting a good look at his features, a lesson he'd received from the second user a while back.

Once his identity was secure, Izuku made his way to one of the non-destroyed houses, using Blackwhip to break the planks enough so he could enter. The house he'd chosen seemed to have once belonged to a family, there will child toys still laying around the living room and important things like pictures and electronics were still littered around, though most of the valuable things were taken, not the personally valuable things though, which was odd.

Someone left here in a hurry, then others came and ransacked the place, that was the most obvious deduction. The house had a layer of dirt, indicating that it hadn't been lived in for a while, it might be why the boarded houses survived while the others didn't, cause the boarded-up ones had nothing of value to destroy.

He looked around for a clue, Aizawa usually left something around the immediate area to point the person placed in the right direction.

As his eyes wandered, he quickly spotted a piece of paper on the dining room table and he went up to it and read over its contents. It was a simple bill, nothing important, but then he caught the date on the top of the piece of paper and his breath caught in his throat.

October 21, 2008.

That wasn't right, it was the year 2230, that date shouldn't have been possible unless the paper was passed down through the family. However, that didn't make sense either, who would pass down a piece of useless paper? Besides, now that he thought about it, most of the appliances in the kitchen seemed to be outdated and there had been no hero merch to be seen, despite the fact kids had lived here.

He swallowed, perhaps this was part of the story that Aizawa had set up, it wasn't that strange to think he'd place things like this to make finding a way to solve the mystery harder to find.

With a deep breath he looked over the bill again, trying to see if there were any inconsistencies or codes in the text, but he didn't find anything unusual except a few outdated terms and, of course, the date.

Deciding to take a moment to think, he moved toward the cupboards, opening them and looking through the contents. There was very little food, so he'd need to scavenge later, but that shouldn't be too much of a hassle with all these abandoned houses, at least one wouldn't have been ransacked, statistically, that is.

As he was looking through one of the cupboards, Danger Sense pinged and he froze. It wasn't a passive ping either, it was the ping of an active threat and not just something silly like tripping over himself.

Cursing mentally, he tensed his muscles, activating Fa Jin in order to build kinetic energy while he waited for the threat to either go away or reveal itself. Once Fa Jin was activated, he slowly started moving through the house, using float just barely an inch off the ground in order to not make a single sound.

Slowly, Blackwhip snaked around his arm and wrist, in case he'd need to brace himself and use more One For All than he could at the moment. He was only up to forty-five percent, any more and he would begin to hurt himself, but he could push to fifty percent if he used Blackwhip as a brace.

A clang sounded back in the kitchen, he gritted his teeth, someone likely noticed the cupboards he'd opened. That meant that whoever was in the house knew he was there, this was becoming less like one of Aizawa's courses and more like a real-life situation by the second, he didn't like the implications of that one bit.

Deciding it was better to either catch sight of the person or make the first move, he floated slowly forward, using Blackwhip to make his movements faster while also being silent. He heard a curse and something fell, the voice was smooth and was interrupted by a small barely noticeable cough. 

He peeked around the corner, making sure his suit's bunny ears didn't reveal his location, standing there was a brown-haired man in what looked like outdated military gear. The man had night vision goggles on, a bulletproof vest, and several pocked straps around his arms, legs, and torso. The man also had a gun strapped to his hip, as well as a few knives strapped to his arms and legs.

Izuku watched as the man took a communication radio out of one of his straps before the sound of static echoed in the room, whoever the man was, he was calling someone and that might provide useful information.

"Karasu to Leader. I just finished checking the sector, although, I found one of the abandoned houses seems to have had someone inside recently." The man identified as Karasu stated, looking around cautiously." Do you wish me to investigate?"

"Negative, we'll send a team out to your location to investigate, report back as soon as they arrive," A familiar voice sounded through the communication radio, however, Izuku was unsure why it sounded so familiar.

"Understood," Karasu replied and turned the radio off once more before turning to head back toward the door, causing Izuku to tense.

He immediately floated up, allowing his body to flatten against the ceiling just in time for the man to walk directly under him on his way to the door, thankfully it seemed Karasu hadn't seen him. Then he noticed the mirror that sat on the wall near the door, his image showing clear as day and he tensed, unable to act as the man froze.

Izuku could see the man's entire form tensing, although he was sure that a normal citizen wouldn't have noticed the subtle tension. He didn't move a muscle, perhaps the man would simply think he wouldn't attack unless provoked, that hope was dashed as Karasu whipped around and drew his gun.

In an instant, Izuku released smoke through the hallway, using Blackwhip to slingshot himself into the kitchen on the opposite side of the hall. He then rushed toward the back door, hearing as Karasu managed to get through the smoke while also shouting into their communications device.

"Halt!" Karasu's voice shouted and Izuku didn't turn back, it was too risky since he was in a large open backyard.

However, even with Danger Sense, he was unable to dodge one of the bullets that the man had sent his way, the small object landing in his leg, the impact causing him to trip and land face-first in the dirt. With a growl, he turned around to face his assailant, hoping to god that the man hadn't hit an artery.

With a growl, he crouched in a way that would allow him to use Fa Jin to bolt if needed but also provided protection for his more vulnerable spots. Blackwhip waved wildly around him, but at this point, it was little more than an intimidation tactic.

Karasu held his gun toward him, slowly approaching while also speaking into the radio.

"Karasu to Leader. Found the one that was ransacking the house, he had been hiding on the ceiling when I was about to leave, orders?" Karasu's voice spoke, but the man didn't break eye contact with Izuku's form once, this man was good, a professional at his job and that boded badly for Izuku.

"Standby, Commander and his team are approximately five minutes from your location," Came the familiar voice once more, though this time the voice was much more serious.

Izuku discreetly used Blackwhip to cover the wound and put pressure on it while he outwardly made no movement, if he moved now, he could get shot point blank in his head and none of his Quirks would allow him to move that fast. At least not in his current position, if he had more time to pick up speed and he knew it was coming, he could out-speed a bullet, but this wasn't that kind of scenario.

"Take your mask off, slowly," Karasu ordered and Izuku hesitated only to get the gun jerked in his direction, so he slowly raised one hand and gently tugged the mask off to reveal his face." You're a kid?!"

As much as he wanted to quip back, he wasn't going to, for all he knew this man was very trigger-happy and would shoot if he made the wrong move. It looked like the man was about to comment again when a call came from the fence gate and four others jogged in with weapons raised.

Three of them were in full military gear, one had brown hair, and two had blonde hair. It wasn't those three that caught Izuku's attention, no, it was the man with light blue hair, the man looked nearly identical to someone Izuku knew.

"Report?" The light blue-haired man who Izuku assumed was this 'Commander' fellow ordered.

"The kid was floating on the ceiling of the front hallway as I was making my way out of the house, I wouldn't have spotted him if it weren't for a mirror located next to the front door." Karasu said with a frown." When I spun around to shoot him, he let out a cloud of smoke which was clearly meant to hide his escape. I managed to make my way down the hallway and found him running across the backyard, when I yelled halt, he didn't make a single move to slow down so I shot his leg and kept him at gunpoint until you arrived. I also told him to remove his mask, but I didn't realize it was a kid."

That's when Commander turned their attention to Izuku, he swallowed as he stared into piercing black eyes.

"State your name and age," Commander ordered and Izuku felt almost compelled to answer, but it wasn't a Quirk doing it, no, it was the confidence the man was projecting that was intimidating Izuku enough to want to answer the man.

"M-Midoriya Izuku, sixteen, sir," Izuku replied, his tone wavering in a clear show of how nervous he really felt.

"What's your Meta-Ability?" Commander asked, his voice had gotten slightly more gentle, but it was barely noticeable.

Izuku knew he couldn't say One For All, but what could he say that would explain all of the Quirks he presented? Energy manipulation, perhaps, but even that could only go so far. He bit his lip, he had revealed Smokescreen, Blackwhip, and Float.

"I don't know, I can do multiple things with it, it presents itself in three ways so far," Izuku said slowly, leaving room to reveal the other Quirks he had if necessary." I've never thought of a name for it, naming my Quirk was never on the top of my list of things to do."

It was only after he finished replying that he realized his mistake, he had been calling his power a Quirk when it was clear that these people didn't know what a Quirk was, they called it a Meta-Ability. He felt sick, did this mean that he was in the worst time in history, did it mean he had just landed himself smack dab in the middle of the Quirk Wars?

"Quirk?" Commander questioned and Izuku winced slightly.

"Sorry, I use the term, Quirk, it sounds more friendly and humane than, Meta-Ability," Izuku said quickly, hoping the man would believe his quick lie." It also makes it so people don't realize what I'm talking about, not that I can really be around others with my hair."

If he was right about where he had somehow landed, then he had to rely on basic knowledge of the Dawn of Quirks and the following Quirk Wars that had risen in the wake of the said Quirks. He knew that most Quirked individuals during this time were found out by mutations they had, unnatural hair, eyes, skin, or extra parts that didn't belong, at least in people's eyes.

"I see." Commander drawled before standing up straighter." Did you at any point intend to harm my soldier?"

Izuku's eyes widened and he shook his head rapidly, of course not, he would have incapacitated the man perhaps, but harm them? Not a chance.

"No!" Izuku exclaimed before going silent for a second." I would have stayed hidden, if I had a chance then I might have incapacitated him, but not hurt him. I don't like hurting people unless absolutely necessary, I would have only done so if it was a me or him situation."

Commander and the four other soldiers were quiet at that admission, it was clear they hadn't expected him to reveal more than a yes or no. Izuku cursed his loud mouth, at this point, he'd end up getting himself into a situation he couldn't survive because of his damn mouth.

"Commander, the boy didn't even attack after I shot him," Karasu spoke from where he was standing, the blue-haired man's eyes flickered to the other man before focusing back on Izuku.

"I see." Commander stated before gesturing to one of the soldiers who raised a gun, pointing it at Izuku." You three, I need to speak with you for a moment, Okami, watch the boy."

The trio of soldiers moved to a place a ways away and began whispering to each other while the identified Okami continued to point the gun at him. It wasn't a small gun either, not like the one that Karasu had pointed at him, this one was a clear military-grade rifle. It was also likely semi-automatic, which would mean certain death if Izuku so much as moved a muscle in a certain way.

The minutes ticked by, he heard one of the soldiers raise their voice a bit ago, but since then there hadn't been anything unusual.

"How'd get on the streets, kid?" Okami asked at some point and Izuku blinked, wondering if he should start making his story now or wait a bit to iron out details, perhaps he could give a rough outline that was open to being able to build upon in the future.

"Um, lost my Mom and Dad, had nowhere else to go." Izuku said with a shrug, wincing slightly." That and I have green hair, not like anyone was going to take me in."

Okami hummed slightly, seemingly acknowledging Izuku's response.

At that moment, Commander returned and waved for the gun to be lowered, which Okami did immediately, then the blue-haired man knelt in front of him. Izuku watched as the man offered his hand, they probably wanted to help him up due to his leg injury. He slowly extended his own hand, hesitating a moment before placing it in the other man's hand.

Commander helped him to his feet, but Izuku gasped slightly in pain as he put pressure on his leg, then he felt a wave of dizziness. He stumbled, accidentally leaning against Commander as he tried to fight the sudden energy loss he was feeling, his adrenaline had worn off and Blackwhip hadn't don't as good of a job at binding his wound as he thought it had.

He had clearly lost a lot of blood, but at least he hadn't cut an artery or he'd have died of blood loss already.

"Sir, I thinnnk imma fainttt now," Izuku slurred as he pitched forward, his entire world going black.

As Izuku came to, he immediately felt that he wasn't in the dorms at UA, his eyes fluttered open and he turned his head to get his bearings. The room was clearly medical, but not the most sterile, indicating that either wherever he was, it wasn't an actual hospital. He looked at his arm, noticing an intravenous line hooked up to a clear liquid, likely something to keep him from dehydrating.

Memories started to slowly seep back and he winced, he had passed out in front of people that he had no idea the intentions of. Was he a prisoner, guest, or something else to be decided on?

Shifting into a sitting position, he lifted the blanket, sighing with relief when he noticed that the bullet wound had been cleaned up and dressed. At least he was less likely to get an infection now, that wouldn't have been fun to deal with.

The sound of the door opening made his head whip in the direction, a woman stood in the doorway, she had a clipboard and a white jacket on. Her hair was dark auburn and she had blue eyes with cat-like pupils, so she had a Quirk then, that was good to know. She seemed surprised to see him awake and he wondered what kind of condition he had been in when Commander brought him here, he couldn't imagine it to have been a good condition. Not considering he had been bleeding out, that being said, he would have to wait until he was told exactly what happened.

"You're awake, I'll go retrieve Leader and Commander," The woman said before turning and leaving the room once more.

Izuku tensed, wondering if this Leader character was dangerous to him in any way, they were clearly a powerful and well-respected individual. He wasn't sure if he could fight this person, whoever they were, he was hardly in fighting shape anyways. If Leader or Commander considered him a risk, he was sure they wouldn't hesitate to kill him, they were soldiers, not heroes.

It took five minutes before the woman came back, the first one to enter the room after her being Commander, but it was the last person who entered that made Izuku's blood run cold. His heart lurched into the back of his throat as he stared at the face of the second user, this was impossible. Then again, he was in the Quirk Wars, so perhaps it wasn't so impossible after all.

The woman introduced the two men before leaving, Izuku felt nervous being alone with the two very alive versions of the people he knew.

"Midoriya Izuku, am I correct?" Second, no, Leader spoke and Izuku just nodded, feeling completely numb." May I ask what you were doing in sector five? That place has been abandoned for almost a year, nobody comes by it much considering it's All For One's territory."

He paled, he hadn't even known that, no wonder the soldier who shot him had been so hostile, they assumed he was one of All For One's men.

"I d-didn't know, I-I'm sorry," Izuku stammered, panic rising inside him slowly, what if he had been caught by the villain, he'd have ended up losing any chance of defeating them in the future.

"It's fine, we aren't angry, kid." Commander said with a gentle tone as if talking to a scared child, which he sorta was if looked at in a literal sense." Now, can you tell me a bit about your parents, hair, eyes, and names?"

For a moment, Izuku hesitated before deciding that it wasn't too harmful to tell them the truth, considering the fact that his mom was safe in the future.

"Um, I don't know my Dad, he left almost as soon as I was born and left Mom to raise me all alone." Izuku started his throat tightening with restrained anger, it was something he often did when talking about his dad." My Mom's name is Midoriya Inko, she looks like a female version of me, just without the freckles and her hair is a shade darker."

"For the record, are you aware you are a close DNA match with one of the people here in this base currently?" Leader questioned with narrowed eyes, but Izuku just blinked, how could he be a close match with someone who was separated from him by two centuries?

He shook his head slowly, a feeling of dread slowly inching into his mind and chest.

"Um, no, only my Mom had a sibling, at least, I think so." Izuku admitted." Dad didn't talk about his past to Mom, she said it was one of the main reasons they argued so much."

"I see," Leader stated with a frown, turning to share a look with Commander.

After a few moments of tense silence Commander pulled Leader to the side, whispering softly to the man, Izuku felt wary. He didn't like when he didn't know what was happening, it was also uncomfortable to know people were discussing about you even though you couldn't hear or know what they were talking about.

Eventually, Leader gave Commander a curt nod, the both of them making their way back over to his hospital bed to continue the conversation. Commander shot him a soft smile, the kind that was supposed to tell him not to worry, that he was safe, that he'd never be in danger again. Izuku knew, however, that it was a lie, especially during these times.

"Would you like me to fetch the person that you have matched with?" Leader offered and Izuku hesitated, did he really want to bother his ancestor?

"Only if they are ok with it, I don't want to bother them," Izuku mumbled, earning a concerned look from Commander.

"You won't be a bother, Yoichi's been looking forward to meeting you since he found out you were related." Commander said with a smile as if he hadn't just dropped a bombshell on Izuku's head." He's the one who donated his blood when you got here, without it, you would have almost surely died of blood loss."

Izuku's mind raced with the information, he was a close related match to Yoichi, as in the first One For All user, Yoichi? How was that possible, Yoichi's only living relative even in these times had been All For One, but surely Izuku wasn't a direct descendant of that man, right?

"S-Sure, I would l-love to see them." Izuku stammered, thankfully the two men just assumed he was nervous about meeting a relative, he would hopefully gain more control as he continued being around these two, as well as Yoichi, apparently." Um, Sir, c-can I have some juice, I am feeling a bit dizzy. I think this information was a bit too much, but you don't have to! Not if you're unable to!"

Commander looked to Leader and the salmon-haired man sighed, giving a small nod.

"Of course, kid, apple or orange?" Commander asked and Izuku blushed, he felt like an eight-year-old kid again, but he supposed it wasn't the worst feeling in the world.

"Um, apple, please," Izuku mumbled and Commander gave a nod, turning to leave, likely to get Yoichi and the juice, once he was gone, Izuku turned his attention back to Leader." Um, sir, if this Yoichi guy matched with me as a close relative, then who did I match with as my supposed father?"

Leader's face contorted slightly like he had sucked a lemon and hated the taste, it was the same sort of expression he used to give Izuku before he had gained the man's trust during his daily outings to take down All For One's lackeys. It hurt a bit, knowing that all that built-up trust and respect was gone because this was a much younger version of the man he had known, one that hadn't lived two hundred or so years inside One For All.

"Yoichi is your Uncle, as such, unless Yoichi has another brother that I don't know about, All For One is your father," Leader revealed with a low growl, his red eyes flashing with an emotion that Izuku couldn't identify.

The door opened, and Commander and Yoichi walked in, only to freeze slightly when Izuku opened his mouth to ask a question.

"Do you hate me, cause of that?" Izuku asked softly, his heart beating fast.

"I don't care about the DNA you share with that bastard, the fact the man abandoned you and your mother is more than enough to say you're likely to never join his side," Leader said, his voice lowering slightly in a clear attempt to be more reassuring." If I was one to judge a person based on the blood they share with another, then I wouldn't have reached my hand out to save your Uncle."

The words hit Izuku like a freight train, the fact that he wasn't being judged simply due to the fact he was related to a horrible person, made him want to break down. In fact, he'd been holding off on crying, not wanting to show any weakness in front of these people, he barely knew them and they weren't the versions he had in his Quirk.

Before he could find a way to respond, he noticed Yoichi shuffling closer to him, he looked over and the man froze when they realized he was looking at them. On the man's face was nervousness, pain, curiosity, and most shocking of all, love. How could Yoichi love him already, he'd only met Izuku just now, not even considering they hadn't spoken to each other.

"Um, hi, you must be my Uncle." Izuku greeted with a shy smile, earning a tentative one from the other man in return." My name is Midoriya Izuku, but everyone's nickname for me is Deku, so you can call me that if you want."

Yoichi seemed to battle with himself for a long moment before a soft voice escaped the man's lips, the voice was just as melodic as it was inside the realm of One For All.

"Hello, Izuku, my name is Shigaraki Yoichi," Yoichi whispered in greeting, his green eyes looked wet with unshed tears, and he wondered how hard it was for the man to realize that he had family that wasn't going to hurt him." It's wonderful to meet you, Nephew."

Izuku felt a pang of sadness, he was nearly breaking down at the thought of his own relation to a man that had hurt so many people, but he hadn't even once considered how others might feel about this reveal. Yoichi had only had All For One for so long, he couldn't even imagine how shocking and nerve-wracking it was to suddenly find out that you had family, a nephew, that so far hadn't shown any signs of being like their father.

Did the future Yoichi know he was related to All For One, did he not care and just wanted to spend time with him? Surely the future versions of Leader and Commander would know, they would have seen signs that the others hadn't, even if there would not necessarily have been proof of their claims.

"You too, Shigaraki-san," Izuku mumbled with a blush, this was so awkward.

"Call me Yoichi, I don't mind," Yoichi offered with a slightly less nervous smile, the man's eyes had sparked to life just a bit more and Izuku wondered how recently the man had been rescued.

"Ok, Yoichi," Izuku responded, happy to use his friend-turned-uncles name." Do want to play twenty questions, to get to know each other..."

He trailed off, unsure if the other man would agree or if Leader and Commander would allow it.

Thankfully, the two soldiers just quietly bid them goodbye, promising to talk later before leaving the room to give him some time with Yoichi. As for the man in question, he just gave a small nod before settling into a cross-legged position, ready to start the game. 

"You can go first," Yoichi urged and Izuku gave the man a grin.

"Ok, how old are you?" Izuku asked curiously earning a laugh from the man, he grinned, perhaps his fate in these wars wouldn't be all that bad.

Chapter Text

"So tell me more about yourself, what kind of things do you like to do for hobbies?" Yoichi suggested an hour after Izuku had finished playing twenty questions.

Izuku hesitated, while he wanted to tell the man the truth, that he was from the future and had a future version of the man's Quirk, he knew it was a horrible idea. Even if he ignored the consequences of speaking of the future, he would still risk them turning on him, not believing what he said and chalking it up as lying or that he was crazy.

It was a difficult situation, most of the laws here were outdated, so even everyday things in his life that would otherwise reveal nothing could become an issue later on. If he displayed no knowledge of laws that were common during this time, it would be extremely unusual. Then again, he did have green hair and it might be believable that his mother hid him away from anyone she didn't trust.

"I like analyzing Quirks, that's what I call Meta Abilities, they're just so cool and could help so many people!" Izuku started, not realizing he'd started to ramble." My favorite Quirks are healing Quirks, I knew someone with a Quirk that could heal someone by kissing them, but it would drain the patient's stamina. She was a little easy to anger, but she was really nice most of the time! I also love fire-type Quirks! My best friend had the ability to sweat Nitroglycerine, which he could then make a spark to ignite, it was really amazing. His name is Katsuki, but I call him Kacchan! He's the same age as me, he also has a bad temper and gets angry really really easily, but that's just his body's way of dealing with the side effects of Nitroglycerine."

He stopped when he heard a soft sound, focusing back on Yoichi only to realize the man had ducked his head, white hair falling in front of his face. Izuku's heart dropped when he noticed a drop of water fall onto the man's pants, indicating Yoichi was crying.

"A-Are you ok?" Izuku asked softly, wondering if he had said something wrong." If I made you uncomfortable, then I'm sorry! Most people feel weirded out by my rants, I even start muttering sometimes when I see something interesting, I understand if that's how you feel. I can keep my enthusiasm at bay if that's what you want."

Izuku trailed off, unsure and feeling guilty for making the man upset, but then Yoichi's head snapped up with wide eyes. Tears stains on the man's cheeks and a look of shock across all of their features, Izuku swallowed as Yoichi lifted a hand that he then rested on Izuku's shoulder.

"Don't ever apologize for being yourself, Izuku," Yoichi said firmly, the seriousness in the man's eyes taking Izuku by surprise.

"But I upset you," Izuku said slowly, frowning." If something I'm doing is making you uncomfortable, then you or anyone else shouldn't have to deal with it. I refuse to hurt people, even over something I enjoy doing."

"Izuku, I'm not upset for the reason you think." Yoichi whispered reaching up and brushing one of his curls out of his face, a sad look in the man's eyes." Your passion for Meta Abilities reminds me of how my brother used to be before Meta Abilities started appearing, he was so excited to learn everything about them. He wanted to be a superhero if he ever got one, even said he wanted me by his side saving people, but then his powers came in. After that, he started changing, it was disconcerting to see him have a one-eighty personality change. Hearing you talk, it was like hearing my brother before everything went downhill."

What was he meant to say to that, perhaps he should have been more horrified at being compared to All For One, but right now, he just felt sad that he'd brought up painful memories for Yoichi.

"If it makes you feel better, I haven't had any personality changes since I got my Quirk," Izuku offered and Yoichi gave a small chuckle.

"That's good to hear, I've learned a lot in the four months since I was rescued, apparently it isn't uncommon for Meta Abilities to affect a person's personality in some way." Yoichi revealed with a sigh." It just wasn't a subtle change in my brother, but a big one."

Izuku nodded, he knew that, he had done research on the League, finding out some of their backstories and honestly, he had been kind of pissed that the Heroes hadn't helped them before they got as bad as they did. Toga had been starved of an essential ingredient for her survival until she snapped and killed her classmate, the other's stories hadn't been much better off either.

"I promise, I won't change, I like who I am now," Izuku vowed with a grin." Although, I am still sixteen, so I will likely continue maturing, can't stop that part."

Yoichi let out a burst of laughter at that, a wide smile stretching over his face. It was the first time the man had really felt comfortable enough to laugh around him and Izuku felt proud of that fact, he had always hated seeing others so upset. If he could do anything to help someone, to ease any pain or sadness, he would do it in a heartbeat.

Once Yoichi calmed down again, the man gave him a curious look, seeming to be looking over him for something.

"May I ask what your Quirk is?" Yoichi asked and Izuku froze, the smart thing to say would be Smokescreen or Float, that's what the soldier who had been in that house had seen.

However, Izuku knew that at some point, he'd need to use the other Quirks, he couldn't cut himself off from a resource that he would need to survive. He couldn't say it was All For One either, otherwise, it wouldn't match the story of his personality not changing. There was one option, one of Class 1B's members had a Copy Quirk, it didn't steal a Quirk but copied it instead and as such, it might be a more tame and less malicious version of All For One.

The only issue was how he'd explain why could only have seven Quirks, Monoma had a three Quirk limit, so that explained a few things. He could also explain it by saying once he copied a Quirk, it took permanent residence in his slots, meaning that eventually, he wouldn't be able to copy any more Quirks.

"From what I've been able to figure out, I can copy Quirks, but each time I do I feel more full and I estimate I can only copy four more before my Quirk is at its maximum." Izuku said slowly, frowning as he looked at his hands." I can't get rid of the copies either, which means that when I've copied seven then I will have those seven forever but won't be able to copy any more than that."

"You don't steal them?" Yoichi questioned, something in his tone sounding nervous, but he just smiled and shook his head.

"Stealing would imply that the other person couldn't use their Quirk anymore, but the status of the other person is the same before and after I copy the Quirk, they can use the Quirk just as they always could," Izuku explained, wincing at the how in-depth he'd gotten with his 'fake' Quirk." Although, my versions always seem more powerful than the original Quirk."

Yoichi tilted his head thoughtfully, a small frown on his face.

"Powerful how?" Yoichi asked and Izuku bit his lip, was he giving too much information away, would this change the future if he revealed it?

"Let's just say that the second Quirk I copied allows me to fly, but the woman it the original belongs to can only float," Izuku explained slowly, reaching up to rub the back of his neck awkwardly." It could possibly mean that I actually create a Quirk with similar attributes of the original, kinda how I'd assume a Quirk might evolve if passed down genetically."

It wasn't a lie entirely, Quirks that passed down were never identical to the parent that they inherited it from, normally the change was so subtle that there wasn't a huge difference but One For All fast tracks all of those changes and he's the result. Every time One For All passes down, it was almost as if it had been genetically passed down at least once, maybe twice in Hikage or Yagi's case.

"I see, do these Meta Abilities have names?" Yoichi asked before blinking." For that matter, does your Copy Ability have a name?"

Oh, Monoma would kill him for this, if it were possible.

"Oh, I call my Quirk 'Copy'." Izuku said with an awkward smile." Not the most creative, but it works. As for the other Quirks, well, I have three. Float, Smokescreen, and Blackwhip. All of which are pretty self-explanatory."

Yoichi chuckled but just before they could say anything, the door opened and Leader and Commander entered.

Commander had a tray in his hands, there were two plates of food which immediately made Izuku's stomach growl loudly, the sound filling him with embarrassment. He let out a squeak and hid his burning face with his hands, earning a giggle from Yoichi and a snort from either Leader or Commander.

"I guess my intuition was right, you were hungry," Commander's voice teased, the sound coaxing Izuku to stop hiding and to look up.

He looked at the food and he glanced at Yoichi with a hesitant expression, but the man only gestured to the plate that Commander placed in front of him. He looked back and began eating slowly, the sandwich was well made, he would have to get another one out of Commander later if need be.

"So, what have you two been talking about?" Leader asked, noticing how close he was sitting to Yoichi.

Izuku swallowed his bite before speaking.

"Quirks!" Izuku chirped happily, his eyes closing in a close-eyed smile." Yoichi can tell you, less talking, more food!"

With that he bit into the sandwich again, not having realized just how hungry he'd been until he actually took a bite. Now he was practically scarfing the food down, much to Yoichi's clear horror, the man looked like he wanted to tell him to slow down but was stopping himself. Izuku took pity on him, allowing himself to breathe for a moment before taking another bite, almost immediately Yoichi relaxed which made him want to roll his eyes.

Overprotective much?

As he continued eating he listened to Yoichi explain the aspects of his 'Quirk' but it didn't stop the guilt he felt for lying, they don't deserve to be lied to. However, it was too dangerous to tell them the truth, at least this time, perhaps in the future.

Assuming he was still in the past by then, he had no clue if this was a permanent thing or temporary, for now, he should treat it like it would be temporary. It would save him and Yoichi the pain when he did end up disappearing, leaving the poor man to wonder about his fate. He knew Yoichi would recover if he left, the man was strong, not to mention that he had Leader and Commander to help him.

"Izuku?" Yoichi's voice pierced through his thoughts and he whipped his head upwards, eyes wide." You weren't responding, are you alright?"

"I-I'm fine, Yoichi," Izuku said with a tight smile, he had to distance himself from them, even if he was here permanently, he couldn't allow himself to affect history." What was it that you wanted to ask?"

Leader, who had his arms crossed and was staring directly at him, the attention making Izuku's skin crawl with nerves.

"So, I hear you have a Copy Ability?" Leader questioned." Seven Abilities are able to be copied in total with no ability to get rid of the Meta Abilities in question. You told Yoichi you had three Abilities, correct?"

Izuku gave a slow nod.

"If that bothers you, I can just pack up and leave." Izuku offered, his heart doing somersaults in his chest." I don't want to be a bother, if you think I'm a threat to you then just drop me off somewhere and I'll try and stay clear of your people as well as All For One. I promise I won't cause problems."

Yoichi reached over and laid a hand on his arm, the gesture urged Izuku to look at the man.

"Izuku, that's not what Leader was trying to say," Yoichi murmured sadly." Listen, I can't help but notice some worrying signs, were you ever abused at home in any way? I understand if you don't want to reveal anything, but it might help us, help you."

He hadn't been abused at home, but technically speaking he had been bullied to the point of suicide baiting, which was a form of abuse. However, he didn't want to throw Katsuki under the bus, even if these people couldn't do anything about it. He didn't want his new uncle to treat him like he was glass that would end up breaking, he wasn't weak, he could handle his own problems alone.

"Of course not, why would you think that?" Izuku asked, placing on his most confident confused expression." Mom took care of me, although I suppose I wasn't allowed to leave the house without a wig and contacts, that's hardly abuse, just precautions. I am also not very confident most of the time, I usually avoid people and making friends."

"I see," Yoichi said slowly, but it was clear the man didn't believe what Izuku had said.

A cough interrupted the awkward silence that had fallen, Izuku turned towards the two other men in the room. Commander looked distinctly worried, while Leader seemed to be getting a bit impatient.

"We aren't going to ask you to leave, we were actually hoping you could help us." Commander admitted." You're Meta Ability could be extremely useful, even if it's limited. Can you tell me a bit about your current Meta Abilities?"

Izuku swallowed, he wasn't used to talking to people about One For All or the Quirks stored inside it, he had only recently told his classmates anything.

"Well, first off is Blackwhip, the Quirk I copied when I manifested my power." Izuku started, he stretched his arm out, hand facing up as he let out a few tendrils of the Quirk." It's a versatile Quirk, mainly useful as extra limbs, although it can be used to swing around. It's powered by strong emotions, although anger seems to be the easiest."

"Fascinating," Yoichi breathed in awe as he stared at the wiggling tendrils of energy.

"Yup, it's my favorite of the three I have!" Izuku exclaimed, his form relaxing slightly." The second one is Smokescreen, it's a pink cloud of smoke that I am able to create from my skin. I can cover several city blocks in the smoke if I push hard enough, but that leads to disadvantages that are almost impossible to combat. Too much use of this Quirk can be just as dangerous as too little use, so it's more useful only in scenarios."

"That would be quite useful in a few situations that I can think of," Leader admitted with a nod, surprisingly he almost seemed awed by the information, something that threw Izuku for a loop.

"And last of all, Float, it allows me to move through the air, the original could only move up and down, but I'm able to not just become weightless, but also move forward, backward, and side to side." Izuku explained, a hand reaching up to rub the back of his neck." I had to learn an entirely new way of using my Quirks in order to be able to defend myself, even in the air."

He stopped talking, looking up at the three men in front of him, taking in their surprised but mildly impressed expressions.

"That's impressive, kid," Commander praised and Izuku flushed with embarrassment.

"T-Thank you, sir," Izuku responded, not really knowing what to say to that when all he'd known from the man had been a mostly cold shoulder, at least inside One For All.

Speaking of which, he hadn't gotten any response from the vestiges since he'd arrived in the past, was it because some of them didn't exist yet? It unnerved him, he could still feel their Quirks, so logically he should be able to contact them. There was also the possibility that One For All needed to recover before it could allow contact between the vestiges and himself, in which case, it might be a while before he's able to talk to them.

"I think Izuku is tired, why don't we leave him to get some rest?" Yoichi suggested, giving the two soldiers a look." If you want him to work with you to stop All For One, then he's going to need to be in tip-top shape."

Commander nodded in agreement whilst Leader just gave a small huff, not seeming pleased at being ordered around by Yoichi.

"Fine, he has a week to get in top shape, any more time after that and it'll be a waste of resources," Leader growled out, turning around and walking out of the room.

That was a one-eighty mood change, what had gotten into the man?

"Don't worry, he's always like that, he gets angry frequently," Yoichi reassured whilst rolling his eyes fondly." The idiot didn't want to admit that I was right, but I have to admit I am surprised he gave you a week. If it had been Commander or another soldier, he'd have given you two days, tops."

Izuku blinked, he hadn't expected that, but he was relieved he had time to figure things out before being thrust into a battle or to be forced into patrolling constantly.

"My friend, Kacchan, he was like that too," Izuku admitted, staring at the place Leader had disappeared, his heart constricting in his chest painfully, would he ever get to see his brother-in-all-but-blood again?

He hoped so, more than anything.

The next three days passed slowly, Izuku focusing on training more than anything else, but still, despite all the time that had passed, the vestiges still hadn't contacted him. It was beginning to worry Izuku, they had been at the surface for so long, it felt wrong to have them just not be there. It felt like he was empty like a part of him was just gone, more like seven parts of him, in fact.

"You have that look on your face again," Commander's voice spoke, breaking Izuku's concentration on the moving training dummies that he was fighting.

"Oh, I'm sorry, just remembering people that I care about, realizing it's been a while since I've seen or heard from them," Izuku admitted, but he refused to share the complete truth, the fact that Commander himself was one of those people.

Commander walked up to him, taking a moment to glance at the damaged dummy before turning to face him.

"It's fine to remember the people you care about but don't let it distract you when you are in a fight, that will be the death of you." Commander said seriously." I don't want you to die, kid, you still have an entire life to live."

Izuku gave a bitter chuckle.

"Sir, with all due respect, my life is going to be war whether I like it or not." Izuku said with a sigh." That's not living, that's surviving."

He watched as Commander's face morphed into one of pain and sympathy, but Izuku didn't need sympathy, he got it enough from everyone else he knew. He just wanted to stop having to fight for his life, a life he may never truly live now that he'd been placed during this time. The time where All For One was running completely unchecked, the time when vigilantes tried so hard to fight All For One, even though they were fighting a losing war.

"I suppose that's true, though I am sad to see that you've given up on having a normal life, it's what everyone wants," Commander murmured and Izuku inclined his head slightly.

"But not everyone can get it." Izuku pointed out grimly." That doesn't mean I can't fight for future generations to have it, I can live through the people I help, even if I die, I won't truly be gone."

Commander blinked, surprised.

"You're one wise kid, you know that?" Commander teased and Izuku grinned, his heart soaring at the small praise given by the soldier.

"Thanks." Izuku said before sighing." I should probably get back to training, I need to be ready for work in three days. I don't want to let Leader down, I don't want to let anyone down."

He turned back to the training dummy, allowing Blackwhip out before using it to pierce the dummy in one swift motion. It was a move designed to kill, not that Izuku would use that move under any circumstance other than a direct threat of death, but it was still good to know those kinds of moves for emergencies.

"Kid, stop." Commander ordered, his voice leaving no room to argue and Izuku tensed, turning around wide-eyed with surprise." Follow me, you and I need to talk. Let's go to one of the meeting rooms, that way we'll have some privacy."

Izuku immediately moved to follow, ashamed to admit to himself that he was suddenly almost scared of Commander. He knew the man could be scary, but having an order barked at him like that had made his heart stop, not even the Pro Heroes he'd worked with had done something like that. It was a tone he was not as familiar with compared to the ones he'd heard growing up, most heroes were softer, mainly cause anything else would scare civilians and Izuku suddenly realized why that was.

They walked down the hallway silently, Izuku looking at the worn concrete walls, paint was chipping off slowly and the lights above flickered as if they hadn't been changed in a long time.

Commander stopped at a metal door, opening it and allowing Izuku to get a small view inside, there was indeed a table and several chairs inside. It indicated this was likely an office building, perhaps military considering the concrete walls. He had thought this was just a random abandoned building they had decided to make their base, but perhaps it was always a military base.

Once he was inside Commander shut the door and turned to him, crossing his arms across his chest, black eyes piercing into Izuku. He could tell the man wasn't happy about something if the thin line of his mouth was any indication, but what the man had to be upset about was beyond Izuku.

"I was willing to let you come to me about this on your own, cause pushing you when you've just met us was never a good idea, but this has forced my hand." Commander said and Izuku's blood ran cold." Not only do you show signs of severe abuse or neglect, but you automatically assumed we would get rid of you due to your Meta Ability. That, paired with the fact you clearly lied to Yoichi when he had concerns tells me that you don't trust easily, which is common in people who have had traumatic experiences growing up. So I'm going to ask this and you're not leaving this room until I get a truthful answer, were you abused?"

Izuku felt his world give out, he wasn't going to be able to lie out of this situation, but he could tell them the truth. A lot of his bullying had been because he didn't have a Quirk, which would have been considered normal during these times, sure, he could twist it slightly to fit the time he was currently in, but he didn't want to.

"I-I don't-I don't want to, please don't make me say it!" Izuku pleaded, his eyes checking the room for an escape, but even the vent was too small for him to get through and he'd have to pass Commander to get to the door again.

"I won't lie to you, kid, but if you want to be useful then we need to know the extent of your trauma as to best work our way around it." Commander said his voice gentle." I know it hurts, I know you're scared, but we can't help you if you don't tell us what's wrong. If you get placed on a patrol and have a severe reaction to something that we could have avoided, you might end up placing your team or civilians at risk."

He heard what the man was saying, at least on the surface, but it was drowned out by his increasing panic.

He had to get out, he needed to get away, needed to get to safety.

His eyes ran wildly around the room, he backed up slowly until his back was against the wall, with sharp gasps he tried to get air into his lungs but it felt like the air in the room was suddenly incompatible with life. Like all the parts of air that made it good for you were suddenly stripped away, leaving only the dangerous stuff.

Black spots danced in his vision and he heard a voice calling out to him, but he couldn't make out the words, blue hair fell into his field of vision and without thinking he lashed out. Blackwhip shooting forward in an effort to defend himself from this unknown threat, he heard a shout but ignored it as he focused on trying to get away.

Suddenly he was enveloped in something warm, he froze as he tried to process what was going on, but his mind kept blanking and refusing to compute. He blinked turning slightly to see worried green eyes framed with white hair, for a moment he wondered if he'd been killed, was this an angel coming to take him away? He still needed to protect his friends though, he couldn't die until he'd saved everyone, he needed to save everyone.

"Izuku, calm down." The angel murmured and Izuku shook his head." It's alright, you're safe here, I promise, nothing here is going to hurt you."

"H-Have to protect." Izuku rasped, his head feeling like it was exploding." Have to protect my friends, have to protect everyone, need to protect them. I need to protect them, please, I need to keep everyone safe!"

The green eyes widened, but the angel didn't say a word and just pulled him in closer, rocking him back and forth. Izuku felt his eyes droop, suddenly all of his energy being swept away as if an invisible wave was washing it to sea. With one last attempt to get away, he struggled for a minute before finally giving in, his form going still in the angel's arms and his mind finally went black.

Chapter Text

Izuku's eyes snapped open to reveal endless black, almost immediately he recognized the place, the vestige realm. He groaned and slowly got himself up off the floor of the strange void, spotting the familiar concrete ruins that housed the vestiges most of the time. Brushing himself off, he made his way there, frowning as he heard panicked shouts.

As he rounded the corner and entered the ruins, he came to a dead stop, as usual, there were eight thrones in the ruins. However, what wasn't usual was the fact that four of those chairs seemed drained of color, nothing like the red and gold of the others. He made his way to one of those chairs, his heart racing as he read the numbers etched on the side.

One, two, three, and four.

The chairs of the first four users, he didn't like the implications of it, but he couldn't say he was particularly surprised. He turned to the others, all of which had finally realized he was there and were staring at him with honest fear in their eyes. This was definitely the reason why he'd not heard from them in so long, let alone them coming out to say hi.

"What happened?" Izuku asked, his voice trembling and he realized he was scared, he didn't want to know the answer to his own question.

Nana stepped forward, tears running down her cheeks.

"When you arrived in the past, Yoichi, Second, Third, and Hikage just started screaming before they exploded into gold dust." Nana explained, lifting a hand up to wipe her tears away." We think it's because there can't be two versions of the same person existing at the same time."

Izuku felt his mouth go dry, the vestiges had become like family to him since he'd discovered their existence, but now four of them had been ripped away and he hadn't even noticed. How could they be gone but still leave their Quirks behind, unless One For All had evolved itself and the Quirks inside it to the point they weren't the same Quirks at all?

"They're gone?" Izuku questioned, his heart aching in a way it had never done before.

"I'm sorry, sweetie," Nana murmured floating over to give him a hug, burrowing her face into his hair, he could hear soft whimpers of distress coming from the woman, though she seemed to be trying to suppress them.

Izuku just allowed the woman to cling to him, he couldn't imagine how she might feel, she'd known these people for so long. Daigorou and En had known them for even longer, it left a horrible taste in his mouth. These people were more than just friends, no one could stay in the same place for so long and not become family, especially if those people were friends, to begin with.

"Sorry for going radio silent, kiddo," Daigorou's voice mumbled, it sounded so exhausted and broken, Izuku knew the man had been close to Hikage, he'd already lost the man once when alive but now Hikage was gone for good.

"It's fine, you were grieving, I'm not going to blame you for that." Izuku said pulling out of Nana's arms and turning to the bald man." Are you ok though? I know you were close to Hikage, but I don't know the extent of how close."

The man just huffed in mild amusement, but it didn't reach his eyes.

"I'll be ok, kiddo." Daigorou reassured as he walked up and ruffled Izuku's hair." We were already dead, I'm just happy we were able to spend so much more time together, even if it had to end so abruptly. As for what we were to each other, well, I'd like to think if he hadn't died when he did then we might have become a couple."

Izuku bit his lip, eyes welling up with unshed tears.

"Well, at least I still have their living counterparts, even if it's not the same," Izuku whispered, his heart feeling torn in two, he had loved those four so much, he loved all of the vestiges but those four had always been special to him.

The entire world began rumbling, the same way it did when he was waking up in the real world, he gave one last look to the vestiges and waved goodbye. He hoped they would come out to talk more now that he had visited them, if he could do anything to help, he would do it in a heartbeat.

"We'll talk more, we just needed time to grieve," En called as Izuku faded into the waking world, the words making a smile spread across Izuku's face." Take care of yourself, Zuku!"

With that, the world erupted with a white light and Izuku found himself blinking at a pure white ceiling, his entire body sore, likely from how tense he had been before passing out. He'd had a panic attack in front of these people, the same people who barely knew him, what if they thought he was crazy and just a flight risk?

He tried to sit up before freezing, with a hesitant look, he stared down at his wrists and spotted two strong leather straps keeping his arms to the bed. Looking further down his body showed the same had been done to his ankles, how bad had his panic attack been to force people to place him under restraints?

Izuku's mouth felt dry and sore like he'd been screaming it raw for hours, his cheeks felt like they had dried tears plastered onto them, indicating he'd been crying if not sobbing outright. With a shuddering breath, he allowed Blackwhip to undo the straps, using his newfound freedom to pull his legs against his chest and bury his face into his knees.

What would Leader and Commander say to this kind of breakdown, surely they would realize how useless a broken kid was and just turn him out onto the streets again, right? What about Yoichi, would the man want anything to do with a kid that was able to tear down a building during a panic attack if not careful?

Yoichi must think he was just as crazy as All For One, just his luck too, finally finding a person that he was connected to only to lose them due to his own stupidity. He didn't even know what he'd done while in his panic, what if he had hurt Commander, or worse, what if he killed someone?

The door opened with a soft sound, Izuku peeked out from his legs to see Yoichi enter, the skinny man immediately noticing he wasn't in the position that he had been in before. At first, Izuku thought the man would go find someone to restrain him again, but to his surprise, Yoichi just approached the bed and sat on the end quietly.

"How are you feeling?" Yoichi asked gently and Izuku lifted his head slightly.

"Did I hurt anyone?" Izuku asked ignoring the question." I'm sorry, I didn't mean to lose control, I was just taken aback by Commander's questions."

"Shhh." Yoichi murmured shifting closer until he was right next to him, pulling Izuku into a hug." You didn't hurt anyone, Commander has had worse, he was just surprised with how bad the attack was."

Izuku nuzzled into his uncle, inhaling the man's scent to help calm his nerves.

"I'm not in trouble?" Izuku checked, wanting to be sure.

Yoichi brought a hand up and ran his fingers through Izuku's hair, the feeling was calming and made him feel less on edge. He hated when he had to show weakness, but right now, he was too tired to do anything but let himself show a bit. Not that he minded the attention, Yoichi's presence felt like safety, it was nice to just be held without having to worry about the world around him.

"You're not in trouble, in fact, Commander feels guilty and Leader's quite worried," Yoichi reassured and Izuku winced, he didn't want anyone to feel guilty, it was his fault for not keeping his emotions in check.

"I'm sorry for worrying them." Izuku mumbled before taking a deep breath." I don't mind telling them what has happened to me, perhaps not in detail, but I can give them a rough outline. I was just caught off guard, I just didn't expect it, most people don't seem to care whether I've gone through something or not. To everyone else, mainly close friends and family, they expect me to be the 'sunshine' that keeps everyone's hope up. I don't remember a time that I wasn't expected to be the perfect little hero, as my mom and aunt like to call me."

He swallowed, lowering his gaze to his legs, shame filling him up inside to admit that he felt stressed by anything his mom did to him. She had done so much for him, sacrificing so much to keep him safe from other people as she could, it made him overlook the small things that weren't so great in the long run.

"They put pressure on you to be their sole source of hope, even going as far as expecting you to be a hero for them?" Yoichi questioned with a tone that Izuku couldn't identify, but when he looked up to his uncle's face he winced at the expression of anger." That is way too much responsibility to place on a child."

"Maybe." Izuku admitted with a shrug." It's not the reason behind my problems though, that would have to be the kids I grew up with."

Yoichi stiffened.

"What do you mean?" Yoichi asked slowly, it was clear the man knew he wasn't going to like what Izuku had to say.

"It started off tame, insults and the occasional shove until I turned eleven." Izuku whispered, his heart racing in his chest, trying to figure out how to tell the truth while sticking with his backstory." Then bullying really started, not just from my friends but from the people who came in to teach me. Every day my friends and teacher would give me red spider lilies, and my teacher beat me wherever they could without revealing to Mom that they were doing it. My friends started to follow suit, kicking, punching, and hurting me in as many ways as they could."

"Oh my, god," Yoichi's voice whispered, the tone clearly revealing what the man thought even if Izuku wasn't looking at him.

"Before I ended up on the streets, I was told by someone to take a swan dive off a roof," Izuku confessed, closing his eyes, able to remember the scene as if it had just happened." I left after that, that was two years ago."

For a long time, there was only silence until Izuku heard the sound of someone sniffling, he snapped his head upward and saw Yoichi wiping his eyes on his sleeve. He opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by the door opening, turning he spotted Commander entering, the other man stopping when he noticed Izuku and Yoichi.

Commander made his way over, pausing momentarily when he saw Yoichi crying, shooting a confused glance toward Izuku.

Izuku swallowed, looking down, ashamed that he'd made his own uncle cry when the man had gone through so much. He was selfish letting the man hear everything he'd gone through before UA, the man didn't need to know, and he hadn't even gotten to the multiple villain attacks. Did he even want to tell them anymore, he couldn't even look at Yoichi without feeling guilt at making the man cry, how would he be able to tell the man everything?

"What happened?" Commander asked gently and Izuku raised his head, hesitating for a moment.

"I told him about my childhood, I'm sorry," Izuku whispered, lowering his gaze as he tried to block the sounds of Yoichi crying from his mind, but the sobs made the effort much more difficult than he liked.

Commander reached over and laid a hand on Izuku's shoulder, causing him to glance up with confusion.

"That's ok, Yoichi has quite the bleeding heart, he'd cry over any child if he thought the child didn't deserve something," Commander reassured and Izuku couldn't help but wonder if that was true, surely after everything that Yoichi had gone through, the man wouldn't wear his heart on his sleeve like that, right?

"Ok," Izuku whispered, but the look Commander gave him made it clear the man didn't believe Izuku.

Not that Izuku cared, people always assumed they knew him, even if they barely saw the surface let alone what was underneath.

Yoichi felt awful, he couldn't believe everything the boy, his nephew, had gone through. It was like a nightmare playing in front of his eyes, yet he wasn't able to do a single thing about what he saw. He couldn't shield the boy from life, cause all of the trauma they went through had already happened, it left him feeling gutted.

God, Izuku's trauma was so much worse than his forced isolation at the hands of his brother, at least his brother didn't beat him, insult him, or tell him to go kill himself. What would Hisashi think if he knew what his son was going through, had gone through, he was almost certain if his brother knew, those bullies would be six feet under already and for once, Yoichi wouldn't complain about it.

No, if Hisashi showed up right now with those bullies' and teachers' corpses, he'd give his brother a hug.

He stared down at the now cold tea inside his mug, eyes narrowed with anger, guilt, and so much more. If hadn't rebelled against his brother, would Hisashi have told him about Izuku's mother, would Yoichi have been able to prevent everything that happened to the boy? What if Izuku had been bullied as a result of Yoichi rebelling against Hisashi, forcing his brother to focus more on him instead of his family?

"Yoichi, you alright?" Leader's voice asked quietly from a few feet away, Yoichi looked up meeting the burgundy eyes of his friend.

"It's all my fault, if I had just let my brother do his thing and not rebelled, I'd have been there for Izuku and then he wouldn't have gone through all of that trauma." Yoichi cried out, placing his mug down and reaching up to grip his hair tightly." Izuku didn't deserve to grow up like that, god only knows why the boy didn't go through with it. I would have if I had been subjected to that much hate and abuse growing up, I would have given up."

For a long moment, Leader didn't say a word, the man just moved to sit next to Yoichi on the sofa.

"He's strong, the kid's been through hell and back," Leader said with a bitter smile, Yoichi just stared at his friend." You didn't know about Izuku, that's not your fault, but now that you do know about him, you can be there for him. Sure, maybe you didn't get to prevent the trauma from occurring, but you are here now, you can help him heal from it."

Yoichi let out a sniffle, his heart racing as he processed his friend's words.

Could he really be there for Izuku, even with his declining health, now that he knew about Izuku all he wanted to do was be there for every part of the boy's life? He wanted to watch them grow up, find love, get married, and so much more. There was nothing Yoichi wouldn't do for Izuku, perhaps it was time he risked going to a hospital to do that risky surgery to fix his heart. If it gave him the slightest chance at spending a long enough life to be there for Izuku, he'd do it in a heartbeat.

"You're right, I can still be here for Izuku." Yoichi whispered, taking a deep breath." Leader, I need you to book me an appointment at the hospital, it's time I start taking my own life more seriously. If I want to be there to help my Nephew, I need to get my condition fixed, I need to get a heart transplant."

Leader's eyes widened, the man had gone stiff.

"Yoichi, the risk that your brother would find you or that the government would is extremely high," Leader exclaimed." Not to mention, there is only a sixty-nine percent success rate for a heart transplant."

"I need to be there for him, Leader, please," Yoichi pleaded, trying to get the man to understand." I need to do this, for Izuku."

He saw something flicker in Leader's eyes, wondering what it was, it was similar to pain but not quite.

"I don't want to lose you, Yoichi," Leader admitted, the confession causing Yoichi to freeze in surprise." I really like you, you've become someone I really care about over the past four months and I know this is your decision at the end of the day, but please consider what would happen to Izuku or Commander if you died. Think about what would happen to me, you're the only person other than Commander I trust wholeheartedly, please just consider that."

Yoichi's heart skipped a beat, he had never considered that his friend would care about him that much, it was a nice feeling but not enough to change his mind.

"I'm sorry, my hero, but I need to do this and if it's successful, then I will also get a long healthy life." Yoichi said, not budging an inch on his decision." I promise you, I will make it through the surgery and I'm sure we can find people who would be willing to keep their mouths shut, as to not risk my brother finding out."

He watched as Leader closed his eyes, seeming to take a deep breath before opening them again.

"Alright, I'll talk to Commander and we can figure out a plan to get you that surgery," Leader relented, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Thank you, my hero," Yoichi murmured as he gave the soldier a warm, relieved smile.

"Commander, sir, can I ask you a question?" Izuku asked, his voice revealing how nervous he was.

The man in question, who had been reading an article on his phone glanced up, he gave Izuku a curious look but nodded his head.

"Sure, kid," Commander agreed easily, giving him a reassuring smile.

Izuku took a deep breath, either this went well or he would be getting in trouble for even considering asking it. He wasn't used to asking an adult for help, but he could tell this time it was necessary, if he wanted to use Fa Jin, he had to get Commander to let him use it. His cover story was his own weakness, if Commander and Leader didn't want him to use their Quirks he'd be much weaker than he would otherwise.

"Could I copy your Quirk?" Izuku asked, already thinking of ways he could make One For All shine in his hand as if using a Quirk.

Commander froze, blinking for a moment before turning to him with a confused and suspicious gaze. Shit, had Izuku said something wrong, oh, Commander hadn't ever told him he had a Quirk. He could definitely spin off the idea that he could sense Quirks, perhaps he could even say he took a guess considering the man's hair color.

"I never told you that I had a Meta Ability," Commander said with a frown.

"Oh, sorry, my Quirk can sense others, but even without that, the fact you have blue hair kinda gives away the fact you have a Quirk, remember?" Izuku pointed out, gesturing to the man's hair with his hand." So can I? Please? We can fight the bad guys together, you and me, both using the same Quirk and we'd be unstoppable!"

Was Izuku laying the innocent child act a bit thick, sure, but Commander was a softy and he could tell the man wouldn't be able to resist. True to his predictions, he watched as Commander went through several different expressions before landing on one of resignation.

"Fine, but don't activate it unless supervised, I don't want you to hurt yourself," Commander ordered and Izuku suppressed the need to snort, little did the soldier know that he had a much more powerful version of Fa Jin, not to mention he activated it mid-battle against a former Pro Hero.

Katsuki had been jealous.

"Hell yes!" Izuku cheered before holding out his hand with a wide grin, for a moment Commander just stared at the hand, then he reached out and gripped it gently but firmly.

Izuku pushed a bit of One For All through his arm and allowed lightning to crackle around his hand, he kept that up for a few seconds before pulling back. He could use Fa Jin now without someone being suspicious, this was good, but now he only needed to figure out how to get Leader to 'give' him Gearshift and Yoichi to 'give' him One For All.

"My Meta Ability is called Fa Jin, it builds up kinetic energy when you make repetitive movements and then you can release it all at once in one attack," Commander informed him and Izuku nodded along, despite knowing this information already." It also has a red glow around the parts of you that you build kinetic energy in."

"Can I try it out, like in my finger or something small and relatively harmless?" Izuku asked hopefully, for a moment he watched as the man grew thoughtful, then he nodded." Cool, just give me a second."

With that, Izuku started snapping his fingers as fast as he could while activating Fa Jin, after a few seconds red started to glow around his two fingers and he smirked. Feeling a bit mischievous he pointed his fingers at the water bottle a couple of meters away and similar to how he used One For All, he flicked his finger and watched as the air contorted and he hit the water bottle off the table it was sitting on.

Just then Leader and Yoichi walked in, both looking serious, at least until they saw the expression of disbelief on the other man's face. Izuku just grinned cheekily, feeling quite smug for surprising the soldier.

"He just, you just...how?!" Commander screeched his eyes wide." It took me forty tries to get Fa Jin to make projectiles like that, how'd you do it only one try?!"

Izuku just grinned.

"Cause I'm awesome!" Izuku exclaimed before noticing Leader and Yoichi watching the scene with amusement, though the seriousness in their expressions hadn't completely faded away.

Commander just spluttered, unable to form words.

"As much as it makes me happy to see you two getting along and spending time with each other, Yoichi needs to tell you something important," Leader stated and immediately Commander froze and turned, staring intently at his friend.

Izuku felt unease slowly rising inside him, had something happened, why did Yoichi look so guilty?

"What is it, Uncle Yoichi?" Izuku asked, turning to Yoichi.

He watched as the white-haired man took a deep breath as if steeling himself for something, likely Izuku's reaction, but what did the man need to be so worried about?

"For my entire life I've been dealing with a bad genetic heart condition, my life expectancy is much lower than average." Yoichi started and Izuku's entire world flipped on its axis." I had originally had no plans to do anything about it, but now that Izuku is in my life, I want to be there for him as much as possible. So I've decided to get the necessary heart transplant surgery done in order to have a full life, one that I can hopefully spend with my Nephew."

Izuku wasn't an idiot even in his time, heart transplants were only about sixty-nine percent successful without a Quirk to help the process along, even then, it was only about seventy-five percent successful.

"W-What about All For One?" Izuku asked, giving his uncle a worried look and he noticed the resigned expression on Leader's face, the man had clearly already tried to get Yoichi to give this up.

"Leader is going to call on a few favors he is owed, thankfully I am a universal receiver and as such I am not likely to reject the organ," Yoichi reassured, but Izuku wasn't having it, he didn't want to lose the only person he had in this godforsaken time.

"But what if you die?" Izuku asked, his voice small and he hated how vulnerable it sounded.

Yoichi sighed and moved so he could sit next to him, Commander moving out of the way. Izuku looked into the man's green eyes, desperate for any reassurance that Yoichi would live through this, that he would be fine, and that Izuku wouldn't have to handle All For One alone during the villain's highest point of power.

"Izuku, I can't promise I won't die, but I can promise you that I will fight god himself to stay with you." Yoichi murmured, leaning over and giving Izuku's forehead a gentle kiss." I just want to be able to spend as much of my life with you as possible, but that means I need to do this. I'm already getting to the age that my heart might start giving out, I can't wait any longer."

Tears welled up in Izuku's eyes, he didn't want to lose Yoichi, he didn't know what he'd do if the only person he had in this world was gone.

"Please live," Izuku cried out as he surged forward to wrap his uncle in a tight hug, he wasn't going to be able to convince Yoichi not to do this and in the end, he might lose the man to something so trivial and not All For One.

"I will try, sprout, I will try," Yoichi whispered softly, Izuku just hugged the man tighter.

Chapter Text

It was three days after the reveal of Yoichi's decision to get a heart transplant when Leader finally decided that Izuku was well enough to start helping the resistance group, at first Izuku was excited but then he realized his jobs were less about patrolling and more about cleaning, organizing, and fixing things. He knew logically these things were just as important as any other job, not to mention Leader didn't seem like someone who shoved others into the middle of a war with no experience.

The problem was, Izuku did have experience, he couldn't tell them that or risk revealing he was from the future, but he honestly had more battle experience than the man thought he did. It left him feeling anxious like there was a constant itch to do something, to fight for people, it was driving up the wall.

Now it was a week after he was put to work and he was cleaning guns, a job that was often given to newcomers to get them used to pulling apart and putting together weapons. It was a necessary skill to have in this day and age, but Izuku had managed to do it smoothly in only a couple of hours, mainly due to his ability to analyze and remember things that others couldn't.

He placed another gun in its spot, turning to grab the next when Commander walked in, for a moment he paused before continuing. Taking apart the gun and cleaning it before putting it together once more, was a repetitive process, but Izuku wouldn't complain out loud. The two soldiers had given him food, a roof over his head, and even let him have a relationship with his uncle. Not complaining about a job was the least Izuku could do for the two soldiers, despite him 

"You're unhappy, it's clear as day to see," Commander commented softly." You hate doing this kind of work, but you refuse to complain, why?"

Izuku froze at the question, unsure of how to respond without seeming selfish.

"I just feel I would be better-used patrolling or on missions, I don't do well when completing repetitive tasks." Izuku confessed as he grabbed another gun." I understand you don't want me out on the field, whether due to being a kid or just inexperience, but honestly, I am bored as hell from doing this. Could you at least find something that makes me need to use my brain more, I like analyzing things, couldn't I do that instead?"

"Hmm, I'll talk to Leader about it," Commander offered and Izuku sighed, it was the least the man could do." Now, I've actually come in for a piece of good news, Leader was able to contact someone who's willing to give Yoichi a heart transplant under the radar. It won't make its way onto any public records, the surgery is booked for the end of the month. It's going to take a while to find a suitable organ donor, despite Yoichi being a universal receiver, however, if everything goes well then the surgery can take place and afterward there will be a three-to-six month recovery process."

Despite his concerns regarding the surgery, Izuku was actually somewhat excited to have his uncle in good enough shape to actually be able to have a life. He could see Yoichi often was upset when he couldn't do things with Leader or Commander, the man's green eyes dimming slightly, it hurt cause he often imagined that he himself had those dim eyes more often than not. He didn't like it, cause it shouldn't be on someone else's face, Yoichi should be happy, he had gotten away from his brother after all.

"That's...great," Izuku said with a weak smile, hoping he wasn't conveying how nervous he actually was.

"You don't have to lie, kid, I can see how anxious and worried you are about Yoichi," Commander said with a small frown, but Izuku just gave the man one of his grins as his mask fell into place perfectly.

"I'm fine," Izuku assured, turning away to avoid meeting the man's eyes, he didn't need them questioning why he was so nervous, it was better to handle those emotions alone without any outside interference.

He heard a soft sigh, ignoring it as he went back to his job, the awkward silence was interrupted by Commander leaving the room quietly. He felt a bit bad for dismissing the man, but he wasn't going to put more problems on them than they already had to deal with. He wasn't a friend, he was a soldier now, he wasn't even a hero anymore, not unless he went back home. The only person he could confide in was Yoichi, but the man didn't need more to deal with until after he'd had his surgery and recovered.

A part of him knew he was lying to himself, Leader and Commander were just as important to him as Second and Third were once, but he didn't want to lose these versions so quickly after he lost the vestiges. Cause that would mean losing people he cared about two times in a row, he didn't think he could deal with that, it was best to avoid growing attached to them.

Plus, he still had to find Hikage, if Fourth had disappeared with the others, it meant that somewhere out there Hikage had been born. He wasn't positive how young the fourth user was, but he had to be fairly young considering Third hadn't given the man the Quirk until twenty or twenty-one if he remembered correctly.

He had promised Daigorou to keep an eye out for Fourth, but until he was allowed on missions, he would have to postpone the search.

~ What's up, kiddo? ~ Nana's voice asked and he jumped into the air, his heart racing as he turned toward the pink misty form of the seventh user.~ Sorry, didn't mean to startle you, I just could tell you were really muddled mentally, is something wrong? ~

"I'm fine," Izuku murmured softly, going back to cleaning the gun he currently had." Just a lot on my mind, as well as grieving the loss of...well, you know."

Nana nodded, her form wavering slightly.

~ I'm sorry you have to deal with all of this, ~ Nana admitted, causing him to look up at the woman in confusion.~ You're only sixteen, you shouldn't have to be forced to fight in a war or lose four people you care about, it's not fair. ~

Izuku snorted but inclined his head.

"Life's not fair, but I'll manage, perhaps this can be a way of defeating All For One before he even has a chance to do any of the harm he will in the future," Izuku suggested, shrugging as he focused back on his job.

~ Perhaps, ~ Nana whispered before disappearing into the air, just before the door to the room opened once more to reveal Commander.

He sighed, the man was likely going to bring up another uncomfortable topic, he seemed to have developed a habit of doing so.

"Commander said you want to be more useful than just doing chores, is this correct?" Leader asked as he flipped through a file, to anyone else he'd seem like he was only paying half attention to Izuku, but Izuku had learned to read people during his years before UA.

"Yes, sir," Izuku intoned, his eyes lowered as he waited for the man's next words.

"Alright, you mentioned having a natural inclination toward analysis, what kind of analysis exactly?" Leader asked and Izuku hesitated, in the future people tended to be creeped out by him analyzing their Quirks, but this was a military-like resistance group and they would likely be less upset about his uncanny ability.

Biting his lip he brought out one of his new notebooks, he'd only just started writing in it, but it had details about Blackwhip, Float, Smokescreen, and a few other Quirks he'd seen the people use as they went about their day. He was currently writing a page on Fa Jin but wasn't going to risk writing a page on Leader's Quirk or Hikage's in case the fourth appeared.

He took a deep breath before handing the notebook to Leader, watching as the man's eyes narrowed slightly. The man placed the file down next to him, moving to Izuku's outstretched hand and taking the notebook gently, flipping it open to one of the pages.

Izuku could spot the moment Leader noticed the 'creepiness' of the writing, the man's red eyes blew wide open, his mouth pressed into a thin line. It was an expression that Second had used in the future, it meant that the meant was thinking hard or was considering something important. It made him nervous, what if Leader decided he was too much of a danger to everyone? After all, he'd written two pages worth of information based on a Quirk he'd only seen being used once in passing.

"This-This is impressive, did you truly write this?" Leader asked as he glanced up from the pages, and Izuku swallowed nervously but nodded, he didn't sense the man was being ungenuine.

"Yes sir, I wrote that." Izuku confirmed shrugging." I am still working on the page about Fa Jin, it won't be as detailed though, I don't want to write the weaknesses in case the notebook gets stolen or read."

The man stared at him for a moment before giving a curt nod, closing the notebook, and handing it back.

"Smart," Leader stated crossing his arms." Would you be willing to do the same analysis on evidence and clues we bring in?"

His eyes widened.

"You would really let me-I mean, sure!" Izuku exclaimed as his heart raced in his chest, he had not expected this outcome.

"Just a warning, the kind of evidence and information we collect, it's not pretty," Leader warned, his red eyes dulling slightly." We take pictures whenever we aren't able to clean up after our missions, just in case we find something that is amiss. If you decide to do this, I won't stop you but be aware that you'll likely see extremely gruesome things."

Izuku's stomach twisted, but he just stared into Leader's eyes, giving a determined nod.

"I'll be fine, I want to do this," Izuku stated, the red eyes that searched his face turned sad but also resigned.

"I'll set you up with one of our more recent cases, Commander will observe you for the first few times until you get a hang of it," Leader said with a sigh." Alright, I've got work to do, you're dismissed for the rest of the day. I suggest going to see Yoichi, your uncle has been feeling a bit down lately."

He took a deep breath, nodding as the man picked up a phone on his desk dialing and calling up what Izuku assumed was Commander, after a quick order to come to Leader's office, the man hung up.

"Um, sir, I was wondering if I could, um, copy your Quirk?" Izuku asked, shuffling nervously as he avoided looking directly at the man." I am out of my depth in many ways, I am worried that if my father tried to find me, I wouldn't be able to defend myself."

Trying to appeal to the man's clear softness for kids, Izuku attempted to act as anxious and nervous about the question as possible. It wasn't hard, he was a normally nervous and anxious person, but it wasn't as clear with people he knew and trusted. For a moment there wasn't a single sound, when Izuku glanced up, he noticed Leader seemed to be thinking.

"Not now, I'm sorry but I don't completely trust you yet, I didn't become the leader of this rebellion group by being trusting," Leader decided firmly before his softened." However, if you prove yourself over the next month or so, I might be willing to let you copy my Meta Ability."

Izuku gave the man a weak smile, about to respond when the door to the office opened and Commander walked in.

"You called for me?" Commander asked as he glanced at Izuku, making the teen squirm.

"Yes," Leader said with a nod." I want you to set Midoriya here up in an empty office or room, and give him the files for the case we are currently on. I want to see how the boy works, hopefully, his analysis of the case will help us get closer to finding out what happened."

Commander seemed to stiffen, his eyes growing hard as he looked at his friend. The look unsettled Izuku, he didn't like how upset the man was about the order, what was so bad about this case?

"You're asking the kid to look at pictures of a Meta-Consentration camp?" Commander growled, his eyes flashing with anger." Are you out of your goddamn mind?!"

Izuku's heart stopped at the words the blue-haired man had spoken, he'd forgotten how bad the government was during this time. This had been the second worse case of Concentration Camps in history, the first being during World War Two. Was he ready to know the horrors someone would do against a person who was different than the majority?

A part of him wondered if there had more Quirkless during his time, would the government have done the same for people like him?

"He wants to help, I told him that he'd be forced to look a gruesome and frankly horrifying pictures and he still agreed," Leader said with a sigh." I'm worried too, but we both know that he'll try and help in other more dangerous ways eventually, that's just how teenagers are."

Izuku watched as Commander gritted his teeth, glaring at the ground in front of him.

"Fine, but I want to be assigned to watch him the first few times," Commander declared firmly with no room for arguing.

"Approved," Leader said with a nod." Let me know how well he does, if we can shut down this Concentration Camp, we're one step closer to preventing more deaths in this needless war between Humans and Meta-Humans."

Of course, how could Izuku forget, it wasn't just All For One that these people were fighting against, it was the government and Quirkless people in general. Suddenly, Izuku felt a lot less confident about himself and his abilities, would he really be able to shut down an entire Concentration Camp?

He wasn't so sure.

Four hours into his analysis he found himself regretting his decision, the pictures were horrible, they showed many many people, mostly mutation types, in chains with plain white outfits that had numbers on them. They had outdated Quirk suppressant collars on, ones that had been proven to damage or harm a user if it was put on for too long.

He tried not to dwell on the images of children, men, and women looking like they hadn't eaten in weeks, but it was hard. He wanted to help them but knew if he went out there, he'd end up just like them, a statistic in an image.

"Are you alright, do you need a break?" Commander asked gently, making Izuku realize with a start how he was crying.

He lifted his hand, wiping the tears away as he bit his lip.

"N-No, I need to help these people," Izuku whispered softly and began relaying the layout of the Camp, explaining that from the pictures he got it was located in a rural area with not a lot of people, meaning it was likely in some sort of farmland." It's likely in one of the areas that grow barley and oats, I can see a few straggling plants around the edges of the fence line. There aren't a lot of areas that deal with those plants, so that's your best bet."

Commander was silent for a long time before nodding, pulling out his phone, and sending a text, likely to Leader.

"Good work kid, we'll check it out and let you know if we find the place," Commander praised with a small smile." I suggest getting some rest, if you work too long, you'll start missing things you otherwise wouldn't."

"I guess so, I still haven't visited Uncle Yoichi, so perhaps I'll go see how he's doing," Izuku mumbled in response, getting up and reluctantly leaving his work behind." Tell Leader that I said hi!"

With that, Izuku rushed out of the room and down the hallway, making sure he wasn't actually running. He had found out that Leader didn't like people running around unless there was an emergency, which he could admit was probably a decent rule.

As he approached Yoichi's room and knocked, he could hear his uncle muttering to themselves, wondering what they were thinking about. The mumbling stopped as soon as he knocked though and a moment later, Yoichi opened the door to greet him. As soon as the man saw Izuku, his eyes lit up, it made Izuku's heart clench as he realized once more how much he meant to this man.

"Izuku!" Yoichi exclaimed happily, waving him to come in." I was wondering when you were going to visit, Leader had me stop working until after the surgery recovery process, so for the next few months I won't be doing much to help. How have the chores been going, I heard you weren't a big fan of them."

"I'm not doing that anymore, I've become an Analyzer for the group," Izuku admitted, rubbing the back of his neck." It's where my talents lie, but I never expected the pictures to have such an impact on me."

Yoichi's face fell into a carefully blank expression, one that had Izuku worrying, had he said something wrong?

"What's the case you're working on?" Yoichi asked slowly and Izuku winced but responded, telling the man he was working on finding the location of a Concentration Camp using photos that were given to the rebellion." Concentration Camp?! Oh, I'm going to fucking murder Leader for giving you a case like that to work on, you're sixteen, you shouldn't be worrying about that kind of thing!"

Izuku rolled his eyes, an annoyed huff escaping from his lips.

"Hate to break it to you, but I have needed to worry about this kind of thing since I was born." Izuku said and it was an exaggeration of the truth, considering how he was treated when he was Quirkless." I have green hair and a Quirk, of course, I have to worry about this. Plus, analyzing is a way for me to help these people while still staying perfectly safe."

It was clear the man wasn't happy, but he could tell they didn't want to argue the point any longer, though he had a feeling that Leader was going to get chewed out by his uncle.

"Fine, how about we talk about something else?" Yoichi suggested with a tense smile." You can pick the topic."

Izuku thought for a moment before biting his lip, did his uncle know he had a Quirk, I mean he definitely knew about the stockpile but it was highly unlikely that he knew about the transferrable part of his Quirk.

"Well, I could talk about how you have one of the most complicated dual Quirk I've ever seen," Izuku suggested, pretending to not notice the sudden tension or surprise on his uncle's face.

"What?" Yoichi whispered and Izuku turned to him, tilting his head in mock confusion." Did you say dual Meta Ability?"

"Yeah!" Izuku exclaimed with a grin." It's when a Quirk has two ways of manifesting itself, my friend had a Quirk that let him use heat and fire on his left side and cold and ice on his right. It's a little odd that both of the outputs are different with no similarities, but Quirks only have just started appearing and it makes sense we don't know everything about them."

He could see his uncle's face growing paler and paler by the second, he felt bad, but they needed to find out how to transfer their Quirk somehow.

"What's the other aspect of my Meta Ability?" Yoichi practically demanded and Izuku flinched slightly at how panicked the man was.

"Um, you can pass your Quirk down by having another person consume your DNA while willing the Quirk onto them." Izuku explained slowly, frowning." Um, it can't be forcibly taken, at least from what my Quirk tells me, but it can be forcibly given. I'd probably not be able to copy it unless I've been given permission, but that's not a guarantee."

Silence followed his explanation, he glanced up to see the other man staring off in a random direction and he didn't look like he was aware of anything happening.

Shit.

He just caused his uncle to dissociate.

Izuku knew better than to try and touch him, it didn't end well, but he could try and get their attention some other way. However, before he could even attempt to do so, the man inhaled sharply, shaking his head as his eyes cleared of their glazy appearance.

"I have a Meta Ability, my own Meta Ability," Yoichi whispered, his voice cracking slightly as he let his face fall into his hands with what Izuku assumed was labored breathing.

"I-I'm sorry, it's clear you didn't know." Izuku rushed to say." I didn't mean to upset you, I clearly dug into some trauma."

Yoichi peeked out from his hands, lowering them as he opened his mouth to respond, only all of sudden a sound spoke through a speaker in the corner of the room. Both he and Yoichi glanced up, Izuku noticing the serious expression on the man's face.

- ALL MEDICAL STAFF OR PEOPLE WITH MEDICAL SKILLS, PLEASE COME TO THE MEDICAL UNIT ASAP -

Izuku leaped to his feet, while he'd never been trained, he had often had to treat pretty serious wounds on himself since the hospitals wouldn't treat a Quirkless kid. Yoichi called after him, but he refused to even stop as he ran through the place and skidded into the Medical unit, surprised to see that there wasn't anyone there.

"Where the hell is the head nurse or any of the doctors and nurses?!" The voice of Leader shouted at someone, anger was clear in the man's tone." There is a heavily injured kid laying here dying 'cause there isn't anyone who knows how to do shit!"

"The nurses are cleaning up at a battlefield, dozens of our men were injured during the latest fight," Another voice that Izuku didn't recognize spoke, the voice wavering in clear fear.

Having heard enough, Izuku appeared around the corner, the two men stopped talking instantly to turn to him in confusion.

"Um, I used to have to patch myself up from pretty serious wounds when growing up, kids weren't exactly nice to me for being what I was," Izuku said, his eyes lowered as he avoided looking directly at the two men.

The two hissed a few things to each other before Leader held his hand up, stopping the other man from finishing what they were going to say.

"Do it, you're the best we have right now," Leader ordered with a sharp nod.

With a nod, Izuku threw himself into work, pulling the curtain back he froze momentarily, the kid had pale blonde hair and despite not being able to see the eye color, he instinctively knew exactly who this kid was.

Hikage.

Shit, this was worse than he had thought, did this happen in the previous timeline? Had he screwed something up, was Hikage going to die cause he'd interfered too much?

Eyes quickly located the injury, wincing as he spotted what was a crossbow arrow jutting out of the kid's torso. Thankfully, no one had been an idiot and tried to remove the arrow, otherwise, it would have risked the kid bleeding out. Mundane weapons were commonly used against Quirked individuals during these times, although to be fair, he didn't expect a fucking crossbow to be used.

It was likely that whoever shot the kid was someone who liked hunting.

Regardless of the type of arrow, one thing was clear, he couldn't pull it out, he'd have to push it further until it broke out the other side before breaking the tip of the arrow off.

First, though, he needed to check where the arrow hit exactly, the last thing he needed was to pierce an organ. Pulling his phone out he searched for a diagram of a child around the same age in appearance as the kid in front of him, placing it down somewhere for reference, he carefully maneuvered Hikage onto his side.

Slowly with as much care as he could, he pushed the arrow through and out the other side, wincing at the makeshift jagged edges. Someone clearly had tried to make sure that if someone tried to pull it out, they would cause serious harm, more harm than if it had been just a normal arrow.

Snapping the arrowhead off, he turned to call for Leader.

"Leader! I need you here for a minute!" Izuku called, a moment later the man came around the curtain and Izuku handed him a piece of padding ordering him to put pressure on the back wound as soon as he pulled the shaft out.

Counting to three, he quickly yanked the shaft of the arrow out, putting his own padding on the front. Gritting his he used his other hand to grab some medical string and needle, he activated Blackwhip to hold the needle and threat as he activated One For All, happy the kid was unconscious.

Using One For All, he pushed as much energy into his hand as he let it overflow until the burning he normally felt when using one hundred percent, using the heat from the Quirk he cauterized the wound. A moment later he did the same to the other side.

Now with the bleeding taken care of, he could strategically remove the burned flesh until he could safely close the wound. It was a crude method, but he wasn't exactly a medical professional. He was only providing a temporary solution, the head nurse could handle things when they returned, and he cleaned the wound as best as he could.

After half an hour, he managed to stitch the front wound and the second one took even less time now that he knew what to do.

He ordered Leader to stay there for a moment, with a frown he rushed to the cupboards, looking through them for something, grinning when he found antibiotic cream and gauze. Coming back he spread the antibiotic cream on each of the stitched wounds, afterward, he moved to the padding grabbing two and asking Leader to both down on each wound, the man did as he asked without question.

Once they were placed he went grabbed medical tape and taped them to the skin, using the gauze to wrap around the kid's torso. Again, he used tape to finish the job, his heart racing as he tried to process what he'd just done.

If this kid died now, he was totally being held responsible, there was no way that he wouldn't be especially with the immediate threat no longer being an issue. Anything after this would be his fault.

Fuck.

"Now that this crisis is over, time for me to ask...what the fuck kinda injuries were you forced to treat yourself," Leader's voice asked in a deceptively calm tone.

Izuku raised his head, paling at the dead serious expression and the anger flickering in the man's eyes. He knew he wouldn't be able to talk or lie his way out of this one, it was time to give a more truthful statement about his childhood, one that made more sense than being locked away in his home for protection.

Chapter Text

Izuku sat on a bed in the medical unit, he had been ordered to stay there until the results of the full diagnosis of his former injuries came back. He knew they would find evidence of broken bones that were not healed professionally, although, at this point, his arms would only show more recent injuries due to how much he'd broken them while training One For All.

There was also internal scarring on some of his organs, mild nerve damage, and more. All of it would show up on scans, assuming they used the right equipment. It left him with a problem, all those former injuries would raise questions, and it wouldn't match his story cause most of the injuries were made by Quirks.

The kid he had helped save was doing well, with no infection, and they had already woken up and the kid's name was confirmed to be Hikage or more specifically, Shinormori Hikage.

Izuku glanced up as the door opened, Leader, Commander, Yoichi, and the doctor entered the room and he could see them whispering to each other while the doctor pointed to the clipboard she was holding. He tensed at the closed-off expression on Leader's face, it hurt seeing that on the man he'd grown rather fond of.

As Yoichi approached and sat on the side of his bed, he gave his uncle a small hesitant smile.

"Hey, Uncle Yoichi," Izuku greeted and the other man closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them, face falling into a frown.

"You've been lying about your life before we found you, haven't you?" Yoichi questioned and Izuku's heart dropped to his stomach, he couldn't tell them about the time travel, it would ruin the future and he couldn't afford that.

~ Why not? ~ Daigorou asked and Izuku froze. ~ You're not getting back to your time kid, keeping things the same is just gonna end with your uncle, Leader, and Commander dead. You might as well change the outcome, tell them and they can help you fight All For One. ~

Izuku wanted to, he really did, could he really just throw everything away and give up hope of ever getting back to his time?

He glanced up at his uncle who was still waiting for a response to his question, in his heart, Izuku already knew the answer to his own question. He had to at least try and save everyone, even if that erased his own future, he didn't know whether he'd disappear if he did that but even if he did, his uncle, Leader, and Commander deserved to live a full life after all they went through.

"I-I'm sorry, I was scared and at the time I didn't trust you, by the time I did I had already lied so much that I thought you'd hate me if I told the truth." Izuku admitted, closing his eyes tightly and inhaling a deep breath." Most of what I said was true, I weaved the truth into the words I said, but the fact of the matter is that I wasn't ostracized for having a Quirk, but for not having one. I'm not from your time, I am from a little over two hundred years into the future, I was sent back due to a Quirk and now I'm stuck in the Dawn of Quirk's era."

Yoichi was silent, not a single sound was heard in the room and he turned to realize Leader and Commander had also come over to talk and had heard everything he'd just said.

"The future?" Commander questioned with a frown." If you're All For One's son, that means we failed to end his tyranny, didn't we?"

"Yes and no." Izuku said slowly, unsure if he should bring up the truth of his Quirk." You all had successors, people you entrusted to train to take him down, I was your ninth successor. I was meant to take him down in my timeline, but due to getting sent back, I've decided to lay low and not interfere. I didn't know if affecting too much would ruin any chance of defeating All For One."

Leader huffed, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Right, as punishment for not telling us the truth, you're going to be placed in one of the cells we have here," Leader informed him and Izuku paled." You broke the trust we placed in you, until you can earn it back, you're going to be treated like any other war prisoner. The only difference is we won't be torturing you for information, Commander, take him to the holding cell."

He felt panic rush up and scrambled backward away from the man, Blackwhip rushing out and flailing around in protective motions, preventing Commander from getting closer without getting whacked by the energy whips.

"Wait!" Izuku exclaimed as fear and adrenaline rushed through his body and mind." D-Don't you have a person w-with a Quirk that can detect lies? Please, I promise, I'm telling the truth! Don't lock me up, I can help, I can defeat All For One!"

His pleading did nothing and Commander gently but firmly grabbed his arm and tugged him out of the room.

The entire walk down to the holding area was spent in silence, Izuku's hope flickering dangerously, on the verge of going out. He wondered why Yoichi didn't even attempt to defend him, even if he agreed with them. Was he not worth defending, was this bias over who his father was, did Yoichi assume that since he lied about where he was from and about his past that it automatically meant he was a manipulative jerk like All For One?

Commander brought him into the cell, explaining where everything was before turning to leave the room and Izuku just stood there numbly.

"Daigorou, this is all your fault," Izuku growled under his breath, tears running down his cheek as he walked over to the simple bed in the room, curling up in the corner and just letting himself sob for as long as he was able to.

"Don't you think you're being a little too harsh on him?" Yoichi asked once Commander had returned." He's sixteen, he clearly hasn't had the best experience with authority figures, of course, he wouldn't trust us."

"He lied to us and in this world, we can't afford to trust someone like that," Leader said with a sigh, shaking his head." If he had admitted all of this at the beginning, things would have been different, but right now it isn't just how I feel. I have over five hundred people under my watch, if I let others get away with things cause I was giving them the benefit of the doubt then we wouldn't still be here."

Yoichi pursed his lips, unhappy with the way Leader was speaking.

"So, you only do it when it benefits you?" Yoichi asked, his voice low and dangerous." Is that why you gave me the benefit of the doubt? Cause I had information to give, would you have pulled the trigger when you found me if I hadn't been All For One's brother?"

"Yoichi, you know that's not what Leader mea-" Commander was cut off by a glare being shot his way.

"Don't." Yoichi snapped, whirling around to face the second-in-command." I've been used, manipulated, gaslit, and so much more while growing up. I know when I see bullshit and Leader is spouting precisely that, he rescues someone like me from a situation and then turns on someone else who's been placed in a position out of their control."

He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as he tried to contain his rage, he knew logically that Leader wasn't doing this cause he wanted to but because he had to. Regardless, it did nothing to quelch the pain he felt in his heart, the fact his nephew had been forced to fight against his own father when he was only sixteen and should be running around playing with other kids.

Why had his successors' successor asked a kid to be the one to fight off All For One, it could have been anyone else, so why a kid? He didn't know what successor really meant in this context, but it had to have been important, was there a certain trait needed to be a successor and Izuku was the only one who fit the mold?

All his fight drained out of him, his body going limp as he sat back onto the bed Izuku had been in just a few minutes prior.

"He's just a kid, he doesn't deserve to be treated like this," Yoichi murmured before looking up into Leader's eyes." And if you think I will stand by while you treat him like a prisoner, then you've got another thing coming. I won't allow it, even if I have to take him and run, I will not let him be treated like that."

The room was silent, not a single word spoken for a few moments as everyone process what Yoichi had just said.

"Then leave, I am not letting you or the boy put everyone in danger, not when I've done so much to keep everyone safe," Leader snapped as he waved Yoichi off, shattering the white-haired man's heart." You have till the end of the day to decide if you are going to comply or if you will be leaving with Izuku, I suggest if it's the latter that he start packing now."

With that, Leader turned and left the room, leaving Yoichi to stare after the man who'd rescued him and been the first person he could count on after his time with his brother. He heard Commander murmur an apology but didn't allow a single visible indication he'd actually heard it. A few moments later, the Commander also left, leaving Yoichi alone in the room as he tried to think about where he'd go now.

Swallowing he made his way to his room, he didn't have much to pack anyways, he should focus on finding somewhere for both him and Izuku to spend the night instead. He could handle a few nights without food, it wasn't like it hadn't been a daily thing while he had been held captive by his brother.

Izuku didn't know how long he'd been in the cell, but eventually, Commander entered and quietly asked him to follow. Confusion coursed through Izuku as he followed the second-in-command, wondering what was going on.

He got his answer when he realized he was at the entrance of the building, standing there were Yoichi and Leader, both of which were not even looking at each other and a strange tension was drifting around the area. He noticed Yoichi had dried up tear tracks on his cheeks while his eyes were red from what appeared to be crying.

However, Leader looked even colder and more distant than usual, the man was just glaring at a wall with his arms crossed across his chest.

"Uncle Yoichi, w-what's going on?" Izuku asked trying to suppress his usual nervous stutter when something made him anxious." Why are you wearing your coat?"

Yoichi's eyes seemed to dim slightly at the question and Izuku frowned, something was wrong, this wasn't supposed to happen. Had he already started a butterfly effect that he couldn't control, just when he had only now decided to do something about the future?

"We...We need a new place to live, Izuku," Yoichi explained, though the grief in his uncle's voice spoke volumes to Izuku of what had occurred.

Yoichi had defended Izuku and was being punished for it, but he wouldn't allow that, he refused to allow his uncle to take the fall for something that wasn't his fault. He shook his head, shooting a glare toward Leader, even more, betrayal bubbling up under the surface and threatening to explode.

"No." Izuku stated firmly and Yoichi blinked, shocked." If he wants to kick me out, fine, if he wants to lock me up, great, but the moment he threatens to refuse you sanctuary? That I cannot stand for, I refuse to."

"Izuku, I chose to support you, it's my decision if I wish to do this," Yoichi whispered with a tired sigh.

Izuku glared at Leader and shook his head once more.

"No." Izuku refused to budge." Commander, please put me back in the cell, I refuse to leave if it means Yoichi has to as well. If that's already off the table, then I will simply ditch Yoichi once we leave and he can return here to continue recovering while I deal with the world myself."

Leader's mouth was drawn into a tense line, clearly not pleased with what he was hearing. Izuku just met the man's gaze unrelenting, refusing to back down. Eventually, Leader let out a sigh and nodded toward Commander.

"Fine, Commander, do as he says," Leader stated and Izuku paused before he was led off, turning back to Leader and giving the man glare.

"If you break my Uncle's heart any more than it has already been broken, I swear to god, it won't be All For One that you'll have to watch your back around," Izuku warned and with that he whipped his head back toward the direction of his cell, not wanting to stay around Leader anymore than necessary.

The next three days passed relatively calmly, Izuku got three meals a day, one walk through the base a day, and he was allowed books and a deck of cards to play with. Honestly, it was better than he had expected and it wasn't like he was being cut off from human contact at all, Command often visited to ask for analysis on missions that would soon take place.

A part of him wondered if he should refuse to give an analysis considering everything that had happened, but in the end, he just wanted to help people, and this was the only way he could right now.

Most of his analyses were non-lethal ways of taking someone down with the data he was given, but occasionally he recognized that he couldn't afford to look for a non-lethal method and had to resort to giving deadly information instead. Most of the time, in those cases, it was time sensitive and he couldn't afford to let others die just so he could prevent innocents from getting caught in the crossfire.

When he wasn't doing analysis, he was in the void talking to the remaining predecessors, all of which were clueless about how to help him. The most knowledgeable of the vestiges were gone, leaving only Daigorou, En, and Nana. They didn't have the same experience as the others, they couldn't figure out what was going on, and it left Izuku feeling almost hopeless.

A part of him wondered if this was the timeline's attempt to keep him from changing events, if he wasn't able to do much, then he wouldn't be able to prevent Yoichi's death nor Leader and Commander's death either.

If that was the case, could he even change things without it all snapping back into place later?

His thoughts were interrupted by the door to the cell opening, he glanced up to spot Leader but immediately lowered his gaze and tried to ignore the man's presence. He didn't want to talk to them, he was still angry at them for what they almost did to Yoichi. How could they have even considered that especially since Yoichi was vulnerable currently?

"Hey kid," Leader greeted and Izuku noted the awkwardness in the man's tone." Listen, Commander said I might've been a bit too harsh."

Izuku snorted, that was an understatement.

"I'm not...I'm not good with emotions, especially anger," Leader admitted and Izuku froze, his mind suddenly remembering his best friend who was much the same." I was angry that you lied, but not at you, but for you. Cause I'm the one who's supposed to be keeping you safe, yet you still felt the need to lie to me and Commander, to even Yoichi."

With a sharp inhale, Izuku looked up to see Leader's gaze was locked onto the wall, the man's fists clenched tightly enough that he could see white knuckles.

"I felt hurt, I didn't realize that doing this would affect Yoichi so much and I thought if you were grounded for a week or two, things would get better," Leader confessed, his gaze finally leaving the wall and meeting Izuku's." Kid, I'm sorry that I...that I did that, without thinking it through."

Izuku bit his lip, unsure of what to say, but as the silence dragged on he decided there was only one way of dealing with the situation.

"Ground me?" Izuku commented, giving the other man a small smirk." Okay then, Dad, I've learned my lesson."

Despite the teasing tone, Leader just spluttered slightly, completely caught off guard and Izuku couldn't help but laugh at the expense of the soldier. There was no question, Izuku would always forgive someone, at least if the action taken wasn't on purpose, but that didn't mean he hadn't been hurt by the action.

"Right, well, Yoichi has been missing you," Leader said eventually, coughing into his fist." So, um, I guess we can shorten the time, seeing as you've...learned your lesson. Right. Nice talk, I-I'm going to go now, I'll leave the door open."

With that Leader turned and walked out of the room, his back as stiff as a board and he was muttering something under his breath Izuku couldn't hear.

Strange.

Almost as soon as he made it back to his room, he was ambushed by a very excited ten-year-old, the boy nearly barreling him over. With a small gasp, he managed to balance himself before recognizing the boy as the one he'd saved the life of.

"Hey there, I see you're awake, I'm glad I managed to help you out," Izuku greeted with a smile, slipping into the same mental state he did when dealing with Kota or Eri.

"Uh huh, Yoichi-san said you saved my life!" Hikage chirped, making Izuku's heart ache painfully, this boy was the same man he'd gotten fond of in the vestige realm, only younger." He also said that it was important to say thank you."

Important to say what?

Weren't kids told how to say thank you really early in their lives? Yet this kid was at least ten years old, maybe older if he didn't get the nutrients that he needed. It was unlikely though, considering how tall the man was when he'd been in One For All. Regardless, he ignored the uneasiness for the time being, electing to simply give the boy a smile.

"I did, it was difficult, but I can see you are a tough fellow and were able to make it through," Izuku said as he let his smile spread into a full grin.

"Yeah!" Hikage exclaimed with almost sparkling eyes.

Izuku knew that look, it was the same look that Kota, Eri, and Katsuma often had when he saw them, the kind that told Izuku they were extremely grateful to be alive. The look that made being a hero worth it, despite all the pain he'd gone through. He would never see Eri, Kota, or Katsuma again but that didn't matter right now, because he had Hikage.

"Want to hear a story?" Izuku asked softly, his heart aching as he thought about everything the older version of the kid had helped him through.

"Yes!" Hikage exclaimed and Izuku chuckled, motioning to his room.

"Alright, want to go sit on my bed while I tell it?" Izuku suggested." Might be more comfortable than the hallway."

Hikage eagerly agreed and he entered his room and sat on the bed alongside the boy, once he and the kid were settled, he began to tell them stories about his future. Always making sure to leave the name of the person he was telling the story about, a secret, as well as not telling anything that was important, just the funny ones.

The ones that Hikage had told him.

As he told each story, he had to fight the tears that threatened to overwhelm him. He hadn't really had the opportunity to grieve for his friend, despite the boy being the same person, he didn't have the memories of the older version.

There were a few times he had to stop and take a deep breath before continuing, during those times he made sure that it would appear to be more of a dramatic pause. It wouldn't be good for the boy to recognize he was taking a moment to compose himself, the kid was too young to worry about others, he should be worrying about kid stuff instead. It was bad enough that the kid was hunted down like an animal, but to be forced to worry about someone else just seemed cruel.

It didn't take long before Hikage slowly drifted off to sleep, the boy snuggled into Izuku's side with a small smile on his face. Quietly Izuku pulled a blanket over him and Hikage, his own eyes drooping slightly as he fought sleep, even if he knew it would likely be pointless with how tired he felt.

The last thing he saw before slipping into darkness was Yoichi's face peeking into the room.

Chapter Text

Izuku was nervous.

His uncle was in the hospital getting his heart transplant, and Leader was with him, leaving him alone with Commander. He couldn't help but worry that Commander would get a call saying Yoichi didn't make it, even if the surgery was successful, it didn't guarantee that the organ wouldn't be rejected.

There was a pretty high risk of the organ being rejected, not as high as a lung transplant, but still, it wasn't numbers that Izuku liked to think about.

Right now, he wanted nothing but to curl up in his room, waiting for the moment he found out if the entire thing was successful, but Commander thought his time was better placed towards more analysis. Not that he could concentrate, even if he wanted to, but it was either that or giving information about the future and Izuku wasn't ready for that.

Just because they knew the truth now, doesn't mean he wanted to talk about it.

He could try visiting Hikage, but the kid had made a friend not long ago and Izuku didn't want to interrupt their time together. The kid's life didn't revolve around Izuku, even if the idea of the kid forgetting him was a bit depressing to think about. It was likely for the best, however, it wasn't like being around him was safe for anyone who didn't what they were doing and was getting into.

"Your mind is wandering again, kid," Commander pointed out and Izuku winced.

"Sorry, can't turn my thoughts off, I'm just really worried." Izuku admitted, sighing slightly as he turned to stare at the wall." Do you think Uncle Yoichi will be alright?"

"I think that there is no force on Earth that will keep that man away from you if you still want and need him," Commander assured, the words causing a small smile to spread across Izuku's face.

He supposed the man was right, but he couldn't shake off a feeling that something was going to happen. It wasn't Danger Sense, but it was a feeling that he's felt many times before something big happened. Like the USJ, Training Camp, and the mall where Shigaraki had ambushed him.

God, he hoped this was just him being nervous and terrified of losing his only family member because he didn't want to imagine what might be the cause of his feeling.

"Could we go for a walk?" Izuku asked hopefully, earning an uncertain expression.

"Leader doesn't want you away from the base, even though All For One likely doesn't know you exist, the fact he is your father could mean very bad things if he ever caught wind of you." Commander said slowly before sighing." However, I understand you feel pent up in here, we can go for half an hour, that sound alright?"

Izuku nodded his head, feeling nothing but relief.

~ Kid, you got to take therapy sometime, ~ Daigorou commented and Izuku huffed at the comment, he still hadn't completely forgiven the man for telling him everything would be ok if he told them all the truth, sure it eventually turned out ok, but he still suffered because of the decision to tell them.

"That's fine, thanks for this," Izuku mumbled as he stood up and followed the older man through the base towards the front area, he could even see a few other people running around doing various jobs.

It was always interesting to watch everyone work, it was clear everyone here often saw each other as family in a sense. It was a bond he and Class 1A had shared during his time, he missed them, he also missed Yagi, Aizawa, Yamada, and everyone else he'd been close to or had known. He wondered what they were doing back in the future, he doubted they even realized he was gone, assuming that the future paused when he was sent back.

As he stepped outside, he inhaled the fresh air, closing his eyes for a moment before looking around.

The area wasn't the best view, but it was better than the base's walls, he hesitated for a long moment, wondering what he wanted to do for his half an hour outside. It was only when he turned to look at Commander that he got an idea, with a smirk he used Float and Blackwhip, grabbing the soldier and skyrocketing into the air.

Much to his amusement, Commander practically yelped, the sound was high-pitched and frankly embarrassing. He would definitely be telling Leader and Yoichi about it when they were able to return home.

"Kid, stop this!" Commander ordered and Izuku stopped, but he was already above the clouds, the half-moon shining brightly onto both him and the man.

Now that he was still, he made sure to support the man a bit better with Blackwhip.

He watched as Commander's eyes shifted from nervous and annoyed to awed, he grinned in response, it was breathtaking being so high up. Being free from everyone and everything that could ever want to control him, he could tell Commander was feeling it too. Nana told him she used to do this all the time, back when she needed time to think without any interruptions, it was a good strategy.

"It's calming up here, isn't it," Izuku commented and Commander nodded reluctantly, his eyes glancing toward him.

"Did you do this often when you were feeling down?" Commander asked, but Izuku just shook his head.

"It wasn't safe, All For One could fly too and none of my classmates beside one could float like me and even they could only do it for so long without feeling nausea," Izuku said, glancing down with a sigh, he really missed Ochako.

Something made him freeze, Danger Sense flaring and he immediately began descending, there was smoke coming from below, it was darker than the clouds, nearly black.

As soon as he exited the cloud layer, even Commander understood something was happening, but when Izuku's eyes landed on the base, his heart lurched. He braced himself and Commander, letting himself drop Float momentarily in order to descend faster, his body free-falling toward the base which was on fire.

A few meters from the ground, he reactivated Float, landing and releasing Commander before running toward's the chaos, ignoring the shouts coming from the man telling him to stop. This was personal, he was a user of One For All, and he needed to be the one to face All For One if Yoichi wasn't here to do it.

He didn't expect to win, that wasn't the point, he just needed to make sure the man didn't hurt anyone.

As he crashed through a wall into a large hangar, he spotted the man, his supposed father. He grits his teeth, activating Fa Jin, Gear Shift, and Blackwhip. He propelled himself towards the villain, using his speed to knock him into the far wall.

Turning toward the three Soldiers that All For One had been about to hurt before his arrival at the scene, he ordered them to leave, thankfully they listened

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" All For One drawled as he reappeared from the man-shaped hole in the wall." Multiple Meta-Abilities, I never even considered someone would manifest a Meta-Ability like mine."

"It's not like yours, I manifested seven Quirks naturally, unlike your abomination of a Quirk!" Izuku snarled, earning an amused look from the man.

"Quirks?" All For One repeated, a glint in his red eyes." How quaint. I wonder if you'll still be so confident once I take those little Quirks of yours."

Izuku paled, he didn't know if One For All was strong enough to not be stolen, First and three others weren't even in the void to defend the Quirk, which meant he either needed to use long-ranged attacks or just not make contact for more than a second.

"I won't let you do that, sir," Izuku snarled, wondering briefly if he should just distract the man until everyone could evacuate.

"And how are you expecting to defeat me?" All For One questioned arrogantly, it was clear to Izuku that the man had never once met someone who could match him in sheer power, so, of course, he would be arrogant and overconfident.

~ You could mention your relations to the man? ~ Nana suggested and Izuku winced at that. ~ Remember, All For One did the same during Kamino when he mentioned Tomura being my grandson, this would throw him off even momentarily. It could give you the opening needed to attack him. ~

It might throw him off, but it also brought attention to himself, it was risky and he wasn't sure he wanted the man discovering he was from the future.

Suddenly a blast of fire was sent in his direction and it was only with the help of Danger Sense that he managed to dodge, throwing himself to the side before jumping to his feet again. The villain was smart though, he didn't let Izuku get any traction before sending another attack, this time an electric one.

"Dance little boy, dance," All For One mocked and Izuku gritted his teeth, frustration building up and that was dangerous, the last thing he needed was to lose control of Blackwhip.

"Is this how you treated Yoichi?" Izuku called out, the sentence causing All For One to freeze, the villain's eyes narrowing with deadly interest." No wonder he left you, you're just a sad man with issues that even a family member couldn't handle."

All For One roared, sending a huge blast of wind toward Izuku, slamming him into a far wall, the villain stalked up to him as he struggled to sit up and get out of the way.

"You have no idea what you are talking about, boy." All For One growled once he reached Izuku and grabbed Izuku's hair tightly as he forced Izuku to stand." Yoichi was safe, nothing could hurt him, and now he is at risk of getting himself killed!"

Izuku yelped as his hair was tugged on again, All For One shaking him like a ragdoll.

"Well, maybe being dead was better than dealing with you!" Izuku snapped, causing All For One to bristle for a moment then the villain took a deep breath, calming himself.

"Perhaps you're right, but I am sure of one thing, my brother's hero obsession won't allow you to be harmed." All For One drawled and Izuku felt his entire body freeze, clearly under the effect of a Quirk." I'm sure if it meant saving you, Yoichi will be more than willing to make a little trade, you for him."

He paled, he couldn't let that happen, he had to get away, but he couldn't even move a muscle and he was completely at the mercy of the villain who was chuckling like he'd already won. Then again, he had won, hadn't he?

~ Izuku, let go! ~ Daigorou urged and Izuku wondered what the vestige meant.~ Let go of the control you have of Blackwhip! ~

Oh.

That's what they meant, of course, the last time he'd let Blackwhip itself have control he had torn apart a training area. Letting go might be his only option, it would even rely on him being able to move, not with how the energy whips worked.

Gritting his teeth, Izuku let himself succumb to rage.

His entire world going black.

Yoichi was feeling good, better than he'd felt in a long time, even if he'd just gotten out of a long surgery that had lasted hours. Thankfully, one of the staff had a Meta Ability that helped make transplants more successful, though no one knew she was a Meta Ability user, if they did then she'd have been sent to a camp in a heartbeat.

He glanced to the side at Leader, he definitely found himself growing more and more attached to the man who'd saved him from the vault. The man was wearing dark brown eye contact, while he himself had brown dye in his hair, it was annoying, having to ruin his hair but this surgery was more than worth it if he would get a chance to see his Nephew grow up.

"We should be able to head back in a few hours, they just want to keep you here for a bit longer for observation," Leader assured and Yoichi smiled, feeling tired but happy.

"Thank you for doing this, my hero," Yoichi murmured, earning a small smile from the strawberry-blonde soldier.

"Anytime, you've been through quite a lot, it was the least I could do," Leader said with a shrug, but Yoichi could spot the small tint of pink on the man's ears.

Cute.

Yoichi let out a sigh, turning his head to the phone where he had sent a text to Commander a while ago, but no response was returned. He knew he should worry, it could be nothing but he couldn't shake the feeling something bad was happening.

"Has Commander responded to you, he hasn't done so for me," Yoichi spoke up, earning a look of concern from Leader.

"No, he hasn't," Leader admitted, however, just then the phone rang and the man picked up.

He watched as Leader stiffened, going pale as snow, that was all he needed to know, something bad had happened. His feeling had been correct, and this was one of the moments he wished he hadn't been.

The call ended and Leader let his face fall into his hands, a distraught expression on the man.

"W-What happened?" Yoichi asked even though he had a feeling he didn't really want to know, but he knew he needed to know.

"All For One attacked the base, he's taken Izuku," Leader revealed, the news hitting Yoichi like someone had sucker-punched him in the gut." We need to get to the safe house, you can finish recovering there, everyone here is in danger if your brother finds out you've had surgery."

Yoichi nodded, getting up from the bed and removing all the medical equipment.

Izuku groaned as he blinked his eyes open, immediately the memories of what happened flooded back, he paled and scrambled to sit up. He was still in the base, at least what was left of the base, there was no sign of life and Izuku could only pray everyone got out in time. 

A soft chuckle from behind him gained his attention. 

He scrambled to his feet, turning to face the villain responsible for the destruction. All For One was sitting in a chair, staring at Izuku intensely as if he was a puzzle that he couldn't solve, which to be fair, he probably was.

"You shouldn't exist," All For One stated bluntly and Izuku flinched, wondering briefly why the man hadn't tried to take One For All while he was unconscious.

~ He did try. ~ Nana murmured, her voice indicating she was exhausted. ~ We managed to push him back, but if he tries again, I don't know if we'd be much help. En got hurt in the last attempt, which means Daigorou and I would have to fight against All For One alone. ~

Izuku swallowed, his heart sinking at the words for the woman.

"W-What do you mean?" Izuku asked the man." Who are you to say I shouldn't exist!"

"One of your little friends within your Meta Ability let slip that you are apparently my son, how that's possible when I've never been intimate with anyone, is beyond my comprehension," All For One drawled, the words causing Izuku to stiffen.

He needed a lie or excuse he could use that would explain things, but what other way could someone have a kid?

"I don't know what you're talking about, but I think I would know if I was related to a monster like you!" Izuku snarled, taking a step back.

Fortunately, the man didn't seem too upset about his insult, instead, he seemed amused and fond. Izuku didn't know which was worse, anger or the clear possessive look in the villain's red eyes. He was starting to wish All For One had gotten angry, cause he knew how to hand anger, but he wasn't used to possessiveness.

"You're just like your uncle, kid." All For One cooed, the sound like nails on a chalkboard to Izuku." So naive, innocent, and really really bad at lying."

Izuku's blood ran cold.

"I-I'm not lying!" Izuku protested, taking another step backward, but his back was already nearly touching one of the partially destroyed walls.

"Then why is your heart speeding up?" All For One asked, finally standing from the chair and Izuku could feel a panic attack approaching, he had to get away, he needed to leave and get somewhere safe.

"I-I'm scared, t-that's why!" Izuku shouted, his breathing coming in shallow gasps for air." Y-You're a monster, w-who wouldn't be a-afraid of you!"

All For One's face fell into a mockery of horrified and concerned.

"Oh dear, what has your uncle been telling you?" All For One cooed, finally reaching Izuku as he reached up to cup his cheek." I would never hurt family, blood is so precious to me, I would never risk seeing it get hurt."

Izuku swallowed back the bile that rose in his chest, the words sounding more and more like the villain was objectifying him.

"I-Is that why you locked Y-Yoichi up in that damn v-vault?" Izuku questioned, eyeing All For One's hand as the man reached up to run his hands through Izuku's curly hair.

"I never locked my brother up, I assure you that I was only keeping him safe." All For One said, waving off Izuku's question." It's those damn vigilantes that don't know how to keep my brother safe, Yoichi is just too stubborn to see the necessity of it all."

He knew it already, but hearing the villain talking made him realize just how mentally unstable All For One was.

"Yoichi had vitamin D deficiency, clearly he hadn't been getting enough sun in that so-called safety." Izuku growled, earning a glare from the villain." Not to mention, anyone who willingly starves themselves is clearly not in a thriving environment."

Faster than he could process, All For One backhanded him, sending him flying to the floor.

"I am the only one who can take care of my brother, you know nothing about taking care of a younger sibling, child," All For One snarled, his eyes flashing with anger and Izuku felt a flicker of pure terror as the villain let his aura surround him.

Izuku whimpered, curling up in a ball, as the aura caused his heart to beat so fast he felt like he might end up having a heart attack. Tears were prickling at the edge of his eyes, this was much worse than the aura in Kamino, even Daigorou and Nana's presence wasn't helping. He had pushed the villain too far, it was a miracle they didn't kill him.

"S-Stop it!" Izuku cried out, his hands gripping and pulling at his hair." I'm sorry, please, just stop using that aura!"

He flinched as All For One knelt in front of him, the aura fading as the man reached over and grabbed his face gently, raising it slowly to look Izuku in the eyes. 

"Apology accepted, don't make the same mistake twice, I won't be so kind next time." All For One warned and Izuku flinched at that, but nodded, just grateful he had dodged a bullet." Poor boy, clearly you're just like your uncle, too young and naive to deal with the real world."

Izuku's eyes widened and he tried to scramble back but found that All For One was keeping him still with a Quirk. This had been a mistake, he should never have stayed here to let everyone escape, now how was he supposed to prevent his uncle's death, he would be locked up just like his uncle had been.

"I'm not like Yoichi, I-I can take care of myself, bastard!" Izuku snarled, normally he tried not to swear, but this time it was the furthest thing from his mind.

"That's Dad to you, son, don't make me angry again." All For One growled slightly, flaring his aura momentarily, nearly paralyzing Izuku with fear once more." I do not take family treating me without respect lightly, child."

Izuku had noticed it, but at first, he hadn't really thought anything of it, but he was starting to realize that All For One didn't know his name. That gave him some freedom, freedom that he wouldn't have had otherwise.

"Stop calling me child, my name is Daigorou!" Izuku exclaimed, using the fifth user's name due to his familiarity with it.

"Daigorou, huh, wouldn't have named you that myself," All For One muttered looking a bit annoyed, but Izuku didn't care, he rather the man not know his name cause otherwise it would mean yet another thing the man could manipulate.

"I don't care whether you like it or not, even if I am your son, you weren't ever there before so I don't give two shits about what you care about!" Izuku growled, glancing towards each of the exits within the rubble.

Another slap was felt and Izuku let out a yelp as sharp pain could be felt in his neck at the sudden turn, thankfully there was no aura surrounding All For One this time, not that it meant much when he was essentially being abused.

"Watch. Your. Tongue," All For One stated before standing up and Izuku had a bad feeling he was about to be taught a lesson.

"My nephew is out there with my brother, likely being locked up like an object and you expect me to just accept it?!" Yoichi screamed, glaring at one of the many soldiers who had made it to the safe house, the one he was currently yelling at was holding his face, blood clearly poring from his nose where Yoichi had punched him.

"Your nephew is clearly a traitor, he was talking with your brother just before the last people evacuated!" The man argued and Yoichi shook with anger, his nephew wouldn't do that, he wouldn't join his brother under any circumstance, he was too much like Yoichi was.

However, even he knew that fighting wasn't gonna solve anything, so he just pulled his fist back, giving one last punch to the man's gut before whipping around and marching out of the room, closing the door with a slam. He would search for Izuku himself if he needed to, he didn't care if he didn't have the resources or not.

He wouldn't let his own brother take the only family he had left, he didn't think he could survive if he lost his nephew who had shown him that family didn't have to mean pain.

Opening the door to his temporary room, he made his way to the bed and curled up, he knew all this stress was horrible for his new heart, but he couldn't just make it disappear. He wouldn't ever feel truly stress-free until his nephew was found, whenever that was. Cause Izuku would be found, Yoichi didn't want to even think about the alternative.

The door opened and Leader entered, the man looked exhausted, likely from organizing the resistance after everything went to the dogs.

"Hey, how are you doing," Leader asked with visible concern in his eyes." I heard about what happened with the soldier, I'm sorry, I punished him accordingly for making the suggestion we should abandon one of our own."

Yoichi just pulled the pillow he was gripping closer to his chest.

"Brother could be doing anything to him right now, there is no telling how the man would react, especially if he finds out about the relation between himself and Izuku," Yoichi mumbled, hating the entire situation as a whole.

"We'll get your nephew back, I swear it," Leader assured, fierce determination in his eyes, the same kind of look Leader had had when he rescued Yoichi from that cursed room." Do you need anything?"

He hesitated for a moment.

"C-Could we cuddle for a bit, I just need someone close to me right now," Yoichi murmured as Leader nodded, moving to sit next to him on the bed and Yoichi took advantage of the closeness to hug the man closely.

"Why don't you sleep for a bit, your recovery has been cut short and you still need to be careful while your body gets used to that new heart," Leader suggested, his hands running through Yoichi's hair, making him shudder slightly at the foreign yet pleasant feeling of the contact.

He had almost forgotten positive touch, other than the hugs he'd shared with his nephew.

This felt so much nicer than when his brother did it, then again, his brother had always managed to pull his hair when he ran his hands through it. Whether intentional or not, didn't matter, it still hurt when his brother had done it.

But Leader's hands were gentle, soft, careful not to hurt him and it made Yoichi feel safe, something he wasn't used to. 

Yoichi wasn't an idiot, he knew he liked Leader more than just platonically, but until Izuku was back and his brother was stopped, he couldn't afford to let himself start a relationship. It wouldn't be fair to himself or to Leader.

Perhaps one day, if Izuku succeeded in stopping his brother, he could have the life he wanted more than anything.

Chapter Text

When Izuku woke, he immediately noticed that he was not in the ruins of the base anymore, in fact, he was in a room with little to no light. He couldn't make much out, but the outlines of a bed, a toilet, and walls could be seen from the small sliver of light coming from underneath what appeared to be a door.

Carefully, he slipped off the bed, letting himself move along the wall which appeared to be made of metal, the floor was cold and smooth as well, indicating it was also made of metal.

Once he made his way to the door, he brushed a hand across it, unfortunately, it was also metal and would likely not be able to be kicked in unless he used quite a bit of One For All, which wasn't ideal. He had no way of knowing if kicking in a wall or the door would destabilize the foundation of whatever place he was in.

He let himself move onto his hands and knees, frowning as he slipped his pinky under the door, but to his horror, the metal door had to be thicker than his pinky finger was long considering he wasn't able to feel open air.

It would explain why so little light was appearing from underneath the door, suddenly the sound of metal against metal sounded through the room and Izuku scrambled back to the bed.

The door began slowly opening until there was a large light pouring into the room, encompassing everything in color once more. All For One's form stood at the entrance, the man not moving for a long moment, the dark outline of the man against the light of the background was unnerving to look at.

"Ah, glad to see you are awake, little one." All For One's voice echoed through the room, the nickname causing Izuku to wince." I was worried that the drug had some sort of negative effect on you, but you appear perfectly healthy."

Izuku felt his stomach twist in his gut, did the villain drug him?!

"You're probably confused, but for simplicities sake, I'll just say that due to being unable to take your Quirk, I've taken to drugging it into submission until I can figure a way to get rid of it. I can't have my own son getting hurt by a power that not even I can control, that would be bad parenting."

And this wasn't? 

Izuku would have burst out laughing in any other situation, but right now, he was in the lion's den and it would be deadly to try and make fun of the one who controlled his situation. He wondered if Leader and Commander were looking for him, was Yoichi worried, and how would the drug affect Nana, Daigorou, and En.

Was En ok, he had gotten hurt when All For One had tried to steal One For All. What about Hikage, did the kid evacuate in time before the base got torn down?

"Nothing to say?" All For One questioned, a sliver of surprise in his tone." Must be a trait you inherited from your mother, considering I've always enjoyed talking."

And wasn't that the truth, Izuku was wishing he was deaf right now, the sound of clear obsession in the villain's voice was making his stomach churn. He just stared at All For One, not willing to talk when he knew it would either lead to more problems or would just make the man want to talk even more.

"I see how it is, you're too much like your uncle, we'll need to fix that." All For One commented before grinning." Lucky for you, I've recently become friends with a doctor who knows exactly how to fix mental conditions, perhaps you can test the treatment out for when I manage to get your uncle back!"

Treatment?

Izuku began to shake as terrified realization started to sink in, if the doctor All For One was talking about was the same one as the one from the Paraliberation War, he was in serious trouble.

Was he going to be turned into a Nomu, no, it was much too early for the doctor to have discovered the means of doing that. Still, he did not want to know what the doctor had discovered that allowed someone to be 'fixed'. Especially considering the brain was such a delicate organ and if it was operated on, would he even still be himself?

All For One clapped his hands together, a beaming smile on the villain's face that sent chills running down Izuku's spine.

"Now then, let's get started!" All For One declared and before Izuku could even process a single thing, the bed he was sitting on changed into a chair.

His head, torso, wrists, and legs immediately were strapped down, leaving little to no room for struggling. Tears began to well up in his eyes as All For One approached, moving to Izuku's left side and he realized there was now a panel where there hadn't been one before. Slowly the chair was turned toward All For One, Izuku being forced to watch as the villain looked at each of the buttons and switches contemplatively.

"The doctor said he'd be a few more minutes, but as long as I don't interfere with the brain too much, I can start the process off," All For One said eventually, almost immediately flicking a switch.

Izuku's entire world went white.

He didn't know whether it was him screaming or someone else, but what he did know was that it felt like every single atom in his body was being rattled relentlessly. Time seemed to stop meaning anything as searing pain became the only thing he could process, it felt like his entire body was being dipped into lava over and over again.

Then everything went black.

Yoichi was exhausted, it had been a week since his nephew was taken and they hadn't even found the slightest hint of where Izuku might have been taken. Nothing but All For One's sudden disappearance from the Underground was any indication that Izuku had been taken at all, but the fact that his brother was putting so much interest into the boy couldn't be good.

"Still nothing?" Commander asked gently and Yoichi looked up at the blue-haired man.

"No, not a single sign, was it like this when you were searching for me or whatever you thought I was?" Yoichi asked, hopeful that perhaps if it was similar then the two men who had rescued him would be able to find Izuku the same way as they had done for him.

Commander was silent for a long time before sighing, the look on his face anything but promising.

"We had inside information, one of the guards assigned to your prison was a double agent that was sent to infiltrate All For One's ranks." Commander explained before his eyes dulled with grief." He was a friend, not even a week later after we got your location and rescued you, All For One found out he was a traitor and killed him. This time, we don't have the luxury of knowing where Izuku is, we'll have to do this the old fashion way. I'm sorry."

Yoichi closed his eyes, he had noticed during his time in the vault that one of the guards seemed to dislike being there. He had just brushed it off as being unhappy for needing to babysit him, but he had had no clue that the man was actually a double agent, Commander's friend no less.

It made him feel another pang of self-hatred, knowing he was the cause of someone's death once more.

He'd only just gotten over the deaths of the four men who'd helped Leader and Commander rescue him, all of them had laid down their lives to get himself and the two important members of the group out alive. Now that number wasn't four, it was five, and it was his fault all over again.

"I know that look, stop it." Commander ordered and Yoichi jerked his head up in surprise." The man's death wasn't your fault, it was no one's fault but All For One."

"You rescuing me caused so much death though, it's just not fair that your men had to die to save the brother of your enemy." Yoichi murmured, grief rising steadily in his chest as his shoulders slackened with defeat." This would have been so simple if I had just died that one in the hospital when I was ten."

A loud sound erupted in the room, causing Yoichi to jump out of his skin as he whipped his head around, seeing Leader's fist against the wall. Cracks spread out from the point of contact, and the man's face was tight with anger that Yoichi somehow knew was directed at him.

"Shigaraki Yoichi," Leader growled, his eyes glaring into Yoichi like he was a threat." If I ever hear you say something like that again, I will have you sent to our therapist and punished accordingly. Nobody under my watch is allowed to wish they were dead, not if it isn't their fault, understood?"

Despite the harsh angry words, Yoichi couldn't stop the flutter in his chest from rising, the same way it always did whenever Leader did anything that showed how much the man cared for him.

"Understood, sir," Yoichi murmured, lowering his gaze slightly to show respect.

The strawberry-blonde man just took a deep breath, clearly calming himself. 

"I've gotten some information about Izuku, apparently, there is a doctor who's recently started working for All For One, lately he's been disappearing from the hospital and heading towards a nearby forest where there is a known abandoned military base located," Leader started before wincing." Our best bet would be to raid the place, but there is one more piece of information that you should know. Over the last five days, the people living in the area have mentioned hearing screams, from someone rather young."

Yoichi's hands covered his mouth as he fought back tears, hoping against all hope that it hadn't been Izuku's screams that the people heard.

He never would have expected this, sure his brother gaslit him, insulted him sometimes, and objectified him, but at no point had his brother lifted a hand against him. Why would he do that to Izuku, it made no sense.

Unless.

Unless his brother didn't consider what he was doing as harmful, if a doctor was working with him, he might consider it an actual treatment and not the harm it truly was. It made Yoichi sick to his stomach, tears already having reached their max and had started cascading down his cheeks in an endless waterfall.

Suddenly feeling weak, Yoichi collapsed to his knees, gripping his hands to his chest as he let out a scream of anguish. Just when he thought he knew what his brother was willing to do, he was proven wrong in the worst way possible.

His sweet, brave, and kind nephew, his own flesh and blood was being tortured and there was nothing he could do about it.

A raid would take days to plan out, not to mention that their numbers were lower since All For One's attack. It hadn't just been that one base which was attacked, several others had been reported either wiped out or attacked as well.

Warm arms wrapped around him and Yoichi only barely registered Leader's voice, not able to make out the words.

"I-Izuku, m-my boy, my s-sweet boy..." Yoichi sobbed, clinging to the comfort offered, his entire body shaking with the effort of crying." H-He's all a-alone out there, my s-son is being t-tortured! I c-can't even h-help him! I-I want m-my boy back!"

He felt a soft prick in the back of his neck before everything went dark.

Izuku groaned as he woke up once more, most of the previous night was a blur, but at least he hadn't been aware of most of the pain. He only had to deal with the aching and soreness, which was much better than the sharp agony he was starting to get used to.

It had been nearly forty-eight hours since his last meal, it wasn't that All For One wasn't feeding him, it was just that he couldn't keep things down. He would eat, only to throw everything back up not even an hour later, his arms were littered with needle marks from things the doctor decided to inject him with.

None of the injections had shown any physical benefits or downsides, which made Izuku wonder about the purpose of the injections, but he was readily willing to admit the injections were better than the shock therapy or the sensory deprivation tank. He'd been placed in the tank until he had started to hallucinate and only then was removed, it had been terrifying, with no input to his brain about the world around him until it drove him crazy.

He wondered what the purpose of all of this was, he knew that All For One wanted him to behave differently, but in what sense, Izuku didn't know.

With a grunt, he shifted into a more comfortable position, ignoring the protesting of his muscles and nerves, all of which were firing pain signals. He could even feel the phantom sensations of being electrocuted over and over again.

In fact, his entire body was covered in red Lichtenberg scars, his back, neck, arms, legs, and stomach. Nothing was left untainted by the electricity, he was sure if he had been anyone else, he would have been fried to death by the currents of electricity. The fact he wasn't was probably due to the fact green electricity always washed over him when he used One For All, to the point in which his body had gotten used to the feeling.

That and Denki had hit him with his Quirk too many times for Izuku to count during training.

The sound of the door opening broke Izuku from his thoughts, his entire body tensing as he prepared for either a meal or more torture.

All For One entered the room, a large smile on his face, the look causing Izuku to feel the urge to punch the man. He wasn't one to hold grudges or feel hate toward anyone, not even Shigarak could make Izuku hate them, but right now toward All For One. Izuku could feel nothing but hatred, so much so that it scared him.

But the strange thing was, the hatred wasn't due to his torture or treatment of Shigaraki in the future, and it wasn't due to hurting countless people.

It was a hatred that Izuku felt growing cause he couldn't help but wonder, was this what Yoichi had gone through during his time in the vault? Had the vault been more than just a prison, was he going through what Yoichi had for years?

Izuku was known for getting attached easily, he had become friends with Uraraka on the first day of school. He had remained loyal and kind toward Katsuki despite the other teen bullying him to the point of suicide baiting, and he trusted Yagi not even two hours after meeting him, despite the man being the number one hero.

So it wasn't surprising he had gotten attached to Yoichi, Leader, and Commander so quickly, in under two months.

But he had never felt hatred for the sake of another, let alone for his own sake.

Then it clicked, like a puzzle piece snapping into place.

He wasn't just attached to Yoichi, he loved him, it was the same love he felt for his mom, for Yagi, and for Aizawa.

Yoichi felt like home, he felt like how Izuku always imagined having a dad would feel like. He barely remembered his time with his dad, he did know All For One was his father, but it was clear as day that despite how bad All For One was in the future, he had mellowed out compared to these days.

"You seem deep in thought, little one." All For One mused, looking intrigued." What's on your mind?"

Deciding to be an ass, probably due to his newfound hatred for the man, he decided to hit the man where it would be truly annoying.

"Just thinking about how your brother has been much better of a father than you have been," Izuku snapped, glaring at All For One, earning an exasperated look from the villain, not the reaction he'd been hoping for.

"Can't you see? I'm doing this for you and Yoichi." All For One said and Izuku wanted to throw up." I'm sure when you grow older, you'll understand and even thank me for everything. I know it's rough right now, but life isn't just smooth sailing and you need to go through some rapids before the water can level out."

Izuku felt sick, the man actually thought he was helping him.

"I don't want your help, I don't want to understand, and I don't want any of what you're giving me!" Izuku shouted, the mood in the room flipping on a dime and immediately a powerful and furious aura crashed into Izuku.

He felt a sharp pain against his cheek as the villain slapped him, followed up by a knee jamming into his stomach so hard that Izuku actually coughed up blood. He lay there, gasping for air since all of it had been driven out of his lungs by the blow, a moment later, All For One grabbed his hair and yanked up causing Izuku to let out a yelp.

"You are to show me respect, I am your father and I know what's best for you, even if you don't like it, understood?" All For One's eyes were glowing a deep blood red, the fear inside Izuku grew and he knew better than to argue.

"Y-Yes, sir," Izuku mumbled, usually that was enough to make the man back down, but this time it was clear it would take more than that.

"Yes, Dad," All For One corrected, the order clear and it made Izuku feel sick.

"Yes, D-Dad," Izuku amended, lowering his gaze despite not being able to move his head due to the hand firmly grasping his hair.

All For One just huffed, tossing him to the side before turning to leave, the light being turned off as he closed the door once more.

Izuku just lay there on the cold metal floor for a long time, tears pricking at his eyes. He felt like he had betrayed his mom, Yagi, Aizawa, and Yoichi by calling that bastard dad. He knew it was technically true, but just because he shared blood with the man, didn't make them his dad. Father, sure, but a dad was someone that the kid chose, not the adult.

He pulled his legs to his chest, burrowing his face into his knees.

The raid would be taking place the next day, but Yoichi couldn't help but fear what he'd find inside that military base. Would there be anything left of Izuku to find, or would his nephew, his son, be nothing but a broken shell? He didn't want to know the answer to that, but he knew he had to know the truth.

He wasn't allowed on the raid, it would be too dangerous and he might get in the way, preventing the rescue from being successful. He just hoped Commander and Leader would be alright, he knew this was almost dangerous enough to be considered a suicide mission, the only reason it wasn't considered one was the fact that Leader and Commander had already done this kind of mission when they rescued Yoichi.

Yoichi wanted nothing more than to provide some sort of assistance to the raiding party, but whenever he tried to think of something, he just came up blank.

Until he remembered Izuku's words, specifically in relation to Yoichi's Meta Ability.

He held out his hand, staring down at it as he thought over his options, he could give his Meta Ability to Leader or Commander, it might give them the edge they need. Izuku had mentioned that the Meta Ability grew with each time it was passed on, and considering Yoichi was already capable of strength slightly above average, it might give one of his heroes the strength to actually pull this rescue off.

With a smile, he stood up and moved toward Leader's room, his mind and heart already set on who he'd bring the power to.

Knocking on the door, he heard the permission to enter and as soon as he walked through the threshold he couldn't help but stare. Standing in front of him without a shirt on, was the man he loved and damn, even Yoichi hadn't expected the man to look so good. A flush of heat spread across his cheeks and neck, but he ignored that in favor of his recent decision.

"Leader, I have something I want to give you before you leave tomorrow," Yoichi said, approaching the man and stopping only a foot away.

"And what would that be?" Leader asked, his voice seemed to be coming in heavier and Yoichi noticed the man's eyes had dilated, the reaction causing the blush on his face to grow more prominent.

"My Meta Ability, the one Izuku explained, I want to give it to you," Yoichi murmured and Leader's eyes widened.

Before the man could protest, Yoichi made his move, grabbing Leader's face and bringing it to his own as he smashed his lips into the other man's.

The kiss felt electric, the suppressed emotions he'd been feeling for Leader all bubbled up as he desperately clung to the man during the kiss. Making sure that his saliva was mixed in with Leader's to ensure the transfer was successful, he just hoped this would be enough to keep his heroes alive as well as rescue Izuku.

When the kiss broke, Yoichi had to take a deep breath to regain oxygen, his forehead resting against the strawberry-blonde's own forehead.

"That was intense," Leader commented, earning a giggle from Yoichi who just glared at him playfully." We should do that again."

Yoichi hesitated, he wanted to, plus who knew if the man would make it back and despite having been reluctant for so long he couldn't help but accept that this might be the only time he would be able to be with the man. He had no way of knowing whether Leader would survive this mission, he hoped to god he would, but it was no guarantee.

"I think, I want to do more than just kiss," Yoichi breathed, watching as the other man's facial expressions flickered between surprised and happy before settling on one of care and softness that Yoichi had never quite seen on the man's face before.

"If that's what you want, then I'd be more than happy to oblige," Leader murmured, leaning forward and capturing Yoichi in another kiss, this time more gentle and loving than the desperate one a minute earlier.

Slowly both of them maneuvered to the bed, and the next few hours became a blur of pleasure and love, feelings that Yoichi had been so foreign to until now.

Everything felt connected, Yoichi's happiness at an all-time high and soon he'd be reunited with Izuku, somehow already having more than enough faith in his new lover's ability to rescue the boy.

"Thank you for everything, my hero," Yoichi whispered as he fell asleep, both he and his new lover naked and covered with blankets.

"Anytime, love."

Chapter Text

Izuku felt like his head was constantly underwater, that or inside a thick fog, he couldn't even tell what was up from down half the time.

The shock therapy, injections, and sensory deprivation time had been increased, instead of thirty minutes doing it, he was now being tortured for nearly an hour, every four hours. He couldn't even think let alone speak, his brain hurt constantly, like an endless headache he couldn't get rid of. He wondered if this had been All For One's plan, if he couldn't even think straight, how would he be able to escape whatever the man had planned for him?

It wasn't just headaches, his entire body was sore, and making any movement was more than enough to cause him to yelp with pain, even with his high pain resistance.

He'd been in here for at least a week, maybe longer since he arrived here unconscious, but despite All For One's attempt to give him meals at random times he had always been good with counting and he'd been counting the seconds and minutes since he'd woken up. He might not know the time of day, but he could know how many hours he'd been in here.

Not that it was helpful, it just meant that he had something to do as not to lose his mind.

A loud bang on the door indicated someone was opening it, he glanced up, his visions shimmery and cloudy, unable to even see straight. He moved to stand, All For One having started to 'train' him to do certain things, mainly to greet him every time he entered.

The door swung open, but to his surprise, All For One wasn't the one entering. Was this another hallucination, he'd thought he was going to be rescued before, only for it to have been only a mental image he had thought up out of desperation. He couldn't trust his senses, they had lied to him too much since his arrival to this place.

He just stood still as the hallucination of his rescuers approached him, they asked him questions about whether he was alright but Izuku refused to respond, not that he could with how muddled everything was.

One of the hallucinations grabbed his arm and began to pull him toward the open door, he followed, not really having the energy to protest against his own mind.

He was led through the hallways, he assumed that his mind would trick him and lead him toward All For One. It hadn't been the first time his mind had done that, considering he wasn't even aware of where the exit even was.

However, to his surprise, the hallucination led him down a hallway that he hadn't even known existed. The hallway led to stairs, his hallucinations seeming to lead him upwards, the two of them conversing about what to do when they reached the exit. Izuku wished he could use his Quirks, especially Danger Sense, but he knew it wouldn't do much with how weak he was.

Finally, the hallucination led him through a large door, but when he walked through, he couldn't stop the way his legs collapsed underneath him.

He could see the sky, it was cloudy but that didn't matter right now.

With a shaky breath he looked around and saw a forested area, trucks and buildings littered the room, he was outside.

He was actually outside.

Izuku turned to his rescuers, who until this moment he had thought were hallucinations, and nearly broke down.

It was Leader.

Leader had saved him

He knew the man considered him a valuable member of the group, but he hadn't even considered the man would risk everything to rescue him. Especially considering the resources and time it would have taken, he didn't know what to do with that information. With the knowledge that he had been considered a priority by the man, the same man who had turned his back on him when he'd first met them inside of One For All.

"Why...I'm just...a soldier to...you, why...would you...rescue...me?" Izuku rasped out, talking hurting more than he'd care to admit.

"Cause I'm not letting Yoichi's last remaining sane blood relative die, not when I could prevent it," Leader responded, crouching in front of Izuku." Plus, you are more than a soldier to me, you're family, just like Commander and Yoichi are, nothing is going to change that."

The words caused Izuku to break down sobbing, he lurched forward, clinging to the man as tightly as he could. He hadn't known he needed those words until now, needed to hear he wasn't a tool. All he had been inside this place had been a tool, a tool to find a way to make Yoichi compliant, All For One only cared for his brother, not Izuku.

Izuku had been a means to an end, he just hoped his time here hadn't produced results that the villain could use in the future.

"I...want to...go home," Izuku rasped out, clinging to Leader as tightly as he could.

"Then let's go home, kid," Leader murmured, the man picking him up gently and turning to nod to his companion." You've done well, just rest, me and Kuromi will keep you safe until you're back at the safe house."

Izuku just buried his face into Leader's neck, tears still streaming down his cheeks. He could barely believe that his nightmare was over, he was just hopeful he'd been successful in his original goal of not letting anyone at the base die in All For One's attack.

That would be the icing on the cake.

Yoichi was worried, that raid was taking much longer than he'd expected, he hoped something hadn't gone wrong.

What would he do if Leader and Commander died or if Izuku died?

He paused in his pacing, having practically been walking a line into the floor for the last hour or two, not that he had much else to do to take his mind off what was happening. There weren't a lot of books or even a TV, only a radio, but it wasn't broadcasting anything interesting currently.

As he considered his options, he froze, the hair on his arms standing on end as he heard shouts and orders being given, his heroes must be back, which meant Izuku was back. His son nephew was back, but was he alright, was he even alive, or had they simply brought back a body, he needed to know.

Deciding to throw caution to the wind, he threw the door open and rushed into the hallway. He wasn't the only one doing so either, nearly everyone staying at the place was surprised, as well as curious about the chaos unfolding.

"Do you know what's happening?" Yoichi asked a woman in the hallway, but she just shook her head.

"No, but I think your kid was rescued, all I know is that the kid look half dead when Leader carried him in," The woman replied, looking sympathetic." Sorry about what happened, the kid didn't deserve that, especially not after saving us all from All For One."

Yoichi winced at the mention of his brother but gave a grateful smile in return, hesitating for a moment later before he decided to go back to his room.

He'd only get in the way if he tried to go see Izuku now, even if he wanted nothing more than to wrap the boy in his arms. He knew several details about the future, but not everything, Izuku was surprisingly capable of revealing a lot and keeping everything hidden at the same time. It worried Yoichi that he might not be able to tell if something was actually wrong with the kid, it left him feeling scared for his son nephew.

As he reentered the room he had been waiting in, he couldn't help but swallow as he tried to push his worry aside temporarily.

"Stay strong Izuku, please," Yoichi murmured to himself as he sat down and decided to listen to the radio in case anything important came on.

When Izuku woke up he almost believed the rescue had been a dream, but as soon as he let himself open his eyes he saw that he was in a bedroom that was turned into a makeshift nurse's office.

He closed his eyes once more, unable to prevent the tsunami of tears that poured from his eyes as he realized his ordeal was over, that he was safe once more.

"It's over, it's over, it's over..." Izuku mumbled under his breath over and over again, his hands moving to his hair and gripping it tightly.

The door opened and Commander walked in, the man froze for a moment and Izuku looked up with tearstained cheeks, staring at the blue-haired man who he'd thought he would never see again. He missed them, he missed Leader too, and he missed Yoichi most of all. His uncle had been one of the few things that had gotten him through the last week or so.

He had honestly thought he would be left to die, it was unnecessarily dangerous and risky to rescue him, and it had likely taken enormous amounts of resources. Yet even with that knowledge, he had still been rescued, from Leader nonetheless.

"Hey, hey, hey, it's alright," Commander hurried to assure him, the man rushing over and sitting on the edge of the bed, allowing Izuku to wrap arms around the man for comfort." You're alright now, you're safe, I promise."

Izuku just clung tighter, he knew logically the man was right, but he just didn't feel safe, not yet at least.

"I want Y-Yoichi, please," Izuku mumbled, earning a soft chuckle before he felt the man shift and glanced up to see they had pulled out a phone.

As Commander called Leader or Yoichi, he just snuggled into the man's side, his body relaxing as he felt hands run through his hair. It felt much more sincere and gentle compared to when All For One did the same, he even leaned into the contact, his body craving positive touch after so long of being constantly electrocuted and sensory deprived.

It took a while, about ten minutes but eventually, the door was thrown open and Yoichi came rushing in like there was a fire behind him.

The moment Yoichi saw Izuku, it was clear to the teen how scared the man had been. Dark circles were prominent on pale skin, as well as white hair was done up in a messy ponytail, even the man's clothing was ruffled instead of its usual nice smoothness.

"Izuku..." Yoichi breathed out, one of his hands moved to reach for him only to hesitate.

Commander gently parted from him, letting him sit up in the bed in order to talk to Yoichi properly.

"H-Hey, Uncle Yoichi," Izuku greeted, feeling exhausted after only a few minutes awake." L-Long time n-no see."

Yoichi unable to contain himself anything longer, rushed over and engulfed him into a firm but gentle hug, the man's form shaking slightly and Izuku realized they were crying. Not sobbing like when Izuku first woke up, but still, the crying caused the man to tremble slightly as he held Izuku close to his body.

"I promise to never let anything else happen to you, Izuku," Yoichi vowed and despite knowing that the man couldn't really promise something like that, it still made Izuku feel so much better, knowing that someone cared that much.

"Thanks, Uncle Yoichi," Izuku mumbled, wishing he was confident enough to call him by the title he wanted to.

But he was certain Yoichi wouldn't want his nephew calling him dad, that would be too awkward.

He felt Yoichi pull back and soon was face to face with his uncle, the man's eyes holding relief and happiness in their depths. Tears still rolled down the man's cheeks, but the flow had nearly stopped, leaving tear tracks against the man's pale cheeks.

"Izuku, I know you want nothing more than to save people, but never run into a situation like that again, especially if my brother's there, understood?" Yoichi scolded and Izuku felt his cheeks heat up with embarrassment, not used to having someone scold him while not even sounding angry.

Yoichi sounded concerned, but he didn't look annoyed, angry, or frustrated like Aizawa, Yagi, or anyone else would. It threw him off balance, he was so used to the people in his life telling him how to act without truly understanding why he acted that way, but this time he could spot understanding in his uncle's eyes along with the concern.

His uncle knew what it was like to want to save everybody, so he knew how hard it was to make the request for Izuku to not go rushing in. He wanted to protest, but he didn't want to disappoint Yoichi or put more worry on the man's shoulders when he knew they were still recovering from that surgery that happen only a week or so ago.

"I-I'm sorry." Izuku mumbled, looking down as a feeling of guilt rose inside him." My body just moved on its own."

"Oh, Izuku, you're such a wonderful hero." Yoichi murmured, reaching up with a hand to hold Izuku's cheek." You're the best nephew anyone could ask for, and you're proof that the heroes I've always loved will exist in the future, but even heroes need to take care of themselves or they won't be able to fight the villain the next time."

"I know..." Izuku admitted, his eyes moving to look at Commander who was leaning against the wall of the room a few feet away." I'm sorry for making you worry, I'll take care of myself more from now on."

"That's all I ask," Yoichi assured and Izuku smiled in return, enjoying being able to be so close to his uncle for the first time in over a week.

Their moment was cut short by Leader entering, the man spotting Commander first and giving the man a nod before their gaze shifted to him and Yoichi.

"Glad you're doing alright, kid," Leader commented with a huff." You gave me and my men quite the scare halfway to the safe house. Went into cardiac arrest, it wasn't looking good for several minutes, but we managed to get you back."

Izuku knew that most people would have the tact to not mention that he nearly died while being saved, but he knew the man wasn't the best at interacting with people and it comforted Izuku that at least one person could be relied on to not treat him like glass.

"Thanks for saving me," Izuku said with a small but genuine smile.

He noticed Leader's ears flushed with embarrassment and the man just scowled, clearly trying to show that he wasn't soft, which Izuku knew now was a complete lie.

"Whatever kid, just don't go getting kidnapped again," Leader ordered and Izuku nodded, giving the man a large grin.

"Of course, Leader!" Izuku exclaimed happily before wincing as his throat protested, all the screaming he'd been doing for the past week or so had damaged his throat considerably, he hoped it would heal over soon.

"Well, this has been a very exciting week, why don't you rest for a bit and we can talk more later, is that alright?" Yoichi asked him gently.

Izuku gave the man a nod, already feeling exhaustion trying to pull him into a deep sleep.

"Rest up kid, glad you're alright," Commander said with a small smile as he and Leader left the room, leaving Izuku alone with Yoichi.

He turned to his uncle, glad he was close to them once more, he felt safe when around the man like they could shield him from the horrors he revisited every time he fell asleep. Perhaps the man would be alright with him asking them to stay for a bit, just until he was asleep.

"Can you stay?" Izuku asked nervously but Yoichi just smiled and helped him get back under the covers, brushing a strand of his hair out of his eyes.

"Of course, sleep well, Izuku," Yoichi murmured, the man's voice lulling him to sleep.

"Night, Dad," Izuku mumbled, sleep claiming him before he could realize what he had admitted.

Yoichi's heart stuttered, his eyes widening as the hand he had been using to run his hands through Izuku's hair froze.

Had Izuku called him...dad?

No, he must have misheard, Izuku wouldn't consider him a father figure, especially not after the trauma of meeting his real father. It hurt, but he understood these things took time to heal from, he himself knew that more than most. Although, he admittedly considered Commander a brother figure, much better than his blood brother, that was for sure.

His mouth fell into a soft frown, he leaned down and kissed Izuku's forehead before gently standing up and leaving walking to the door, glancing back once more, and shutting the light off as he left the room.

Once he'd closed the door, he couldn't help but let his forehead rest against the door for a few moments, emotions clashing with each other as he tried to keep his head on straight.

He should go talk with Leader, the man was likely worried about him after all the stress he'd endured only a week after his surgery. The only reason he was functioning relatively normally was due to his Meta Ability, but even that couldn't get rid of all the risks. He needed to get a check-up, something he'd been refusing until Izuku's return.

With a sigh, he made his way down the hallway to his and Leader's room.

He and Leader had decided to forgo waiting, deciding that moving into the same room would free up another room for someone who needed it. Not that Yoichi minded, Leader was a walking heater, and snuggling up against him was nice.

His cheeks heated up, remembering the night he had had the night before Izuku's rescue, even though Leader came back relatively unharmed, he was still satisfied that he'd given Leader his Quirk. That decision was one he wasn't ever going to regret, especially if the Quirk one day ended up with his nephew.

Speaking of which, he really needed to use the information Izuku had given him, Leader, and Commander to find a way to defeat his brother once and for all.

Yoichi's heart hardened and he stopped walking, glaring toward the ground.

His brother had made a big mistake targeting Izuku, even after everything his brother had done to him, he had never once considered killing him as an option. For so long he had wanted his brother to face justice, but now, with his nephew's life on the line? He was willing to do whatever was necessary to end his brother, no one was allowed to hurt Izuku and get away with it.

Fists clenched, he refused to let his brother get away with everything, refused to be a bystander in this fight anymore.

From now on Yoichi was going to fight with every ounce of his strength to end his brother, and if that meant killing him, then so be it. At least if his brother was dead, Izuku would be safe and so would Leader and Commander, along with every other innocent person out there.

Letting out a deep breath, he pushed the thoughts of vengeance out of his head, continuing down the hallway until he arrived at his and Leader's room. He opened the door, spotting Leader laying on the bed shirtless, with a book in his hands.

The man glanced up before sighing and marking his spot in the book, putting it down on the bedside table, a concerned expression flickering over his face.

"Is everything alright?" Leader asked as he patted the spot next to him invitingly.

"I want to fight." Yoichi declared as he moved and sat next to his new lover." I am tired of hiding, I want to actively fight against my brother, even if it means killing him."

Yoichi's gaze lowered to his hand which was currently holding Leader's, a glance up showed Leader's face had become serious and worried.

"What brought this on?" The strawberry-blonde asked, earning a humorless chuckle from Yoichi.

"I don't care that my brother hurt me, that would never be enough to want him dead, but he hurt Izuku." Yoichi growled, glaring at the far wall of the room." That's unforgivable, he tortured his own son, my nephew, the boy I consider to be a son. I refuse to stand by and let him get away with that, it hurts, but now I know for certain...my brother is too far gone to be saved."

He froze as Leader shifted, wrapping his arms around him, but it didn't take long for Yoichi to relax into the embrace.

"If that's what you want, then I'll support you," Leader murmured softly." We can find a job that you'll be good at, I promise. Would you like to be the one to end All For One?"

Yoichi's instinct was to say yes, but then he realized, if he fought his brother face to face, he would likely die and that would leave Izuku alone. As much as the idea of being the one to end this, he knew it wasn't possible, but as long as the man was ended for good, Yoichi wouldn't care who did the deed.

"No, if I faced my brother, I would die." Yoichi said softly, inhaling his lover's scent as he buried his face into their neck." I need to be here for Izuku, I want to see him grow up. I want to see him find love, get married, and maybe even have kids. I can't do any of that if I die, so I need to avoid directly fighting my brother if that's alright."

"That's fine, it's your choice and we're just grateful you want to help us at all," Leader said pulling back from the hug to cradle his cheek gently with a hand.

Yoichi felt his cheeks heat up, his head ducked as his heart skipped a beat in his chest.

"Stop it, I swear you act sweet to make me blush," Yoichi complained with a huff, raising his gaze to glare at the man half-heartedly.

The other man chuckled, leaning forward to capture him in a kiss.

He leaned into the kiss, melting as he felt his cheeks heat up even more, the kiss wasn't as desperate as their first had seemed, but it was full of love which Yoichi was soaking up like a sponge.

Unfortunately, before he could continue any further than that, a knock sounded at the door and he reluctantly pulled back from Leader.

Sighing he glared at the door as it opened revealing Commander, the man stood there for a moment before smirking. Smug bastard probably bet with the other group members about whether he'd end up with Leader or not, that was exactly the kind of thing the man would do.

"Sorry to interrupt you love birds, but one of the teams has returned with a report for Leader, so whenever you're done I suggest getting over there to hear them out," Commander stated with a teasing tone, one that made him blush slightly.

"Get out," Leader growled, glaring at his second in command with mock anger." Or I'll be placing you on garbage duty for a month."

Yoichi watched with amusement as Commander's eyes widened and he turned to rush out, but he could hear chuckle's from down the hallway, indicating the man knew Leader had been mostly joking.

"Well, I guess you've got a job to do, my hero." Yoichi said with a smile, letting out a small sigh." I think I'll take this time to take a nap, the past week has been more than a little stressful."

"That's a good idea," Leader hummed as he got up and began to get dressed once more." We can continue where we left off later, sound good?"

Yoichi's cheeks heated up, but he gave a hum of agreement, not trusting himself to not stutter if he tried to respond verbally.

"Go do your job," Yoichi grumbled earning a chuckle as Leader approached to give him a quick kiss before he left, leaving Yoichi alone to rest.

He smiled, feeling a blooming flame of happiness rise in his chest.

Chapter Text

Turns out he wouldn't be returning to active duty anytime soon, it became apparent that he wasn't as ok as the doctor that looked him over thought. He had constant tremors caused by the electrocution, not to mention Lichtenberg scars, he'd have those for the rest of his life. He still couldn't believe his own biological father would permanently scar him, just so they could use the same treatment on Yoichi.

Had the future version of All For One truly loved his mom or him, was it all just a lie, perhaps he thought that he could use them as a disguise to prevent All Might from finding him. He didn't know which would be worse, the chance his biological father actually loved him in the future, or if he just used him.

Izuku clenched his fists, cursing the small tremor as he gripped the sheets of the hospital bed, tears welling up in his eyes. The doctors weren't letting him out of their sight anytime soon, mainly cause they weren't sure what All For One had been constantly injecting him with, not to mention the fact that suddenly being taken off whatever was injected might also have adverse effects.

They had found out one of the drugs, a drug that was known to confuse people and sometimes even cause memory loss, not that he could be bothered to learn the drug's actual name.

As for the drug used to suppress One For All, it was a new government-sanctioned drug that was being used on people in the concentration camps. It wasn't safe though, its purpose was to suppress the Quirk, even at the cost of the person's health or the potential loss of said Quirk. He didn't have it in his system too long, so the doctor doubted it would cause permanent effects, but Izuku still wasn't able to hear Nana, Daigorou, or En and he was worried.

Those three were the only ones who knew him from when he lived in the future, if he lost them, then he truly was alone. He loved Yoichi, Leader, and Commander, but they didn't know everything he'd gone through and hadn't been there when all his hopes of becoming the number one hero were washed down the drain.

"Izuku, are you alright?" Yoichi's voice broke him from his thoughts and he looked up to see the concerned face of his uncle.

He flinched at the question, unable to really think up an answer, he wanted to say yes but that was quite right, but neither was saying no. In all honesty, he wasn't sure if he was alright or not, physically he wasn't, but mentally, he just didn't know.

"I-I don't know, just upset that I can't continue to help." Izuku mumbled with a shrug." Right now, I'm just another mouth to feed, using up medical supplies, and not even doing anything to repay what the group has done for me."

The white-haired man sighed and moved to sit on the edge of the bed.

"Izuku, you aren't wasting resources." Yoichi assured firmly." Your strength isn't just in your physical prowess but in your mind, not to mention, your safety and happiness are more than worth using resources. Nothing will change that, just know that you're alive and that is what matters, everything else can be dealt with as time goes on."

Izuku admittedly felt a bit better but was still unsure of his place in the group, he had never intended to work on analysis forever. He was supposed to be out there, actively fighting All For One, preventing a future where Leader, Yoichi, and Commander died.

"I just don't you to die, but if I'm stuck in a hospital bed, how will I protect you?" Izuku asked, desperate for an answer.

He felt his eyes water and tears began to overflow, he just wanted to keep his family safe this time.

"Oh Izuku, I can't promise I will always be here but that doesn't mean I'm going to go off and get myself killed." Yoichi assured, reaching their hand over to cup his cheek." Perhaps before you arrived at the base, I would have, but right now I have so much to live for and I am not letting my brother take me away from you without trying my damnest to stick by your side."

"P-Promise?" Izuku mumbled lurching forward to engulf his uncle in a hug, the older man rubbing his back soothingly.

"I promise, Izuku," Yoichi breathed, the sound almost choked at the end as if the man was also holding back tears, Izuku prayed the man wasn't just lying to make him feel better.

After a moment, Izuku pulled back out of the hug and took a deep breath.

"Did I ever tell you about the time when Kacchan spent all day writing up an apology letter for his past actions, only for Todoroki-kun to accidentally burn them?" Izuku asked with a small smile and Yoichi's eyes gleamed with interest.

He had told his uncle a bit about his friends, like their appearance, personality, and his time with them and so Yoichi knew that Katsuki was his former bully.

"Oh dear, that sounds interesting." Yoichi teased with a grin." Did your friend eventually get his apology out?"

Izuku snickered remembering the day.

"Yeah, turns out he didn't need the letter cause he memorized it completely." Izuku said with a giggle, earning an amused huff from the older man." Kacchan couldn't help but through a few swear words in the spoken version though, but apparently the written one had been completely swear-free, not that Kacchan admitted to that. It was Uraraka who told me, she had read over the apology letter before approving it."

"You certainly have amazing friends, Zuku," Yoichi said with a laugh and Izuku blushed in surprise at the nickname.

He didn't mind it though, he liked the nickname and it was something that even the vestige version of his uncle never called him. He wondered if the vestige knew that Izuku was their nephew or if they faded away not knowing, a pang of sadness shot through his chest, a reminder of the first three users' "deaths" due to his time traveling.

"Yeah, I do," Izuku smiled happily, pushing his sadness aside knowing that in the end, he might be able to make a better life for this version of Yoichi.

"Ok, you are free to leave but you need to promise me you won't use your Meta Ability for at least another month, and the moment you show signs of anything besides the normal tremoring, you come to me," The doctor stated giving him a look and Izuku nodded, he was just relieved he was being allowed to go to his room, which he was sharing with Commander due to the lack of space.

"Don't worry Doc, I'll make sure he rests as much as he needs," Leader assured and Izuku shuddered, knowing that the group leader would have no issue keeping that promise.

Once the Doctor left, Leader helped him to his feet, Izuku finding his legs just as unsteady as his hands but that was more to do with the prolonged time he had spent laying down over the course of the last two weeks.

"Thanks for helping," Izuku mumbled, knowing that the man was taking time off his schedule just to get him to the bedroom, not that he had much choice as both Commander and Yoichi were busy going shopping for clothes in his size.

"No problem, kid," Leader replied nonchalantly.

Izuku looked up to see a soft smile on the soldier's face, but as soon as Leader noticed him looking, his face went blank once more. It wasn't much, but it made a warmth bloom in Izuku's chest, similar to the warmth he felt when he was around Yoichi, yet different somehow, unique.

He continued the slow journey to the room, needing to take breaks a few times as he lost his breath.

Despite trying to not beat himself up over it, he still hated being so weak, before All For One captured him he had been able to stand toe to toe with the man, now he was reduced to this and there was nothing he could do about it. He might never be one hundred percent ever again, let alone be able to use his Quirks to the same degree he had been able to before, it was frustrating.

Finally, they made it to the door, Leader opening it and helping him inside.

It was a fairly plain room, there were two twin-sized beds and a bedside table between them. There was also a desk and chair, along with a small cupboard. It was honestly better than he expected, but he was too tired to think more about the details of the room, his eyes already drooping with a need to sleep.

"Let's get you into the bed," Leader said as he guided Izuku to the bed that wasn't a crumpled mess of blankets and sheets.

Izuku awkwardly crawled into the bed, pulling the covers over his legs as he took a sigh of relief.

"When will Commander be back?" Izuku asked and Leader frowned, thinking for a moment.

"Should be back in an hour, if everything went well," Leader said eventually and Izuku nodded, letting out a breath." Get some sleep, if you want to fully recover, you need to take care of yourself."

Izuku snorted but nodded, scooting further under the comforters as he watched Leader leave, closing the door once he was out of the room.

Closing his eyes, Izuku let the darkness of sleep take hold of his exhausted mind.

By the time Izuku woke up, it was dinnertime and he could see Commander typing away at a computer on the desk.

"Hey," Izuku called out, causing the blue-haired man to stop what he was doing and turn to Izuku with a small smile.

"You're awake, I was worried you would sleep forever with how deep your sleep was," Commander teased as Izuku rolled his eyes, but he couldn't stop the small smile of amusement from escaping.

Izuku moved to stretch, letting out a sigh before turning back to the blue-haired soldier.

"What time is it?" Izuku asked and Commander told him the time, considering the time of year it was also just past dawn, he wondered if Yoichi and Leader were up yet." I think I'm going to go see if Yoichi is up if you don't mind."

"Not at all," Commander said waving him off.

Izuku quickly got dressed, deciding to take a shower later before leaving the room, he hadn't been in the safe house for very long and most of the time was spent in the nurse's recovery room. It took him a few more minutes than he thought it would to locate his uncle's room, but when he did he forgot to knock and accidentally walked in, spotting something he would forever be haunted by.

His uncle and Leader were getting some action and had frozen when he walked in, just his luck, he had forgotten that vestige versions of the two had been together, of course, it was expected that these two would be as well.

With a yelp, he covered his eyes and immediately backed out of the room, all but slamming the door shut.

Turning around he numbly went back to the room he temporarily shared with Commander, wondering if he could find a way to safely bleach his brain. At least some of the good points of his old timeline were still happening in this one, he rather enjoyed the idea of Leader being with Yoichi. They were good for each other, that much was obvious, both of them balanced the other out with empathy and the willingness to do whatever was necessary.

He opened the door to his room, the sound causing Commander to look up before noticing him.

"Let me guess, you walked in on them, right?" Commander said with a sympathetic expression and Izuku nodded slowly." Happened to me too, but considering Yoichi wasn't the first person Leader has dated, it didn't bother me as much. You get numb to that kind of thing after a while."

"I know things now that I never wanted to know about my uncle," Izuku mumbled, gagging slightly at the reminder." Let's talk about literally anything else please."

He watched Commander hide a snicker but pretended to not notice.

"Well, why don't speak about your romantic life?" Commander suggested with a teasing tone, causing Izuku's face to heat up in embarrassment." What gender do you like, what's your sexuality, or your type?"

"Oh my god, do we need to talk about this?!" Izuku exclaimed in mortification.

"Sorry, kid, but it's my duty as your friend that I tease you relentlessly," Commander stated sounding like he wasn't apologetic at all, in fact, he seemed to take the responsibility of teasing Izuku very seriously.

Izuku sighed, deciding there wasn't any harm in telling the man his interests.

"I'm bi, demisexual, and my type is unknown," Izuku listed off with a shrug." The only person I've felt attracted to was my friend Uraraka and my childhood friend at one point, the former only happened a month or two before I was sent back in time."

"Ah, makes sense I suppose." Commander said with a shrug." You're only sixteen, sometimes one doesn't get attracted to a person until well into their twenties."

Izuku froze.

"A-Actually, I'm seventeen now," Izuku admitted and Commander froze, turning to him with an expression of surprise.

"What?" Commander questioned confused." When was your birthday?"

Doing the math in his head, Izuku winced, realizing his birthday had been four days into his kidnapping. Which meant he had spent his entire birthday getting tortured over and over again, how pleasant.

"It was about halfway into my time with All For One," Izuku admitted and Commander inhaled sharply, eyes narrowing in anger aimed clearly at the villain.

"That won't do, we'll need to figure out something special for you." Commander decided with a firm nod." We can think of something later."

Izuku smiled, warmth blooming in his chest at the words.

He still sometimes couldn't believe that people would care about him, it was still so foreign even after all this time.

"You don't have to, not considering how tight your budget is," Izuku protested with a shrug, as much as the idea was nice, he didn't want to harm the group that was the only thing standing in the way of All For One achieving his goal.

"Nonsense, you're more than worth any cost we may need to spend," Commander stated firmly before pausing." But if it makes you feel better, then you may just consider how valuable your mind is, not just your Meta Ability. If we didn't consider you worth the cost, we wouldn't have rescued you or treated your injuries. We care about you, both as a person and as an asset."

Most people would have been insulted by being considered as an asset, but to Izuku he knew the man was simply just trying to get Izuku to see his own worth to the group and why he was worth spending money over.

"Thanks, Commander," Izuku mumbled, his chest blooming with warmth.

The man just reached over and ruffled his hair, a fond look in Commander's dark eyes.

"No problem, kid," Commander assured." Now, why don't you go get some analysis done, I know you want to help the group and I have a feeling you'll do something else if I don't let you help out. Just make sure to take frequent breaks and please do it in bed, the desk isn't good for your body while it's recovering."

Izuku nodded, taking the moment to grab one of the spare laptops Commander had, the man collected laptops like a shelter collected dogs.

He shook his head in amusement.

~ Izuku, are you ok? ~ Nana's voice spoke up suddenly and Izuku felt immense relief, he hadn't been able to contact them since he'd come back from All For One.

"Nana, I...I thought you guys were gone," Izuku mumbled, feeling tears build up.

~ You're not getting away from us that easily. ~ Daigorou quipped, revealing his presence as well, the man sounding concerned. ~ Kid, we couldn't see what was happening until the drug was expelled, but we could feel your pain, are you alright? ~

Izuku swallowed, not wanting to reveal what he went through, but after a moment of consideration he simply pushed the memories of what happened to him during his time with All For One.

When the two finished going through the memories, Izuku could feel rage radiating off them.

~ How dare that sick bastard do something like that to Izuku, he is their son! ~ Nana snarled, voice filled with venom and Izuku almost felt pity for All For One, almost.

"I'm fine, I will recover...eventually," Izuku mumbled, staring at the computer as he tried to decipher the scene was looking at.

The two vestiges didn't respond, but he could still feel them at the surface of his mind and he just stayed silent as well. He knew the two were worried and needed a moment to cool off, he just hoped that En was alright, the vestige hadn't spoken since he got injured preventing All For One from stealing One For All.

"I am so sorry you had to see that earlier, Izuku," Yoichi apologized, his uncle looking distraught like he expected Izuku to yell at him.

He just sighed.

"It's fine, Uncle Yoichi, it'll take more than seeing you and Leader...getting it on, to make me upset." Izuku assured with an awkward smile." It was just unexpected, I hadn't realized you were together and honestly, you should lock the door next time. Especially since until now, you've never had a problem with me walking into the room without knocking."

Izuku could see the relief flood Yoichi's face, the man's form relaxing as they flushed a pink color at the reminder that he should have locked the door.

"You're right, I honestly thought I had locked the door, but I had been rather distracted at the time," Yoichi admitted and Izuku winced, he really didn't need details about what Yoichi and Leader were doing.

"Please keep the details of what happened to yourself," Izuku mumbled earning an apologetic look.

"Now, onto more important things, how are you feeling lately?" Yoichi asked and Izuku tilted his head, he had been wondering that himself, while he could still analyze it wasn't the same.

Before getting kidnapped, he had been close to convincing both Leader and Commander to let him out on missions, but now that wouldn't happen for quite a while and he hated that. He needed to save people, it was ingrained so deep in him that it almost physically hurt to do anything but save people.

"I am frustrated, but I can't do anything about that," Izuku admitted with a shrug.

"I understand, but everything will work out and at least you can do something." Yoichi murmured softly, his eyes holding gentle kindness." Just think about all the lives you can save with your analysis until you're able to go into active duty."

He supposed his uncle was right, even if he wasn't fully content with it.

"Thanks, Uncle Yoichi," Izuku responded and the other man leaned forward, giving him a quick hug.

"Now, let's talk about what you want to do for your birthday since we missed it." Yoichi suggested, causing Izuku to feel relief at the change in subject." May I suggest a restaurant, not one we have to reserve as that might tip off my brother, but a nice one nevertheless?"

Izuku had to admit, that sounded nice and he hadn't gone to a restaurant in a long time, months before he was sent back in time.

"That sounds really nice," Izuku admitted with an embarrassed blush." I think I would like that a lot, could we also invite Hikage?"

Yoichi smirked but gave a nod, making Izuku smile widely in return. The kid deserved a treat, especially after everything he had to go through before arriving to the group, he couldn't imagine how rough things had been, not including the whole being hunted like an animal.

"By the way, Hikage called you something interesting the other day." Yoichi drawled giving him an amused look." Want to know what?"

His heart stuttered, had the kid insulted him, no that wasn't right otherwise Yoichi wouldn't be so amused. 

"W-What did he call me?" Izuku asked, feeling hopeful that he was right in that it wasn't bad, perhaps it was a nickname?

"Aniki!" Yoichi exclaimed with a large grin and Izuku's heart stopped in his chest as his eyes went wide.

There was no way, no chance in any timeline that the Hikage Shinomori, the future fourth One For All user, called him big brother. Nope, Yoichi must have misheard cause that would imply that Hikage cared about him more than just being the boy's hero, which couldn't happen, he was already taking such a risk allowing himself to care about Yoichi, Leader, and Commander, but a child too?

If All For One found out...

"H-He can't call me that," Izuku stated firmly, shaking his head and his uncle frowned slightly, looking a bit upset.

"Why not?" Yoichi asked and Izuku swallowed, his anxiety rising by the second.

Even Nana and Daigorou's comforting presence wasn't helping, he wanted the bed to swallow him up so he could avoid this conversation.

"Just because..." Izuku mumbled, trailing off at the end knowing that his uncle wouldn't approve of his reasons, but he knew that putting a child in danger was crossing a line.

It was one thing to let Yoichi, Commander, and Leader care about him and vice versa, but another thing to let Hikage do it. His uncle and friends were adults who could make their own choices and knew the risks, but Hikage wasn't and Izuku refused to let the kid grow too attached.

Perhaps he should say he didn't want the kid to come with him to the restaurant, it would drive home the fact he wasn't joking around to Yoichi.

Yoichi's eyes softened and the man let out a sigh, the sound making a pang of guilt shoot through Izuku's chest.

"If this is because you're afraid of being like my big brother, you don't have to worry about that, you know." Yoichi murmured gently and Izuku froze, but it was an excuse, and he could work with that." You are nothing like him."

"H-How do you?" Izuku asked, letting himself find comfort in his newly constructed lie.

"Cause I see so much of myself in you." Yoichi admitted and Izuku's eyes widened." Your kindness knows no bounds and you try and find non-violent or non-lethal ways of dealing with problems whenever possible. You're selfless, willing to put others before yourself, but you are also learning to take care of yourself at the same time. Let's not forget about our eyes, they're nearly identical, but all of that proves that you're nothing like my brother."

Tears welled up in Izuku's eyes, he brought a hand up to brush them away, feeling a pang of something strange in his chest at the words. Not even First had mentioned those qualities, he always mentioned other things, these were Yoichi's words, not First's.

"I still don't want to risk it," Izuku said with a shake of his head.

"Alright, I won't force you but I also won't just tell Hikage to not see you as an older brother, it wouldn't be fair to him," Yoichi said looking a bit disappointed.

Unfair was better than being put under All For One's interest, what if the villain found out how Hikage felt, would he believe that Izuku and Hikage were actually related?

The man was insane, he doubted a DNA test would even cross his mind, now that he thought about it, had All For One tried to confirm when Nana had let slip? He doubted it unless it was done while Izuku had been unconscious, which he wouldn't put it past the man to do. Either way, nothing good would come from All For One knowing Hikage thought of him as their big brother.

"Fine." Izuku mumbled, not completely content with how he and Yoichi resolved the situation, especially knowing that it wasn't actually resolved." Can I be left alone for a bit, please?"

Yoichi's face fell slightly but the man nodded and he stood up, leaning over and giving Izuku a kiss on the forehead before leaving.

Izuku stared after his uncle in shock.

Why had the man done that? He shook his head, Yoichi was his uncle, of course, he would use physical affection toward him as well. His uncle already gave him hugs several times a day, so perhaps he had just decided to show affection differently this time.

He dutifully ignored the longing in his chest, wishing against fate that it hadn't been All For One that ended up being his father but Yoichi.