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Chapter Text

“Kacchan, your quirk is so cool!” Izuku squeals, eyes shining as he looks at his brave, confident friend. They’re in preschool class and Bakugou had just shown a little of his quirk for show and tell, a little explosion from his hand that went boom.

“Yeah it is,” Bakugou smirks, crossing his arms and staring at Izuku with a toothy grin, “So you better hurry up and get your quirk so we can be heroes together!”

Izuku nods, pumping his fist in excitement, “Yeah, just like All Might!”

They busy themselves the rest of the day with play, working on building a massive fort out of foam blocks. Izuku is so happy for his best friend, excited that he’s got such a cool quirk. They build quietly for a while until Izuku can’t hold in his thoughts anymore.

“Kacchan, what d’you think my quirk’ll be?” Izuku asks curiously, his eyes sparkling with excitement, “If you have ‘splosions, then what if I had something cool too, like fire or something? My mom says my dad could breathe fire.” 

Bakugou huffs, crossing his arms, “No way, fire is dumb. Every other idiot has a fire quirk. You need something really, really cool. Like….like rocket power hands.” 

“Wouldn’t that make it hard to eat?” Izuku asks, tilting his head. 

Bakugou blushes, “I don’t know, just…you better make it something cool! If we’re gonna be hero partners, your quirk has to be cool.” 

Izuku’s stomach twists, quiet for a little while. He can’t control what his quirk is, and that might mean he loses his best friend. What if his quirk isn’t cool? What if it’s something weak, or not able to be used in a fight?

“If I don’t have a cool quirk, will you still be my friend?” Izuku asks quietly. Bakugou stops building for a second to look at Izuku up and down, his eyebrow raising.

“Of course, idiot,” Bakugou scoffs, “But you will have a cool quirk, so it doesn’t matter, dummy.” 

They build for a while longer, Izuku’s spirits lifted, when their teacher calls time for lunch. They’ve finished their fort and Bakugou tells him that they can eat lunch inside of it. Izuku’s sitting down finishing stacking the last block, when Bakugou holds out his hand to help Izuku up. 

Izuku smiles, taking his friend’s hand when everything around him seems to stop.

The classroom fades around him and Izuku can vaguely hear someone calling his name. He can’t move, rooted to the spot, when things begin dancing in front of his eyes that he can’t begin to understand.

Izuku sees a hero, one he doesn’t know, falling through a cloudy sky in a ruined city. The hero is bloody, unmoving, as they fall. Their body looks broken and their face is covered in blood. There’s something familiar about the hero, his spiky blonde hair, his face. His hands are covered in what look like big grenades and there’s a giant scar across his face.

Izuku winces as the hero slams into the ground and doesn’t move. The city around him seems silent, the rain pouring down, the hero’s blood running like a river around the ruined cement. Soon after, another hero in a black jumpsuit flies over to the motionless body.

“Kacchan, no,” the hero sobs, shaking the blood-covered hero, “No, no, you can’t die like this, someone help us, p-please…”

Izuku’s heart drops. Kacchan. Kacchan. The hero, the bloody hero, falling through the sky, slamming into the ground, is his best friend. And the hero in the black jumpsuit is him.

He just watched Kacchan die.

Izuku’s heart hammers in his chest, trying to walk away from the scene, but all he can see is Kacchan falling over and over and over, slamming into the ground, and dying. Dead. Kacchan, dead. Izuku’s going to be sick and his head hurts. 

“Izuku!” someone cries next to him, but Izuku’s eyes roll back into his head and he feel himself falling down as everything around him fades, even the horrific vision of his best friend, falling to his death. 

When Izuku’s eyes snap back open, he’s on the floor in the classroom, their little fort decimated around them. His classmates are crying and Izuku sees Kacchan with tears in his eyes being held back by a teacher. Izuku’s laying on his side and his teacher is next to him, on the phone with her eyes wide and scared.

“Yes, a seizure,” she says, voice professional, but shaky, “His eyes are open but he’s unresponsive. It lasted at least thirty seconds, but I wasn’t able to time it. We need an ambulance here, immediately.”

“I-Izuku,” Bakugou sobs from the corner, “Let go of me! Izuku, are you okay?” 

Izuku doesn’t understand. Kacchan died. He saw it. Kacchan is going to die. He knows it, in his bones. He saw Kacchan die. It wasn’t a dream, it was a vision.

“Midoriya, you just had a seizure,” his teacher tells him when she’s off the phone, “I need you to stay still, sweetheart. We’ve called your mother and she’s going to meet you at the hospital. I’ll ride with you in the ambulance.”

Izuku passes out before he can say anything, his mind totally overwhelmed from the terrible scene he had witnessed and the trauma of having a seizure. His brain shows him visions of Kacchan’s death in his sleep, over and over, and Izuku wakes himself up eventually with his own tears.

“Izuku!” his mother’s voice gasps next to him, sounding tearful and afraid, “Sweetheart, it’s mom. Open your eyes, honey, I’m right here. You’re okay, Izu, everything’s okay.” 

Izuku blinks his eyes open, feeling tears stream down his cheeks as he locks eyes with his worried mother. The room comes into focus and it’s clear to Izuku he’s in a hospital, although he’s not sure how long it’s been since he had that terrible vision. 

“M-Momma…” Izuku hiccups, “I…I…s-saw…something bad.”

His mom’s eyes widen, as if she hadn’t expected him to say that, leaning over to kiss Izuku’s forehead. The moment her lips touch his skin, Izuku feels that same, sickening sensation as before. He half expects to see hero Kacchan dying again, but this time it’s different.

He sees his mom, but instead of the hospital, she’s at their apartment. The lights are all off and she’s humming to herself, cooking something over the stove. Everything looks normal until a loud explosion rocks the building, making her fall down.

“Oh god,” his mom says, “Izuku.”

Izuku watches helplessly as his mom stands, dirt and debris falling from the ceiling. Whatever the explosion was, it’s making their entire apartment building shake apart. His mom tries to run towards Izuku’s room, but a large piece of the ceiling falls, hitting her on the head. She collapses, her eyes opening and staring, completely unmoving.

“M-Mommy?”

Izuku looks to see himself coming out of his own room, his face pale and horrified as he rushes to his mother’s side, “Momma, wake up! Mommy!” 

Izuku watches himself scream as the apartment shakes around them, cracks appearing in the wall. Izuku sees himself curl around his mother’s motionless body, and he half expects he’ll watch himself die, too. Instead, a hero that he vaguely recognizes swings into the building, grabbing Izuku and launching out the window.

“No, no, mom!” Izuku watches himself scream. 

He gasps, shooting his eyes open and realizing he’s back in the hospital. He’s surrounded by doctors and lots of sharp voices, beeping machines. His mom is sobbing in the corner, being consoled by a nurse. Izuku can only be relieved that she’s alive, not dead, not with a piece of the ceiling caving in her skull-

“He’s awake,” one of the doctor’s says, “That seizure was forty-nine seconds long, make a note of that. Izuku, can you hear me?”

Izuku blinks up at the doctor, tears welling in his eyes. His mom. Kacchan. He had seen so many terrible things today. Why? Kacchan just took his hand and mom kissed his forehead, why was he seeing so many bad things?

Izuku nods, not wanting anyone to touch him. If they touch him, he’ll see the bad things again, he’s sure of it. He chokes out a little sob, burying his face against the pillow. His body aches, his head hurts, and he feels like he’s going to throw up any minute.

Izuku hears talking, hears the nurses talking to his mother, feels them touch him with rubber gloves and wearing scary masks and Izuku wants them to go away. Kacchan is going to die, mom is going to die, Izuku can’t stop it he can’t stop it.

The flurry of activity around his bedside eventually settles down and Izuku trembles from exhaustion and fear. A long time later, Izuku feels someone rubbing his back through the blanket and hears some gentle humming. His mom. 

“Sweetheart, it’s going to be alright,” she says, sounding like she’s been crying, “The doctors are going to figure out why you’re having these seizures and then we’re going to take you home, honey.” 

Izuku blanches, remembering the explosion and the ceiling hitting momma and watching her blank, listless eyes…

“D-Don’t wanna go h-home,” Izuku sobs, pulling the blanket over his head, “N-No…” 

“Izu, honey,” his mom says soothingly, although he can hear the tears in her voice, “Why, baby? What’s going on?”

Izuku keeps his head covered, wanting someone to help him. “B-Because…if we g-go home, you’re going to die. I s-saw it, momma. I saw it. I d-don’t, I’m scared!”

There’s a silence and Izuku feels the blanket being very gently pulled down so his mom can see his face. She looks shocked, but not scared, just keeping a gentle hand on his back through the blanket.

“What do you mean, you saw it?” she asks, voice tight, “Izuku…are you saying you had some kind of vision?”

Izuku nods, his eyes haunted and dark. “S-Saw Kacchan. He was…big and he…he f-fell, momma, and he was all c-covered in blood. And then y-you….saw you get h-hit by the ceiling and our house was f-falling down and you d-died.” 

His mother’s eyes widen, but she only soothes him as she presses the button for the nurse. Izuku closes his eyes while she rubs his back, whispering soothing things to him. A little while later, Izuku hears his mom and the doctor talking.

“He needs to see a quirk counselor,” his mom says quietly, tears thick in her voice, “I think…I think he has some kind of vision-based quirk. I think it manifested today. I know my baby, he never has had nightmares like this, and you said his epilepsy tests were negative.”

“Alright, ma’am, we’ll send someone in soon.” 

The quirk counselor is a little scary, but Izuku does his best to talk to them. Since they’re in the hospital and Izuku is weak from his scary day, they can’t do a lot of tests, but the counselor asks him a lot of questions.

“You said you saw the vision of your friend Kacchan when he took your hand?” the counselor asks, and Izuku nods. “Alright. And then the vision of your mother, when she kissed your forehead?”

Izuku nods again, gripping the blanket. The counselor sighs, looking at him with sad eyes. 

“Izuku, I know this might be very distressing for you, but we need to test something. Will you take my hand? You might see some scary things again, but your mother and your doctor are both here if something goes wrong.”

Izuku feels a deep fear in his heart, but he nods, wanting answers. He wants to understand why he’s seeing the bad things. He gently takes the counselors’ hand, and his eyes widen in horror.

He sees his quirk counselor, but the man is much, much older. He has white hair and a beard and is standing outside in what looks like a nice garden. He’s bending over to smell a flower when he suddenly grabs his chest, groaning, and keeling over on the ground. 

Izuku’s eyes snap open and he shakes on the hospital bed, his eyes wide and horrified. He brings his own hands up to the sides of his face, rocking back and forth a little on the bed.

“No seizure,” the doctor says quietly, “It seems like that was much shorter than the other incidents as well.”

“Izuku,” the quirk counselor says quietly, “I know this might be very hard to explain, but may I ask you what you just saw? This is important if we are going to understand your quirk.”

Your quirk. Your quirk. This awful, terrible thing, was Izuku’s quirk.

Izuku chokes on a sob, wiping at his eyes. “Y-You were old. You…you fell down and stopped b-breathing. I d-don’t wanna see these things anymore, I d-don’t wanna see!”

“Oh, baby,” Izuku’s mother cries, rushing over, careful not to touch Izuku’s skin, “Sweetheart, I’m so, so sorry.” 

Izuku sobs for a long while, pressing his face into the sheets while the counselor, his doctor, and his mom all talk together. After a while, he looks up, his mom still rubbing his back, and the counselor is there holding a sheet of paper.

“Izuku, your quirk is very powerful,” the counselor says, sounding a little grave, “We believe you can see the death visions when you touch people with skin-to-skin contact. When the visions are longer, your mind is overwhelmed and your body seizes. This is a dangerous quirk, young man, and you will need a lot of support and training. Mrs. Midoriya, I strongly suggest not only quirk counseling, but general therapy as well as homeschooling until Izuku can get this under control.”

Izuku’s eyes are wide, but he says nothing, curled on the hospital bed. Death visions? Izuku’s quirk is seeing…seeing death? He’s so, so scared, unable to understand and unable to stop the tears as they fall. He’s going to see those horrible things for the rest of his life, and if he doesn’t….

It means no one can touch him ever again. No hugs. No forehead kisses. No high fives. Izuku’s going to be alone, scared and alone forever, because his quirk makes him see things that are bad.

Izuku cries, burying his face into the pillow, his body aching and his head smarting with agony. This is terrible, this isn’t the kind of quirk he wanted, if this is truly what having a quirk is, Izuku would rather be quirkless. He doesn’t want to see this, he doesn’t want to know.

“Izuku, sweetheart, I’m so sorry,” his mom sniffs, “Doctors, do you think…is there anything we can do to help? Support items, or adaptive items? Things to make it so people won’t accidentally touch his skin?” 

“Yes ma’am, we can send you home with some things to try,” the doctor says quietly, “But I am mostly concerned about your son’s seizures. If they’re connected to when his quirk is activated, it’s likely he will have many more in the future. Despite the fact he doesn’t have an actual illness that is causing them, we want to put him on medication and give you some action plans, in case he has another seizure again.”

Izuku stops listening. He’s scared. Kacchan, falling. Momma, dying crushed by a building. The doctor, his heart stopping. What can he do? He has to save them! He has to stop it all from happening, there’s no way he can just stand by and let them die like that.

When he’s finally released from the hospital, Izuku has dark circles under his eyes and he’s hardly slept, plagued by nightmares. He’s wearing new special gloves the doctors had given him so he can still hold hands with his mom, despite it being warm out.

“It’s going to be okay, honey,” his mom says, her voice trembling, “I promise, everything’s going to be fine.”

It isn’t. 

Izuku doesn’t go to school anymore, which means no Kacchan. His mom had called Bakugou’s mother on the phone, explaining what happened in hushed whispers, but Izuku had heard anyway. His quirk is scary and bad, and he won’t get to see his friend in class anymore. 

On top of that, their apartment terrifies him. He keeps seeing momma die, hit by the falling ceiling from the explosion, the mysterious hero pulling him from the building. Izuku hasn’t touched anyone since the hospital, but he’s still plagued by nightmares of the visions he had already seen.

He spends most of his time curled on the couch, watching videos of All Might and other heroes, wishing that he had some kind of quirk, even a boring fire quirk, anything other than this terrible power that Izuku doesn’t understand. 

“Izuku, sweetheart,” his mom says one afternoon, “Do you want to see Katsuki? He’s been begging to come over and see you. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure he doesn’t touch you.”

See Kacchan? Izuku nods, he wants his best friend. But the vision of older Kacchan slamming into the wet pavement of a destroyed city floods him and his eyes tear up. He doesn’t want Kacchan to die, not ever. 

Bakugou and his mother arrive later that afternoon and Izuku’s eyes well up when he sees his friend. Kacchan comes right over and moves to hug Izuku, but Izuku flinches back, pressing himself into the couch. His mom cries when he does it, Bakugou’s mom rubbing her arm. 

“What’s wrong?” Bakugou asks, pulling back his hand, “Mom says I can’t touch you and we can’t even high five. What happened? No one tells me anything.” 

Izuku wipes his eyes, scooting a little further away from his friend. “It’s m-my quirk. I c-can’t touch people anymore.”

Bakugou’s eyes widen, looking excited, “What? You got your quirk? What is it, what does it do?”

Izuku bursts into tears, choking out sobs into his hands, remembering his promise to have a good quirk so he and Kacchan could be hero partners. But this quirk, this is something else. His quirk is scary and bad. 

“I d-don’t like it,” Izuku wails, while Bakugou watches in shock, “I w-wish I was j-just quirkless!”

Bakugou’s jaw drops as Izuku cries, moving to grab his arm without thinking. Izuku’s mom gasps and Bakugou’s mom says, “No, Katsuki, stop!” but it’s too late. Bakugou’s fingers graze the skin between Izuku’s gloves and his shirtsleeve, and the damage is done.

Izuku’s eyes roll into the back of his head and he is lost again, in a vision.

He sees Bakugou again, older, but he’s not in the ruined city anymore. This time, he’s standing, breathing hard in what looks like a forest at night time. He’s covered in blood and one of his arms is hanging limply at his side. There’s others around him, but they look scary.

“We don’t want this brat,” someone says, someone that Izuku can’t see, “Kill him, it’s not worth it.”

Izuku watches in horror as a knife flings from the darkness, and hits Bakugou in the heart. His red eyes widen before he pitches forward, landing in the dirt face down. Dead.

“I need you to time it,” someone is saying, their voice shaking over Izuku, “We need to know how long it lasts.” 

Izuku blinks his eyes open, finding himself on the floor of the living room. Bakugou, his Bakugou, is looking at Izuku in horror. Izuku’s body aches and his head pounds. Another seizure. He’s had another seizure. 

His mom is kneeling over him, holding Izuku’s gloved hand.

“It’s okay sweetheart, it was another seizure,” she says calmly, although her voice wobbles, “You’re going to be alright.” 

“What did he see?” Bakugou’s mom asks, her voice sounding tight, “He…he saw Katsuki, right? Izuku, what did you see?” 

“Don’t ask him that,” his mom snaps, her voice filled with tears, “D-Don’t make him tell you, please.” 

Izuku is confused, clinging to his mother while Bakugou cries behind him. He’s confused because Bakugou died differently this time. He wasn’t in his hero costume and he looked younger than the first vision. The death was different. Izuku doesn’t know why, but his friend’s future has changed. 

Kacchan’s gonna die even younger.

Izuku is too tired to cry, too exhausted to explain, so he lets his eyes fall closed, trying not to let horror overwhelm him. If this terrible, awful thing is his quirk, Izuku’s going to have to make his peace with it. He’s going to have to try to use it to save his friend, his mom. 

He won’t let them die. Not like this.

Chapter Text

Izuku doesn’t leave the apartment.

His mom tries to get him to go places, but Izuku can’t, he won’t, not after she took him to the park and he accidentally touched a girl and saw her decapitated in a car accident. Not after he brushes by his neighbor and saw his arms spread, standing on a bridge with an emotionless expression.

Izuku doesn’t understand death and pain, the root, the cause of it all, but he sees so much of it it stains his entire world black. He stays in his room, hiding under his sheets at night, trying desperately not to sleep because he knows if he does, the nightmares will come back. He’s seen Kacchan die at least four different ways now, all of them young, and his mom die twice. He can’t handle this pain anymore. 

It’s one of these terrible nights that Izuku’s visions come true.

He’s half-asleep in bed, his eyes red-rimmed from crying, exhausted from another day of the terrible, dark thoughts that swirl in his head. He’s trying to sleep, like his mom begged him too, but sleep won’t come when his mind is tormented like this. 

To make things worse, he had a seizure earlier from accidentally touching his mom’s arm when she hugged him, forgetting he didn’t have his gloves on. He had seen her die, again, and he had dropped down. His seizures were common enough now that both he and his mom knew how to handle them, so he didn’t have to go to the hospital every time he had one, but they still made his head ache and his body hurt. 

He’s lying in bed, still trying to sleep, when a loud sound booms through the apartment and his bed lurches to the left. The room is shaking and Izuku looks up in horror as the walls and ceiling begin to crack, dust and debris raining down.

Earthquake? Or something else? I don’t know what’s happening!

Izuku wants to hide, but he remembers his mom, out in the kitchen and he stands up, running to the door. When he opens it, the sight stops him dead in his tracks.

“M-Mommy?”

His mother, lying motionless on the floor of the apartment, blood trickling from her head, a piece of ceiling on top of her. He rushes over to her side, screaming desperately, a horrible sense of deja vu coming over him. 

“Momma, wake up! Mommy!” 

Izuku screams as the apartment shakes around them, cracks appearing in the wall. Izuku curls around his mother’s motionless body, trying to protect her, even though he knows she’s already gone.

He’s seen this happen. He knows…he knows she’s dead. His vision, the one he had when he had first touched her after his quirk manifested. The death he had seen. His mother is dead. Izuku wails, clutching her shirt as he shakes her, hoping, praying his vision was wrong, and his mother will move.

She doesn’t.

Izuku sits there as the building falls apart around him, when the sound of shattering glass bursts behind him. Izuku turns, eyes filled with tears, to see a hero with a black suit and yellow goggles rush over, taking a look at Izuku’s mother, before grabbing Izuku around the waist.

“Sorry, kid, I’ve got to get you out of here,” he says, voice gentle, grabbing Izuku and launching out the window with him. Izuku can only watch as his mother’s form gets smaller and smaller, just like in his vision.

Izuku’s watched this before. He knows what happens now.

“No, no, mom!” Izuku screams, trying to fight against the hero, but they’re already outside the building now. Izuku can see half the block is on fire and the apartment building is in ruins. There’s villains attacking down the street, heroes engaging with them, and Izuku realizes his vision has come to pass.

His mother is dead, just like he had seen weeks ago. Gone, forever.

Izuku shakes as he clings to the hero who had saved him. Up close, Izuku recognizes him. The underground pro-hero, Eraserhead. Able to erase quirks with his eyes. He’s one of Izuku’s favorites. Eraserhead carries Izuku carefully before landing on the ground, near some ambulances.

Izuku shakes, still clinging to Eraserhead’s shirt. His mom is dead. This was real, not a vision. The death, her death, happened in front of his eyes, not just in his mind, his mother is dead. Izuku, terrified, could only watch it happen.

He was useless.

“Kid, are you alright? Any injuries?” Eraserhead asks, very gently setting Izuku on the ground and kneeling next to him. Izuku shakes. His mom is dead. Eraserhead saved him. Just like his vision. 

Does that mean Kacchan will die too-

Eraserhead touches his arm and Izuku freezes.

He’s wearing a t-shirt. Eraserhead’s skin feels cool. Izuku’s eyes roll back in his skull. 

He sees Eraserhead, but he looks much, much older, laying in a bed in a hospital. There’s a group of people around him, a few adult men, and a really old lady.

“Shouta,” the old woman says, her voice sounding watery, “He’s been waiting a long time to see you again. You can let go.” 

One of the adult men squeezes Eraserhead’s hand, wiping his eyes, “Yeah, it’s okay, dad. Say hi to pops for me, will you? We love you so much.” 

Eraserhead’s eyes close and he passes, the flatline of a heart monitor all Izuku can hear. It’s peaceful, this death. There’s sadness, sure, but no pain. Izuku’s relieved. Eraserhead’s a good hero, he deserves a long, happy life.

“Shit, shit, I need medical here, now!” someone shouts, the desperate voice not fitting with the peacefulness of the scene, “The kid’s seizing!” 

Izuku’s body shakes on the ground, his mind going numb. He’s strangely keeping conscious this time, usually he blacks out during his seizures, but he can see some people in medical uniforms running over as Eraserhead looks at his watch, timing Izuku’s seizure. 

The seizure is a short one and Izuku opens his eyes, looking up at Eraserhead and ignoring the medics who are fussing around him. Izuku smiles, a watery smile. Eraserhead’s going to be around for a long, long time. He’s not going to die until he’s really old, and his death is peaceful. He’s safe.

Izuku starts sobbing, leaning forward to press his head against Eraserhead’s leg. The hero seems a little startled, but he reaches down to rub Izuku’s back through his t-shirt. There’s no skin contact, and Izuku grips his fists in Eraserhead’s hero costume, not wanting the hero to let him go. This person isn’t going to die young. He’s going to be there. He’s safe. 

“Kid, I know you’ve been through something awful, but I need you to try and answer,” Eraserhead says calmly, “Have you ever had a seizure before?” 

Izuku nods, hiccuping a little from crying so much, “Y-Yeah. It’s c-cause of my q-quirk.” 

“Okay, that’s rough, I’m sorry,” Eraserhead says, still rubbing Izuku’s back, “Can you tell me what your quirk is so we can stop you from having another one?”

“C-Can’t touch,” Izuku chokes out, his head spinning. Momma is dead. “Can’t t-touch my skin, or I’ll s-see bad things.” 

Eraserhead is quiet for a moment before he murmurs softly, “Tsukuachi, did you catch that? We need some support out here.”

Izuku doesn’t know who Eraserhead is talking too, but he keeps clinging to the hero. He doesn’t want to move. Momma is dead. Eraserhead is here. The medics are trying to touch Izuku and Izuku flinches, ducking away in fear.

“It’s okay, kid, I’ll erase your quirk while they work on you,” Eraserhead says softly, “That’s what my quirk does. I can turn your quirk off so you won’t see anything, I promise.”

Izuku looks up at Eraserhead, his jaw dropping in shock. Eraserhead’s eyes are red, looking at Izuku as he reaches over to hold his hand. Izuku almost starts bawling again when he feels the warm touch of someone else and he doesn’t see anything bad.

“Hurry,” Eraserhead says to the medics, “I can do this in short bursts without blinking, but the faster, the better.”

“It’s alright, we’ve got gloves on,” one of the medics replies, “Should be enough that there’s no skin to skin contact. We’ll take him now, Eraser.” 

Take him? Izuku doesn’t want to be taken anywhere. Eraserhead is safe he can take Izuku’s quirk away and Izuku can be safe, he doesn’t have to see the bad things, not ever again, Eraserhead will keep him safe.

Izuku clings tightly to the hero, shaking like a leaf as he clutches his costume. Eraserhead is still rubbing his back and it feels nice even though Izuku’s heart has shattered tonight and the grief is going to crush him like a tsunami.

“You can make the bad things go away,” Izuku chokes out, eyes shining with tears, “P-Please, I don’t want to see them anymore. P-Please don’t go.”

“Okay,” Eraserhead says softly, “I won’t.” 

Eraserhead is true to his word. He stays with Izuku in the ambulance. He stays with him in the ER when Izuku gets checked in. He stays with him in the hospital room. Stays with him when the police come and Izuku cries, choking out what happened. He even stays with him when the doctors tell the police and Eraserhead all about Izuku’s quirk and the terrible things he sees. 

He stays with Izuku all night.

Izuku doesn’t sleep, curled in a ball on the hospital bed, eyes shining with unshed tears, listless and blank. His mom is dead. His mom is gone. His home is destroyed. Everything he had ever known has changed and Izuku is both sad and terrified. 

“Izuku, I’m sorry,” Eraserhead tells him quietly, “Listen, the police say you have no other family. Your emergency contacts are some family friends, the Bakugous. Do you want me to call them?”

Izuku shakes his head. If momma died tonight, Kacchan might too. Izuku’s visions are a poison. He doesn’t want Kacchan to die, too, because Izuku is bad. But Eraserhead, his death was peaceful. Quiet. Almost…a relief. Izuku thinks it’s okay to stay around him. 

“Kid, I know you’ve been through something horrible, but do you think you can look at me?”

Izuku turns, looking at the hero as he sticks a thumb in his mouth. Eraserhead’s goggles are off and his eyes are tired and sad, his hair messy all over his shoulders. Izuku thinks his mom would have wanted to brush it, to help it not look so scraggly. 

“Izuku, I know your quirk hurts you,” Eraserhead says quietly, “I can help it not hurt. I know tonight has been horrific for you, but I wanted to ask if you wanted to come and stay with me. I can…keep the bad things away.” 

Izuku’s eyes widen as he sits up. “Stay…with Eraser?” 

“Yeah, kid,” Eraserhead says with a little smile, “My husband, he’s dying to meet you, too. We’d…we’d adopt you, if that’s what you want. I promise, no one would hurt you and I’ll do everything in my power to keep you from seeing things you don’t want to see.” 

Izuku’s heart hammers in his chest. It’s too good to be true. He’s still devastated by his mom’s death, but to have a new home, and with someone safe… it’s too good to be true. 

“Y-Yes,” Izuku stammers, tears rolling down his cheeks, “W-Wanna go home with you. With E-Eraserhead.” 

Eraserhead smiles at him. “My name is Shouta Aizawa, little one. Eraserhead is my hero name.”

Izuku leans forward, dropping his head on Eraserhead’s lap. He notices Eraserhead put on some gloves from his pocket and then running his fingers through Izuku’s hair. Izuku’s eyes droop, not having felt any casual touch in so long. It’s been a horrible, traumatic day, but Eraserhead is here and Izuku isn’t alone. 

“My husband is in the hospital right now,” Eraserhead murmurs, stroking Izuku’s hair, “He knows about your quirk and he knows not to touch you. Is it alright if he comes in to meet you?”

Izuku nods, enjoying the rhythmic feeling of the hands in his hair. It’s quiet for a long while until a soft knock makes Izuku look up, his jaw dropping when he sees who’s at the door.

He’s not in his hero costume, but Izuku would recognize Present Mic anywhere. His normally tall, blonde hair is tied back in a bun and he’s wearing jeans and a leather jacket. He looks gentle, and Izuku’s jaw drops. One of his favorite heroes is here.

“P-Present Mic?” he sniffs, sitting up, “You’re…Present Mic.”

Eraserhead gently shifts so Izuku can sit up all the way as Present Mic walks over, sitting in a chair next to the hospital bed.

“That’s right, little listener,” Present Mic says softly, “My name is Hizashi Yamada. I heard you’ve gone through something really terrible tonight. I’m so sorry, Izuku.” 

Izuku just stares at Present Mic before glancing back to Eraserhead, who’s smiling gently. Izuku remembers Eraserhead said he has a husband and Izuku realizes then that Present Mic must be that person.

Present Mic, who wasn’t in Eraserhead’s death vision. Izuku tries not to blanch. Tries not to think about what that means for one of his favorite heroes. 

“Did…Eraserhead say not to t-touch me?” Izuku stammers, wrapping his arms around his legs.

“He did,” Present Mic nods, “But I wouldn’t do that anyways without asking you, so you have nothing to worry about. Shouta also told me that you want to come home with us. We’d love to have you, Izuku. We’ll take good care of you, honey.” 

The speech is kind, so, so kind, and Izuku is soon choking out more sobs. Tonight has been horrific, with his visions brought to life before his eyes, but he has people here that are going to protect him now. He thinks briefly of Kacchan and his eyes well up. He wants to see his friend, but not now, not tonight. Tonight he wants to be alone with Eraserhead and Present Mic, wants to grieve his mom, wants to try and forget the terrible way she died, right in front of him. 

“It’s alright, little one,” Present Mic soothes, “We’re going to take care of you now. I promise.” 

The next day is terrible, but also boring. Izuku has to sit while Present Mic and Eraserhead fill out a lot of paperwork and sign a ton of forms. Izuku stays in his hospital bed most of the time, playing games on Present Mic’s phone to distract himself. He tries to eat a little breakfast, but he can’t keep it down, so he settles just for drinking some tea Eraserhead brings him instead. 

“I’m sorry, Izuku, this will only take a little longer,” Eraserhead tells him quietly, “Hizashi and I have to fill out these papers so we can take you home. Since we’re both pro heroes, it shouldn’t take too much longer. We already have emergency fostering licenses.” 

Izuku doesn’t really understand any of this, his heart still aching from the night before. He’s cried on and off today, and talked to one of the hospital psychologists about his mom’s death, but his heart still hurts. His mom…god, his mom…

After lunch, Izuku gets the courage to ask about Kacchan. Both Eraserhead and Present Mic look a little sad as Izuku asks about his friend, but they do answer his questions.

“Your friend, Katsuki?” Present Mic asks, Izuku nodding in confirmation, “His mom called the hospital, we talked to her a little and explained the situation. They know what happened and that you’re safe. You can see him again, but it might be a little while, alright? Just until things get settled.” 

Izuku’s just glad Kacchan is safe. He hadn’t died too young, not yet at least. 

When all the paperwork is finished, Izuku takes a shower in his hospital room and dries off before he changes into some clothes that Eraserhead gives him. He’s not sure where they come from, because the clothes aren’t his, but they fit okay. There’s a purple sweatshirt that has a hood with cat ears, some black sweatpants, warm socks, and white tennis shoes. 

He’s relieved when Eraserhead also includes a little pair of black gloves, similar to the ones Izuku had lost when his home was destroyed, pulling them on with a happy sigh.

“Nemuri was right, looks like Izuku and Hitoshi are the same size,” Present Mic says, smiling when Izuku finishes pulling on his shoes, bending over to tie them, “That hoodie is cute. Do you like cats, Izuku?”

Izuku blinks before he nods. Cats are nice, but he’s never had one. 

“Good, because we have two,” Eraserhead murmurs, “Izuku, ready? We’re going to take you to our apartment, alright? It’s going to be your new home now.” 

Izuku just nods, reaching up his gloved hands for Present Mic to hold. The hero looks at him softly before giving his hand a gentle squeeze. Eraserhead smiles, taking Izuku’s other hand as they walk out of the hospital together. 

There’s a black car waiting for them outside the hospital and Izuku is a little anxious to get inside of it. It’s suddenly too real to him, that his mom is gone, his home is destroyed, and he’s going home with two pro heroes. Izuku trembles a little bit, turning to press his face into Eraserhead’s leg.

“Hey, buddy, you okay?” Present Mic asks, and Izuku shakes his head, pulling his hands out of their grip to wrap them around his chest. Eraserhead kneels down to Izuku’s level, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“Izuku, can I pick you up?” Eraserhead asks, and Izuku nods, knowing Eraserhead won’t accidentally touch his skin. Izuku feels himself embraced in safe arms again, tucking his head against Eraserhead’s chest. He stays that way until they’re in the car, buckled into a carseat in the back with Eraserhead on one side and Present Mic on the other. 

Izuku keeps his eyes shut most of the ride, thinking about everything and nothing all at once. He hadn’t had a seizure today yet, which was good, but his mother’s death is playing through his head over and over again, like it’s on an infinite loop. 

He keeps his eyes closed when the car stops and Present Mic picks him up. Keeps them closed when he’s carried into his new home and laid out on a comfortable couch, a thick, warm blanket pulled up around him. He hears Present Mic and Eraserhead talking about ordering him clothes and toys, but Izuku keeps his eyes closed through that, too.

“The doctor’s said he might sleep a lot,” Present Mic murmurs, “A way of coping with his grief. They gave me the number for a counselor, want me to put it on the fridge?” 

“Yeah, would you?” Eraserhead sighs, sounding exhausted, “Zashi, the poor kid…he told me he saw the vision of his mom dying weeks ago. Had to watch it come true right in front of his eyes.”

Present Mic curses and Izuku hears the sound of someone sitting down, “Shou, he’s going to need a lot of support. Therapy, quirk counseling, stability.” 

“It’s a good thing we live at UA already,” Eraserhead says, “Nemuri texted, she has a bunch of stuff from Hitoshi Izuku can borrow until we can get him his own things. She says to let her know when she can bring Hitoshi over.”

Izuku doesn’t really understand what they’re talking about, but one thing does stick out to him. UA, the hero school? Is he really at UA right now? Izuku sits up, rubbing his eyes and looking around him for the first time.

The apartment is beautiful, light wooden floors with cream-colored walls. He’s sprawled out on a tan couch with a large green blanket over him. There’s two comfy arm chairs and a large coffee table in front of him, along with a big television bracketed by two bookshelves. To the right of the shelves is a desk with a computer on it in front of a huge window.

Izuku’s jaw drops when he looks out that window, UA’s sprawling campus laid out in front of him. UA, the hero school. He lives at UA. Hardly able to believe it, Izuku turns to face Present Mic and Eraserhead, both of whom are sitting around a dining table and each holding a mug of coffee. 

“Welcome home, little one,” Present Mic smiles, “Are you hungry, Izuku?”

Izuku nods, getting out off the couch and walking over to them. He peeks curiously around a corner to see a decent-sized kitchen, complete with a full sized-oven and stove. His stomach growls when he smells something cooking, looking to see a light on in the oven. 

“That smells good,” he says quietly, looking up at them, “Whatchu’ making?”

“Nothing fancy,” Eraserhead says, “Just a frozen pizza. We usually eat better, kiddo, but since we’re all exhausted we figured something easy wouldn’t hurt. Do you like pizza?”

Izuku nods, chewing on his finger as he walks around the apartment, looking curiously at everything. Beyond the living room, dining area, and kitchen, there’s a bedroom that’s clearly Eraserhead and Present Mic’s, a large bathroom with a big tub, and at the end of the hallway, a completely empty room with a big window.

“This is going to be your room,” Present Mic says gently from behind Izuku, “I know it’s empty right now, but we’ve ordered you a lot of things. In the meantime, our friend Nemuri is going to loan you some of her son Hitoshi’s things to keep you comfortable. If there’s anything you want, you just ask, okay?”

Izuku blanches. Anything you want.

Izuku wants his mom. Present Mic and Eraserhead are nice, and Eraserhead is safe, but Izuku just wants to go home. He wants it to be before he got his quirk, when he was excited and starry eyed, before he saw and tasted death on his tongue and felt blood in his teeth. He wants to be at school with Kacchan, building forts and playing games, he wants to not see death every moment of his life.

Izuku isn’t aware he’s started to cry until he feels a gentle hand on his back, Present Mic gently soothing him as he stands in the doorway of his new room. Izuku sobs, chokes out tears, his whole body shaking.

“Let it out, Izuku,” Eraserhead says quietly, kneeling down next to him while Present Mic rubs his back, “It’s okay. Just let it go.” 

Chapter Text

The second day in his new home, Hizashi and Aizawa present him with some new gloves.

“These gloves were made by UA’s support department,” Aizawa tells him as Izuku takes the gloves, “They’re built to keep your hands comfortable and cool so you don’t sweat, also giving you flexibility. You can even wear them when you sleep, too, if you want.” 

Izuku puts them on, marveling at how comfortable they are. The gloves extend a bit past his wrists so if he’s wearing a long sleeved shirt, he shouldn’t have any skin showing. 

“They’ll monitor your vitals as well,” Hizashi says, holding up his cell phone, “If you have a seizure, Shouta and I will get an alert to our phones if we’re not with you. That way, we can get to you right away, even at night.” 

Izuku is in awe, holding up his hands and looking at the new gloves. It’s too much, but it’s perfect. He feels relief looking at them, smiling up at the two heroes with gratitude. 

“Thank you,” he says quietly, “They’re perfect.” 

After he gets his gloves, he spends the first couple of days in the new apartment just getting used to the place. It’s not very big, but it’s bigger than his old place, and on top of everything being new, there’s also cats here to get used to.

The cats are one of Izuku’s favorite parts of the new apartment. There’s two of them, a small cute orange one and a large black one, a boy and a girl named Mochi and Luna. Mochi, the orange one, is very friendly and spends a lot of time amusingly wrapped around Aizawa’s shoulders. Luna’s a bit more aloof, but she’ll still sleep with Izuku, curled up at his feet.

More importantly, Izuku’s quirk doesn’t work when he pets them. He can run his fingers through their fur, can pet them bare-handed, without anything bad happening. No seizures, no visions. He can touch something alive without being assaulted with visions of death.

Izuku naturally spends a lot of time petting the cats. One afternoon, his gloves are off and he’s been petting Mochi when he’s fallen half-asleep, his eyes closed. He’s not asleep, but he’s curled on the couch and covered in a blanket, almost all the way unconscious when he starts to hear voices.

“God, he’s so cute,” Hizashi sighs, “Shou, look at him. Mochi seems to really like him.” 

There’s a pause and Izuku keeps his eyes closed, still on the edge of sleep, but listening to the gentle words of his new guardians.

“I’m glad he’s getting rest,” Aizawa says with a sigh before lowering his voice to a murmur, “Zashi, listen, while he’s asleep…we need to talk about his quirk. Get a protection plan in place. His mom had pulled him out of school and I don’t entirely disagree with why she did it. Do you know what villains would do with his quirk?” 

Izuku freezes, keeping his eyes closed, his heart hammering in fear. Villains? Wanting his quirk?

“I know, the poor baby,” Hizashi sighs, “But like you said, it’s a good thing we already live at UA. He’s in the safest place in Japan here. Plus he’s got you and me. No one’s going to hurt him now.” 

“I just want him to be as safe as possible,” Aizawa replies, “We haven’t finished his official family registration. I just keep thinking…who knows how many doctors and people saw Izuku Midoriya’s quirk, saw his seizures, who know what he can do? I want to keep him safe. Do you think he’d consider…” 

Aizawa trails off and there’s a pause before Hizashi responds.

“We just have to ask him, Shou.”

Later that day, Izuku is at the table with them eating some ramen, when Hizashi clears his throat.

“Izuku, can we talk to you about something?” Hizashi asks calmly. Izuku nods, looking over at them, “Well, sweetie, you know how my name is Hizashi Yamada?”

Izuku nods again, “Yes, that’s what you said.”

“Well, it is. I mean, it was,” Hizashi smiles, “But when Shouta and I got married, I legally took his name. According to the government, I’m Hizashi Aizawa. I use Yamada as my surname in public and when I’m teaching for our privacy.”

Izuku thinks that makes sense. A lot of people share a family name when they get married. It’s more common to share a name than to keep the same one, as far as he knows. 

“We’re bringing it up because we have to put your legal name down on some paperwork,” Aizawa tells him gently, “And I want you to know your name is your choice, you can still be Izuku Midoriya if you want. But if you want to take our family name, to be an Aizawa, you can. We just want you to be safe, kid, and to protect you as much as possible."

Izuku considers. He remembers their conversation, wondering if this is what they were talking about. His mom’s name, Midoriya, is close to his heart. It was his name and a name that he loved. But his mom is dead. She’s dead and gone, and she’s never coming back. Izuku is desperate for connection, for family. He can still honor her memory if he takes their name. Their name, their protection. Maybe someday, their love. Izuku’s not sure if he deserves love, but he wants to try. 

“You…really want me to?” Izuku asks, his lower lip wobbling, “To…take your name?”

“If you want to,” Aizawa murmurs, “We’re family now. We’ll still be family no matter what you choose to call yourself, but we wanted you to know you had the option.”

Izuku thinks about his mom, about what she would want him to do. He can almost hear her voice in his head, telling him to choose what makes him feel the safest, the most secure.

“I want to,” Izuku says quietly, “I wanna be Izuku Aizawa.” 

Izuku looks up to see that Hizashi is wiping his eyes and Aizawa looks emotional, reaching down to gently clasp Izuku’s shoulder, making sure not to touch his skin.

“Okay, Izu. We’ll do that, then.”

“Well, what do you think, bud?” 

Izuku is standing in front of Aizawa and Hizashi, staring into his new room. There’s a little bed tucked up against one corner with a stuffed cat on the pillow. Next to it is a nightstand with an All-Might lamp and one of Hizashi’s Present Mic radios. On the other wall is a bookshelf which has been stuffed with children’s books and manga next to a little desk and chair. The closet is full of new clothes and there’s a large toy chest full of everything from action figures to legos and blocks. 

On the walls are different posters of animals and pro heroes, and Izuku’s eyes begin to well up. It’s so much and it’s all his. He can’t believe Aizawa and Hizashi have done all of this for him. It’s not his room at his mom’s, but it is his, and he’s grateful to his adoptive parents for giving it to him.

It’s been a week since they’d adopted him and Izuku hasn’t left the apartment once. He’s mostly gotten used to the new place and also being around his new parents. Aizawa was kind, but didn’t show it on his face a lot. Hizashi was more openly loving, looking at both his husband and Izuku like they hung the stars in the sky. 

“I like it,” Izuku tells them now, looking in awe around his new room, “T-Thank you.” 

“You’re very welcome, kiddo,” Hizashi grins, “Hey, listen, when you feel up to it, you could invite your friend Katsuki over to play. He likes UA and heroes too, right?”

Izuku blanches. He still hasn’t talked to Kacchan, not since his mom died, and he knows the Bakugous have been calling to ask how he’s been doing. But Kacchan…Izuku’s seen Kacchan die more than anyone, and now that he knows his visions come true, Izuku’s afraid of what might happen if he accidentally touches his friend again. He doesn’t want to see him die, not again. 

“Only when you’re ready,” Aizawa tells him gently, “But if you are up for meeting someone new, our best friend Nemuri actually lives in this same apartment building. She’s a UA teacher too, remember? The pro hero Midnight. Her son Hitoshi is just a couple of weeks older than you and he’s adopted, too. Would you be okay if we had them over for a while to meet you?”

Izuku considers, looking down at the floor. “As long as they don’t touch me.” 

“They wouldn’t do that, either of them,” Hizashi says softly, “But remember, Shouta can erase your quirk if something happens by accident. You won’t have to see those visions anymore.” 

Izuku sags his shoulders in relief, nodding a little. “Then…it’s okay. I wanna meet Hitoshi.” 

Hitoshi was the one who’s clothes Izuku had been wearing the last few days. Some of the toys in his room were Hitoshi’s too, ones that he had apparently said Izuku could borrow, or keep outright. It’s nice, and Izuku thinks he and Hitoshi might be friends. 

After a shower and a change of clothes, Izuku’s sitting on the couch in the living room holding his stuffed cat to his chest and looking anxiously at the door. He’s made sure to wear his gloves. 

“What do I call them?” he asks Aizawa, “N-Nemuri and Hitoshi?” 

Aizawa smiles at him, “That’s fine, kiddo. Nemuri is fine, or even Auntie, or Auntie Nem. Hitoshi sometimes goes by Toshi, but it’s your call. Do you want them to call you Izuku?”

Izuku nods, tucking the cat closer to his chest. A few minutes later, there’s a light knocking on the door. Izuku makes sure his gloves are on tight. He’s wearing a hoodie, sweatpants, and socks, every reasonable inch of his skin covered. He knows Nemuri and Hitoshi won’t touch him on purpose, but it’s happened by accident enough times before with others to make Izuku anxious. 

“Nem, Toshi, hey!” Hizashi grins, “Come on in.” 

A pretty lady with long dark hair enters and Izuku immediately recognizes her as the pro-hero Midnight. She’s wearing a UA t-shirt and shorts with no shoes and next to her is a little boy with dark eyes and purple hair. He’s also got on a blue t-shirt and white shorts and Izuku thinks he looks a little scared, too. 

“Izuku, can you come here for a minute?” Hizashi asks and Izuku nods, keeping the stuffed cat clutched to his chest as he walks over to them. 

“Hitoshi, Nem, this is our son, Izuku Aizawa.” 

Nemuri’s eyes sparkle, smiling at him, “Nice to meet you, kiddo. Hitoshi, introduce yourself, why don’tcha?” 

Hitoshi steps forward, looking at the stuffed cat in Izuku’s arms before he mumbles, “Um, hi. I’m Hitoshi.”

“I-Izuku,” Izuku stammers quietly, “Thank you…for letting me borrow your toys. This is, um, your cat, right?” 

He holds the stuffed cat out and Hitoshi nods, “Yes, but you can keep it. It’s a…present.”

Izuku smiles, his chest feeling lighter as he clutches the cat close to his chest again. Nemuri and Hizashi both smile at them, only looking up when Aizawa walks in from the kitchen.

“Lunch’ll be ready soon,” Aizawa says, “Why don’t you kids go wash your hands and then we can eat.”

Lunch is nice, chips and sandwiches, and Izuku even manages to smile at a few of Hizashi’s jokes. Hitoshi seems quiet, too, and Izuku learns his shy new friend has a brainwashing quirk, which he thinks is extremely cool.

“So, um, how does it work?” Izuku asks Hitoshi while the grown ups talk about something boring, “Your quirk?”

Hitoshi blushes. “Um…if I ask you a question and you answer me, I can turn it on. I can make people do what I tell them. I’d n-never use it on you without permission, I promise.” 

“It’s so cool,” Izuku gushes, his eyes sparkling, “Seriously, Toshi, that’s the coolest quirk ever. You could make all the bad guys stop before they even do anything! You’re gonna be the strongest hero ever one day, next to my friend Kacchan!” 

Hitoshi is staring at Izuku open-mouthed, blushing even harder. “Um…you r-really think so? That my quirk is…heroic?”

“Well, sure it is!” Izuku beams, before his stomach falls a little, thinking of his own quirk, “Um, I think you’d be a really good hero, Toshi. If…if you wanted.” 

Hitoshi smiles, both of them unaware of the adults watching the two of them with small smiles. Izuku doesn’t say anything about his own quirk, but he and Hitoshi start talking about their favorite hero movies, and the conversation grows lighter from there.

After lunch, Hitoshi and Izuku go into his room to play. Feeling a pang in his heart as he thinks of Kacchan, Izuku pulls out the lego blocks and he and Hitoshi start building something.

“Izu?” Hitoshi asks when they’re halfway through building, “Can I ask…why do you wear gloves inside? Are your hands cold?”

Izuku freezes, pulling his hands to his chest, “N-No, it’s cause of my quirk. I, um, can’t touch anyone. Or I see…really bad things.” 

Hitoshi looks at Izuku for a long moment before he says, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry.”

“It’s okay,” Izuku mumbles, “I just…it’s scary to talk about. When I touch people, I see how they die. I hate my quirk.” 

Hitoshi winces, forgetting the legos as he looks at Izuku. “I may not understand what you’re going through, but I know what hating your quirk feels like. Because of my quirk…my parents, they um, they were killed. Because someone wanted my quirk. Mom…she saved me, and adopted me. That’s why I’m here.” 

Izuku stares at Hitoshi, open-mouthed. Hitoshi was just like him. He understands. He knows. 

“My quirk killed my mom, too,” Izuku says, watching Hitoshi’s eyes widen, “At least, I t-think so. I d-don’t know if it made it happen, or I j-just saw it, but I saw her die, weeks before she did. And then it happened, just like I s-saw, and I couldn’t stop it.” 

“Izuku-” Hitoshi says, but Izuku’s already crying, pressing his face into his hands. Hitoshi seems unsure of what to do or say, but Izuku hears him stand and run out of the room, saying something to the grown ups. 

Soon after, Izuku feels a gentle hand on his back, rubbing his back.

“Hey, Izuku,” Aizawa soothes, “It’s okay. It’s going to be okay, I promise. I’m erasing your quirk right now. Can I hug you?”

Izuku just flings himself forward, wrapping his arms around Aizawa and sobbing so hard his teeth rattle. He misses Hizashi quietly seeing Nemuri and Hitoshi out, Hitoshi casting a sad glance back at Izuku. Izuku cries so hard that he can’t see straight, gripping Aizawa’s shirt.

Everything is wrong. But Aizawa is safe. Aizawa’s death isn’t painful, or wrong. It’s natural and it will happen a long, long time from now. Aizawa is safe to touch. Izuku allows him to sink into the embrace as he lets himself cry.

Chapter Text

The next few weeks are the hardest of Izuku’s life since he first discovered his quirk. He has a panic attack for the first time, clutching his chest, terrified that he’s actually dying. It takes fifteen minutes for Hizashi to calm him down, for Izuku to understand what’s happening.

After that, Izuku is just numb.

He feels like a black cloud has descended over him, a kind of numbness that stops him caring, feeling anything about anything. His feelings are too painful, so instead of facing them he spends his time drifting into his own world and keeping entirely to himself. His new parents take him on some walks around the UA grounds, but Izuku mostly keeps his head down, the dark, churning memories of the deaths he’s seen swirling in his head.

When he goes to his mom’s funeral, it sends him spiraling. It’s just him, Aizawa and Hizashi, the Bakugous, Nemuri, and Hitoshi, but Izuku still feels like it’s too much. Kacchan is there but Izuku doesn’t talk to him, doesn’t talk to anyone, just clings to Aizawa’s pant leg and shakes, his mom’s death rushing through his mind over and over . He’s terrified of being near anyone after that, after her body is gone, burned to ash. 

Izuku can’t talk to the Bakugous, can’t talk to Aizawa or Hizashi or Nemuri, or even his friends. He just wants to go away, to be somewhere where he can’t remember what death is anymore. He’s so tired of death. Izuku just wants to dream without seeing the life drain out of someone’s eyes.

“I wanna see Izuku!” Kacchan is yelling, sounds like he’s crying from his mother’s arms, “Why can’t I talk to him, mom?” 

Izuku just lets himself be picked up by Hizashi while Aizawa talks to the Bakugous, dropping his head on Hizashi’s chest. He’s tired, so tired. He just wants to rest. His mom is gone. Izuku doesn’t want to think about it. He doesn’t want to think about anything.

After the funeral, they take Izuku home and he bundles himself up on the couch. Nemuri is there too, watching Izuku and Hitoshi while Hizashi and Aizawa handle some phone calls and make dinner. Izuku sometimes forgets that his new parents are pro heroes and teachers, and are very busy. They always seem to have time for him, no matter what, so it’s hard to remember how busy they are.

“It’s alright, sweetie,” Nemuri says to Izuku while Hitoshi watches a cartoon on tv, shooting occasional nervous glances at Izuku, “It’s okay, honey, you’re going to be just fine. The worst of everything is over now.”

Nemuri reaches down to brush some of Izuku’s hair out of his eyes and Izuku freezes. No, no, she’s too close. She’s obviously trying not to touch his skin, but even with her care, her finger lightly touches his forehead and Izuku’s stomach sinks with horror as a familiar, terrible feeling swoops over him, his eyes rolling back.

“Hizashi!” he hears Nemuri scream but Izuku’s already gone.

His vision begins with green grass, a sunny day. Izuku realizes with horror he’s looking at the UA grounds. There’s a small group of villains attacking someone, and he hears a choked-off cry. The villains move away, and Izuku’s stomach lurches when he sees Midnight in her hero costume, eyes blank as she falls to the ground, dead.

Her eyes, blank and listless, face him, staring at him from far away. Izuku wants to scream, to run, to cry, to shake Hitoshi and tell him to brainwash his mom into never being a hero again, but he’s frozen.

She lays there for a long time, too long, until a group of young heroes find her, looking stunned and horrified. Izuku’s crying, he can’t watch this again, can’t watch another one of them die too young.

“He’s been seizing for three minutes,” someone says desperately over him, and Izuku realizes he’s been lost in his vision for longer than usual, “Hizashi, get Recovery Girl over here, now . Nem, get Hitoshi out of here, he shouldn’t have to see this.” 

Izuku’s body seizes again and all he can see is Midnight, falling to the ground again, her suit stained with blood, her blank, lifeless eyes staring at him. Dead like his mom, dead like Kacchan will be someday soon, dead, dead, dead.

Is Aizawa the only one who will have a peaceful death? Why does everyone Izuku touch seem to die so young?

Izuku loses time again, his body aching and his mouth tasting foul. When he finally opens his eyes, he’s on the living room floor and Aizawa and Hizashi are crouched over him, both looking terrified. It’s not a look he wants to see on their faces again.

“Hey, buddy, there’s those green eyes,” Hizashi coos, his voice watery, “Shou, how much longer until she gets here?”

“She’s almost here,” Aizawa says tightly, looking at Izuku, “Kid, you with us?” 

Izuku just blinks, his body aching. He vaguely thinks he may have been sick. Everything hurts and Izuku wants to go to sleep. He’s so, so tired. Midnight’s lifeless eyes keep flashing before his own, like some terrible omen.

Izuku just stares at them, feeling a little like he’s standing three feet away from his own body, watching this all happen to someone else. Aizawa has gloves on, gently running his fingers through Izuku’s hair while Hizashi speaks calmingly to him. 

Soon, the apartment door opens and Izuku hears someone rush over, sitting down next to his parents and the sound of something unzipping, something heavy being set on the floor.

“How long did his seizure last?” a brusque voice asks, and Izuku feels a cool, gloved hand on his forehead.

“Four minutes and fifteen seconds,” Hizashi says, his voice shaking, “Sorry, I haven’t…actually seen him have one yet. His medical records say his seizures are usually around ninety seconds.”

“Aizawa, erase his quirk so I can use mine,” the brusque voice says again and Izuku feels an off sensation in his body. He feels someone kiss his forehead, ever so gently, and Izuku’s body instantly feels better. 

An exhaustion sweeps through him, but the aches and pains are better, and his body doesn’t feel so heavy. Izuku blinks his eyes open, surprised to see another pro hero, Recovery Girl, hovering over him.

“There you are, sweetie,” she sighs, looking relieved, “Can you tell me your full name?"

Izuku blinks at her, confused before he answers, “Izuku…Aizawa.”

She smiles, nodding, “That’s right. Do you know what day it is?” 

Izuku scrunches his forehead, “T-Tuesday?” 

“And who’s the number one hero, Izuku?” she says, moving to take his temperature. 

“All Might,” Izuku mumbles, wondering why she’s asking him all of these questions. She fusses over him for a few minutes until she very carefully helps him sit up, coaxing him to drink a glass of water and take some medication. 

“He’ll be alright,” she says to Hizashi and Aizawa, “He just needs rest. One of you should stay in his room tonight, take turns watching him. If he seizes again, you need to call an ambulance. Just because these seizures correlate with his quirk, doesn’t make it a non-medical issue. Once he’s had rest, I’d like to see him in the infirmary and run some tests.”

Izuku’s leaning on Hizashi now, his eyes half-lidded. Hizashi very gently scoops Izuku up, careful not to touch his skin as he carries him into his bedroom.

“Come on, peanut,” Hizashi murmurs, gently laying Izuku down on his bed, “I’m going to tuck you in, okay?” 

Izuku nods and Hizashi pulls the blanket up, squeezing Izuku’s shoulder through it. Izuku is so, so tired. He grabs his cat to his chest and draws a shaky breath, trying not to cry. 

“Shouta’s talking to Recovery Girl,” Hizashi says, “I’m going to stay with you until you fall asleep, okay, sweetheart?”

Izuku’s eyes begin to fall close, Midnight’s pale, lifeless eyes the last thing he sees before he falls asleep.

“I’m so sorry,” he hears someone crying, “God, Hizashi, Shouta, I can’t apologize enough. I thought I was being careful. What…what did the kid see?” 

“Your death,” Aizawa responds quietly, “We didn’t get a chance to ask him the details, not that we would. It seems…wrong, to make him talk about it. Like it’s tempting fate.” 

Izuku is lying in his room, limbs heavy. The voices are distant, far away, but he can still hear them. He wonders how long it’s been since his seizure.

“Fuck,” Nemuri sobs, “God, he saw my death and seized for four minutes? Fucking hell. Poor kid, Jesus, I need a will.” 

“Don’t joke about that,” Hizashi snarls, sounding like he’s banged his fist on the table, “Damnit Nemuri.” 

She sniffs, “It’s not a joke. I…I know our line of work is dangerous, and I have Hitoshi to think about now. I’m going to make an appointment with a lawyer, and I want to make you two Hitoshi’s guardians if anything happens to me.”

“Shit,” Aizawa sighs, sounding much older than Izuku’s used to hearing, “Well, we already have you listed as Izuku’s emergency guardian, but I hate talking about this. I hate…thinking that this is what Izuku has to think about, all the fucking time.” 

“Do you think….” Nemuri sighs, “I’m wondering if I should ask him what he saw. If…if I knew, if I could prevent it-”

“Absolutely not,” Hizashi snaps, stress evident in his voice, “No, Nem. You’d obsess over it, and it’d be putting Izuku in an unfair position. Imagine, if you knew, every choice you make would put weight on that kid’s shoulders. I love you Nem, but I won’t let you do that to him, or to yourself.”

There’s a pause and another sniff. “I’m s-sorry, I just…god, Hitoshi . I don’t want him to know about this. He’s sleeping, Snipe’s babysitting him right now, but I just…he can’t know, okay? I d-don’t want him to…” 

“Hey, it’s okay,” Aizawa says softly, “I know this is…a lot, but…the kid’s seen my death, too. It happened the first time we met. He didn’t talk to me about it, but the only one of us he hasn’t seen die yet is Hizashi. I’d like to keep it that way. I don’t want him to…to have to look at all of us and only see death.” 

“Shou, he’s so scared,” Hizashi sniffs, sounding like he’s crying, “I don’t know what to do. We need help, there’s got to be someone who can mentor him through this, help him.”

Izuku drifts off again, his chest aching as they talk about him. He’s so tired.

When he wakes up again for real, Izuku’s head pounds. He’s been sleeping for a long time, fifteen hours if the clock is right, and longer than that since his seizure. Recovery Girl had fixed him up a lot, but there were still lingering effects. 

“Izuku, hey buddy,” Aizawa says gently, “You’ve got to talk it slow, alright? How do you feel?”

Izuku considers. His head aches and his body is stiff, but other than that, he thinks he’s okay. 

“Fine,” Izuku says quietly, flinching when Aizawa reaches for him, Nemuri’s lifeless eyes and Kacchan’s falling body burning through his mind. Aizawa winces, drawing his hand back. 

“Sorry, kiddo,” he says quietly, “I won’t ever touch your skin without using my quirk, okay? I promised, I’d help you stop seeing those things.”

Izuku shakes his head, remembering who he’s talking to. “It’s…okay if it’s you. Your death…it’s not scary. It’s…it’s okay. It’s okay. It’s okay.”

Aizawa looks conflicted, but he reaches out a gentle hand anyway, flaring his quirk so he can give Izuku a real hug. Izuku clings to Aizawa like air. Hugs are rare now, and Izuku is desperate for contact. He hugs Aizawa tightly, trying to pour his worries and fears into it, hoping Aizawa will make it go away. 

Aizawa shushes him, rocking him slowly and kissing his hair, all while keeping his quirk active for as long as physically possible. After he keeps his eyes open for as long as he can bear, he gently shifts Izuku so there’s no skin to skin contact, blinking his aching eyes. 

“I w-want my m-mom,” Izuku chokes out, his face buried in Aizawa’s chest, “I wanna go home.”

“I know, sweetheart,” Aizawa says, his voice full of pain, “I know. I’m so, so sorry.” 

Izuku has a long, strange morning. He takes a shower, but his parents make him keep the door open so if he faints or has another seizure, they’ll hear him. Once he’s dried off and changed, he puts on his gloves, heading out into the living room.

Hizashi and Aizawa are at the table, both looking like they haven’t slept at all. There’s pancakes and Izuku’s stomach growls, sitting in his seat while Hizashi puts some on his plate for him.

“Do you want syrup, Izu?” Hizashi asks, and Izuku nods, eating through two pancakes and drinking some orange juice. 

After breakfast, he brushes his teeth, ready to bury himself into the couch for the rest of the day, but Aizawa reminds him they have an appointment with Recovery Girl.

“It’s just across campus,” Hizashi tells him, helping Izuku with his shoes, “If you get tired, please let one of us carry you, okay?” 

Izuku nods, following his parents out of the apartment, his stuffed cat in his arms. It’s not a long walk, but halfway to the main UA building where the infirmary is located, Izuku’s legs begin to feel tired. He pulls up the hood on his sweatshirt and tugs on Aizawa’s hand, relieved when Aizawa bends down and carefully picks him up.

With the hood up, Izuku can rest his head on Aizawa’s chest, letting his eyes droop closed a little, trying not to think about Nemuri’s lifeless eyes. When they reach the medical wing, Izuku is put on a little cot in Recovery Girl’s office as she begins to run some tests.

Izuku’s only half awake for most of it, but she monitors his brain activity and asks him a lot of questions.

“Frankly, I believe his quirk is putting too much strain on his mind,” Recovery Girl says softly while Izuku sits on the bed, staring at the wall, “I’m not sure how they’re linked yet, but I think when he gets more understanding and control of his quirk, it will help things.”

“Izuku,” she asks him softly, getting his attention, “Has there ever been a time since you got your quirk that you had a vision without a seizure?”

Izuku thinks to himself before nodding. “Yes. The quirk counselor who touched my hand. His death was really short so I just had a bad headache after.”

“Interesting,” Recovery Girl says, looking at Hizashi and Aizawa, “So, the lengths of the visions may have something to do with his brain activity.” 

“He had a seizure that same night,” Aizawa adds softly, “It was the same night he seized touching me.”

Recovery Girl purses her lips, looking very serious. “Well, I think it merits exploring, but I certainly do not recommend any action that puts Izuku through a seizure on purpose. Let me speak with Nezu, it’s possible he may have some ideas on what to do.” 

Chapter Text

Izuku misses his mom. He misses his bed, his old apartment, going to school, Kacchan. He’s grateful to Aizawa and Hizashi for everything they’ve done for him and he’s grown to rely on them, care for them, but he wants everything to be how it used to be, before Izuku got his quirk and everything went dark. 

One afternoon a few weeks after Izuku’s moved into the apartment at  UA, Hizashi hands him a letter. Izuku opens it, eyes widening when he sees big, messy handwriting he recognizes instantly. His eyes fill with tears as he reads the letter, most of which is spelled incorrectly.

Dear Izuku, I miss you a lot. School sucks without you and is also boring. When are you coming back? I made a castle out of legos for you and had to fight people not to mess it up. Your best friend-Kacchan

Izuku sobs, holding the letter to his chest as he cries. He’s been playing with Hitoshi, who’s becoming a close friend, but Kacchan is his last remaining link to his old life. Kacchan misses him, but all Izuku can see when he looks at his friend now is the different ways he dies.

“Sweetheart, what did Bakugou have to say?” Hizashi asks, so kindly that Izuku just starts bawling. He hunches over, the letter still clutched in his hands, while Hizashi rubs his back to soothe him.

“I know you miss him, kiddo, but he can come over anytime,” Hizashi says softly, making little circles on Izuku’s back with his hand, “You, he, and Hitoshi can have all the playdates you want.” 

Izuku just keeps crying, clutching the letter to his chest. He wants to see Bakugou too, but he’s scared. He doesn’t want to see his friend die, not again. Everytime he has a vision of Bakugou’s death, he dies young, too young, and it leaves Izuku haunted and horrified. 

Izuku is wrung out, exhausted from crying, and he just wants some relief. He leans forward, resting his head on Hizashi’s lap as he sets the letter down next to him. Izuku’s eyes are half-lidded as Hizashi keeps rubbing his back, soothing him as best he can.

“It’s okay, honey,” Hizashi murmurs, “We’ve got you, Shouta and I. You’re safe here. We love you so much, Izuku.”

Izuku’s heart clenches. They had started telling him that they loved him recently and Izuku didn’t realize how desperate he had been to hear it. Hearing it now makes him tear up all over again. Hizashi comforts him for a long while, until Izuku’s tired of lying on the floor. Izuku eventually sits up, giving Hizashi a watery smile, and the two stand to head to the kitchen.

While heading to the kitchen, a blur of orange and black fur bursts around the corner as the cats chase each other, Izuku stepping backwards in surprise. Hizashi has leapt out of the way of the cats, but Izuku miscalculates, and his bare arm touches Hizashi’s hand.

“Oh, no,” Hizashi pales, as Izuku’s eyes roll back, catching Izuku and laying him out on the floor, “Shit, Shouta!”

Izuku’s already gone. 

Izuku sees a dark and rainy cityscape. It’s quiet, save for the sound of rain and sirens in the distance. He sees All Might, standing up but looking beaten and bloody, his hero costume torn. There’s dead heroes all around him and All Might has tears of rage down his cheeks.

Facing All Might is a terrifying looking man. His face doesn’t even look human, with no mouth or eyes that Izuku can see. He’s holding someone in both of his hands by the throat, their legs dangling down. They’re not moving. 

“Zashi!” a familiar voice screams desperately and Izuku turns to see Aizawa trying to crawl towards the villain, clearly wounded, dragging his injured body across the pavement. 

All Might doesn’t move, or can’t, and the villain laughs, squeezing his hands tightly around the hero’s neck. Izuku cries out when he realizes the person the villain is strangling is Hizashi. There's a horrible noise before Hizashi drops to the ground, dead. Izuku can hear Aizawa screaming, the villain laughing, but all he can see are Hizashi’s blank, lifeless eyes, staring at him from the ground.

He does something he’s never done before in one of his visions. He tries to run to Hizashi, to help, but no matter how fast his legs move, Hizashi’s body is far away. Aizawa is still screaming. His parents are in trouble. Hizashi is dead.

Izuku becomes aware of himself in bits and pieces. 

“We’re at two minutes,” Hizashi’s says over him, voice tight and anxious, “I called Recovery Girl, she’s coming.”

“Watch him, make sure he doesn’t bite his tongue,” Aizawa says back, “Come on kid, ride it out and come back to us.”

Izuku is so desperate to see Hizashi alive that his eyes fly open immediately when his seizure is finished, his lip wobbling as he looks at his worried parents. 

“D-Daddy," he stammers, looking at Hizashi. Both his and Aizawa’s eyes widen in surprise. Izuku hasn’t called them dad yet, but Izuku can’t stop himself. He wants his parents, he doesn’t want Hizashi to die. He needs them.

“Peanut, it’s okay,” Hizashi says softly, trying to soothe him, “Whatever you just saw, it hasn’t happened. Your dad and I are right here, we love you, you’re safe.”

Hizashi’s not safe. He hadn’t been old in the vision. He looked not too many years older than he is now. All Might and Aizawa couldn’t save him. Izuku had watched Hizashi die a brutal, horrible death in front of Aizawa. It’s too terrible to think about, to awful to think that this is a possibility for his dad.

“I d-don’t, I c-can’t,” Izuku chokes out, tears pouring down his cheeks, “No, no, no.”

“Izu, you’re okay,” Aizawa murmurs, erasing his quirk and putting a hand on his shoulder, careful not to move him too much. 

“H-Have to save you,” Izuku hiccups, look at Hizashi, “Have to save you, daddy.”

Hizashi looks pained but the door to the apartment opens then, Recovery Girl rushing over to use her quirk on a now hysterical Izuku. After she kisses his forehead, Izuku lays against Hizashi’s lap, shaking like a leaf, but no longer in pain.

No one seems to know what to say, so Aizawa erases Izuku’s quirk so Hizashi can hold him tightly. Izuku latches on to him, sobbing into his shoulder. 

“D-Daddy I d-don’t want you to die,” Izuku bawls, clutching Hizashi’s shirt, “I don’t w-want you to go!”

“Hush, sweetheart, you’re safe, I’m safe, dad’s safe, nothing bad is happening,” Hizashi soothes, kissing Izuku’s hair before gently setting him down so Aizawa can blink and rest his eyes. 

Izuku is overwhelmed. Why are the deaths he sees so painful, so terrible? Izuku wants to know there’s still peace out there somewhere, that things aren’t awful. He hears Aizawa talking to Recovery Girl behind him and it reminds Izuku of Aizawa’s peaceful death. There was no pain there, no agony. Just a slow, gentle sleep. He wants to be reminded of that now.

He spins around, catching Aizawa off guard as he takes off a glove, putting his hand on Aizawa’s bare skin before any of the adults can stop him.

“Izuku!” Aizawa cries, but Izuku just closes his eyes.

He sees the hospital again. Aizawa is still old, laying in the bed. There’s two adult men next to him, but no old lady like last time. The hospital room is peaceful, there’s flowers on a table next to Aizawa, and there’s no violence or murder.

“It’s okay, dad,” one of the men says, gently “You can let go. I love you so much.”

The vision doesn’t feel terrible or awful, it’s as if Aizawa is drifting off into a long sleep as his eyes close. Izuku realizes the older man talking to Aizawa is him . He’s the one telling Aizawa it’s okay to let go. 

“He’s not seizing,” Recovery Girl says over him, “But he is clearly not mentally present.”

Izuku snaps back to himself looking up at his worried parents. He hugs Aizawa gently then, feeling an immense surge of love and affection for this person who’s death doesn’t hurt. Aizawa’s safe. He’ll always be safe. Izuku doesn’t know how he knows that, he just does.

“Why did you touch me, Izu?” Aizawa murmurs, rubbing Izuku’s back, “Why do that to yourself?”

Izuku pulls away a little before he says, “B-Because…your d-death isn’t scary. It’s…it’s okay, dad. It’s okay to let go.”

Aizawa looks a little lost, but he just shushes Izuku, keeping him as calm as he can. Recovery Girl and Hizashi are talking now and Izuku hears them all talking in worried voices. Izuku allows his eyes to close, relaxing as much as he can in his dad’s arms.

“This can’t go on,” Recovery Girl says, her voice worried, “I think it’s time to call Nighteye’s agency. He’d be the most equipped to help the boy.”

“I reached out to him last week,” Hizashi says quietly, sounding a little emotional, “He said he’ll stop by UA in a few days. But after this…do you think we need to take him to a hospital?” 

“I’d like him to spend the night in the infirmary,” Recovery Girl says quietly, “I’ll call Nighteye myself.” 

After a few days of rest and recovery, Izuku gets dressed. He had wanted to play with Hitoshi today, but his parents tell him that an important person is coming to UA, just to see him, and to help with his quirk. 

He walks with his parents towards UA, heading inside and up into a classroom. When they enter the room, Izuku is surprised to see it’s empty save for one person, a tall man in a suit with dark hair and glasses. He’s sitting in a chair, looking over at Izuku with a pensive expression. Izuku’s a little scared of the man, reaching up his gloved hand to hold Aizawa’s, feeling a little anxious.

“Nighteye, thanks for coming out all this way,” Hizashi says, waving at him, “This is our son, Izuku.” 

The man, Nighteye, looks at Izuku pensively, gesturing without a word to the chair across from him. Izuku moves to sit in it, looking at Nighteye a little nervously. 

“So, I understand you have a vision-based quirk like mine,” Nighteye says quietly, “Explain it to me.” 

Izuku looks at Hizashi and Aizawa, both of whom nod in encouragement. He swallows hard, swinging his legs a little on his chair before he answers. “Um…when I touch people, I see how they die.”

Nighteye looks at him for a long moment before he says, “I see. And your visions, I understand they cause you to have seizures, am I correct?” 

Izuku nods, “Yes, s-sometimes. Except…”

“Except?” Nighteye prompts as Izuku pauses. Nighteye is very serious-looking and Izuku’s intimidated by the man. 

“Um, when I touch dad, I don't seize anymore,” Izuku mumbles, looking at Aizawa, “I think because…because he’s really old, and I tell him it’s okay…to go. It's not scary."

Aizawa visibly starts at that, Hizashi putting an hand on his shoulder, and Izuku realizes he’s never actually told his parents what he’s seen of their deaths. 

“Are the visions of your father always the same?” Nighteye asks, and Izuku shakes his head.

“No, they're different sometimes,” Izuku mumbles, looking down at his hands, “K-Kacchan’s death is different a lot. And…and my m-mom. I s-saw her die a few ways, but only o-one of them came true.” 

“Interesting,” Nighteye murmurs, mostly to himself, “Izuku, does your quirk have a name?”

Izuku shakes his head, he hasn’t named it yet. He doesn’t like thinking about it that much.

“I see,” Nighteye says quietly, “Alright. Izuku, my quirk is called Foresight. I am able to see a person’s future, years on, with a hundred percent accuracy. I do this by touching them and making eye contact. I want to help you better control your quirk, your visions, so you are not overwhelmed by them. If we can help you establish more control of your quirk, I believe your seizures will not be so violent. The goal is to eliminate them entirely.” 

Izuku doesn’t understand all of this, but he does understand that Nighteye wants to help. And that’s relief enough to Izuku. 

“I propose an experiment,” Nighteye says to Izuku and his parents, “We touch our hands together and I look in your eyes. I expect you will see my death and I will see your future, but with two prophetic quirks, we cannot make assumptions.” 

Izuku’s a little afraid. He hates having seizures, but if he can understand his visions then…then maybe he can save Hizashi. Kacchan. Midnight. Maybe he can save everyone so they can die peacefully, like Aizawa will.

Aizawa and Hizashi look anxious, but Izuku tries not to be afraid. He reaches out a shaky, bare hand towards Nighteye, trembling a little as the man’s cool hand grips his own.

Izuku gasps. He hears Nighteye inhale at the same time they touch.

Nighteye is fighting, falling through a destroyed building, his heart pierced with a metal spike. Nighteye is an old man, sitting at a table, grabbing his chest and falling forward. Nighteye is walking out in the street, slashed in half by a man with a katana. Nighteye is facing a monstrous thing, a creature that bites him, killing him. Nighteye is…Nighteye is…

“Enough!” Nighteye cries, pulling back. Izuku gasps, rocking forward a little in his chair. He hadn’t had a seizure, but his head aches. He had just seen Nighteye die, over and over and over, in more ways than Izuku could count. 

“This makes no sense,” Nighteye says, sounding as if he’s speaking to himself, “The future is set in stone. It does not change. How can…how could there be so many possibilities?” 

“What did you see?” Aizawa asks anxiously while Hizashi comforts Izuku. 

Nighteye swallows, looking up at them with an intense expression. “Everything. A thousand different possible futures for your son. Each one, adjusted by one, tiny change. Each time, the end of his life was different. His future is completely unknown to me. Izuku, what did you see?”

Izuku clutches his forehead, wincing as a headache thrums through him. “I s-saw…you die. But it was all different. Like all your deaths at once.” 

“Fascinating,” Nighteye says, “Alright, this gives me much to consider. Izuku, a prophetic quirk like ours is a heavy burden to bear. I would like to help you shoulder some of it and work with you once a week here, at UA. Would you be open to being trained by me?”

Izuku nods, feeling a little lightheaded. “Yes. Yes, I want to train my quirk.” 

Chapter Text

Months pass. Izuku spends most of his days playing with Hitoshi on the UA grounds, doing some homeschooling lessons, going to therapy, and working with Nighteye once a week. His sessions with Nighteye double as quirk counseling appointments, and Izuku usually leaves them with his brain aching. 

“Your quirk, it makes me think about my own,” Nighteye says to him, “Your quirk suggests that people’s choices change their destinies. That all deaths aren’t certain, and fate does not exist. That in the chaos of the universe, there are infinite possibilities. Your quirk shows this to you, while mine only shows one path, the most likely path. What do you make of this philosophy, Izuku?”

Izuku never knows how to answer these kinds of questions. Nighteye talks to him like an equal, not a child, but Izuku doesn’t understand half of what the man says. 

Since Nighteye’s touch never seems to give Izuku seizures, it’s safe to practice with him. It takes a lot out of Izuku though, especially because whenever he and Nighteye touch, he’s buried in countless visions of the man’s death. 

He’s seen Nighteye die in hundreds of ways now, some too horrible and violent to speak aloud. Izuku’s always had nightmares since getting his quirk, but after training with Nighteye, they only get worse. The visions of those he’s seen die run through his head on a loop and Izuku often wakes his parents up with his screams. He has no innocence left, not after the terrible things he’s seen. 

Despite this, Izuku still wants to keep working with Nighteye. The act of doing something, anything to help get control over his terrifying quirk is worth the nightmares to him. He may just be a little kid, but Izuku is ready to face whatever he has to in order to make this all stop.

One afternoon during one of their training sessions, Nighteye poses a question that has Izuku’s head spinning. 

“Why is it, do you suppose, that your quirk doesn’t work on yourself?”

Izuku is struck silent for a moment as he considers. His quirk is only activated when he touches other people, not himself, after all, Izuku’s never seen his own death.

“Is it…because my quirk wants to protect me?” Izuku asks, wringing his hands together.

Nighteye nods, “Yes, I think so. My quirk doesn’t work on myself, either. One cannot see their own future. The question becomes, why are some of your visions relatively unchanging, such as Eraserhead’s death, but others such as your friend Bakugou and your mother seem to change drastically. Is it your actions causing the change, theirs, or something else entirely?”

Izuku thinks hard for a moment. “Um…I think it’s their actions.”

“Interesting,” Nighteye says, folding his hands together and looking at Izuku intently, “And why do you think so?”

“Because…because I’m just me,” Izuku murmurs, “I’m just a…a bystander. I think I’m just…seeing what happens when they decide to do different things.”

Nighteye nods, “Indeed. So, you hypothesize that you are seeing the potential ends of life for people, but your own actions do not necessarily cause their deaths to change, correct?”

Izuku blinks before nodding slowly. It’s so much to think about, to uncover. Nighteye always makes his head spin like this. From the corner, Hizashi is watching, but not interrupting. One of his parents is always there for his training sessions, which makes Izuku feel more secure.

“Y-Yes, I think so,” Izuku says.

After that, Nighteye ups Izuku’s training to twice a week, telling Izuku he has to use his quirk, needs to not let it simmer without being used. 

“If you let it sleep, it’s power will grow, like an itch you can’t scratch,” Nighteye tells him, “The more you use it, the less it will affect you. You haven’t had a seizure in weeks, we want to keep it that way.” 

When Izuku isn’t training his quirk, he gets to play with Hitoshi. Hitoshi is awesome, and Izuku loves that they only live one floor apart from each other in the staff dormitories at UA. They have sleepovers at least twice a week when their parents have night patrols. Izuku honestly feels like Hitoshi is more like a brother than a friend after so many days and nights spent together.

“I wanna watch All Might vs. The Giant Robot Dinosaur!” Izuku says, tugging Hitoshi by the sleeve to sit down on the couch, “Dad rented it for us, have you ever seen it?”

Nemuri is out on patrol tonight, so Hitoshi is staying over and the two of them are getting comfortable on the couch. 

Hitoshi shakes his head, squeezing a pillow to his chest, “Uh-uh, is it any good?”

“It’s so awesome, the actor who plays All Might is really realistic!” Izuku grins, jumping on the couch, “And the special effects are super cool, the robot dinosaur is big and scary and All Might saves the city!”

“Kiddos, you want pizza?” Hizashi calls from the kitchen, both Izuku and Hitoshi screaming an excited yes in response. 

They’re bundled up on the couch a safe distance apart, with a pillow between them to keep them safely separated. Hitoshi’s hardly ever touched Izuku before and he’s very careful of Izuku’s space. Izuku knows Hitoshi just doesn’t like to be touched, plain and simple, so the two of them exist comfortably with each other. The cats cozy up near them on the couch and Izuku starts the movie, both of them enraptured.

After a movie and pizza, Hitoshi and Izuku go to reenact the fight scene from the film in Izuku’s room, laughing and playing together. Soon, Aizawa makes them brush their teeth and change into pajamas, telling them it’s almost time for bed. Izuku helps Hitoshi tug out the little futon they keep under Izuku’s bed for whenever Hitoshi stays over.

Once the lights are out and the night light is on, Aizawa and Hizashi tell them goodnight and gently close Izuku’s door. After waiting a moment, Izuku slides down off of his bed next to Hitoshi on the floor, pulling out one of his comic books and turning on a flashlight so they can read together. 

Izuku is nodding off when he hears Hitoshi start to sniffle a little like he’s crying, peeking his head up to look worriedly at his friend. 

“What’s wrong, Toshi?” Izuku asks softly, squeezing his stuffed cat to his chest.

Hitoshi wipes at his eyes, pulling his own little stuffed bear tight in his arms. “I don’t like when my mom is on patrol. I just…I hate it. I’m always afraid she’s not gonna come back.” 

Izuku’s chest tightens because he does understand. He doesn’t worry about Aizawa, he knows that even if his dad gets hurt, he’ll come back. Hizashi is more of an unknown, so Izuku’s always more anxious when he’s out of the house. And he’s never said it to Hitoshi, but he worries about Nemuri, too, after the death he’d seen. 

“Does it help?” Hitoshi asks Izuku quietly, “To know…when they’re gonna…I mean, how your dads are gonna…you know, die?” 

Izuku blanches, shaking his head. “N-No, it’s scary. And I never know for sure what’s going to happen. I just…see really bad things.” 

“But you said Uncle Shouta doesn’t make you see bad things when you touch him, right?” Hizashi asks.

“Yeah, he’s different,” Izuku sniffs, “I dunno why, he just is. He always dies old. But d-daddy’s never with him when he does. I t-think d-daddy will die before him.”

Hitoshi winces, squeezing his bear to his chest. “That’s really scary, Izu. I’m sorry I asked about it.”

“It’s okay,” Izuku whispers, wiping at his eyes, “I don’t have anyone to talk to about it besides my dads and Nighteye, so this h-helps. I get nightmares a lot.”

Hitoshi gets an odd look on his face. “What if I brainwashed you not to? With my quirk?” 

Izuku blinks, his heart hammering with hope and anticipation. “Do you think that would actually work?”

“I dunno, but we could try it,” Hitoshi says, “I’ve been thinking I might be able to help you not have seizures and stuff, too. I’ve been practicing with mom and Principal Nezu with my quirk, I’ve gotten a lot better at using it.”

Izuku knows he should probably ask his parents for permission to try this, but he’s been so desperate to sleep without nightmares, and he’s afraid they’ll say no.

“Let’s try it now,” Izuku says, clutching his stuffed cat, “Please.” 

Hitoshi’s eyes widen a little. “Um, okay. What’s…what’s your favorite color?”

“Green-”

Izuku doesn’t even hear Hitoshi’s command before he’s out cold. The next thing he knows, he hears the sound of someone crying and muffled voices, and someone shaking his shoulder. He doesn’t want to get up. He’s sleepy and warm. 

“Izu, come on, snap out of it,” Hizashi says, his voice sharper than usual, tinged with stress.

“I’m s-sorry, I’m s-sorry,” Izuku can hear Hitoshi sob, wondering why his friend is sad. 

Izuku’s not sure what the problem is, he feels great. It’s the first time he’s slept without nightmares in months. He blinks, sitting up and looking around the room in surprise. He’s in his bedroom still, but the sun is streaming through the windows. The clock says it’s after noon. Izuku’s never slept this late in his life.

Hizashi, Aizawa, and Hitoshi are all in his room and Hitoshi is sobbing, clutching onto Hizashi while Aizawa stares at Izuku, looking relieved when Izuku opens his eyes.

“Whas’wrong?” Izuku yawns, rubbing his eyes, “Toshi, I’m fine. I slept really good.” 

Aizawa gets a funny look. “You wouldn’t wake up, kid. We’ve been trying for hours. I almost called Recovery Girl. Hitoshi tells us you two used his quirk last night so you wouldn’t have nightmares, is that right?” 

Izuku blushes, nodding, “Yes, sorry. I know we should have asked for permission.” 

“Yes, you should have,” Aizawa says firmly, “Izuku, you of all people know that quirks can be very dangerous when you are still learning how to use them. Hitoshi is still learning how his quirk works. He accidentally put you to sleep for way too long and it could have had serious negative effects on your health. Do you understand?”

Izuku nods, feeling guilty, “I’m sorry dad. And Toshi…I’m really sorry, too.”

“It’s o-okay,” Hitoshi sniffs while Hizashi rubs his back, “It’s my f-fault.” 

“Neither of you are in trouble,” Hizashi says gently, “And this is no one’s fault. You both have very powerful quirks and we know they can feel scary sometimes. But it’s important you always talk to us or Nem before doing something like this. You both could be seriously hurt if you’re not careful, and we don’t want anything bad to happen to either of you.” 

After that, Izuku never asks Hitoshi to use his quirk on him again. They still play and hang out together, but Izuku is withdrawn, sad. He still has bouts of grief, waves of crushing loss that bury him when thinks about his old life, his mom. He sees a regular therapist too on top of working with Nighteye, but it’s hard for him, almost too hard to bear some days. 

One of his bad days, Izuku wakes up from a terrible nightmare, one where he relieved Hizashi’s horrifying death, and he’s inconsolable. He wakes up to look for Hizashi, but he’s gone, obviously out on a night patrol. Aizawa is asleep and while he may have insomnia, Aizawa also sleeps like the dead when he’s finally able to crash. 

Izuku wants nothing more than to crawl into bed next to Aizawa, to be comforted, but he knows he shouldn’t, not with his quirk. He sinks down to the floor in the hallway, wrapping his arms around himself and rocking back and forth, trying to self-soothe, to calm himself out of his own nightmare. 

Aizawa wakes up eventually, wincing when he sees Izuku crouched and sobbing on the floor. He picks up a blanket off the bed, gently wrapping Izuku in it before picking him up, holding him close to his chest and rocking him, careful not to let their skin touch.

“There, there, Izu, it’s alright,” Aizawa murmurs, in the most gentle voice Izuku’s ever heard from his dad, “I’ve got you, you’re safe. You’re okay. I’m okay, and so is Zashi. We love you, and everything’s okay.”

One afternoon after a session with Nighteye, Izuku is playing outside in the grass at UA, when he literally runs into Bakugou. He hasn’t seen his best friend in nearly a year, and he’s absolutely shocked to see the other boy here, on UA’s campus.

“I-Izuku!” Bakugou grins, “I’ve been looking all over for you, where have you been? Your dads called my mom to come visit but I had to find you first! I ran away from her a while ago.”

Izuku is gaping at Bakugou in shock, tears welling up in his eyes. “K-Kacchan, I missed you so m-much.” 

Bakugou blushes, rubbing the back of his head, “Yeah, well, I missed you too.” 

Bakugou walks forward and throws his arms around Izuku before Izuku can say anything. Izuku wraps his arms around his friend, crying into his shoulder. He’s too shocked and surprised to remind Bakugou not to touch his skin, too caught up in relief of seeing his friend. 

“Stupid Izu, I missed you,” Bakugou says, stepping back with a grin, “I can’t believe you haven’t seen me or been to school at all! It’s been forever.”

Izuku smiles too, wiping his eyes. “I know, I’m sorry, I’m not allowed to go to school anymore ‘cause of my quirk.” 

“Why?” Bakugou asks, stuffing his hands in his pockets, “No one tells me anything. They just said you started seeing bad stuff and having more seizures and then I didn’t see you anymore.” 

“I’m sorry,” Izuku says, wringing his hands together, “My quirk makes me see really scary things. I’ve been practicing here, there’s a hero helping me, Sir Nighteye. But I still can’t really control it yet. How are your explosions?” 

Bakugou grins, eyes sparkling, “Awesome. I’m gonna be the best hero, you wait and see! I’ll go to UA someday and we’ll be heroes together!”

Izuku’s face falls, looking at his shoes. Bakugou loses some of the light in his eyes, crossing his arms with a huff.

“Well, what’s wrong with that?” he asks, scuffing his shoe in the dirt, “I thought we were gonna be heroes together when you got your quirk.”

Izuku hugs himself, a habit he’s gotten into to try and calm himself lately. “My quirk isn’t very…heroic. It’s just scary, Kacchan. I don’t like it.” 

Bakugou looks a little confused before he straightens up. “Well, I’ll still help you and we’ll still be heroes. Now, c’mon, show me around before my mom makes me go home. I wanna see UA!” 

“Katsuki! What have I told you about running off like that?” Bakugou’s mother snaps, sounding winded as she walks over, “Oh, Izuku, sweetheart! It’s so good to see you!”

Izuku’s lip trembles when he sees Bakugou’s mom, remembering she was best friends with his own mother. He’s happy to see them and he wants to play with Bakugou, but he’s still scared. 

“M-My dads called?” Izuku asks her, feeling a little confused. 

“Yes, honey,” she says gently, “Katsuki missed you and they said you missed him, too. It was supposed to be a surprise, but someone can’t listen to directions!”

Bakugou scowls, pulling his hand away from hers, “Get off me, mom, I knew what I was doin’. C’mon, Izuku, I wanna see your house.”

Chapter Text

“Whoa, Izuku, your room is so cool!” Bakugou says, running around and looking at Izuku’s toys, “Is that the new All Might figurine?”

Izuku nods, feeling a little like he’s in a dream as he sits on his bed watching his best friend look at everything in his room. He had brought Bakugou and his mom back to his apartment and while the adults are currently catching up in the living room, Bakugou and Izuku had been sent to go play.

“Hey, Izu, Toshi’s here!” Hizashi calls from the living room and soon Hitoshi walks through the door, looking a little anxiously at Bakugou.

“Um…hi,” Hitoshi says quietly, “I’m…Hitoshi Shinsou.” 

“Katsuki Bakugou,” Bakugou says, looking a little oddly at him, “Izu, who’s this?”

Izuku hadn’t expected to introduce his two best friends to each other today, but he hopes they’ll get along. “This is Toshi! He’s Midnight, Auntie Nem’s son. When his mom is on patrol he stays here and when my dads are on patrol I go to their house. He lives at UA, too and he has a super cool quirk!”

“Oh yeah?” Bakugou asks with a grin, looking genuinely interested, “What is it?” 

Hitoshi blushes. “Um…brainwashing. If I want to, I can make people do what I tell them to.” 

“Cool,” Bakugou gapes, “So you could like, have ice cream every night for dinner if you wanted?” 

Izuku giggles, trying to imagine Nemuri’s face if Hitoshi tried to pull something like that with his quirk. Hitoshi seems to be thinking the same thing, shaking his head. 

“I mean, y-yeah, I could but my mom would ground me forever,” Hitoshi says, “What’s your quirk, Bakugou?”

Bakugou grins, wider than before as he turns to Izuku. “Since we’re at UA and quirks are allowed, can we go outside and show him?”

A little while later, the kids are out in the grass outside the apartments while their parents have some drinks at a picnic table in the distance. Izuku is sitting cross-legged on the ground, eyes wide with anticipation. Hitoshi and Bakugou have permission from their parents to show off their quirks. Izuku had opted out, for obvious reasons. 

“Okay, Hitsohi, you first,” Bakugou says, “Brainwash me!” 

Hitoshi nods, “Okay, um…what’s your favorite animal?”

“What kind of question is-”

Izuku watches as Bakugou’s eyes glaze over, standing still. Hitoshi says, “Do ten jumping jacks and then a handstand.”

Izuku’s eyes widen as Bakugou does the jumping jacks, followed by an impressive handstand, before Hitoshi releases the quirk and Bakugou falls to the ground with a huff.

“Okay, brainiac, that was pretty cool,” Bakugou smirks, sitting up, “It’s my turn now. You watching, Izu?”

Izuku gives a thumbs up while Hitoshi sits down next to him and they watch as Bakugou pulls his hands back behind him and launches them forward with a cry. A loud explosion shoots from his palms, loud enough Hitoshi jumps and Izuku gasps. Bakguou punches his fists back and forth in front of him, shooting off explosions.

“Whoa,” Hitoshi says, his eyes wide.

“Awesome, Kacchan!” Izuku calls, smiling widely. His friends were so cool. Their quirks were awesome. Izuku wishes that he had a quirk he could share, but no one wants to see him seize. Izuku’s quirk isn’t heroic, not like Bakugou’s or Hitoshi’s. 

After Bakugou is done showing off his explosions, he moves to sit next to them in the grass, the three of them talking about UA and answering Bakugou’s questions about what it’s like to live there.

“So, the principal’s a rat?” Bakugou asks, his head tilting in confusion.

“No, he’s like a….well, no one really knows,” Hitoshi shrugs, “His name is Nezu and he’s a genius. He’s been helping me with my quirk for a long time.” 

Bakugou looks interested, asking them questions about their parents and pros. “Do you think your dads would train me, Izuku? I want to train with Eraserhead and Present Mic! And Midnight, too!” 

Izuku nods, “I think they would, if you and Hitoshi wanted to train together.”

“Why not with you?” Bakugou huffs, crossing his arms, “You should do hero training, too.”

Izuku shakes his head, “No, my quirk isn’t good for that. I mean, my dad’s are showing me martial arts and stuff, but I can’t be a h-hero. I’d…I’d just mess everything up, for everyone.”

“That’s not true,” Hitoshi says quietly, “Your quirk could be really useful for a hero. You could…stop people from dying, keeping them out of dangerous situations.” 

Izuku knows that’s not true, because if it was, he could have saved his mom. He could have stopped her from dying, he would know how to save Hizashi and Nemuri. He could save Kacchan.

“Hey, Izuku, what…what is it that you actually see?” Bakugou asks, ripping up some grass with his fingers, “I mean…when you touch people.” 

Izuku stares at Bakugou for a long moment, wrapping his arms around himself. It’s the closest thing he can get to a hug, not wanting to risk accidentally touching one of his friends. He’s still never seen Hitoshi die and he wants to keep it that way.

“I see…bad things,” Izuku mumbles, eyes downcast, “S-Scary things. I d-dream about them all the time. They don’t go away.” 

Hitoshi is quiet and Bakugou just keeps ripping up grass, looking a little unsure.

“Mom said…she said after you got your quirk, I touched you and…you saw me die. What…did you see?” Bakugou asks quietly. 

“Don’t ask him that,” Hitoshi hisses, eyes narrowing, “My mom says to never ask him that. Don’t make him tell you.” 

“N-No it’s okay,” Izuku sniffs, wiping his nose, “Um…I don’t think you wanna know, really. It’s…you can’t do anything about it and it’ll just make you really upset.” 

Bakugou looks up, crossing his arms. “If I’m gonna die, I wanna know about it. Is it cool? Am I a hero?”

Izuku’s heart clenches, thinking of the different ways he’s seen his friend die. Every time, Bakugou was in a hero costume, older, but not even an adult. He’s died as a teenager every single time.

He nods, looking down at the ground. “Y-Yeah. You…die a hero. Every time I’ve seen.” 

“What…” Bakugou swallows hard, “What happened to me?”

Izuku shakes his head, wrapping his arms around his stomach. “I can’t tell you. You’ll obsess over it, you’ll try to live your life doing anything you can to stop it.” 

“Tch, how do you know that’s what’ll happen?” Bakugou scoffs.

Izuku looks up, eyes full of pain, “Because that’s what happens to me . I don’t want you to live like that, Kachaan. It’s…it’s scary.” 

There’s a long silence after this and finally Hitoshi clears his throat, trying to lighten the mood. “Well, um, we could play a game? What about flashlight tag?”

“It’s sunny out and we don’t have flashlights,” Bakugou scoffs while Hitoshi blushes, “Let’s make a dirt castle instead. C’mon.” 

The three of them get started, Bakugou using little bursts of his quirk to loosen the ground as they start making a big mound of dirt, patting it down and building it up. Izuku’s quiet for a while, but as more time passes he starts laughing and joking with his friends. Hitoshi and Bakugou seem to be getting along, and the knot of tension and worry in Izuku’s chest loosens a little, his dark thoughts mostly forgotten. 

After a while of playing, the game turns into throwing dirt at each other, which evolves into tag, chasing each other around the grass. All three of them are dirty, a little sweaty from the heat, but smiling. Izuku hasn’t had this much fun in a while. Bakugou is it, chasing after him and Hitoshi, when Izuku trips, falling face first in front of Bakugou who falls on top of him.

“Ouch!” Bakugou says, rolling off of Izuku, “Watch where you’re going, nerd!” 

Izuku doesn’t hear this because the legs of his sweatpants have ridden up a little and Bakugou’s legs brush against his own. He’s already gone. 

“Uncle!” Hitoshi screams, “Mom!” 

Izuku’s lost in the vision almost instantly. 

He sees a dark, dingy bar that’s mostly empty except for a man that looks like he’s made out of mist. Bakugou is tied to a chair in front of the man, bloody and wearing torn clothes. He looks like a high school student, and his breathing is ragged and painful.

“Fuck you, you fucking assholes,” Bakugou coughs wetly, blood on his lips, “They’ll…kill you when they find me…you losers…” 

There’s a laugh and Izuku watches in horror as a villain leans down to whisper in Bakugou’s ear before clamping his hands on Bakugou’s shoulders. Izuku chokes out a scream as the villain decays him. All that’s left of Bakugou is ash, and some traces of blood.

“One minute,” someone says, their voice tight, “He hasn’t had a seizure in so long, I thought the training with Nighteye was helping.” 

Izuku’s body aches, and he rolls over to be sick in the grass, letting out choked off sobs. He curls into a ball, wincing when someone touches his back.

“N-No, don’t touch me, don’t touch me…” Izuku wails. The hand immediately leaves his back and Izuku cries harder. He doesn’t want this. This agony, this pain. He doesn’t want to feel like this.

“Izuku, breathe,” Aizawa says next to him, careful not to touch him, “You’re alright. Katsuki and Hitoshi are alive. Me, dad, and Auntie Nem are alive, too. Katsuki’s mother is alright. No one’s died, Izuku. Everything’s okay, sweetheart.” 

Izuku shakes in the grass, sobbing as he thinks about Kacchan just dying like that. Why does Kacchan always die young? It makes Izuku angry. Kacchan needs to be more careful, he needs to make sure that he’s doing his best to stay alive, to not die at the hands of villains. 

“Should I call for help?” Bakugou’s mother asks, sounding a little frantic.

“No, I know it’s really upsetting to watch, but he’s going to be alright,” Nemuri answers sadly, “This was a shorter seizure, he’ll be okay. His parents are used to helping him through it.” 

“Honey, can you open your eyes?” Hizashi asks Izuku gently, “Dad and I want to make sure you’re alright, sweetheart.” 

Izuku blinks his eyes open, still curled on his side on the grass. He starts sobbing harder, unable to look at his friends. He doesn’t want to see Bakugou, scared he’ll see him crumble into dust.

He loses a little bit of time after that, but Bakugou’s mom takes a very upset Kacchan home and Nemuri takes Hitoshi back to their apartment. Careful to make sure there’s no skin touching, Hizashi carries Izuku home, with Aizawa keeping a close eye on them in case he needs to erase Izuku’s quirk.

Once home, Izuku drinks some water and brushes his teeth. He’s covered in dirt, so he has to take a shower, but he’s in no state to do it himself. In an impressive display of teamwork, Aizawa manages to erase Izuku’s quirk while Hizashi helps him in the bath, until Izuku dries himself off and puts on pajamas.

After Izuku’s been tucked into bed, Hizashi and Aizawa stay with him, murmuring softly to him and telling him stories. Izuku hears Hizashi call off his night patrol for a family emergency, something Izuku doesn’t remember either of them ever doing before. He must be worse off than he thought. He lets his mind drift off and finally his eyes close, hoping the nightmares will go away.

The days after Bakugou’s visit are bad.

Izuku is listless and scared. He wants his mom, he wants his new parents to protect him. He misses Kacchan, but he doesn’t want to see his friend die again. He spends most of his time in bed, staring at the wall or mindlessly watching television. He doesn’t play, doesn’t want to train with Nighteye, or even see Hitoshi. 

He’s despondent. If everyone he loves dies young besides Aizawa, Izuku’s life will be unbearable. He can’t survive all these terrible, bloody deaths. He’s just a kid. He doesn’t want to see this.

“He needs a goal,” Hizashi says desperately to Aizawa one night, “He has no hope about anything. We need to give him something to work towards, anything to help him see he’s not…”

“I know,” Aizawa sighs, rubbing his forehead, “Listen, Izuku loves heroes, right? Why not help him get into the heroics course for high school? Show him that his quirk can be used for good, to save lives. Help him spin it in a positive light.” 

Hizashi raises an eyebrow, looking hopeful, “Do you think…really, that he’d want to?”

“I don’t know, but we have to try.”

Chapter Text

Izuku is staring at himself in the mirror trying to straighten his tie. It’s still early in the morning, and he’s gotten up early to shower and change into his uniform. 

He’s fifteen and it’s his first day of school ever. After an unorthodox education from his parents, Nighteye, and UA’s principal Nezu, he had never been through a traditional school day, instead doing the national exams and required curriculum at his own pace. 

On top of never having been in school before, Izuku is terrified every year he ages, knowing he’s closer to the visions of death he had seen for so many people. It was a sobering thought, but he has been working to try and get a hold on his quirk.

The past nine years he had worked on not only his quirk control, but his physical skills, becoming a black belt in several martial arts and working on combat training. He, Hitoshi, and Bakugou have all passed the UA entrance exams and will be in class 1-A, Aizawa’s class. 

Izuku and his parents know they can’t keep his relation to Aizawa a secret in class, due to them sharing a surname. However, they agree not to let on about Hizashi, wanting to keep privacy for their family as much as possible. 

Izuku fiddles with his tie before sliding on his gloves, making sure they’re secured and every reasonable inch of his skin is covered. He’s trying not to get too anxious, knowing that his parents and the rest of the UA staff will be there and will step in if anything happens. 

Plus, Hitoshi and Kacchan will be there, so he’ll be fine. Even with All Might as a teacher, who’s the most tactile hero Izuku’s ever met. It’ll be fine. Everything will be okay. He’s not going to have a death vision today. He’s not.

“Izu, breakfast is ready!” Hizashi calls cheerfully from the kitchen, “Pancakes, your favorite!”

Izuku grabs his school bag, heading out of his room with a yawn. Aizawa and Hizashi are both already dressed in full hero costumes, clearly ready for the day, settling at the table. Aizawa has an unreasonably large mug of coffee in front of him and Hizashi is grinning, an apron on over his hero costume.

“Looking good, kiddo,” Hizashi beams when he sees Izuku in his uniform, “Come on, Izu, Shou, eat up!”

Breakfast is a sleepy affair, Aizawa looking dead on his feet and Izuku almost nodding off into his orange juice. Hizashi is cheery though, talking excitedly about the day and the entrance ceremony. 

“Babe, you’re not going to bring your class again?” Hizashi pouts to Aizawa, “Don’t want to see me be the MC?”

“I love and support you,” Aizawa yawns, sounding dead tired, “But you know all the shit I have to do on the first day, I can’t drag them to that on top of quirk assessments.” 

Hizashi playfully bickers with Aizawa about it for a while, Izuku pushing his pancakes around on his plate. He’s occupied with thoughts about his new classmates. There are twenty students in 1-A total, which means seventeen new people to meet. Izuku’s world has been fairly small since he was a child, mainly the UA staff, Nighteye, his parents, and Hitoshi and Bakugou. He had always stayed away from UA students growing up, scared they’d set off his quirk, so meeting this many people at once will be a challenge.

“Izu, you okay?” Aizawa asks, snapping Izuku from his brooding thoughts  

“Yeah, I’m just…” Izuku trails off, stomach twisting, “A little anxious.”

Hizashi smiles, reaching over to squeeze Izuku’s gloved hand. “That’s normal, kiddo. You’ll be just fine. Your dad’ll keep your classmates in line, plus Toshi and Katsuki will be there, right?”

Izuku nods, smiling wryly at his parents. After dishes are done and everyone’s ready for the morning, they depart from the staff building together. Hizashi kisses Aizawa softly before they step outside.

“Love you both, have a great day!” he grins, reaching over to squeeze Izuku’s shoulder through his blazer.

“Love you too, dad,” Izuku smiles and Hizashi’s off. It’s still early, so hardly anyone has arrived on campus yet besides the staff that live there, and Izuku is the first person to arrive to class 1-A apart from his dad.

Izuku finds his desk, setting his bag down and looking around the classroom. He’s been in his dad’s classroom hundreds of times at this point, but never as a student. He looks at the clock, noticing that there’s still about half an hour left until class. He hopes Hitoshi and Bakugou will get there first so Izuku doesn’t have to talk to anyone new. Bakugou’s loud and brash, and will likely take attention away from Izuku and Hitoshi, which is how they both like it.

Their friendship group is admittedly odd, but it works.

Aizawa is busy answering emails, so Izuku pulls out his notebook, revisiting the notes he had taken in his last session with Nighteye. At fifteen, Izuku has a much better handle on his quirk than when he was a child. Just brushing against someone’s skin won’t cause him to seize anymore, even though he still sees visions. Prolonged contact or lengthy visions can still set them off though, and the entire UA staff is briefed on seizure care plans just in case.

“Whichever one of your classmates is voted class president will also need to be informed,” Aizawa had told Izuku, “They won’t know the reason for the seizures, but they’ll need to know you have them. And kid, gloves on one hundred percent of the time. Dad and I want to be able to monitor you during training.”

Izuku looks down at his gloves. They’re all black, save for copper metallic lines running across where the bones in his hand would be, almost like a skeleton.  They help monitor his vitals, and they trigger alarms on his parents’ phones and Recovery Girl’s office when they go off, just in case. Izuku hasn’t had a bad seizure in nearly a year, but no one wants to take any chances.

After a while, the enormous door to 1-A opens and Izuku looks up, his heart pounding. It’s Hitoshi, and Izuku instantly relaxes as his exhausted looking best friend sits at the desk next to Izuku’s.

“Kill me,” is Hitoshi’s greeting, groaning as he drops his head down onto his desk, “It’s way too fucking early.” 

“Kacchan’s rubbing off on you,” Izuku grins, “You never used to swear this much before you started hanging out with him.” 

“Don’t you start swearing like them, Izuku,” Aizawa says from the front of the room, eyes locked on his computer screen.

Izuku rolls his eyes, “Dad, you swear almost as much as Kacchan does.” 

“That’s a damn lie, kid, and you know it,” Aizawa deadpans back, making both Izuku and Hitoshi snicker. 

Aizawa keeps working while Izuku and Hitoshi talk, both looking up anxiously when the door opens again. This time, it’s two new classmates, a girl with short brown hair and a dark-haired boy with glasses. Izuku vaguely recognizes him as the younger brother of the pro-hero Ingenium.

“Hello, sensei!” the boy says, bowing at the waist to Aizawa, “It is an honor to be here at UA! I am thrilled to be in class 1-A and I strive to do my best, sir! And you, it’s an honor to meet new classmates! My name is Tenya Iida!”

Izuku just blinks, never having met anyone like Iida before and totally unsure of what to say. Hitoshi, who’s been in public school his whole life and is used to meeting people, just smiles and waves lazily.

“Hey, I’m Hitoshi Shinsou,” he yawns, unable to hide his exhaustion before jabbing his thumb towards Izuku, “That’s Izuku Aizawa.” 

Iida’s eyes widen, glancing at Aizawa, who’s still sitting at his desk, clearly having made the connection with their name. But before he can ask about it, the girl steps forward, waving at them all shyly.

“I’m…Ochako Uraraka!” the girl stammers, face a bit red, “It’s nice to meet you all!” 

Izuku is feeling very uncomfortable, despite how nice his new classmates seem to be. Before he can even open his mouth, the door opens again and more people enter. This time, it’s a loud group of boys; one with spiky red hair, a blonde, and a black haired boy shooting tape out of his arms. 

Following them is a quiet boy with red and white hair split down the center. Izuku instantly recognizes him as Shouto Todoroki, son of the number two hero, Endeavor. Izuku’s never met Shouto before, but he’s heard a lot about Endeavor from his parents, and most of it isn’t good. He’s hopeful Shouto isn’t like his father at all.

The class fills up gradually over the next while, and Izuku feels relief when Bakugou enters, grinning at him and Hitoshi and ignoring everyone else.

“Yo,” Bakugou says to them, sitting backwards in the seat in front of Hitoshi, “What’s up?” 

“It’s too fucking early,” Hitoshi says to Bakugou who snorts.

“Please, I was up at five, this is nothing. Izuku, you good?” 

Bakugou lowers his voice a little at the last part so they’re not overheard and Izuku nods, tugging his gloves up a little higher.

“Fine, just a little overwhelmed,” he says quietly, “It’ll be fine.”

Bakugou just raises an eyebrow, reaching over to flick Hitoshi in the forehead who swears, sticking his tongue out at Bakugou like a child.

“What was that for?” Hitoshi whines, rubbing his forehead. 

Bakugou smirks, “For not getting enough sleep, brainfreak. Hito, you’re worse than Aizawa.” 

Izuku grins, holding out his hand to Hitoshi and saying, “Pay up.”

Hitoshi rolls his eyes, pulling out a piece of candy from his pocket and dropping it into Izuku’s hand. “Fine, you were right. You win.”

“What are you two assholes on about?” Bakugou asks, folding his arms. 

Izuku smiles, “We had a bet. You gave that whole speech about not wanting to be too familiar with us on the first day because you don’t want people to know anything about you, but you already asked about my health and called Toshi Hito and it’s not even eight thirty. I said you wouldn’t make it until nine, Hitoshi said ten, so I win.” 

“Fuck you both, truly,” Bakugou says making Hitoshi and Izuku both laugh. Izuku feels a little lighter now and a bit less anxious, looking around the classroom. 

His new classmates are all so close together. Izuku even sees some casual touching, a hand on a shoulder, or a fist bump, a high five. He swallows hard, an anxious feeling clenching in his gut. 

Hitoshi and Bakugou notice immediately, sharing a worried look before Bakugou leans in. 

“Chill, Izuku,” Bakugou says quietly, “No one’s going to touch you, okay?” 

Izuku nods, rubbing his arms. They don’t get too much more time to talk, because Aizawa starts class. He greets them curtly, and Izuku almost rolls his eyes when he sees some of his classmates looking afraid of his dad. Aizawa is tough on his classes, sure, but he’s also one of the softest people Izuku’s ever met. Hitoshi and Bakugou aren’t phased, either. 

The morning goes by in a blur, Aizawa tests them on the maximum capabilities of their quirks. He tells the class the same lie he tells every year, that he’s going to expel the person who does the worst, but Izuku’s seen it enough times to know his dad isn’t serious. They do everything from launching baseballs to long jumps and obstacle courses. 

Izuku naturally doesn’t do as well as someone like Shouto, who can use his quirk to propel himself forward or Iida, who has literal engines in his legs. However, his training with his parents and the UA staff over the years has made him efficient, and he ends up ranking in the middle of his class on most of the exercises.

After a long, hard morning of training, they eat lunch in the cafeteria, Izuku talking with Bakugou and Hitoshi. He knows he should meet more of his classmates, but being in the crowded cafeteria is anxiety-inducing enough, so he doesn’t want to push it too much on the first day. 

When lunch is over, they head to All Might’s heroics class. Izuku’s been looking forward to this because it will be the first time that he gets to wear his hero costume. All Might himself is loud and larger-than-life, something that has most of Izuku’s classmate’s eyes sparkling.

“All right, change into your hero costumes and meet me at Ground Beta!” All Might says excitedly, “As quickly as you can!”

They head to the locker rooms in excitement, Izuku eager to see how everything on his costume fits. He still doesn’t know what most of his classmates’ quirks are, but he’s interested in seeing what kind of abilities they all have during All Might’s proposed Battle Trial.

Izuku’s costume is designed to protect him as much as possible. He has a dark green shirt that is made out of a bullet and fireproof material, black pants with a utility belt, and tall black boots that have shock absorption. He’s wearing his usual gloves and over his shirt, a vest with pockets that have various support items and weapons. Around his neck he has a capture weapon like his dad. On his forehead, he places his goggles, which he can pull down to help see better at night or in other conditions with poor visibility. 

Once he’s dressed, he meets up with Bakugou and Hitoshi, grinning at their costumes. Hitoshi looks like a ninja, an all black outfit complete with a voice changer, and his own version of a capture weapon. 

Bakugou’s costume turns Izuku’s stomach, not because there’s anything wrong with it, but because Izuku’s seen Bakugou die while wearing this exact thing. He doesn’t want to upset or worry his friend, so he just tells him how cool it looks. 

The entire class meets in a room with large windows, overlooking a fake city that UA had built on Ground Beta for tests and trials like this. Izuku’s eyes widen in surprise when All Might pulls out a script of all things, and begins reading out directions for the assignment.

For the battle trial, they are to be paired into groups of two, two villains, two heroes. The heroes’ objective is to either capture the villains within the time limit, or to capture the nuclear reactor the villains are guarding. For the villains to win, they have to either defend the reactor or capture all the heroes within the time limit. 

Partners are randomly assigned, and Izuku is paired up with Shouto as the hero team, facing off against Iida and Uraraka as the villain team.

“Take five minutes to strategize with your partner!” All Might shouts as the four of them head down into the city, “And…start!”

Uraraka and Iida head into the building where the reactor is held while Izuku and Shouto discuss their plan quietly. 

“Um…my quirk isn’t physical,” Izuku tells Shouto quietly, “But I can fight. I could try and distract one of them while you go for the reactor?”

Shouto nods, “Yes, that’s a good plan. I can use my ice to scale the building and then freeze anyone who’s guarding the reactor.” 

“Okay,” Izuku says quietly, “Um…good luck?”

“You as well,” Shouto replies, and All Might calls to tell them to start.

Shouto is off like a light, shooting up the building in record time. Izuku doesn’t want to discount his classmates, but he’s fairly certain this will be a short exercise. He runs into the building, spotting Uraraka in the distance. He pulls out his capture weapon, launching it forward and tangling it around her legs, making her fall forward with a little shriek.

Not thirty seconds later, All Might announces that Shouto has touched the reactor, and the hero team has won. Izuku rushes to Uraraka’s side, removing the capture weapon with a gentle tug.

“Are you alright?” Izuku asks her, keeping a safe distance away.

She smiles, but she’s a little red in the face, “O-Oh, yeah, I’m fine! A bit embarrassed you knocked me down so fast when I have a gravity quirk, though.” 

Izuku rubs the back of his hair sheepishly. “Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize!” she says hastily, “It was cool! Come on, let’s head back.” 

When they head back inside, Hitoshi grins at him and Bakugou gives him the thumbs up. Shouto and Iida are both already back and All Might looks impressed. He walks over to Izuku and before Izuku can even think to move, All Might claps him on the back.

“Well done, young Aizawa!” All Might booms, “Truly your father’s son.” 

Izuku would have blushed, if All Might’s hand hadn’t touched the back of his neck. He opens his mouth to tell All Might to move, but it’s too late. His eyes roll into the back of his head, and he drops.

“Aizawa!” All Might gasps, and Izuku’s last sight is Hitoshi and Bakugou rushing over to his side. 

Izuku’s lost in the vision quickly.

It’s a dark night, rainy, and Izuku sees All Might standing there, gripping his arm. He looks strange, the right half of his body is the strong and powerful hero Izuku knows, but the left is skinny, weak. Bloody. One of his arms hangs limply at his side, and there’s blood dribbling out of his mouth. 

“It is too late, All Might,” a terrifying voice says, “You have lost. One For All will be mine, and society will fall.” 

“I will fight to my last breath,” All Might growls, blood on his teeth, “It’s not over until it’s over!”

Izuku sees the speaker with the awful voice step forward and if he were able to, he would scream. He recognizes this villain. It’s the villain with no eyes or mouth, the one he had seen before in a vision strangling Hizashi. Izuku’s had nightmares about the man for years. 

He watches helplessly as All Might lunges forward, screaming “Detroit smash!” but it’s too late. The villain uses a quirk, some kind of metal manipulation, and pierces All Might straight through the heart. All Might doesn’t even make a sound, he just stops, impaled on the pieces before falling straight to the ground, dead. 

The villain laughs. Laughs long, and loud, as All Might lays dead in the rain. Izuku’s helpless.

“What’s wrong with him?” someone shrieks, sounding like they’re crying.

“A seizure,” Bakugou replies, hovering over Izuku, “I know it looks fucked, but we can handle this, nerd’s been getting them since he was four. Just back the hell off and give him some space.”

“Aizawa-sensei!” 

Izuku is still seeing All Might dead in the rain, watching the villain walk towards him, extending his arm out, but he can hear the people around him. He knows he’s seizing, almost as if he’s having an out of body experience. 

“How long?” Aizawa’s voice says, sounding a little breathless, like he’s been running.

“I’m timing it,” Hitoshi says a little breathlessly, “Four minutes so far.”

There’s silence for a moment and then Izuku hears his dad curse.

“We’ve passed five minutes. All Might, call an ambulance. Now. Recovery Girl’s on her way, but he’ll need to go to the hospital.”

Izuku loses consciousness after that. 

When he next wakes, he feels like he’s been run over by a truck. His body feels heavy, his mouth dry. His head pounds with a migraine and he feels weak and listless. He blinks, his eyelids feeling just as heavy as the rest of him. 

“Zashi, he’s awake.” 

Izuku blinks his eyes open, the room coming into focus. He can tell he’s in a hospital room and both of his parents are there, their eyes full of worry. Aizawa looks tense, his arms crossed while Hizashi sits next to Izuku’s bed, looking like he wants to bundle Izuku up into the tightest hug he possibly can. 

“W-Wha…” Izuku tries to ask, his mouth feeling like it’s stuffed with cotton, “Wha’...happen?” 

“Baby…you seized for over five minutes,” Hizashi says in a watery voice, “If Recovery Girl hadn’t been there…”

Izuku’s stomach clenches, his mind still reeling from everything he had seen. It all comes back to him, All Might touching him, and the terrible vision. Izuku could tell by the way All Might looked that the vision isn’t too far off from now. The thought terrifies him, considering he’s seen Hizashi die in the same fight, and tears burn in his eyes.

“Sweetheart, what is it?” Hizashi asks, and Izuku bursts into tears. 

There’s nothing he can do. He hates his quirk, hates it so much, because he’s burdened with the knowledge that his dad might die, brutally, at the hands of a villain who takes down All Might. It’s possible the same villain is responsible for killing Bakugou as well, and Izuku just can’t take it. 

Hizashi shushes him, trying to soothe him. “Izu, you’re okay. Whatever you saw, right now you’re safe, and so is everyone else.” 

“The only person who might be in trouble is All Might for touching you,” Aizawa snaps, looking furious, “I briefed him. He should have fucking known better.” 

Izuku just sobs. He can’t explain, he can’t tell them. If Aizawa knew Hizashi’s death was an imminent possibility, his dad would never sleep again. Hizashi himself would probably handle it better than Izuku and Aizawa would, but he’s not willing to put his parents through that burden of knowledge. 

Hizashi soothes him until Izuku stops crying, feeling wrung out and horrible.

“Your classmates are very worried,” Aizawa says quietly, “Iida declared that everyone should go home and do research so they could help you if you have another seizure.”

Izuku sniffs, asking, “R-Really?” 

“Yeah, and Bakugou chewed All Might out,” Aizawa grins, “For being irresponsible of all things. Kind of wanted to hug the kid for that. Hitoshi handled talking to your classmates. They don’t know what you saw, but they know you have a quirk that activates by touch and it can cause you to seize.” 

Izuku nods, trying to ignore the pounding in his head and the ache in his eyes. He’s tired. So tired. He’s just about to fall asleep again when there’s a knock on the door and Principal Nezu, Nighteye, All Might, and Recovery Girl all walk in. 

“Young Aizawa, how are you doing?” Nezu asks. All Might looks sheepish and Recovery Girl walks right over, kissing Izuku’s forehead. He instantly feels much better, if not a little tired. 

“Thank you,” Izuku tells her, managing to push himself up, “I’m f-fine, sir. Um, why are you all…here?” 

He’s especially confused by Nighteye, given that the man doesn’t even work at UA. Aizawa closes the door to the room, leaning against it and crossing his arms. 

“It is delicate,” Nezu sighs, sounding conflicted, “But we have no choice. Due to the nature of the situation, we feel we must ask you what you saw in your vision. As All Might is the number one hero, his condition and what you saw are a matter of national security.” 

Izuku wrings his hands together. “But…sir…what I see, it doesn’t always happen. It’s not…a guarantee.” 

“Understood,” Nezu replies, “However, Sir Nighteye has brought something to my attention that I think warrants examination.” 

Nighteye steps forward, looking even more serious than normal. “Indeed. Toshirini, as you know, I have seen your future and warned you what is coming. Initially, I had thought it unchangeable until I met young Izuku. I believe knowing the details of his visions may help us prevent the events that lead to your untimely demise.” 

“I…understand,” All Might says quietly, “It’s not a pleasant topic, but as it is my fault young Aizawa is here in the first place. I do not wish to be a burden, but I wish to know as well.” 

Izuku blanches, shaking his head. Hizashi and Aizawa share a concerned look, knowing their son better than anyone. Aizawa walks over, erasing Izuku’s quirk momentarily so Hizashi can squeeze his hand. 

“No,” Izuku says quietly, “I can’t. I…you’d all obsess over it, try to do anything you can to change it, and that might make the events happen anyways.” 

“I understand this is hard for you,” Nezu says calmly, “However, we simply cannot afford not to know. I am asking you, Aizawa, as a young future hero, to help us save All Might, and potentially, Japan itself.” 

Izuku swallows hard, and grips his hands in the hospital blanket, looking down at his arms. 

“It…it starts in the city,” Izuku says quietly. Everyone is paying rapt attention to him. The only person Izuku’s ever discussed his visions with in detail is Nighteye, and all of those concerned his deaths specifically. Izuku’s never openly discussed the details of the visions with others, since he was a very young child. 

“It’s nighttime and it’s raining,” Izuku murmurs, “All Might…he…he’s there, but he looks bad. Like, half of him is deflated, skinny. Covered in blood and weak. He’s still standing, but barely. Then there was a villain, he said something about ‘One For All’ being his, and that society would fall.”

“What did he look like?” All Might asks sharply, “The villain?”

“He…his face was…was barely human,” Izuku replies, “He didn’t have eyes and I don’t think he had a mouth, either, but it was covered by a kind of gas mask. He…had a strange quirk, like more than one. And he…you tried to fight him, but he killed you.” 

A silence follows this and Nighteye sighs, rubbing his forehead. “It isn’t exactly the same as what I saw, but it’s close enough for me to be worried. Izuku, is there anything else about this vision you can remember? Any other important details?”

“N-No,” Izuku stammers, his stomach clenching with agony, “But…I’ve seen this villain before, in other visions. One…one really bad one.”

Izuku looks at Hizashi, his eyes instantly filling with tears before he swallows hard, trying not to lose it again. He doesn’t want his parents to hear this, but he has to share all the information. 

“When I was a kid, I saw another vision,” Izuku says shakily, “When my dad, I mean, Present Mic, touched me by accident. He…All Might was there, alive, but there were dead heroes everywhere. And the villain…he…he…”

Izuku covers his mouth as he lets out a choked sob, Hizashi putting a gentle hand on Izuku’s back through his shirt, rubbing it calmly. 

“He s-strangled you,” Izuku sobs, “He b-broke your neck and d-dropped you to the ground and d-dad couldn’t get to you in time. I’m s-sorry, I’m so sorry!”

Aizawa is already erasing Izuku’s quirk again so Hizashi can hug Izuku, telling him it’s okay, it’s not his fault, and that everything will be fine. Aizawa looks worse off than Hizashi, his face tense as he looks at his husband and then back to his son. 

“Izuku, this is important,” Nighteye says seriously, but his tone is a touch gentler than normal, “Are there any other visions you’ve had of this event? Or anything you think might be related?” 

Izuku’s seen so much death, he can’t even begin to sort through everything.

“It’s…possible,” Izuku sniffs, wiping his eyes, “K-Kacchan, my friend Bakugou from class, he…I saw him die when he was about this age. He was killed by villains every time. It…it might be related.” 

“Alright,” Nezu says, sounding grave, “Well, now that we know All For One is involved, I’m afraid things just got dicier. This will require our time and attention. Young Aizawa, thank you. Please, get some rest. Your parents will stay with you. Everyone else, I would like to have a meeting at UA to discuss this further.” 

When the room is empty other than him and his parents, Izuku looks at them helplessly.

“I’m sorry,” he says quietly, “I couldn’t…I was so little when I saw it, I didn’t know how to tell you.”

Aizawa looks pained but Hizashi just smiles sadly. “It’s alright, honey. I’m sorry you had to see it. I’m sorry you had to carry that burden for so many years. I’m not planning on dying, I can promise both of you that much at least.” 

Aizawa doesn’t look happy, but he doesn’t interrupt. Instead, he looks at Izuku and says, “Sleep, Izu. We can worry about this more in the morning. Right now, you need rest. We love you. We’ll be right here when you wake up.”

Chapter Text

Izuku is exhausted, feeling like he could keel over. He’s sitting on the couch at his apartment, discharged a few hours previously, and Nighteye’s philosophical questions are currently making his head hurt.

“Your vision of All Might’s demise is very similar to what I saw,” Nighteye says grimly, sitting in a chair in Izuku’s living room, “I know now the future isn’t set in stone, but my visions are still nearly always correct. We must help prevent this. Which vision do you think you would trust more between yours and mine?”

Izuku’s eyes are red rimmed from so much crying earlier and he’s almost too tired to think. Nighteye had paid a visit first to check on Izuku, but now he is asking him more of what happened. Aizawa and Hizashi both look on edge at his presence, ready to kick the pro hero out if Izuku gets upset again.

“I don’t know, sir,” Izuku says, exhaustion heavy in his voice, “I want to say we should be trying to prevent All Might’s death from happening as much as possible. But…that could also make it worse, or inadvertently cause our visions to come true.”

“Indeed,” Nighteye sighs, “Very troubling. Izuku, I am also concerned about you . We had been making such progress on your seizures, it was distressing to learn you had one that was so long. Was it the length of the vision that caused it this time?”

Izuku nods. “I think so, usually with shorter visions, I don’t seize anymore. I don’t think my mind can handle the longer visions, so when I see those, they trigger bigger seizures.” 

“The most likely theory,” Nighteye agrees, “When you are feeling better, we will discuss this more. For now, I leave you to rest, as I have overstayed my welcome. I will see you Thursday for our usual appointment.”

He says goodbye to Izuku’s parents and when he leaves, Izuku lays back down on the couch, pulling a thick blanket over himself. His head still hurts and he’s exhausted, wanting nothing more than to sleep for as long as humanly possible. His parents share worried looks when Izuku doesn’t talk, both of them heading over to the living room.

“How are you, Izu?” Hizashi asks gently, sitting on the other end of the couch, “Your dad and I are worried about you, sweetheart.”

“Tired,” Izuku croaks, wincing when he remembers his visions, “And scared.”

“We know,” Aizawa replies softly, “Kid…we are so sorry you had to shoulder all of this for so long. I want you to know that if it would unburden you, you can tell us anything. Any of your visions. Even if they’re about us.”

Izuku shakes his head. “No, that’s too dangerous. You’re not used to them, you’d think about it nonstop, like I did when I was little. I’ve had years of quirk counseling and therapy, and it’s still hard. I don’t…I don’t want you both to have that on your shoulders on top of everything else.”

“Izuku, you don’t have to protect us,” Aizawa says, sitting down on the floor and leaning against the couch, folding his arms over his legs, “Your dad and I are pro heroes. We understand the risks. Our number one priority is you . We don’t want you used, not by Nezu, Nighteye, or All Might. We just want you to have a normal school year with your friends.”

Izuku winces. “I’ve never been normal. Not since I got my quirk. If I can stop people from being murdered, I have to try. I can’t…chase down every vision I see, but I can try to save All Might at least. And you, pops.”

The last bit is directed at Hizashi, the nickname making his dad smile.

“Try not to worry, kiddo,” Hizashi smiles, “I’m very hard to kill. I will not go down that easily and your dad would come to the afterlife and murder me himself if I died.”

Izuku snorts, feeling a little better. “I’m sorry I caused a scene in class. Was everyone…I mean, did everyone see what happened?”

“Nothing to apologize for,” Aizawa says simply, “And yes, everyone saw, but like I told you in the hospital, they just want to help you. Katsuki and Hitoshi did a good job of explaining things to them without revealing your quirk. You can choose to tell the rest of your classmates what you see if you want, but it’s entirely your call.”

Izuku nods, yawning a little, exhaustion making his eyelids heavy. Hizashi smiles, patting Izuku’s knee through the blanket as he snuggles down to nap.

“Sleep, Izuku. We love you. Get some rest, okay?”

Thanks to a final healing session from Recovery Girl, Izuku is able to go to school the next day. When walking to class, he’s shocked to see a hoarse of reporters swarming outside UA’s front gate. They’re pressing as close as legally allowed, microphones and cameras out, shoving them in bewildered UA student’s faces as teachers usher the students inside away from the media.

“Vultures,” Aizawa says next to him as they walk, “They must have found out about All Might teaching here. Come on, let’s take the back way in. I don’t want to be on the news today.”

They head into class through the side entrance of UA and Izuku breathes a sigh of relief once they’re indoors, no reporters in sight. They head down the hallway to class 1-A, entering the room. Izuku heads for his desk when he’s surprised to see that Shouto is already there and sitting at his own desk. His eyes widen slightly when he spots Izuku, looking a little relieved. 

“I didn’t think you would be here today,” Shouto says quietly while Aizawa busied himself at his desk, “Are you alright?”

Izuku nods, sitting down, “Yeah, thanks. I’m used to seizures, so it really wasn’t that big of a deal. I know it’s upsetting to watch though, I’m sorry you had to see it.”

“I’m just glad you’re alright,” Shouto replies, “And that you weren’t seriously hurt. Iida made a class group chat last night and texted a lot of information out about seizures so we were better prepared to help you.”

Izuku blushes, “Oh, um, thanks. To…to everyone. You were awesome in the battle trial yesterday by the way. How much ice can you produce at once?”

They spend the next few minutes chatting about Shouto’s quirk until more people come into the classroom. Almost everyone stops at his desk and asks how he is, which Izuku finds touching, if not a bit overwhelming. He’s getting to know some of his new classmates when Bakugou walks in, heading straight for Izuku’s desk.

“Drink this,” Bakugou says, slamming a drink on Izuku’s desk, “My mom said you had to drink the entire thing. It’s some green juice shit, so you better down it, nerd.”

It’s a testament to their lifelong friendship that Izuku takes the juice without question, drinking it slowly through the straw. Bakugou looks satisfied, sitting down while Izuku keeps drinking. Hitoshi heads over to sit next to him, waving at Izuku and looking relieved. 

“Um, excuse me?” Iida asks, approaching Izuku’s desk cautiously, “I wanted to check if you were alright myself. I felt woefully unprepared to assist you yesterday and I wished to help, Aizawa.”

“Call me Izuku,” Izuku says quietly, “And it’s okay, Iida. Thank you for um…researching for me and sending all of that out to everyone. It was really thoughtful of you.”

“Of course!” Iida smiles, “As class 1-A we should be prepared for any and all situations! Especially to help a classmate in need.”

There's a small group of people around his desk now and Izuku blushes at the attention, figuring he should at least tell them a little about what happened. He doesn’t want to explain his death visions, knowing that would only lead to a lot of uncomfortable questions, but he does think they deserve and explanation, especially since it’s highly likely they’ll see him have a seizure again at some point in the next three years.

“T-Thanks,” Izuku says to Iida and the others, “Actually, I uh…get seizures because of my quirk. I have a vision based quirk that activities on skin to skin contact. If someone’s touch lingers or the vision is prolonged, that’s when I have seizures.”

Mina’s eyes widen. “Wait…you can’t touch people at all? Oh my god, that’s so sad. What if we want to high five you or something?”

Izuku holds up his hands, showing them his gloves. “As long as I have these on, high fives are fine. Just, um, I’d prefer if people don’t touch me. It’s…it’s a lot easier that way.”

There’s nodding, even though some people look like they’re feeling a little sad for him. Izuku blushes, rubbing the back of his head and trying to keep a hold of himself. His classmates are very nice, and he wants them to feel how appreciative he is of them and their kindness.

“What kinds of things do you see in your visions?” Kirishima asks curiously, and Izuku freezes, snapping him out of his positive thoughts. He hadn’t been ready to talk about the details. The others notice Izuku’s hesitation, faces falling slightly. 

“Bad shit,” Bakugou interrupts immediately, “Don’t push him about it, Shitty Hair.”

“But…” Kirishima asks, wringing his hands together, “Sorry, I’m not trying to be an asshole, but quirks are no secret in this class, right? And we’re going to have to know about it when we start training together. So, that’s…why I asked.” 

Izuku winces, knowing Kirishima is right. “I know, it’s just…um, my quirk is kind of a lot. Kacchan’s right, I do see a lot of bad things. Basically, I have visions, but they’re only about the bad parts of someone’s future. So they’re not very pleasant to see. On principal, I don’t talk about them at all.” 

No one seems to know what to say to this and thankfully, Izuku is saved from further explanation by the start of class. Aizawa tells them today they’re voting on and choosing class representatives, and Izuku crosses his fingers, hoping it’s not him. 

After homeroom and votes are cast, they head to English class. It’s the first time Izuku will be in Hizashi’s class this year and he smiles when he walks in. Hizashi is boisterously greeting everyone as they sit at their desks and Izuku can’t help but calmed by his dad’s presence. 

“Alright everyone, welcome!” Hizashi says in English, clapping his hands together, “Please raise your hand if you understand me right now.”

Izuku, Bakugou, Sato, and Mina are the only four who put their hands up, the rest of the class looking confused. 

“Great, you four are our group leaders,” Hizashi continues in English, “We’ll start with basic conversational review. Come on, split up. Leaders, come on up and take some review packets.”

The lesson goes on, the class breaking up into four small groups. Izuku’s a bit bored after a while since he’s completely fluent in English. Hizashi had spoken to him a lot in English over the years and their family watched a lot of English shows without subtitles so he’s very comfortable with the language. 

“How’s it going, kiddo?” Hizashi asks Izuku quietly in English, “Better than yesterday?”

Izuku nods, responding in the same language, “Yes, much better. I’m still tired, but that’s about it.”

“Take it easy,” Hizashi replies softly, before turning to everyone and calling in Japanese, “Alright everyone, let’s review!”

After English comes lunch, and they’re all sitting together as a class. Izuku’s branching out today, still sitting by Bakugou and Hitoshi, but also talking to Shouto and Iida. Lunch is a noisy affair, and Izuku’s a little on edge as it is. It’s made much worse though when they’re halfway through lunch and a loud, blaring alarm goes off. 

“Intruder alert! Intruder in the building! All students and staff are to evacuate immediately!”

The announcement comes blaring over the PA system and students start rushing for the doors, pushing and shoving one another, and Izuku even hears screaming. It’s absolute chaos. He’s still sitting at the lunch table with Bakugou and the others, no one knowing exactly what to do. 

Iida suddenly stands up on their table, beginning to call over everyone to file out calmly, following exit protocol. It takes a few moments, but after a while it shockingly works, and Izuku is relieved when the noise and panic dies out and everyone files out of the building onto the grass. 

“The press broke through the UA barrier, look,” Hitoshi murmurs to Izuku as they walk, pointing to the front gates, “That must be what set off the alarms.”

Relieved there’s no real incident occurring, most students relax, sitting down and talking outside until the all clear is given. Bakugou spots Izuku, tugging him a little ways away from everyone else carefully by the shirtsleeve. 

“You okay?” Bakugou asks him, “And don’t lie, I know yesterday was shittier than usual for you. Hito and I are worried about you, dumbass.” 

“I honestly am fine,” Izuku tells him quietly, “Just tired. Um, I actually…wanted to talk to you about something.”

Bakugou crosses his arms, raising his eyebrow. “What’s up?”

Izuku swallows hard. Bakugou looks exactly the same now as every time Izuku’s seen him die, and he knows there’s a chance, a high chance, that Bakugou dies sometime in the next three years. It’s not inevitable, but Izuku can’t stomach the thought of his oldest friend dying horrifically, not even making it to his adult years.

“Please be careful, Kacchan,” Izuku says quietly, wringing his gloved hands together, “Please…don’t do anything dangerous on purpose.”

Bakugou doesn’t interrupt, but he clearly understands that Izuku is serious. Izuku doesn’t ever warn people, doesn’t discuss his visions at all. Having to tell the adults about the vision of All Might and the warning he had given to Hizashi was one thing, but Izuku has no plans to start explaining his visions all over the place.

“I don’t want to tell you more,” Izuku says, eyes full of worry and desperation, “But please don’t take unnecessary risks at UA. Please. I, um…I don’t want to tell you details, but I just saw some things that worried me.” 

Bakugou is quiet and Izuku knows his friend has already put together what he means. That Izuku knows when Bakugou will die and that if he’s giving him a warning, it could be soon. Bakugou doesn’t look distressed, but he does look unsettled. 

“Tell me one thing,” Bakugou replies quietly after a long moment, “Does anyone…I mean, when you saw me die, was there anyone else…there with me?”

“Sometimes,” Izuku says softly, “The first time…I was with you, but we were older.”

“And the other times?” Bakugou asks, staring at Izuku with an intense expression.

Izuku wrings his hands together, not wanting to say much. “The other times it was mainly…villains.”

“Tch, at least it’s not something embarrassing like choking to death on my cereal,” Bakugou smirks, “Dying at the hands of a shitty villain isn’t great, but it could be a lot worse. At least I go out a hero.” 

Bakugou almost looks comforted which makes Izuku’s stomach roll. Does his friend think this is a joke?

“This is serious, Kacchan,” Izuku says, “We’re talking about your death. It sounds like you want it to happen.”

“Of course I don’t wanna fucking die, idiot,” Bakugou rolls his eyes, “But if I’m gonna go, I wanna go out in a fight.”

Izuku isn’t satisfied, but they’re called back into class after that and he doesn’t get a chance to discuss it more with Bakugou. The rest of the day is a whirlwind, Iida and Yayorozu get elected as class representatives, and Aizawa tells them they’ll take a field trip later that week to the USJ.

The USJ is a training facility for rescue heroics, and Izuku’s excited at the prospect of visiting it and training there with the rescue hero Thirteen. By the end of the day, his mind is worn out and his body is exhausted, despite his excitement for the pending field trip. With something to look forward to, Izuku falls asleep that night early, ready for his first real training exercise.

Chapter Text

Izuku is running. 

The USJ field trip had started off fine, but not ten minutes into Thirteen’s explanation of the facility, dozens of villains had shown up. Real villains. Of course, the students were all panicking, but Izuku even moreso. He hasn’t see his classmates’ deaths, and it’s entirely possible that one of them could be killed by a villain today.

Despite the shock of nearly a hundred villains pouring into the USJ at once, Aizawa was calm. He told Thirteen to protect the students while he faced the villain horde alone. Meanwhile, Iida had slipped out, shouting that he was running back to UA for help. Moments after that, the exit was barred and all signals cut to the facility.

Three of the villains had caught Izuku’s attention immediately; a man made of black mist, the one seemingly teleporting villains into the USJ, a person covered in severed hands, and some kind of creature on all fours, its brain exposed. Izuku isn’t sure if it’s a creature or a person with a mutation quirk, but it looks dangerous, whatever it is.

Before Izuku could even think about what to do, the villain made of mist had teleported the class all over the USJ, separating. and Izuku and Shouto had ended up together somewhere in the earthquake rescue zone. That’s where they are now, running to try and find a place to lie low and regroup. They run for a while until they both slide under a concrete barrier, hiding in the shadows in case there are villains around. 

“We keep getting paired up together,” Shouto jokes weakly when they stop, “What do you think we should do?”

“Go back to the center,” Izuku pants, a little out of breath from running so fast, “I need to help my dad. And I think those three in the middle are the leaders, that’s likely where the most fighting will be.” 

Shouto nods, “Agreed. Although, if we run into any villains, it would also be good to figure out why they’re here and what they want specifically. I could freeze them and ask.” 

They agree on the plan and exit their hiding space. They’re not looking for trouble, but soon after they start moving again, villains appear and block their path. There’s at least half of dozen of them, all wielding some kind of aggressively physical quirk and appearing violent and bloodthirsty.

“A little far away from school, aren’t we, kiddies?” one of them smirks, a woman who’s appendages seem to be made of knives, “Shigaraki said we could play with you, so let’s dance.”

Izuku is a little scared, but Shouto looks completely calm. Izuku watches as Shouto raises his foot, slamming it down on the ground and spreading his ice out to freeze each of the villains in place. Impressively, the ice doesn’t crack or break even when Shouto steps away, and the villains are all cursing, their teeth already chattering.

“What the f-fuck?” one splutters, looking blue in the face, “You’re just a s-stupid kid! Let us go, man!”

“No, I don’t think that I will,” Shouto says, as calmly as if he’s talking about the weather, “But while you’re stuck there, you could at least do us the courtesy of telling us why you’re attacking a bunch of high schoolers in the first place.”

Izuku is impressed by Shouto, especially with his calm nature in the face of the villains, and it gives him more confidence. They’re standing in their hero costumes, side by side, and Izuku wonders if this is what it feels like to be a pro hero.

“F-Fuck you,” the villain spits, “We’re here for All Might, you brats. Boss wants him dead.” 

Izuku’s eyes widen a little. Boss? Could it be the villain he’s been seeing in his visions?

“Your boss,” Izuku replies quietly, getting their attention, “What’s his name?” 

“I don’t have to t-tell you shit!” the guy growls, “When this ice melts, I’m going to fucking kill you.” 

Shouto raises an eyebrow before he says, “Well, it’s a good thing that we’re not going to be around here, then. Izuku, let’s go.” 

They’re off again, ignoring the shouting and cursing behind them. Izuku can already see the center again, relieved that they’re getting closer to it. Izuku sees Aizawa fighting, surrounded by a group of villains and flinging his capture weapon. There’s a dozen villains already down, at least, and his dad is still standing. 

Izuku knows this isn’t where his dad dies, but it still makes his heart ache watching the fight. Aizawa is more than skilled enough to defeat the villains, but it’s sheer numbers. One versus twenty isn’t exactly fair. 

“Izuku, wait,” Shouto says quietly, stopping him, “Look, down there.” 

They’re about a hundred yards away from the fight when Izuku looks down to where Shouto is pointing. The villain made of mist is talking to the one covered in severed hands while the creature with the exposed brain is just standing on all fours, as if at attention. 

“They haven’t moved,” Izuku observes, “I think you’re right, they’re coordinating. If we want to stop them, we should take out those guys.” 

Shouto nods, “I can freeze them in place, but I don’t know if it’ll work on that villain who made the portals. I’ll try.”

Izuku grips his hands into fists tightly, looking down at the scene as a plan forms in his mind. He knows he doesn’t have the combat skills like Shouto to take these villains on, but he can do something that might be useful, which is to scare them. 

“Can you make me a path to the guy with the hands?” Izuku asks Shouto quietly, “I want to touch him, see his death vision.”

Shouto’s eyes widen in surprise. “Are you sure? Won’t you…I mean, won’t you have a seizure?”

“Not if it’s just a brief touch,” Izuku explains, “I think I can distract them if I can touch him, just for a second.”

“Alright,” Shouto agrees, turning to look back at the villains, “What about the thing with the brain? It’s not moving, but it looks dangerous.”

“Freeze it,” Izuku murmurs, “Come on, let’s do this.” 

Izuku begins to run down towards them, pulling off one of his gloves while Shouto shoots out his ice, effectively locking the villains in place.

“What the hell is this?” the villain covered in hands splutters, distracted. Izuku takes the opportunity to launch forward, brushing his hand across the villain’s arm. 

Everything whites out around him and Izuku sees the same, terrifying villain from the vision with All Might, All For One. He’s standing over the villain covered in hands, reaching out his hand.

“Sensei, what are you doing?” the villain asks, his voice sounding confused and very young.

“Tomura Shigaraki,” All For One says, “Tenko Shimura. My ward, my protege. Your usefulness has come to its end. Now, it is time for you to serve your greater purpose.” 

Shigaraki blinks, looking confused. “I don’t…understand, sensei.” 

All For One doesn’t answer, reaching out and touching Shigaraki’s face. Shigaraki gasps, his eyes rolling back into his head as he pitches forward, All For One flexing his hand.

“Your quirk is mine now,” All For One says, reaching out a hand, “Goodbye, Shigaraki.” 

All For One touches Shigaraki’s face and Izuku’s stomach clenches when the villain decays him. Shigaraki’s body flakes away like ash, like it was never there at all, and All For One stands there, and laughs.

“What the hell are you doing, brat?” the real Shigaraki says, snapping Izuku out of his vision. Izuku shakes his head a little, a meter away from Shigaraki, who’s standing there and staring at him.

“Your sensei will kill you,” Izuku says, his eyes clouding over, “He’ll rip away your quirk and murder you in cold blood.”

Shigaraki pales, his body going stiff, “What?” 

“All For One,” Izuku says, his eyes far away, “He’s planning on murdering you, Tenko. That’s what my quirk does, I can see your death. I see the deaths of everyone I touch.”

Shigaraki looks stunned, completely distracted from what’s going on around them. He looks at Izuku, one red eye showing past behind the severed hand on his face.

“You’re lying,” Shigaraki spits out.

Izuku shakes his head. “No, I’m not. How else would I know your name? Tenko Shimura, or is it Tomura Shigaraki? Your quirk, decay, right? All For One steals it from you and uses it to destroy you. From what I saw in the vision, it looks like it was pretty soon.”

“You’re a goddamn liar,” Shigaraki snarls, ripping out of Shouto’s ice to reach towards Izuku’s face. Izuku tries to move back but Shigaraki is fast, and the villain jumps forward, pressing all five of his fingers to Izuku’s face.

Nothing happens. Izuku’s heart pounds, thudding in his chest from adrenaline and fear, but there’s no injury or anything. Shigaraki begins laughing, turning to look over Izuku’s shoulder.

“You really are so cool, Eraserhead,” Shigaraki grins, and Izuku feels relief.

His dad is here. 

Shigaraki jumps past Izuku and a jet of ice follows. Shouto misses grabbing his leg and Shigaraki heads straight for Aizawa, grabbing his elbow. Aizawa cries out, making Izuku’s stomach clench as the skin on his dad’s elbow is decayed off, leaving the blood and muscle exposed. 

“Dad!” Izuku cries, immediately realizing his mistake. Shigaraki turns to Izuku, grinning from behind the hand on his face like he’s just received an incredible gift.

“Dad, huh?” Shigaraki smirks, “Well, well, who would have thought? I never took a guy like you for the family type, Eraser. And you, Eraserbaby, I bet your daddy here is really protective, huh? Bet he wouldn’t like if I decayed you right here.” 

Shouto is engaging the mist villain and focusing on keeping both him and the creature encased in ice, so Izuku knows he’s on his own. His dad is on the ground, looking barely alive, and certainly not conscious, making Izuku’s heart pound with anxiety. Izuku has to do something. He has to say something to stop this.

“Oh, like your sensei is going to decay you, you mean?” Izuku taunts, folding his arms, “He’s like your dad, right? You seemed really upset in the vision, betrayed. He’s playing you, Tomura. Or is it Tenko?”

“Shut. The hell. Up,” Shigaraki snarls, balling his hands into fists, “I’m going to destroy you like the worthless npc you are.” 

Shigaraki doesn’t get to make good on his threat, though, as just at that moment, the outer wall of the USJ all but blows open. Standing there in a line are all the UA teachers with Iida at their side. Izuku’s body nearly trembles in relief. Snipe raises a gun, reaching to shoot a bullet straight at them, hitting Shigaraki’s shoulder.

“Fuck!” Shigaraki cries, “Kurogiri, get us out of here. Abandon the mission.” 

Kurogiri, the mist villain, breaks from Shouto’s ice easily. He opens what looks like portal behind them, the creature turning to walk through first. Shigaraki moves to go through, before he turns around and glares at Izuku.

“I’m going to kill you someday, and that’s a promise.” 

The words send an icy cold shiver down Izuku’s spine, but Shigaraki and the others are gone before he can even move. Shouto rushes over, asking if Izuku is alright, but Izuku’s ears are ringing. He makes sure to pull his gloves back on before kneeling at Aizawa’s side.

Aizawa honestly looks dead, but the rise and fall of his chest gives Izuku comfort. He knows Aizawa doesn’t die like this, but it’s still terrible to look at, to see his dad in so much pain. Izuku reaches out to take one of his dad’s hands, moving with the other to take the goggles off of Aizawa’s eyes. 

“Shouta!” 

The cry is panicked, and Izuku looks up with a wince to see Hizashi running at them full force. He skids next to them, reaching to check Aizawa’s pulse, body relaxing when he feels it. 

“Izuku, Todoroki, are you both alright?” Hizashi asks. Shouto nods, looking a little perplexed. Izuku’s just exhausted, he can’t even begin to process the vision and conversation he had just had with Shigaraki. 

He leans over, resting his head against Hizashi’s arm, relaxing when Hizashi puts an arm around his shoulders. Shouto looks a little confused, but Izuku knows that there’s no point in keeping their family a secret now. Not when Aizawa was so injured.

“Dad was really badly hurt,” Izuku says softly, “I know he wasn’t going to die, but he fought the entire time nearly on his own. He’s probably got quirk exhaustion on top of his physical injuries.” 

Hizashi rubs Izuku’s back, relief in his eyes when he sees ambulance lights outside the wall of the USJ. 

“He’ll be okay, kiddo, he always is,” Hizashi murmurs, keeping an arm around Izuku’s shoulders, “I want you and Todoroki both to get checked out by the EMTs. I’ll go with dad to the hospital.”

“N-No!” Izuku cries, keeping a grip on Aizawa’s hand, “I want to stay with him, dad, please.” 

Shouto’s eyes widen again, looking between Izuku and Hizashi, understanding coming over his face. He seems to understand this is a family moment, so Shouto heads over to their classmates, who have begun congregating together and being looked over by the UA staff. 

“Honey, he’ll be alright,” Hizashi murmurs, “You said yourself, this isn’t where or when dad dies. You have to go get checked out yourself, okay? Nem can take you to the hospital after you get looked at here.” 

Izuku nods, loathe to be separated from him. Hitoshi and Bakugou come running at him, both blanching when they see the state of Aizawa. Izuku allows them to pull him up and out of the way while Aizawa is loaded onto a stretcher, Hizashi following him to the ambulance.

Nemuri makes her way over to them, eyeing them all worriedly. “Alright, everyone gets looked at by the medics, even if you think you’re not injured. Izuku, when you’re checked out, I’ll take you and Hitoshi to the hospital.” 

Chapter Text

Izuku’s never seen Hizashi so tense. Since they arrived at the hospital and Aizawa was whisked away for emergency surgery, Hizashi’s been sitting in one of the hospital lounges, his body tense and his eyes dark. Nemuri had brought Izuku and Hitoshi there after they’d been given the all clear by medics, and Izuku is currently sitting next to his dad, looking at him with an anxious churning in his stomach.

“He’ll be okay, Hizashi,” Nemuri says quietly, bringing them both some hot tea, “Izuku, what is it you always say about Shouta? He lives a really long life, right?”

Izuku nods, reaching over to squeeze Hizashi’s hand through his gloves. “She’s right. Dad always lives a long time, that’s always been consistent. This isn’t where he goes out, I promise.”

Hizashi sighs, rubbing his forehead, smiling weakly at Izuku. “I know. I’m trying to remember that. Even so, it’s still hard to think of him so injured. He might have permanent damage, or need a long recovery. I’m so thankful I have you to tell me that he’ll live, but I also don’t want him to hurt.” 

“Neither do I,” Izuku murmurs, wishing that he could hug Hizashi hard, bundle up next to him. Hitoshi is looking worriedly at Izuku from the neighboring couch before he glances down at his phone with a wince.

“Katsuki says the whole class knows,” Hitoshi sighs, “About the three of you being related. He says he threatened to blow them all up if they said anything about it outside of UA, but I thought you two should know.”

Izuku winces, looking at Hizashi again, but the hero just lets out a tired sigh and a small smile.

“It’s okay,” Hizashi murmurs, “That’s the least of my concerns today.” 

They sit in the lounge for hours, Nemuri bringing them all dinner, the hospital staff even letting Hitoshi and Izuku take showers and change into scrubs to get out of their dirty hero costumes. Izuku feels a little more human when he exits the shower, his costume in a bag, careful to still wear his gloves. 

“Izu, he’s out of surgery!” Hitoshi says breathlessly, running up to him from the lounge, “Zashi and my mom just headed off to his room, come on!”

Hitoshi leads Izuku to the elevators and up a few floors before they turn down some long hallways. Finally, Izuku hears Nemuri’s voice and they head through a partially open door. Izuku’s stomach clenches at what he sees.

Aizawa looks horrible. At least, the parts of him that Izuku can see. He’s wrapped up like a mummy, one of his legs suspended in the air on a tension wire, and he’s completely unconscious. Hizashi is sitting next to him, holding one of his hands and speaking softly.

Hizashi’s right. Even though Izuku knows Aizawa will live, this is still hard. 

Izuku steps forward, walking to pull up a chair and sit at Hizashi’s side while Nemuri and Hitoshi sit on chairs in the corner of the room. Hizashi is just talking about everything and nothing to Aizawa, clearly trying to get him to respond, but he doesn’t move.

Hours pass, and eventually, a nurse comes to try and kick them out. Hizashi and Nemuri both flash their hero licenses, though, and tell the nurse that they’re here to protect not only Aizawa, but the hospital from the villains. Shockingly, this actually works, and the staff doesn’t bother them again. 

Izuku is currently curled up in the chair, a thin hospital blanket stretched around him as he tries to sleep. Hitoshi and Nemuri are asleep in a similar fashion, and Hizashi is sleeping with his arms and head resting at the edge of Aizawa’s hospital bed. Izuku finally drifts off after a long while, exhaustion filling him.

He dreams of death.

First, he sees Hizashi’s brutal death at the hands of All For One, followed by the villain decaying Shigaraki. Kacchan falls through a ruined city. Nighteye dies, over and over and over and over…

“Hey there, you’re having a nightmare,” someone murmurs next to him, “Time to wake up, kid.” 

Izuku’s eyes open to see a nurse smiling next to him. Everyone else in the room is still asleep, but she had come in to do Aizawa’s hourly check. Izuku is still breathing hard from the nightmare and confusion fills his face. The nurse reaches over, presumably to check that Izuku isn’t running a fever. But her uniform is short-sleeved, and before Izuku can warn her, the skin of her arm touches his own. 

Cursing the thin scrubs, Izuku is too exhausted to pull away. He’s still confused from his dreams and the day as a whole, and before he realizes it, his eyes roll into the back of his head and he falls out of the hospital chair onto the ground.

He sees the nurse in his vision dressed in a blue dress and carrying an umbrella. She has a child on her hip, a young one, maybe two or three. They’re outside, walking down the sidewalk as she points out flowers and small animals to the child. Izuku’s stomach sinks when they approach the road, the woman looking left and right before stepping out in the crosswalk.

She doesn’t notice the motorbike from around the corner. It speeds straight into her, and Izuku has to watch as both the nurse and her child are killed, blood smearing all over the street. 

“We have a code blue,” someone is saying over him. Izuku thinks the lights are on now. They weren’t before.

“Grand mal seizure,” another voice says, “It’s been two and a half minutes.” 

Izuku can hear other voices talking in the room, but he’s only vaguely aware of them. He has the strange sensation of knowing that his body is seizing, but being unable to stop it. He’s exhausted, too exhausted, and his brain slips back into a vision as a hand latches on to his arm. 

“What the hell are you doing?” a panicked voice asks, “Get your hands off of him, you’re making it worse!”

Izuku’s eyes roll back again. This time, there’s a man he’s never seen before jogging outside. He looks to be in his mid to late fifties, but in very good shape. He jogs for a while until he clutches his chest, stopping and breathing hard. His face contorts in agony before he simply keels over, dead from an apparent heart attack.

“It’s been over five minutes,” another person says, “Do not touch his skin. Quirk activation at skin to skin contact. Get him on the stretcher.” 

Izuku loses consciousness after that. 

When he wakes up next, his entire body feels like it’s been run over by a car, buried in the ground, stomped on, and thrown down a hill. Every inch of him hurts down to his fingertips and Izuku can’t even open his eyes.

“Hey Izu, it’s Hitoshi,” a gentle voice says next to him, “Hizashi’s ripping the hospital staff a new one right now and mom’s with Shouta. You had a…a really bad seizure. If your body hurts a lot, that’s probably why. They think you had two visions and on top of the seizure, they’ve diagnosed you with severe quirk exhaustion.” 

Izuku only processes about half of this, his brain and body too tired and sore to move or think properly. He keeps his eyes closed, unable to open them. He feels Hitoshi put something warm on top of him, maybe another blanket, and Izuku sighs in relief.

“Is he awake?” Hizashi’s exhausted voice comes a while later. 

“I’m not sure,” Hitoshi replies quietly, “Uncle…I can stay with him. You need to sleep, you look awful.”

Hizashi laughs weakly. “Yeah, thanks kid, but no way in hell. That’s the longest seizure he’s ever had. Incompetent assholes, that second nurse wasn’t even wearing gloves when he touched him, I swear.”

There’s a pause and then, “How’s Uncle Shouta?”

“He’ll live,” is the exhausted response, “He got pretty banged up, but you know Shouta. He’ll pull through in no time. Izuku will, too. Listen, Hitoshi, I know you want to be here to help, but you and your mom should go home for a while. I asked if she could go to our apartment and get some things for Shouta and Izuku. Would you go with her, please? I’m going to ask them to move Izuku into Shouta’s room, so we should all be in there together when you get back.” 

Izuku drifts for a while after this. He vaguely notices a rumbling under him, like his bed is being pushed somewhere, and hears doors opening and shutting. Eventually, the noise and moving stops and Izuku feels a gloved hand stroke carefully through his hair.

“Come on, honey,” Hizashi murmurs over him softly, “You’re alright. Can you open your eyes for me, sweetheart?”

Izuku blinks, completely unable to physically deny Hizashi anything when he uses that gentle tone. His body still hurts and his head aches, wincing when the light from the room hits his eyes. He sees Aizawa’s bed across the room from his own, remembering Hizashi had said they’d be moved together.

“Hey, Izu,” Hizashi smiles, “There’s those green eyes. How are you feeling, little one?” 

Izuku opens his mouth, feeling like it’s stuffed full of cotton. His lips and tongue are dry and his throat sore, which Hizashi notices immediately, helping Izuku take a few sips of water.

“Wha’appen?” Izuku garbles out, “S’hurts.” 

“I know, I’m so sorry,” Hizashi sighs, reaching over to gently rub Izuku’s hands. Izuku’s not wearing his gloves, but Hizashi is, and the feeling helps soothe the ache in him a little. “A nurse accidentally touched you and you seized, but they didn’t know the reason why. A second nurse was trying to prevent you from hurting yourself and he touched you, too.” 

Izuku blinks. “I’remember. S’heart attack and a mo’orcyle.” 

The garbled words sound nonsensical, but Hizashi gets the gist of what he means, a sad expression crossing his features. He looks like he wants nothing more than to hug Izuku tightly, but he’s very, very careful not to touch any of Izuku’s skin.

“Yeah, well, now you’re both patients,” Hizashi murmurs softly, “You might need to stay in here just as long as your dad, kid. And the doctors officially diagnosed you with epilepsy. They said even if your seizures are quirk-induced, it doesn’t change the fact that you have seemingly unprovoked seizures. They say having the diagnosis can help you to access medicines and things that might help you. I tried to explain that Recovery Girl already tried this years ago, but they were insistent.” 

Izuku just blinks, his body aching and his nerves fried. He doesn’t have the energy to discuss this or think about it. He just wants to be sleeping under warm blankets, his eyelids already drooping again.

“Sleep, sweetheart,” Hizashi croaks out, sounding exhausted, and Izuku’s heart aches for his poor dad. “I’ll be here when you wake up.”

The next time Izuku wakes up, it’s to quiet talking coming from the other side of the room. He slowly opens his eyes, the room coming into focus as he sees Hizashi leaning over Aizawa’s bed. Aizawa is awake.

Izuku sits up, hissing as a rush goes through his head, getting the attention of both of his parents.

“Izu!” Aizawa coughs, “Lay back down, you’re not well.” 

Izuku just steadies himself on the bed with his hands, looking over at his parents. “You’re one to talk, dad. How are you feeling?”

“Like shit,” Aizawa replies honestly, “But I’ll live. You, kid?” 

“Same,” Izuku replies with a cough as Hizashi heads over to bring Izuku some water, “How long have I been asleep?”

“About a day,” Hizashi replies, Izuku’s eyes widening in shock. The entire day?  

“Hitoshi and Nemuri dropped off clothes and things for you,” Aizawa yawns from his bed, “There’s a shower in this room, you can get cleaned up and changed when the nurses clear you for it.” 

Izuku nods, relief flooding him at his dad being okay. The three of them talk for a while and eat dinner together that the nurses bring. Hizashi actually looks just as bad as the two of them, dark circles under his eyes, and Izuku hates how much his dad has been put through. 

A few hours after Izuku wakes up, Recovery Girl enters, quietly scolding Aizawa before kissing his forehead, a lot of his injuries beginning to heal straight away.

“And you, young man,” Recovery Girl sighs, looking at Izuku with worry, “Let’s get you fixed up too.” 

She uses her quirk on him and Izuku feels tired, but also instant relief. Recovery Girl’s quick, soft touch never has given Izuku a seizure or a vision, and he theorizes that her quirk somehow overrides his own. Once he feels better and they’ve thanked her, Izuku showers and changes into his own clothes, making sure to put his gloves back on.

“Doctors say I can go home tomorrow,” Aizawa says, as the nurses are removing bandages from the areas that had been healed by Recovery Girl, “You two should go home, get some rest. Especially you, kiddo. They’re discharging you now.”

Izuku shakes his head, “No, I want to wait here with you, dad. We can spend another night here and go home tomorrow.” 

Surprisingly, it’s Hizashi that vetoes this. “Your dad is right, Izu. We both need rest. Nemuri is going to come back to the hospital to stay with you, Shou. Izuku, I’m taking you home. The cats miss us.” 

Izuku doesn’t want to leave, but he also doesn’t want to argue with Hizashi, who’s had a very trying few days. Izuku isn’t completely recovered yet, even Recovery Girl’s quirk can’t fully heal his quirk exhaustion, so he knows the best thing to do is to go home and get some sleep.

After Nemuri arrives, they both thank her and say goodbye to Aizawa, heading out to a car that UA had sent for him. They climb in the backseat as Hizashi thanks the driver, Izuku already feeling exhausted again.

“Sleep, kiddo,” Hizashi murmurs, spreading out a blanket and putting it over Izuku’s lap, “I’ve got you.”

Chapter Text

Izuku hates crowds. 

There’s a reason why he never attended public school before UA but the Sports Festival is something else entirely. He had never been to it before, other than sitting up in the announcer’s booth with his parents, and he always hated it. 

Despite this, when Aizawa mentions to the class the Sports Festival is on for the year, Izuku feels a small flash of excitement. This time, he knows people participating, knows their quirks. He has matchups to look forward to and people to cheer on, since he won’t be participating himself.

Izuku has no desire to participate. He’s wrung out, his brain is fried, and he doesn’t want to see anymore death from accidentally touching a classmate. He plans on telling this to his parents, but Hizashi beats him to it.

“Izu, you have quirk exhaustion and had a massive seizure last week,” Hizashi tells him gently, “Given the circumstances, you’re excused from participating in the Festival. It won’t affect your grade, and you can do quirk analysis practice from the announcer’s booth.”

Izuku is relieved, telling Hizashi that it’s fine, really honestly fine, and that he hadn’t wanted to participate anyway.

“I’ll just be happy cheering everyone on,” Izuku tells his parents honestly, “It’s sure to be interesting to watch.” 

The announcer’s booth is where he is now, watching Hizashi in his element as he MC’s the event. Aizawa is announcing with him, but he looks like he would rather be anywhere else. Izuku smiles at the sight, his parents’ opposite personalities always making him feel fond of them. They just go together so well, and Izuku has no idea how the entire world hasn’t put together that the two of them are married yet. 

“Alright, alright!” Hizashi calls over the microphone, “We’ve got our first event, folks! Students, take your positions.” 

The event is a kind of hellish obstacle course complete with attack robots, ropes, and quirk usage allowed. Izuku is reasonably sure either Bakugou, Iida, or Shouto will come in first place. Hitoshi is also possible, if he can brainwash the right person. 

Izuku sits on the floor of the booth with a notebook, watching the race on the monitors as he writes. Shouto takes off on his ice, instantly freezing half of the people behind him which makes Izuku smile. Iida zooms past him, but a loud explosion propels Bakugou forward and the three of them are neck and neck, as Izuku predicted. 

When the event is completed, everyone in 1-A has placed for the next round, as Izuku expected. Hitoshi did well, coming in seventeenth overall, which is excellent considering he mainly just used his capture weapon.

The next event has the students working in teams to gain points by stealing headbands. Izuku just keeps writing about the quirks he sees, ideas he has for his classmates. He feels a slight pang of longing, wishing he was down there competing with them all, but the ache in his body and his head reminds him he’s in no mental or physical condition to participate. 

Finally, the Sports Festival gets to the one-on-one matches, the part everyone’s been waiting for. Izuku is excited for this, wondering who is going to make it to the final. Hitoshi has a shot of placing highly, but if the others figure out how his quirk is activated, then they’ll be able to take him down without speaking. 

Shouto breezes through his first match, creating a massive glacier in the center of the arena before Sero can even use his quirk on him. Izuku feels a bit bad for Sero, but he’s worried about the tension he’s noticing in the way Shouto’s walking. Something seems off about him, even more than usual, and Izuku resolves to check in with his classmate at the break. 

Bakugou and Hitoshi both make it through their first events too and Izuku smiles, proud of his friends. When two 1-B students start the next match, Izuku excuses himself to head down to the locker rooms to catch up with everyone.

He’s made it halfway to the locker room when he hears raised voices. 

“What is this pathetic display?” someone growls, a voice Izuku knows from television. He realizes it’s Endeavor talking and he instantly bristles. “Shouto, you will use your fire.” 

“I will never use your quirk,” Shouto replies, his voice as icy as the glacier he had just made, “I refuse.” 

“Stop this childish rebellion at once!” Endeavor shouts, sounding like he’s banged his fist against some lockers, “I didn’t spend your life training you for this.”

“That wasn’t training,” Shouto says calmly, although Izuku thinks he hears a waver in the voice, “That was abuse.” 

A cold silence follows this statement and Izuku’s heart pounds loudly. He shouldn’t be listening to this. But he can’t walk away, not with what Shouto had just said and with Endeavor behaving so aggressively. 

“How dare you say such a thing to me?” Endeavor snarls, “Boy, you will use your quirk and you will respect me. And if you can’t follow those directions, I will make you. You know your goal.” 

There’s a long silence after this before Shouto says, “You can’t hurt me. Not with the teachers watching. You still want to be number one, right old man? I dare you to lay a hand on me here. I doubt they’d buy your lies. You can kill one son and get away with it, but not two.”

“How dare you,” Endeavor snarls again, voice dark and threatening. Izuku doesn’t wait any longer. He plasters a smile on his face and makes his footsteps loud.

“Shouto?” he calls out, “Are you out here? Everyone’s waiting for you!”

He skids around the corner, spotting Endeavor and Shouto standing together by the lockers. Endeavor has backed off and while he still looks intimidating, he’s not standing close to Shouto anymore. 

“Oh, excuse me, Endeavor, sir,” Izuku says, bowing hastily, “Um, you probably don’t remember me, but we met when I was a kid.” 

“Eraserhead’s boy,” Endeavor says, folding his arms, “Yes, I recall. You are not competing in the Festival this year, why?” 

Izuku swallows hard, not wanting to continue to be polite to Endeavor after what he heard, but also not wanting to make things worse.

“My dad was really badly hurt at the USJ,” Izuku says quietly, “And I was, too. I’m not medically cleared to participate, so I’m helping out the class today. Shouto, you should come back, your next match is pretty soon.” 

He’s lying, but he wants to separate the two of them. Shouto looks a little relieved, especially when Endeavor nods.

“All right, Shouto, I expect the best from you. Do not forget it.” 

Endeavor turns to leave and Izuku stays silent until the man exits the hallway, all his breath rushing out of him in relief. Shouto is quiet, leaning back against the lockers with his eyes closed.

“Did you hear all of that?” Shouto asks him quietly, “Before you called out to me?”

“Yes, I’m sorry,” Izuku whispers, feeling guilty as his face burns, “I could tell it was serious, but I didn’t want to make things worse for you. I just thought if I interrupted, it would help.” 

“It did,” Shouto says, opening his eyes and looking at Izuku gratefully, “Thank you. I…I’m sure you have questions.” 

Izuku swallows hard, his heart aching for Shouto. This is so much worse than he had thought. He knows Endeavor is intense and Shouto doesn’t act very happy at school, but something like this is more than he was anticipating.

“I do, but you don’t have to tell me anything,” Izuku says honestly, “I have to keep my visions a secret, I understand what it’s like to have things you can’t talk about. But…um, if you want to talk, I’ll listen.” 

Shouto looks at Izuku for a long moment before asking, “Do you know what quirk marriages are?”

Izuku’s stomach sinks. “Y-Yeah, I do. They’re illegal, though, right?”

“Unless you’re the number two hero and you can get away with literal murder,” Shouto sighs, “My father bought my mother for her quirk. He wanted a child with ice and fire powers, he wanted me. My three older siblings were nothing but failed experiments to him. My oldest brother, Touya. Endeavor effectively killed him. He may not have died from Endeavor’s hand, but he did from his training.” 

Izuku’s eyes widen, but he doesn’t interrupt. He has the feeling Shouto’s never told anyone else this before. 

“Ever since my quirk came in, my father’s been unbearable,” Shouto continues, “He trained me daily, like you would train a pro hero. No matter how much I cried, begged him to stop, he just kept training me. I wasn’t allowed to see my siblings. And my mother…”

Shouto reaches up and touches his scar. “She was driven mad by him. She burned my face with boiling water because I have one of Endeavor’s eyes. He committed her to a mental hospital after that, I haven’t seen her in over ten years.”

“Shouto,” Izuku chokes out, his chest aching, “I’m so sorry.” 

Shouto shakes his head. “Please don’t be, it was so long ago. I’m only telling you all this because you defended me and I know you…you’ve seen horrible things. This wouldn’t disgust you. I’m sure you’ve seen worse.”

It’s true, but Izuku is still horrified. He had no idea Shouto was going through something so terrible at home. 

“That doesn’t mean your problems aren’t important,” Izuku tells him, “Listen, I know you may not be ready, but if you told my dad, that is Aizawa, he would get you out of there. Get you out of Endeavor’s house.” 

“Endeavor would end your father’s career if he tried,” Shouto replies instantly, “Don’t think I haven’t thought about reaching out for help before. I managed to tell one of my middle school teachers once, and she was fired the next week. Besides, despite all of it…”

Shouto sighs, keeping his arms crossed over himself. “Endeavor is a good hero. I…I have to endure it, so he can keep helping the city. He wants me to use my fire, his fire in the festival. It’s the only rebellion I can manage.” 

“But it’s not his fire, it’s your own quirk,” Izuku says quietly, Shouto’s eyes snapping to him in shock, “I mean…it’s not like you have two quirks, Shouto, you…you have thermal manipulation, right? Endeavor doesn’t have that, he just has fire quirks, like half a dozen other pros. You are special, Shouto, and it’s not because of him.” 

Shouto stares at Izuku for a long time, so long Izuku begins to blush. Eventually, Shouto smiles weakly. 

“You know, you act quiet like Aizawa but you remind me a lot of Mic-sensei,” Shouto says, “You have this…this optimism, despite all the terrible things you see. It’s admirable.” 

“Thanks,” Izuku blushes, twisting his hands together, “So, um…what do you think? In your next match you’re facing Kirishima, right? Will you…use your whole quirk?”

Shouto sighs, leaning his head back against the wall. “I’ll try. You’ll watch the match, right?” 

“Of course,” Izuku says.

“Good,” Shouto smiles, “It’ll be nice knowing I have a friend cheering me on.” 

They part ways and Izuku heads back to the announcer’s booth, his head absolutely spinning. Shouto was abused. Shouto was nothing but a tool to his father, someone to train and help him get to the top. Shouto had been belittled, threatened, hurt. His own brother had been killed and his mother was in a mental institution. Yet, he was so determined. 

Izuku has to help him. His mind churns with thoughts, walking through the hallways back to his parents. There’s a lot of pro heroes up here and Izuku’s eyes darken when he sees Endeavor looking out one of the glass observation windows with his arms crossed. Izuku remembers how he was able to control his quirk when he touched Shigaraki, and he’s hit with inspiration. 

Izuku walks over to the hero, removing a glove and brushing a finger across his arm momentarily. Endeavor turns to him but Izuku is already lost to his vision. 

He sees Endeavor, bloody and broken, fighting a monster like Izuku had seen at the USJ. There’s another villain there, scarred and wielding blue flames, wringing them in a circle around Endeavor as he fights, giving him no room for escape.

“So long, Enji,” the scarred villain laughs, shooting a blast of blue fire straight at Endeavor’s head while the creature all but impales him. It’s a horribly violent death. Despite all the awful things that Shouto has told him, Izuku can’t be happy watching this. There’s nothing gratifying about seeing someone die, especially in such an awful way.

“What are you doing?” Endeavor asks him bluntly and Izuku snaps back to himself. He feels a little head rush and he winces, remembering he wasn’t supposed to be using his quirk at all.

“Sorry, sir,” Izuku mumbles, bowing, “An accident.” 

Izuku turns and walks away, wondering if Shouto would want to know what he’s seen. Something about the scarred villain sticks out to Izuku and he feels like the guy is important somehow. He’ll have to think about it later. 

Once back in the booth with his parents, Izuku doesn’t pay attention to any of the matches, actually falling asleep on the floor halfway through the semifinals. He’s exhausted from using his quirk again, and his body still hurts. He feels someone put something over top of him and Izuku wakes up a while later to see it’s Aizawa’s jacket.

“And now we’re on to our final match up, folks!” Hizashi shouts into the microphone, sounding almost gleeful, “It’s Class 1-A’s explosive Katsuki Bakugou vs. the hot and cold Shouto Todoroki!”

The audience roars in anticipation, and Izuku watches the match with wide eyes, rooting for both of them. It’s a wild fight, Bakugou and Shouto seeming evenly matched. Izuku is proud to see Shouto flare his flames halfway through the match, taking Bakugou by surprise. The fight is long and hard, both of them giving their all. Shouto manages to knock Bakugou out of bounds with a blast of ice, and is declared the winner. 

Izuku watches as All Might presides over the medal ceremony, happiness for his friends welling up inside of him. Hitoshi had done well, placing in the top twenty. Shouto had won first, followed by Bakugou, and Izuku is pleased to see Uraraka in third place. After the ceremony, Hizashi turns off the microphones and once they’re certain everything is powered off, his parents turn to him.

“Are you feeling okay, kid?” Aizawa asks him bluntly, “You fell asleep for a bit there.” 

“I’m okay,” Izuku replies, wringing his hands together, “But I…I have to tell you both something at home. I’m fine, I promise, it’s about someone else.” 

“Alright,” Hizashi says quietly, although his eyes are worried, “Your dad has to check in with your classmates first and we were going to have Hitoshi and Nem around for dinner. Can it wait until after that?”

Izuku nods before he’s struck with inspiration, “Can we invite Kacchan and Shouto too, please?”

“Sure, the more the merrier,” Aizawa yawns, “Come on, I’m exhausted. Let’s go home.” 

Izuku isn’t surprised when Shouto declines via text, telling him that Endeavor won’t let him come. He tries to squash down his worry for his new friend, hoping when he talks to his parents later they’ll be able to help. Bakugou arrives shortly after they do though, yawning and looking beat. 

“Todoroki’s fucking wild,” Bakugou groans, dropping his head down on their kitchen table, “That guy is just as crazy as I am. It was a damn good fight, though.” 

“Yeah, it was awesome to watch,” Hitoshi agrees, eating a slice of pizza, “I can’t believe Kaminari took me out in the second round, getting electrocuted sucked. ” 

They talk about the festival for a while, but Izuku’s heart’s not in it. He’s happy for his friends, but he can’t keep his mind off of everything he had heard and seen, Endeavor’s violent death running through his mind. His friends obviously notice something’s wrong, and after a while Bakugou just asks him straight out.

“What the fuck is up with you?” Bakugou asks him, concern in his eyes, “You’ve been weird all afternoon.”

Izuku sighs, looking down at his uneaten slice of pizza, “I’m just still exhausted. I saw a particularly violent vision and it’s just…stuck in my brain.”

“Would it help to talk about it?” Hitoshi asks gently, “You don’t have to tell us who it was, but it might help to say it out loud.” 

Izuku shakes his head. “I can’t, it was a pro hero. Not…my dads or your mom. I can’t say anything.” 

His friends share a concerned look, but Bakugou switches tactics to bullying Izuku into eating some pizza. They stay for a while longer until Bakugou’s parents come to pick him up and Nemuri takes Hitoshi home. After goodbyes, Hizashi makes tea for everyone and they settle on the couch, both his parents looking concerned.

“Alright, Izu,” Hizashi says gently, “You said you had something to tell us, we’re listening.”

Izuku nods, gripping his tea mug. He knows Shouto wouldn’t want him to tell, but Izuku’s just a teenager. What can the two of them do against someone like Endeavor? Izuku wants to help Shouto and if Shouto’s life is really in danger from his father, there’s no way he can’t say something.

“First I have to apologize,” Izuku says quietly, “I used my quirk on purpose this afternoon. I know I wasn’t supposed to yet because of my quirk exhaustion, and I know it was reckless and dangerous.” 

“You must have had a good reason, then,” Aizawa says, although his voice is tight. 

Izuku just stares at his tea, trying to figure out how to explain this. “It was Endeavor. I touched him on purpose because…because I had to know. Shouto told me some things and I just…needed to know. The death I saw was horrifying, really, really violent. Worse than yours, or All Might’s.” 

“I’m sorry you had to see it,” Hizashi says calmly, “Do you want to warn Endeavor?” 

Izuku shakes his head, “No, that’s not why I…this isn’t about Endeavor, it’s about Shouto.” 

Aizawa shares a look with Hizashi, obviously catching on to something that’s happening here beyond the superficial. 

“Tell us, Izu, we won’t interrupt,” Aizawa says quietly. 

“Today when I left in the middle of the events I was going to go see the rest of the class,” Izuku explains, “I was down in the locker rooms and I heard Endeavor and Shouto arguing. It was really intense. Endeavor was really angry, and Shouto said some concerning things.” 

His parents don’t interrupt, but Izuku sees the muscle in Aizawa’s jaw twitch. 

“He…accused Endeavor of abusing him, and said that Endeavor had killed his older brother,” Izuku said quietly, “And so I just interrupted, I pretended I hadn’t heard anything and Endeavor left. But then, Shouto told me…he said that his mom hurt him, too. Endeavor’s a monster. He’s been abusing Shouto since he was four and calling it training. Shouto…he’s totally alone.”

“Shit,” Aizawa curses, eyes dark, “I knew there was something up with that kid and I don’t exactly love Endeavor, but fuck. Is there more?”

Izuku nods, “Yes, I told Shouto you would help him, but he’s convinced Endeavor would destroy your career before you could. Apparently, Endeavor had one of his middle school teachers fired when she found out about the abuse.” 

“Alright,” Hizashi sighs, sounding pained, “Izuku, honey, I’m sorry this was laid on you, but thank you so much for telling us. I know that must have been hard.” 

“And I know Shouto probably didn’t give you permission to tell us,” Aizawa adds, “So we’ll keep your involvement quiet. But I can’t let this stand. I’ve got to get that kid out of there. He has an adult older sister, maybe we can work to get her custody.”

Izuku nods, feeling a lot better knowing Shouto will be getting some help. He yawns then, his eyes drooping. “I’m tired…can I sleep here?” 

“Sure, honey,” Hizashi says, moving so Izuku can lay down on the couch, gently taking his tea and pulling a blanket over him. “Rest now, your dad and I can handle everything else from here, okay?” 

Chapter Text

The weekend after the Sports Festival is quiet. After Izuku had told his parents everything about Shouto, they had told him simply that they would handle it. He doesn’t pry, hoping that Shouto won’t be too upset that Izuku has interfered. 

He’s stretched out on his bed doing some catch up homework for Ectoplasm’s math class when his cell phone buzzes. Reaching over to grab it, he’s surprised to see a text from Shouto, asking if Izuku has some time to talk. Izuku texts back that he does, and shortly after Shouto calls him.

“Hey,” Izuku says quietly when he picks up the phone, “How are you, Shouto?”

“I’m alright,” Shouto replies, “I’m actually currently at my sister’s apartment. It seems I’m moving in.”

Izuku’s heart pounds. “Really? For good, you mean?”

“Yes, Fuyumi has custody of me now,” Shouto says quietly, “She and my brother Natsuo helped me move out the last of my things earlier. It seems that due to Endeavor’s busy schedule, he opted to move me to my sister’s care since he’s hardly home.”

“Wow,” Izuku exhales, leaning back on his bed, “And, um…how do you feel about that?”

There’s a pause and then, “Relieved. Grateful. If…if you had something to do with this, I just…wanted to thank you. It seems I won’t be having any more training sessions with him and he's ‘leaving my future up to UA’ now.”

Izuku smiles, relief flooding him. “That’s great, Shouto. I um…hoped you wouldn’t be mad. I did tell my parents.” 

“It’s alright,” Shouto says, “I underestimated them, and you. I can’t believe they were able to do this in a single night. My father didn’t even fight it. I don’t know what kind of dirt they have on him, but I’m not questioning that.”

“They’re pretty tenacious,” Izuku says, feeling happy for his friend, “I’m really glad it worked out. Is your sister’s place nice?”

“Yes, it’s very nice. Listen, I should probably get back to unpacking, I just wanted to say thank you.” 

“Of course,” Izuku replies, “Talk to you Monday in class.” 

After Shouto hangs up, Izuku could almost laugh. He’s so relieved, overjoyed that Shouto is safe, and he feels like he actually did something to truly help someone. Of course, he knows all he really did was tell his parents, but it made all the difference in the world for Shouto. He was somewhere safe now where Endeavor would have a harder time getting to him.

Izuku wonders what his parents said and did to get Endeavor to give up Shouto so easily, but he figures it’s one of those things that he’s better off not asking about. He tries to go back to his math, but he can’t concentrate on it. Instead, he daydreams about everything and nothing, wondering if he should have told Shouto about Endeavor’s demise. 

Shaking himself out of the dark thoughts after a while, Izuku puts his math away and opens the notebook he uses in his quirk counseling sessions with Nighteye. He’s been recording a page in the notebook in every single session, going back to when he first started seeing the man. He smiles looking over some of his childish handwriting and spelling, reading through the different things he had talked about with Nighteye.

One of the earlier pages stands out to him, and he stops to read what he had written. The date is from when he was eleven and Izuku recalls being in a particularly bad place that year. The notes he wrote seem pretty despondent, as if Izuku had really given up on any kind of hopeful future.

Nighteye says my quirk can be useful, Izuku had written, But I’m not so sure. The stuff I see isn’t even actually useful. It just hurts my head and I can’t see past it. Is there anything out there that isn’t death? I’m so sick and tired of going to sleep with nightmares of death. Today, I watched Nighteye die again. This time he was killed impaled on the knives of a villain. It was slow and painful. I don’t want to watch people die and I don’t want to die like that, either. I just want everything to be okay. I hate this.

Izuku sighs, closing the notebook. He’s still not the biggest fan of his quirk, but he’s come to accept it as a part of himself, or at least, he’s trying to. The visions do have their usefulness in making people more vigilant, but his quirk has still never done anything to save anyone.

Sighing to himself, Izuku sits up, rubbing his forehead, his stomach growling. He pulls on a hoodie before walking out into the hallway with a sleepy yawn. Aizawa’s out on patrol but Hizashi is home, singing to himself in the kitchen. Izuku could use Hizashi’s optimism right about now. 

Heading out of his room and into the kitchen, Izuku smiles when he sees Hizashi cooking something on the stove and dancing as he sings along to some pop song on the radio. Izuku leans against the kitchen wall, smirking at him and waiting for Hizashi to notice him. After another minute of singing, Hizashi turns around and sings dramatically at Izuku, who laughs. 

“Pops, you look ridiculous,” Izuku smiles, “I say this with love.” 

Hizashi grins, slinging a towel over Izuku’s shoulders and tugging him forward, singing even more dramatically and forcing Izuku to dance to the music.

“Dad,” Izuku laughs, rolling his eyes as Hizashi grins, “This song is terrible.”

“It’s a top forty hit!” Hizashi beams, winking, “Come on, I’m making some ramen. Wanna help?” 

They finish making the ramen together, Hizashi continuing to sing along to the radio. It takes Izuku’s mind off of everything, his dad’s relentless positivity and happiness keeping Izuku’s spirits up. They trash the kitchen, but are rewarded a while later with delicious ramen. Hizashi turns on an old bad All Might movie, and he and Izuku watch it together, making fun of the poor special effects and the bad acting. 

“That actor doesn’t even look like All Might,” Izuku grins, pointing at the lead, “And is he in a blow up muscle suit?” 

“Sure looks like,” Hizashi laughs, “My favorite is the monster, you can see the wires attached to it and a boom mic in one of the shots.” 

It’s moments like these when Izuku truly wishes he didn’t have his quirk. He wants nothing more than to lean against Hizashi, to cuddle up on the couch and hug his dad. But he doesn’t want to risk it, not after the seizure he had in the hospital after the USJ. He wraps his arms around himself instead, which he always does when he feels like he needs a hug. 

Hizashi notices of course, setting down their now empty bowls of ramen on the coffee table and carefully wrapping a blanket around Izuku’s shoulders so he’s effectively bundled. Very carefully, Hizashi wraps an arm around his shoulders, and Izuku melts.

He doesn’t get to be hugged or cuddled often, and the most affectionate forehead kisses he's gotten from anyone in his life is Recovery Girl. He can’t hold hands and the only prolonged contact he really has is with their cats. Izuku curls into Hizashi desperately, clinging to him with tight fists.

“Hey, buddy, you okay?” Hizashi asks softly, rubbing Izuku’s back through the blanket. 

Izuku nods, embarrassed to feel tears in his eyes. “Y-Yeah, I just…miss this.”

“Miss what?” Hizashi asks quietly. 

“Touching someone else,” Izuku sniffs, tears rolling down his cheeks, “It’s…it’s really hard, not being able to normally.”

“Izuku,” Hizashi says, sounding truly pained, “I’m sorry, honey, I know it’s hard. C’mere, kiddo.” 

Hizashi makes sure none of their skin is touching before he brings his arms around Izuku, hugging him tightly. Izuku knows it’s maybe odd that he’s so emotional from just a hug, but he hasn’t felt prolonged contact in so long that it makes him desperate for it. His parents have always tried to give him hugs as much as they safely can, but they don’t usually want to take the risk to prolong it like this.

Izuku clings to Hizashi, curling as close to him as he can. Hizashi is humming softly, using his voice quirk to soothe Izuku quietly. It’s this scene Aizawa walks in on a few minutes later, Izuku bundled in Hizashi’s lap, half-asleep while Hizashi soothes him. Izuku doesn’t stir when Aizawa enters, his eyes drooping closed completely while Hizashi holds him close.

Aizawa walks over, kissing Hizashi before reaching down and erasing Izuku’s quirk so he can run his fingers through Izuku’s hair. Izuku sighs happily, almost totally asleep. Aizawa leans in, pressing a kiss to Izuku’s forehead, making Izuku smile happily. 

He’s totally content right now, safe and protected. Hizashi keeps holding him while Aizawa takes a quick shower, changing into his pajamas and sitting on Izuku’s other side on the couch. Together, the three of them bundle together, and Izuku is totally at peace.

The peaceful feeling doesn’t last. 

After helping Shouto and spending so much time in physical contact with his parents, Izuku’s feeling much more rested and relaxed. The day after Shouto calls him, Izuku is brushing his teeth, ready to go to sleep after a restful weekend. 

He steps out into the hallway, still feeling peaceful and calm. The lights are off since his dads are already asleep, and his eyes are half-lidded as he walks down the hallway. He’s nearly to his room when he runs into something solid and hears a curse. Izuku’s not wearing his gloves, and he instantly realizes his mistake his his skin touches Hizashi’s. Half asleep and not on his guard, he’s unable to stop the impending vision. 

“Izuku!” Hizashi gasps, but it’s too late. Izuku feels the familiar sensation of his eyes rolling back as he falls to the floor, swept into another vision. 

He sees Hizashi, looking alarmingly exactly as he does right now. He’s tied to a chair in a dingy bar that looks familiar to Izuku for some reason, quirk suppressant cuffs slapped on his wrists. He’s surrounded by villains, and Izuku recognizes a few of them from previous visions and the USJ, namely the guy with the scars he had seen kill Endeavor, Shigaraki, and Kurogiri. 

“I won’t tell you anything,” Hizashi says, his chest rattling as he breathes. He looks beaten and covered in blood, and his costume is torn and damaged. 

“That’s a shame,” Shigaraki smirks from a barstool, “See, originally I was going to go after your son, but your precious husband stopped me. Guess I’ll have to make due with you, Present Mic.”

“Leave them alone,” Hizashi snarls, all but growling at Shigaraki. The villain sighs, shaking his head.

“This is boring, he’s not going to tell us anything,” the scarred guy sighs, “Just ash him, he’s not even the one you were supposed to grab.” 

Shigaraki shrugs, reaching a hand over and pressing all five fingers to Hizashi’s shoulder, decaying him into nothing. Like it was nothing. Shigaraki and the scarred villain keep talking, but Izuku is too horrified to listen, looking at the gray pile of decay that used to be his dad. 

“Two minutes,” someone says over him, “Get the medicine the hospital gave us, it might help. Fuck, Izu, I’m so sorry, baby.” 

Izuku does everything he can to pull himself out of the vision, eyes fluttering open to see the hallway lights on and both of his parents hovering over him in their pajamas. Something about this vision is worse than the other vision of Hizashi’s death. Seeing Shigaraki decay him just on a whim, not even reacting to his death, was more horrible. At least in the other vision, Hizashi wasn’t alone. He had gone down fighting. 

This death, the one he had just seen, was recent. It could happen any day. Hizashi could be decayed by Shigaraki any time, and Izuku can’t stop it. He rolls over and is impressively sick on the hallway floor, choking out little gasping sobs. 

“Oh, honey,” Aizawa soothes, “You’re going to be alright, it’s going to be okay.” 

Izuku sobs, curling in on himself, unable to look at either of his parents. It’s not until he feels a warm hand grip his shoulder through his pajamas that Izuku looks up, Hizashi’s worried face causing him to burst into another round of sobs. 

“N-No, no you can’t die, I w-won’t let it happen! It won’t happen!” Izuku cries, distraught as he clings to Hizashi, “I’m going to s-save you dad, I promise! I won’t let Shigaraki touch you, I’ll s-stop him myself first!”

Izuku hadn’t meant to let anything slip about the vision, but Hizashi just soothes him, eventually helping Izuku sit up. They’re just helping him to the bathroom to get cleaned up when Aizawa’s work phone goes off with a text, his face going white as a sheet as he reads it.

“It’s Ingenium,” Aizawa says to Hizashi, eyes wide, “Tensei’s been attacked by Stain.” 

Chapter Text

The next morning in class Izuku is almost a zombie. His parents had given him some of the medication from the hospital to help with seizures but even with that, he had only gotten a few hours of sleep. His parents were worried, too, finding out their friend, the pro hero Ingenium, had been taken down by the hero killer, Stain.

Tensei Iida, or Ingenium, was still alive, but would likely never walk again. Izuku wonders how his classmate Iida is doing after his brother was attacked, but as they’re not close, he’s not really sure what to say. 

They’re all sitting in class now while Midnight has instructed them to start brainstorming their hero names. Some people have it easy, having thought of their names for years. Izuku tries to pull himself from thinking of Iida to focus on the task at hand. 

Bakugou triumphantly writes down ‘The Impact Hero: Dynamite’ which Izuku thinks fits him perfectly. Hitoshi opts for ‘The Psychic Hero: Siren’ which Izuku likes a lot. It’s Shouto’s turn next, and he seems to be debating something.

“I think…I would just like to be called by my given name,” Shouto says quietly, “I know it isn’t fancy, or flashy, but more than anything…I just want to be myself. I think I want to be known as the Thermal Hero: Shouto.”

“It’s perfect,” Izuku says, before anyone else can cut in, “Yeah, it’s not flashy, but it doesn’t have to be. I think it’s perfect. You’re yourself, and that’s enough.” 

Shouto smiles at him, a little pink in the cheeks. “Thanks, Izuku. So, how about you? What name did you want to pick?”

Izuku looks down at his paper, where he’s written a lot of different options. He doesn’t want his hero name to inspire fear in anyone, but he also doesn’t want to deny its connection to death. 

“I don’t know,” he sighs quietly, “I mean, Omen just sounds…ominous. And Reaper sounds like a villain’s name. There’s Vision, but I don’t know if that’s too literal.” 

“Vision’s cool,” Hitoshi says, “Or you could be Anubis, the Egyptian god of death. There’s a lot of mythological names that would fit. Charon, Styx, Hades.” 

Izuku blushes, shaking his head. “I think those are a little too…heavy, for me. I want something that still inspires hope. If I’m going to be a hero I don’t want to make people scared of me.” 

“Go with Vision,” Bakugou says, “Be ‘The Prophetic Hero: Vision.’ No one would fuck with you.” 

Izuku likes that, relieved that his friends have helped him choose. After names are selected, Aizawa calls them up to receive their work study offers, given to them after the festival. Those who placed highly receive the most offers, and both Bakugou and Shouto have dozens of top agencies to choose from.

Izuku doesn’t have any, which is no surprise considering he didn’t compete. Nighteye has said he would take him for the week though, which is fine with Izuku. It’s where he would have chosen to go anyways. 

Hitoshi opts to train with Aizawa, Bakugou chooses Best Jeanist, and Shouto decides surprisingly to intern with Hawks.

“He’s a good hero and my father despises him,” Shouto grins when Izuku asks why, “So it’s a win-win for me.” 

The morning of the internships, Izuku’s mind flashes back to Iida. His classmate has been pretty quiet since his brother was injured by Stain, and Izuku’s worried. He and Iida aren’t that close, but Iida has always taken care of Izuku, ever since the first day of class. They’re headed to the same train station the morning of their work studies, so Izuku tries to talk to him.

“Are you doing okay, Iida?” Izuku asks him as they both stand waiting for their trains, “I know you’re interning with Manual in Hosu, and I just-”

“I’m fine,” Iida says tensely, “Forgive me, it’s been a trying week. But yes, I will be fine. Thank you for your concern.” 

Izuku casts another anxious look at Iida as he boards the train to Nighteye’s agency building. Usually Nighteye would come to him at UA, but Nighteye had messaged him that morning, saying that there was an emergency and he would need to stay in his agency building today. Izuku hates public transport of any kind due to the crowds, but Nighteye had specifically told him to take the train.

Nighteye redesigned Izuku’s hero costume a little, adjusting the under layer to cover more of his skin. He has a facemask attached as well now, so when he pulls up his hood, only his eyes are exposed. Izuku feels a little like a ninja as he rides the train. His costume is also all black now, at Nighteye’s insistence, saying he needed to blend in more. 

Izuku’s grateful for the costume adjustments as he’s jostled around by people on the train. After fifteen nerve wracking minutes, he exits the train at the stop nearest to Nighteye’s agency. He doesn’t wait too long, just heads straight for the agency building.

Nighteye’s agency is understated, looking more like a corporate building from the outside than anything else. Izuku walks in, checking in at the front desk before he’s escorted up the elevator and straight to Nighteye’s office. 

“Izuku,” Nighteye says when the door opens, not looking away from his computer, “Please, sit. How was your journey?” 

“It was okay,” Izuku says, knowing by now not to lie to Nighteye, “I was completely protected, but I still felt anxious the whole time. I’m not used to strangers touching me.” 

Nighteye stops typing, looking at Izuku and pushing up his glasses a little. “Precisely why I wanted you to go. This week our goal is to help you get control of your fears and anxieties about your quirk. It’s time to get your quirk to work for you, Izuku, not the other way around.”

Izuku sits down in the chair across from Nighteye’s desk, his stomach twisting in anxious knots. 

“Between the two of us, we have an incredible power,” Nighteye explains, “Because of this, we make many people feel uncomfortable, wary. We can explain to them their futures and their deaths. You…me…people like us are feared. This burden, this terrible burden, is one of which we will never be free. Your only choice is to accept your quirk completely.” 

“I understand,” Izuku says quietly, “I’m willing to do whatever it takes. I want to…to use my visions to help people. I want to be able to find out if the visions I’m seeing are a certainty, or likely, or are just a blip of possibilities in the future.” 

Nighteye nods. “Yes, that is my wish for you as well. Additionally, I want to help you find a concrete way to be able to withstand longer periods of physical or surprise contact and avoid a seizure. The issue is your visions overload your brain, confusing the synapses your brain is firing. When that happens, your body seizes.” 

“I don’t think I can ever eliminate the seizures entirely,” Izuku says quietly, “But it would be nice to be able to brush against someone, hold their hand, give someone a hug without panicking. It’s…pretty lonely, not being able to touch people.” 

“I can imagine,” Nighteye says seriously, “Alright, priority one is to help you break through your fear. Priority two is to minimize your seizures as much as humanly possible. We’re going to begin with discussing the vision you had the other night at home, the one of your father’s demise.” 

Izuku nods, stomach twisting. They begin.

It’s a rough few days. Izuku cries more than once, having to relieve horrible things, but he finds the more he talks about the visions with Nighteye, the less power they seem to have over him. After a while, he begins to realize how unlikely it is that Hizashi would get himself captured by Shigaraki. It’s clear between the visions he’s had of his dad’s death, the one where Hizashi is murdered by All For One is the more likely of the two.

It isn’t exactly a comforting thought, but Izuku tries to take what respite he can from knowing that Hizashi has a chance of staying alive. His stomach twists thinking of Bakugou, though, recognizing that in one of the visions he had seen as a child, Bakugou had been killed in that same bar. Unfortunately, that is still a likely possibility for his friend, so Izuku decides to do whatever he can to help Bakugou steer clear of the League of Villains, Shigaraki’s gang of murderers. 

Once Izuku has a level head on his shoulders, Nighteye takes him on an evening patrol. They’re both in hero costumes, which for Nighteye is just his usual suit, but Izuku still feels important walking next to the hero. Nighteye keeps his eyes peeled as they walk, and Izuku realizes that they’re patrolling the same area where Iida’s brother had been attacked. 

“Sir, we’re in Hosu, right?” Izuku asks quietly, looking around, “Is this…why you had to stay at the agency?”

Nighteye nods, “Yes, I’m afraid that Stain has been very active in this area. All heroes in the neighboring precincts were asked to patrol this week in addition to those in Hosu. If we spot Stain, I will activate my emergency alert signal. Neither of us will engage.” 

“S-Sir…” Izuku stammers, his eyes widening, “I just remembered something. A vision, from when I was a child. You…Stain killed you. He slashed you in half with a katana. You shouldn’t be out here.”

Nighteye just sighs, crossing his arms. “There is nothing I can do about that. If it is meant to be, it shall occur. If it is not, then we can cross one of your many visions of my death off of your list. Regardless, I have to patrol tonight. Come, Izuku. Let’s go.” 

They walk for several hours, the city completely black and illuminated by streetlamps and storefronts. It’s getting rowdier out, yelling, blaring car horns, blasting music. They’re walking in a dangerous area of the city and Izuku is tense, stomach dropping when he hears something. 

“I will avenge my brother!”

Izuku freezes, looking left and right. He spots the flash of a gleam of metal in a distant alley, and he sees the familiar form of his classmate. 

“That’s…Iida,” Izuku gasps, his face white, “Sir, that’s my friend! And he’s fighting Stain!”

Nighteye is already on the phone, calling for help. Once he hangs up, he goes back on everything he just said and runs towards the alley, straight towards Stain and Iida. Izuku follows his mentor, skidding to Iida’s side. His classmate is lying in a heap on the ground and Izuku watches in horror as Nighteye fights Stain.

“Iida!” Izuku calls, “Are you okay?” 

Iida opens his eyes, looking shocked. “Izuku? What are you…doing here?” 

“We’re here to help, me and Sir Nighteye,” Izuku says calmly, “Where are you hurt?”

“I’m not hurt,” Iida says, “It’s his quirk, he got a taste of my blood and it paralyzed me.” 

Izuku turns around to watch as Stain slashes Nighteye’s arm, licking his blood off of his blade. His mentor drops suddenly, and Izuku is suddenly fighting alone.

“One hero left,” Stain grins, his teeth stained with blood, “What is your name, child?” 

Izuku stands up, knowing that help will be arriving soon. He has to do what he can to stop Stain, to keep him from killing Iida or Nighteye. He figures his best bet is touching Stain like he did with Shigaraki, getting a glimpse of his death vision. 

“Izuku Aizawa,” Izuku responds honestly, sliding into a fighting stance, “I won’t let you hurt them, Stain.” 

“Brave,” Stain grins, “But very, very stupid.” 

Stain rushes at him and Izuku waits for his chance. He leaps up at the last moment, clasping a hand on Stain’s bare arm. The vision burns through his mind as he lands on the pavement, but something is strange about it.

Izuku knows that he’s having a vision, but instead of it being all in his head, he swears he can see it happening in front of him in real time. The real Stain and the Stain in his vision move the same steps at the same time, turn their heads together. He’s having a vision of what’s happening right now.

Stain is about to die.

Izuku can only watch as at the end of the alley, Endeavor appears. Endeavor sends a rope of fire to wrap around Stain’s middle, yanking him closer. Izuku sees what happens just before it does. 

The fire wraps around Stain’s neck as the villain lunges at Endeavor, his katana drawn with the obvious intent to kill. Izuku can’t look away as the fire burns into the villain’s skin, knowing this is about to be the end of Stain.

Stain dies mid-run, Endeavor’s burns too much for his body. He drops to the ground, and Izuku’s vision clears. His head is spinning. How had he seen a vision at the same time it happened? Would this happen any time someone was close to their death? Did Izuku cause this somehow? 

He misses Endeavor yanking the body away from the alley, misses the police arriving. Iida, Nighteye, and Stain are loaded onto separate ambulances and Izuku is told to wait with the police. There’s some other kind of chaos happening in the city, and Endeavor is dispatched to handle it. Izuku wonders if any of his friends are out there, or his parents. Auntie Nem. 

Izuku stays with the police until his parents arrive, called to the scene by Nighteye’s agency. Aizawa gets to him first, eyeing Izuku to make sure there’s no tears in his costume before he pulls him into a hug. 

“Are you alright?” Aizawa asks him, hugging Izuku tightly. Izuku nods, bringing his hands to fist in the back of his dad’s hero costume as he nods. He feels a little numb, body shaking a bit.

“Izuku!” Hizashi cries, Aizawa stepping back so Hizashi can hug their son, too. Izuku’s feeling floaty, a little numb, his body tingling. He’s seen death before, countless times, but the only other time he had seen one of his visions come true was when his mom died. 

“Eraser, Mic. Endeavor killed Stain and your son is a witness,” an officer says beside them. “We’ll need his official statement down at the station. We can take the three of you now, if you’re ready.” 

“Of course,” Aizawa says, looking at Izuku anxiously. 

The next bit of time seems to blur for Izuku. He’s in the back of a police car with his parents, then he’s at the station in front of a detective, telling them everything he has seen. When he describes seeing the death vision at the same time that Endeavor killed Stain, his parents both stiffen.

When he’s done with his interview, Izuku looks at his parents tiredly. “Is Nighteye alright? Iida?”

“Both are completely fine,” Hizashi reassures him, “All three of you were very lucky tonight. Come on, it’s time to go home, kiddo.” 

Izuku sleeps on the car ride home, only waking up when Aizawa shakes his shoulder. Izuku’s ears are ringing and he feels a little funny, like he’s about to slip into a panic attack at any moment. He stumbles into the shower, peeling off his hero costume and washing off the smell of the alley and the death. He changes into his coziest pajamas, picking up Luna and holding her close to his chest as he walks into the living room, curling up on the couch.

Izuku feels like if anyone touches him right now he’ll break apart, but a desperate part of him also wants to be held. Luna allows him to wrap his arms around her, petting her gently as he buries his face in her fur. 

“Hey, Izu, would you be up for Hitoshi coming over?” Aizawa asks gently, “He’s worried about you.” 

Izuku nods, croaking out, “That’s fine.” He knows his parents want to talk about what happened, but Izuku is so sick of talking. He’s so sick of seeing terrible things, awful things. He’ll be reliving Stain’s death in his head for weeks, he’s sure of it.

Hitoshi arrives a while later with chinese takeout and some movies. He puts the takeout on the coffee table and pops one of the movies into play, before beginning to rearrange the blankets on the couch.

“What’re you doing?” Izuku asks, confused as Hitoshi moves things around.

“Making a blanket fort,” Hitoshi explains, propping up the couch cushions so he can make a fort like they did when they were kids, “Come on, give me a hand.” 

Once the fort is done, Hitoshi slings a final blanket around Izuku, covering his shoulders. He wraps an arm around Izuku’s back, tugging him close through the blanket. Izuku can’t help it, he starts crying, burying his face against Hitoshi’s sweatshirt. 

“It’s going to be okay,” Hitoshi murmurs, “I promise. I’ll protect you. I’m older, right? Kind of like a big brother. It’s my job.”

“Older by like, two weeks,” Izuku sniffs, tears in his eyes.

“Two weeks is enough,” Hitoshi says, “Come on, let’s watch this crappy movie and eat some junk food. Everything else can wait.”

Chapter Text

“Oi, let us in, dumbass,” Bakugou says, arms folded as he stands in the front doorway of Izuku’s apartment. Shouto is next to him, looking a little confused as to why he’s here at all. 

It’s the day after the incident with Stain, and Hitoshi had slept over. Hizashi and Aizawa are both still asleep, clearly exhausted after the night they had all just had.

“Hito said you were feeling down, so I texted IcyHot and we decided to come over,” Bakugou continues, “We brought snacks. Come on, let’s play some video games.”

“Okay,” Izuku mumbles, opening the door more and letting them through, “Um, my parents are sleeping still, so we need to be quiet.”

“Tch,” Bakugou scoffs as he and Shouto take off their shoes, “It’s the afternoon, why the hell are they sleeping?”

Hitoshi shushes him before murmuring, “They were up all night dealing with the Stain incident. Izuku and I only woke up a little while ago. It’s…been kind of a lot.”

“What happened?” Shouto asks, looking tired himself, “Were you also in Hosu last night?”

Izuku nods, sitting back down on the couch. “Yes, I was with Nighteye. I saw Endeavor kill Stain.” 

A silence follows this before Bakugou just says, “Well, shit. Are you doing okay?” 

Izuku shrugs as they all sit down, wringing his hands together. “I see a lot of death, all the time. But when it’s really happening, I dunno…it’s worse, more vivid. Stain wasn’t a good person, but…he died right in front of me.” 

“My father strangled him with hellfire,” Shouto adds, making Hitoshi and Bakugou wince. 

Hitoshi just sighs, saying nothing, and instead turning on the television and putting on one of the terrible All Might movies. Bakugou heads into the kitchen like he owns the place, pulling some frozen pizza rolls out of the freezer and shoving them in the toaster oven. 

Shouto meanwhile sits down next to Izuku, smiling when Mochi curls up next to his warm side, all of them getting settled on the couch. Izuku makes sure his hoodie is up over his head and his gloves are secured, his sweatpants and socks hiding all of his skin, before he scoots closer to Shouto’s warm side, too.

“Are you cold?” Shouto asks him and Izuku nods. Shouto intensifies his heat and Mochi starts purring like a motorboat, making everyone smile.

“You’re cheating, Shouto,” Hitoshi grumbles, sticking his tongue out at the cat, “I’m jealous.” 

Bakugou gets out the pizza rolls and they watch through an entire movie before starting another one. About thirty minutes into it, Aizawa and Hizashi emerge from their room look tired, but better than last night.

“Hello, senseis,” Shouto says politely, making Bakugou snort. Aizawa is still in his pajamas and Hizashi has a Midnight-themed hoodie on over sweatpants, his hair in a messy bun. Aizawa just sighs at the sight of them, heading straight for the kitchen and making some coffee while Hizashi waves at them.

“Didn’t know you were having friends over, Izu,” Hizashi yawns, “Sorry for the pajamas, kiddos, we had a long night.” 

Hitoshi smirks. “At least it’s not the bright pink ones and the bunny slippers. Remember that, Izu?”

Izuku grins at the memory in which Hizashi was wearing the ensemble described when Principal Nezu came over unexpectedly. Aizawa had teased Hizashi about it for days. Hizashi smiles at them all now, eyes landing on his son. 

“You doing okay, Izu? And you, Shouto?” he asks, sitting down at the kitchen table, “Last night can’t have been easy for you, either.” 

Izuku just shrugs while Shouto nods. “I’m fine, sensei, my father…it’s not the first time he’s killed a villain. Since I’m not living with him anymore, it isn’t like I have to see him. My sister filled me in.” 

Hizashi nods as Aizawa walks out with two mugs of coffee, placing them on the table.

“Thanks, love,” Hizashi murmurs, making Shouto blush a little, not used to seeing his teachers being so loving with each other.

“You know, if you kids are bored today, you could prepare for the training camp,” Aizawa tells them, “We’re leaving in a few days with class 1-B to use the Wild Wild Pussycat’s training facilities out in the forest.” 

Izuku’s eyes widen, surprised by that. He would have thought given all the villain incidents, things like training camp would be canceled this year. However, he’s excited thinking of it, having never been camping before.

“That’s a good idea,” Hitoshi yawns, “Should we text anyone else? See if they want to come shopping with us?”

“Nah, you know Round Face’ll be all up about us going to the mall or some shit,” Bakugou groans, “Class bonding or whatever. I’d rather die.”

“Round Face?” Shouto asks, looking confused.

“Keep up, IcyHot,” Bakugou scoffs, “You know, gravity girl. Whatever.” 

“Don’t call Uraraka ‘Round Face’ Kacchan,” Izuku groans, “Do you know any of our classmates’ actual names?” 

Bakugou nods, “Yeah, there’s Shitty Hair, Glasses, Round Face, Sparky…”

“Oh my god, stop,” Izuku groans and they all laugh. Izuku’s stomach clenches though, thinking about training camp as a whole. 

“What’s up, Izu?” Hitoshi asks him kindly, “You’re brooding.”

Izuku shrugs, wringing his hands together. “It’s just…at camp, we’ll have to share rooms, right? All the 1-A boys are staying in one area together. It’s just that…my nightmares. The others will hear them.”

Bakugou rises an eyebrow, “How bad? How often?”

Hitoshi shares a look with Izuku before he says, “Almost every night. Bad.” 

“It’s worse when I see a vision,” Izuku continues, his eyes dark, “Or…a real death. It’s…all I can think about, dream about. It’s like my quirk makes me relieve it so I…so I won’t forget.” 

“Well watch out for you, nerd,” Bakugou scoffs, “Between the three of us and your overprotective parents and auntie Nemuri, you’ll be fine. Besides, Hitoshi can always brainwash you if things get too crazy. Now come on, let’s watch some more bad movies.” 

The day goes on nicely, lazily, and Izuku smiles to himself all throughout the day. His friends are acting normal and it takes his mind off of Stain and everything he’s seen lately, relieved to have a group of people like this he can hang out with so comfortably. 

That night, everyone gets permission to sleep over, and Izuku feels a little like he’s in the twilight zone when he wakes up halfway through the night seeing Bakugou’s leg sprawled out on the floor over top of Shouto, who’s half leaning into Hitoshi’s side as the cats try to both curl up next to him in the warm spot. 

Izuku’s on the couch, not wanting to accidentally touch anyone in his sleep. He looks at his friends fondly for a few minutes before his eyes begin to droop closed, feeling secure. That night, for the first night in a long time, Izuku doesn’t have any nightmares.

The next morning, as Bakugou predicted, Uraraka texts out to the whole class to meet at the mall to prepare for training camp. Aizawa had emailed out a list of suggested items for everyone to get for the trip, and while Izuku doesn’t really need any of it since his parents are prepared, he goes with his friends anyway.

Always cautious in public, Izuku makes sure that his gloves are secure and he pulls the hood of his sweatshirt up, wanting to minimize any chance of accidentally brushing up against a stranger. The mall is crowded, and Izuku stays close to his friends instinctually. 

The rest of 1-A is already there, waving the four of them over as they meet up in the center of the mall.

“Hi!” Uraraka beams at them, “Okay, that’s everyone! I know everyone needs different things, so how about we divide and conquer and meet up back here in an hour for lunch?”

“Sounds good,” Iida nods, “Alright, let’s break up by what we need to buy! Who needs a sleeping bag?”

Eventually, the entire class breaks off and Izuku is left with Shouto, who has a long list of things to get. Hitoshi and Bakugou head off to get some clothes, while Izuku walks with Shouto to a pharmacy in the mall to get sunscreen and bug spray.

“Endeavor has all of this, but my sister doesn’t,” Shouto explains, filling a little basket in the pharmacy, “She rarely gets any time off so she’s not a big outdoorsy person.” 

Izuku nods, holding Shouto’s basket for him. “That makes sense. Is there anything else you need here?”

Shouto shakes his head, and the two head out back into the main part of the mall. Izuku notices something odd immediately, spotting Hitoshi’s signature purple hair in the distance. He’s sitting next to someone that definitely isn’t Bakugou, a person with a hoodie on like Izuku’s. Worryingly, Hitoshi looks stiff as a board.

“Shigaraki,” Shouto hisses, his eyes widening, “Izuku, it’s Shigaraki. Call your parents, I’ll call the police.”

Terrified, Izuku calls Aizawa instantly, knowing out of the two of his parents he’s the more likely one to have his phone on.

“Hello?” Aizawa’s tired voice comes through, “Izu, you okay?”

“Dad, Shigaraki’s at the mall,” Izuku whispers, hearing Aizawa curse over the phone, “Shouto and I are looking at him right now. He’s sitting next to Hitoshi. What should we do?”

“Nothing,” Aizawa says firmly, “Keep your eyes on Hitoshi and call the police. Your dad and I will be there soon. Do not engage Shigaraki or use your quirks. Is Hitoshi in immediate physical danger?”

“No, he’s…it looks like Shigaraki’s just talking to him,” Izuku says, his heart pounding, “Shouto’s calling the police.”

“We’ll be there in seven minutes or less.”

Izuku and Shouto both just stare, Izuku clenching his fists. Hitoshi looks terrified, but Shigaraki still seems to be talking to him. It’s then that Izuku spots Shigaraki’s fingers around Hitoshi’s neck.

Without a word, Izuku walks forward, pulling down his hood so Shigaraki can see his face. When he steps into their line of sight, Hitoshi’s eyes widen in relief and Shigarki’s lip curls, tightening his fingers around Hitoshi’s neck.

“The police are on their way, along with several pro heroes,” Izuku says quietly, “You don’t have anything to worry about from them, though. You and I both know this isn’t where you die, Tenko.”

“You fucking brat,” Shigaraki spits, letting go and standing up, “I should decay you right here. No one would miss you or that quirk of yours.” 

Before Izuku can retort, the sound of police sirens can be heard and Shigaraki curses, turning and putting his hands in his pockets, walking into the crowd at the mall and blending in. Izuku rushes to Hitoshi’s side, Shouto at his heels. 

“Toshi! Are you okay?” Izuku asks, putting a gloved hand on his friend’s shoulder.

Hitoshi coughs, nodding. “Y-Yeah…he just blabbed to me about the downfall of hero society and how much he wanted to kill All Might. He said if I spoke, he’d decay me, so I couldn’t use my quirk.” 

Bakugou appears next, cursing up a storm. “I leave you fuckers alone for five fucking minutes, I swear to god, and you run into a goddamn supervillain.” 

The police arrive, followed by Hizashi, Aizawa, and Nemuri, who looks completely panicked, whisking Hitoshi off into a police car to be interviewed at the station. The mall is shut down, everyone sent home, and Izuku’s quiet in the backseat of his parents’ car. 

He’s glad Hitoshi is alright, but he has a very bad feeling about all of this. 

Chapter Text

When Izuku’s parents had told him about training camp, he was expecting hard work, but not being chased for three hours through the woods fighting man-made mud monsters. Izuku’s entire body aches as he tries to down some food, groaning as he leans back against a tree. 

They had left for camp in the morning and the teachers had tricked them into getting off the bus a few hours away from the actual camp itself, making them literally fight their way to the camp. It was a lot, but Izuku figures they should have suspected it. 

“After food comes your first training session,” Aizawa calls out to a chorus of groans, “Now come on, let’s get moving. 1-A, with me.” 

Each person is working their quirk in their own way. Hitoshi is practicing using his voice changer while Bakugou is focusing his explosions. Shouto is practicing regulating his temperature and thinking of his quirk as one whole instead of half and half.

Izuku meanwhile, is meditating. It’s something new that he’s been trying with Nighteye, working to accept the visions that he sees as possibilities and not to let them overwhelm him. He’s just finished meditating when Aizawa walks over, sitting down next to him. They’re in a relatively private space, so Izuku leans over, dropping his head on Aizawa’s shoulder.

“You don’t ever seem afraid to touch me,” Aizawa says quietly, wrapping a gentle arm around his son, “Why is that?”

“I think it’s because your death is always…stable,” Izuku says, not looking his dad in the eye, “Peaceful. And far, far away. It’s hard to watch but it doesn’t upset me, not like the others I’ve seen. You’re safe. Your death…it never changes much. You always make it a long time. You’re going to live a really good life, dad.” 

Aizawa is quiet, gently rubbing Izuku’s back. They sit in a long silence before Aizawa speaks again, his voice uncharacteristically gentle.

“Are you with me when I pass?” Aizawa asks, “In your visions?”

Izuku nods, he doesn’t mind telling his dad this. “Yes, I think it’s me and Hitoshi. Once…once, I saw Auntie Nem I think, but…I don’t know how likely that is to happen.” 

His stomach clenches as he says it, looking at his dad with sad eyes. “I want to save them all. I want dad and Auntie Nem and Kacchan to all live a really long time, like you. But I don’t…I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to save them.” 

“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” Aizawa murmurs, erasing Izuku’s quirk so he can kiss the top of his head, “I wish I could take this burden from you.”

Izuku shakes his head. “No, I…I think it’s a good thing. My quirk. Nighteye’s been helping me a lot with it and I think that I can use it for good, now. I was able to distract Shigaraki twice with it and give All Might and dad some warning, at least. Even Kacchan…I at least could tell him not to be reckless.”

Aizawa just keeps rubbing Izuku’s back before he says, “We’ll do what we can to save them all, because that’s what heroes do. Between you and me, kid, I’m doing everything I can to keep your dad away from the League of Villains, All For One, Shigaraki, all of it.”

“Thanks,” Izuku murmurs, sighing a little before smiling, “I actually need to train my quirk right now a little, and Nighteye suggested you’d be the best person to help me since your visions don’t upset me. Do you mind?” 

“I mind if you’re going to have a seizure,” Aizawa says honestly, “I know you’ve been working to regulate them, but I still want you to be safe.”

Izuku nods, “I will be. As long as I just graze my finger against you and the touch doesn’t linger, I can control it.”

Aizawa nods, sitting cross-legged in front of his son as Izuku gently pulls off a glove, running his finger across his dad’s bare arm. 

Almost immediately, the vision overtakes him. He’s looking at a scene he knows well at this point, a hospital room. He sees Aizawa, still elderly, eyes closed on a bed. But this time, there’s something different. There’s two beds in the room and Izuku could sob with relief when he realizes the other bed has a very old Hizashi in it, his eyes also closed. 

Izuku sees his older self there, too, sitting on the edge of Aizawa’s bed with an older Hitoshi who’s sitting on Hizashi’s. There’s a third person with them also, a young woman Izuku doesn’t know with silvery white hair. She’s sitting next to Izuku and looking sadly at both of them.

“You both fought so hard for so long,” older Izuku says quietly, “It’s okay to go, dad, pops. It’s okay to let go. It’s time now. We’re all going to be fine, the three of us are a family now. We’ll be okay. You can rest.”

“Say hi to mom for me,” older Hitoshi says, eyes full of sadness, but also relief. 

When Izuku pulls out of the vision, he feels himself crying. Aizawa is rubbing his back but Izuku smiles through his tears. It’s the first indication he’s been given that Hizashi has a chance of surviving to old age. Izuku’s not sure who the girl was in the vision, but he’s relieved to see Hitoshi older again as well.

“You and dad were together,” Izuku smiles at Aizawa through his tears, “That time…you were both really old. Together, in the hospital. I was with Hitoshi and a younger girl, I don’t know who she was.”

Aizawa’s eyes widen. “Zashi…he was old, you said?” 

Izuku nods, his heart feeling like it could burst, “Yeah. He…he made it that time.”

Aizawa looks like he might cry himself, tugging Izuku into a tight hug. Izuku is surprised to hear his dad’s shaky breathing, realizing that this vision means just as much to him as it does to Izuku.

“Thank you,” Aizawa chokes out, “Thank you for telling me that, Izu. I needed…I really needed to hear that there’s a chance he could make it.” 

Izuku sighs happily, feeling hope swell in his chest. If there’s a chance that Hizashi can live to an old age, that means there’s a chance for Bakugou as well, and maybe even Nemuri. Of course, everyone will die someday, but if Izuku can save them so they live a long, healthy life, that’s all he can desire. 

“Go find pops,” Izuku murmurs, nudging Aizawa’s shoulder, “You can tell him about the vision. I know that he puts on a positive front, but he’s probably been shaken up about it all, too. I’ll be fine out here.” 

“Alright,” Aizawa murmurs, “I love you, you know that, right?” 

Izuku really, really does. “I do. Love you too, dad.” 

Aizawa leaves to go find Hizashi and Izuku smiles up at the sky. He helped with his quirk. He gave Aizawa hope, gave him something to look forward to. It’s not all pain and bloody deaths. There’s a peaceful ending out there for his family and friends, Izuku just knows it. 

The next few days are filled with intense training, but Izuku is in a positive mood. He’s currently sparring with Bakugou as they practice quirkless hand-to-hand combat. Izuku’s careful as always to make sure there’s no skin to skin contact, but Bakugou is a tough opponent. 

“Come at me, nerd,” Bakugou grins as they spar enthusiastically. Izuku practices his hits and kicks, Bakugou blocking almost every single one of them. It’s exciting and fun, and Izuku almost forgets everything for a while.

After a long sparring session, everyone takes turns bathing and having dinner, the students exhausted enough to turn in early. Izuku’s sleeping bag is next to Hitoshi’s and he bundles up in it, his mind full of hope as he thinks of Hizashi growing old. 

His eyes drift close and Izuku is soon asleep. His thoughts during the day may have been peaceful, but like always, his mind is plagued by nightmares of the visions he’s seen. First, he sees Endeavor, impaled. Then a parade of the most violent of Nighteye’s deaths. Hizashi, strangled and decayed. Bakugou, falling. Bakugou, stabbed. Bakugou, decayed.

Izuku doesn’t realize he’s screaming until he feels someone shaking his shoulder, the lights in the room on. All the 1-A boys are awake, looking terrified at the sound of Izuku screaming bloody murder. 

“Izuku, it’s two in the morning on Thursday,” Hitoshi says evenly, used to talking Izuku through this, “No one is dying, everyone is okay. We’re at the training camp. Your parents, my mom, everyone is alive and fine. Whatever you’re seeing hasn’t happened yet.” 

Izuku starts sobbing, unable to explain the horrors he’s seen.

“K-Kacchan,” Izuku chokes out, Bakugou at his side in an instant. 

“Yeah nerd, you’re alive, we’re all here,” Bakugou says, “No one’s fucking dead.” 

Izuku sits up, the horror of watching Bakugou’s deaths at the end of his dream over and over.

“You have to b-be careful,” Izuku stammers, ignoring the stares of the others, “Kacchan, you have to be careful. Shigaraki, he’s going to…he’s gonna kill you Kacchan…” 

Izuku’s never told anyone that before and Bakugou’s eyes widen, sharing anxious looks with Hitoshi and Shouto.

“Is that why you’ve been so fucking weird?” Bakugou asks him, “Because you think I’m going to let that hand fuck kill me? Come on, please tell me that isn’t how I actually go out.”

Izuku bursts into tears and Hitoshi scolds Bakugou, pressing a hand on Izuku’s back. Izuku’s in no state to explain and the other boys look concerned, some standing up and most sitting in their sleeping bags. 

“Night terror?” Iida asks quietly, and Hitoshi shakes his head.

“No,” Hitoshi sighs, “Worse. Izuku, can I tell them?”

Izuku just nods, still crying into his arms while Shouto presses his warm side against him, trying to help warm him up. 

“Izuku sees death visions,” Hitoshi explains, surprise showing on everyone’s faces, “It’s not just the bad part of someone’s future, it’s the way they go out. When he touches someone, he sees how they die. His quirk makes him relieve the visions at night, whether he likes it or not.”

“Shit,” Kaminari says, “Izuku, that sucks, man. I’m sorry.” 

“But wait,” Kirishima stammers, “Um, Bakugou…what he just said…”

Bakugou sighs, leaning back against the wall and looking at Kirishima levelly. “Yeah. Looks like it’s pretty likely I’m going to die soon. Nerd’s had a few visions of me when we were kids, and I died young in all of them.”

Izuku chokes out a sob, reaching over to grab Bakugou’s sleeve, looking up with his tearstained face, his eyes full of determination.

“I won’t let it happen,” Izuku swears, “I p-promise, Kacchan. I won’t let it happen. I’m gonna save you and my dad. I won’t let…I won’t let Shigaraki or All For One hurt either of you.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Bakugou sighs, “Look, nerd, can you sleep? It’s the middle of the night and we all need rest. I promise, I’m not dying tonight at least.” 

Izuku’s still crying, but he nods, wiping at his eyes. “S-Sorry, everyone. I’m sorry I w-woke you all.” 

“It’s okay,” Sero says gently, “We get it, man.” 

Izuku lays back down in his sleeping bag, closing his eyes. The light in the room goes off and Izuku’s half-asleep again when he starts hearing murmurs. 

“Dude, we’ve got to help him,” Kirishima whispers quietly, “We’ve got that Test of Courage tomorrow with 1-B, if one of them touches him…”

“They won’t have a chance to,” Hitoshi says instantly, still at Izuku’s side, “I’m going to speak with Aizawa-sensei tomorrow and ask if we can be paired together for the exercise. I’ll keep him safe.” 

“And after?” Iida asks quietly, “This…I knew Izuku had a hard quirk, but this…is he receiving any kind of help for this?” 

Bakugou scoffs, “Nerd’s been in therapy since his mom died when he was a kid. He gets quirk counseling every week with Nighteye and he grew up on UA’s campus getting personal lessons from Nezu. He’ll be okay.” 

Izuku drifts off after that, touched that his classmates care so much about him.

The Test of Courage is not an enjoyable exercise for Izuku. He’s had visions in a forest before, terrified that this is where he had seen Bakugou killed with knives. He’s almost clinging to Hitoshi as the two of them walk. 

Hitoshi had brainwashed the first 1-B student he had come across in the woods, getting them to explain where all the others were hiding and what their quirks were. For the test, the 1-A students had to get through the woods to the center, where they were to collect a card with their name on it and exit the forest. 1-B was allowed to scare them with any non-violent means necessary, which means a lot of jump scares and loud noises.

Izuku doesn’t care about 1-B, not afraid of their quirks, but he does care about Bakugou. 

“Toshi, we’ve got to keep moving,” Izuku mumbles when they stop, “I want to get in and out of here as fast as we can and check on Kacchan.” 

“Okay,” Hitoshi agrees, the two of them walking a little quicker towards the center of the forest. 

Izuku begins to realize as they walk that something is wrong. An odd, purple mist is drifting through the forest and Izuku sees multiple people down on the ground, unconscious. Izuku’s seen enough dead bodies in his life to know that they’re alive, but he has a sudden fear that this isn’t the work of anyone from 1-B.

It’s confirmed for him when a ring of blue flames suddenly shoots up in the clearing all around them. Hitoshi curses and Izuku freezes. He’s seen this fire before, in visions. The League is here.

He pulls out his phone, texting SOS to his parents and a warning text to Bakugou to stay out of sight and not engage any villains. He’s about to try and call Hizashi when a dagger shoots out from the trees, knocking the phone straight out of Izuku’s hand. 

“Can’t have you calling for help!” a sing-song voice giggles. Izuku watches as a girl, not much older than they are, steps into view. She has blonde hair and is wearing a school uniform Izuku doesn’t recognize. Her mouth is covered in blood and she’s carrying a holster of knives. 

She’s about to step forward, when Izuku and Hitoshi both start in surprise. Aizawa’s voice is in their mind as if he’s communicating with them telepathically. 

Attention students, the camp is under attack! Aizawa’s voice says, sounding anxious, I am using a quirk to speak with you now. You have full permission to use your quirk to defend yourselves, but do not engage any villains on purpose. Return to base camp immediately and stay hidden. We have reason to believe the villains are planning to kidnap Hitoshi and Izuku of class A.

Izuku and Hitoshi share a terrified look, but before they can make a move, more villains appear in front of them. Izuku hears someone call his name behind him, but there’s nothing he can do.

“Sleep tight, kiddies,” the villain wielding the blue flames says, and his face is the last thing Izuku sees before everything fades to black.

Chapter Text

When Izuku wakes next, something is wrong. His mind is blurred, visions of death overlapping so quickly he can’t make heads or tails of who he’s seeing or what’s happening. He realizes vaguely that he’s seizing, and from the aches in his body, it’s likely been a while.

“Stop touching him!” someone is pleading, sounding desperate, “Please, please, it’s his quirk, if you keep touching him like that he’ll seize until he…you’re going to kill him, please stop.” 

Izuku takes stock of his body, his brain aching and his eyes too painful to open. He can tell by the sensation in his body that he’s had a massive seizure, if not multiple, and he can’t remember any of his visions. He thinks he may have also been sick and he feels worse than he has in years.

“Fine,” a voice sighs from near Izuku, and Izuku feels a pressure release on his arm, “We don’t want him dead, anyways. Not you, either.” 

Izuku’s not seizing anymore, but he can’t move. His body is in agony and his head is throbbing. He wants to sleep. Everything is heavy, everything hurts. He doesn’t know what’s happening and he can’t remember.

“Untie me, please,” the voice begs, sounding close to tears, “Let me help him.” 

Izuku realizes it’s Hitoshi sounding so emotional and it comes back to him in pieces. He vaguely remembers being in the woods, seeing the villains arrive, but it’s all a blur after that. His mind is fuzzy and his body is in terrible pain.

“Try anything and I’ll kill you, kid. Don’t think I won’t.” 

There’s a noise and the sound of running footsteps before Izuku feels someone carefully touching his clothed shoulder, calling his name. “Izuku!” 

It takes a colossal effort, but Izuku manages to crack an eye open, seeing Hitoshi’s terrified face. Izuku can’t make out where they are, focusing on his friend’s face to try and calm himself. Izuku can’t move, his body is heavy, leadened. His brain is screaming, pounding with agony, and he gets the feeling there’s no medicine or doctor here to help him.

“Toshi…hurts,” Izuku exhales, “What…happened?”

“The League got us,” Hitoshi explains, careful not to touch Izuku’s skin as he checks him over, “They grabbed your arm and you dropped. Do you remember what you saw?”

“N-No,” Izuku stammers, “Too…much. Head hurts.” 

“Okay, that’s fine, just breathe,” Hitoshi tells him, his voice shaking, “Come on Izuku, you can do it. Listen…you seized for a long time, I don’t know how long. The whole time from the camp to now. I think…Izuku, I think you need a hospital. Do you understand?” 

Izuku only processes about half of this, his eyes glazed over.

“Um,” he manages, licking his dry lips, “Um, yeah. Thirsty.” 

“So needy,” someone sighs, “Kurogiri, get the brat a glass of water. We don’t want to lose such a valuable asset.” 

Izuku can’t move, but after a few moments, Hitoshi is helping him drink out of a water bottle, the cool water hitting his throat and helping him feel a little better. His body pounds with agony, still unable to recall any of the visions he had just seen. He wonders if multiple people touched him, or if it was just one person for so long that his mind couldn’t keep up with the visions. 

“So, I guess you’re wondering why you’re here,” a familiar voice says, and Hitoshi winces above Izuku.

“Shigaraki,” Hitoshi spits, still hovering protectively over Izuku, “What the hell do you want?” 

Before Shigaraki responds, Izuku hears Hitoshi give a muffled whimper, looking up to see that his friend’s mouth is covered in duct tape, unable to use his brainwashing quirk on anyone. 

“I’m getting to that,” Shigaraki sighs, “Look, we know about you both, so don’t even try to control me. The brainwash brat and the prophetic death kid. Sensei doesn’t want your quirks, but he does want you. Wants to use you, and so do I. From now on, you run with us. Unless you want me to kill little Izuku here. He has a pretty big weakness, doesn’t he?”

Hitoshi mumbles something like a garbled fuck you from under the duct tape, making Shigaraki laugh. 

“I like you,” Shigaraki grins, “Listen, if you promise to be a good boy and not brainwash anyone, I’ll rip the tape off. Your friend looks like he needs medical attention, maybe you can give it to him. After all, we want you two at your best.” 

Hitoshi glares at Shigaraki, but the villain reaches over to rip off the duct tape, Hitoshi hissing in pain at the removal. He keeps glaring at the villain, but makes no other moves besides sitting at Izuku’s side. 

“So, tell me about the little oracle here,” Shigaraki says, nudging Izuku with his foot, “And you better not lie to me. Why the seizures?” 

Hitoshi is quiet for a long moment and Shigaraki makes an impatient noise, kicking Izuku’s side a little more harshly.

“You’re doing him no favors staying silent,” Shigaraki sighs in annoyance, “Come on, kid. Talk.”

Hitoshi swallows hard, looking down at Izuku before speaking. “It’s…the prolonged contact. If he touches someone or they touch him for a long period of time, his mind is overloaded with visions and he seizes. He can control it if the touch is short, but anything long and he’ll collapse.” 

“How irritating,” Shigaraki sighs again, “And inconvenient. For such a powerful quirk, it does have quite the downside. Toga, do it now.” 

Izuku isn’t sure who Toga is, but there’s the sound of some glass shattering and cursing around the bar.

“Dude, what the fuck are you doing?” someone hisses, “All For One’s going to…”

“Do nothing,” Shigaraki says darkly, “We’re not under surveillance now. Izuku Aizawa, wake up. Look at me.” 

Izuku manages to crack an eye open, looking up at Shigaraki with blurry eyes. The villain is kneeling over him, no severed hands in sight, staring at Izuku with bright red eyes. 

“What you told me at the USJ,” Shigaraki says in a quiet voice, “How long from now? When does it happen?”

It takes a moment for Izuku to realize what Shigaraki is talking about, eyes widening a little when he remembers how he had taunted the villain with the knowledge of his impending death at the hands of All For One.

“Any…t-time now,” Izuku mumbles, “Look…the same as now.” 

Shigaraki growls, his upper lip pulling back. “Fuck, fine. Spinner, you heard him. You know what to do. Kurogiri, disrupt the signal. Dabi, lock the brats up. We’ll make our move two nights from now.” 

Izuku doesn’t know what’s going on, but he feels someone pick him up, hears Hitoshi yelling, begging, but Izuku’s lost to another seizure, his body aching in pain.

“Fuck, your quirk is fucked, kid,” someone says, but Izuku is already gone. 

Izuku sees the scarred villain, the one who wields the blue flames, standing in front of Endeavor and the police.

“You aren’t Touya,” Endeavor snarls, wielding hellfire on both of his fists, “You’re not my son.”

The villain laughs, looking up at the sky. “No, my name is Dabi, now. But I was your son, once. You couldn’t kill me the first time. You going to try now, old man?” 

Izuku watches as Dabi and Endeavor lunge for one another, colliding in an explosion of fire. In the aftermath, the smoke clears, and Dabi is on the ground, eyes lifeless and dead. Endeavor had killed him.

Izuku feels himself slam into the ground as his seizure dissipates, hardly able to think. He loses time and the next thing he realizes, Hitoshi’s leaning over him again, a red mark on his face from where he had peeled off the duct tape. 

“They locked us in a side room,” Hitoshi tells him, “We have a bathroom, so water access. Izuku, can you understand me? Do you know where you are?” 

Izuku just blinks. He’s unsure if he’s in a vision or if this is real. He opens his mouth, but only a kind of dry croaking sound comes out of it, Izuku’s eyes leaking with tears from the agony his body is in. 

“Hey, it’s okay,” Hitoshi stammers, sounding absolutely terrified, “I promise, you’re safe now. Look, they left us with some snacks and things, too, so we’ll be alright in here. Our parents will find us soon, you know they will. Izuku, I need you to try and respond to me. Do you know where you are?” 

Izuku tries to speak a few times before he manages to say, “T-Toshi. With…Toshi.”

“Yeah, you’re with me,” Hitoshi smiles, although it looks forced. “We’re in the League of Villain’s headquarters, masquerading as some kind of bar. I can’t use my quirk on them, they said they’d kill you if I tried.”

Izuku tries to get a hold of himself but his brain is literal mush. “Don’t…’member. What…I saw.”

“When you just had your seizures?” Hitoshi asks, Izuku nodding the tiniest bit, “That’s okay, it doesn’t matter. Because everyone in here will wish they were dead when our parents find us, anyways.” 

Hours pass. Hitoshi makes Izuku drink more water, but he’s unable to eat, sit up, or do anything besides lie there. Hitoshi sleeps sitting up, leaning against the wall, but Izuku is completely out of it. He’s not sure how much time has passed, but Hitoshi talks to him as much as he can, getting Izuku to respond in broken sentences. 

He’s not sure why his body and mind are so badly affected this time. He wonders how long his seizures were and how many visions he had seen.

“Shit, you need a hospital,” Hitoshi says weakly at one point, “You might have had one too many seizures this time.” 

Izuku just hums noncommittally, trying to get a hold of himself. It’s into the second day of their kidnapping that the door flies open, Shigaraki staring at the two of them. 

“We know how your quirk works, brat, so don’t try it,” Shigaraki says by way of greeting to Hitoshi, “Unless you want Izuku to die.” 

“He needs a hospital,” Hitoshi begs, “Please, he needs medical care. He might have permanent damage if we don’t get him help soon.” 

Shigaraki rolls his eyes, “Yeah, whatever. Come on, get him out here. I want to talk to the entire League and I want you two with us.” 

Izuku tries to stand on his own but fails, and Hitoshi supports him so he can walk out of the room. Izuku is gray in the face, his eyes distant as Hitoshi maneuvers him to lay down on a couch. Hitoshi sits down in front of him protectively, eyeing Shigaraki with hatred. 

“So, it’s time to join us officially,” Shigaraki grins, the other League members watching from various places throughout the bar, “Sensei wants your abilities, it’s time for you to use them.”

“Over my dead body,” Hitoshi says so vehemently that Izuku opens his eyes, pushing himself up on shaky arms. 

“M-mine…mine…too,” Izuku says slowly, trying to get his brain to communicate with his tongue, “N-Not…a villain…” 

Shigaraki laughs, actually slapping his knee when he looks at the pair of them. “You two take the cake. Listen, brats, you don’t have a choice. Sensei wants you, so you’re in the League. Our first mission is tomorrow, so you better-”

They never find out what Shigaraki was going to say, though, because at that exact moment the door to the bar is kicked down and five people manage to subdue Kurogiri in the corner.

“Fuck!” Shigaraki curses and Izuku’s brain aches. He doesn’t keep track of what happens next, but he’s being carried out, a worried Hitoshi at his side.

Izuku misses Hitoshi pitching forward, fainting into a hero’s arms. He misses their terrified parents, running towards them from behind the police tape. Misses the ambulance ride to the hospital, all of it.

Izuku is tired. He’s so, so tired. He just wants this all to stop .

Chapter Text

“Izuku…” Hitoshi is sobbing, somewhere near Izuku, “He seized for ages and they wouldn’t let me help him. I t-thought he was going to d-die.”

Izuku cracks an eye open, recognizing that he’s in a hospital room. He’s laid out in a hospital bed and Hizashi is in a chair next to him, slumped forward and asleep. Hitoshi is in a bed next to Izuku’s, with Aizawa at his side.

“Ssh, kid, c’mere,” Aizawa says, pulling Hitoshi into his arms and rocking him as if he’s a small child, “He’ll be okay.” 

Izuku blinks, trying to remember what happened. His body aches, but not as much as it probably should, and he wonders if he has Recovery Girl to thank for that. He licks his dry lips, wanting to call out and tell the others he’s awake, but he can’t get his mouth to move.

After a few minutes, Izuku sees Nemuri at the door, holding two paper cups of coffee. When she spots Hitoshi, she promptly drops them on the floor and rushes over, dragging Hitoshi into a hug so tight it looks like he can hardly breathe.

“Thank god you’re awake,” she chokes out as Hitoshi buries his face against her neck, “God, sweetie, I can’t…I’m so glad you’re alright, baby.”

“I’m sorry, mom,” Hitoshi croaks out, and Nemuri continues to soothe him. Aizawa has stood up to clean the coffee off of the floor and throw the cups out, and the noise has stirred Hizashi. He blinks in his chair, yawning and stretching, and Izuku winces when he sees the dark circles under his dad’s eyes.

He’s sure none of them have slept since he and Hitoshi were taken. Izuku’s head is a little clearer now, but he’s still not able to remember all of the visions he saw when he had the long seizure. He vaguely recalls there’s something he should be worried about…was it Kacchan? Hizashi? Or All Might? 

“Izuku!” Hizashi gasps, noticing Izuku’s eyes are open, “Honey, you’re in the hospital. Do you remember what happened?” 

Izuku blinks as Aizawa rushes over, trying to form a sentence. “Um…sorta. League? My head…hurts.”

“Yeah, no wonder,” Aizawa chokes out, sitting down next to Hizashi at Izuku’s side, “Hitoshi told us you seized for at least five minutes straight, probably longer, and then had a secondary seizure later.”

Izuku just stares for a moment before he says, “Oh. That’make sense.” 

“No, Hitoshi, don’t get up yet,” Nemuri is saying.

“Mom, I’m fine, I just fainted, it’s okay, let me see him-”

Izuku looks over to see an anxious Hitoshi, staring at Izuku with a mixture of relief and worry. Izuku smiles at him, giving Hitoshi a weak thumbs up, making his friend crack a smile.

“Thanks, Toshi,” Izuku mumbles, “Saved me.” 

Hitoshi blushes, but he just nods, “Damn straight. I had to. Hey, Izuku, did you know that Shouto and Katsuki tried to bust out of UA to save us with Iida and Uraraka?” 

Izuku’s eyes widen, “They what?” 

“They’re lucky they didn’t, or they’d be expelled,” Aizawa grumbles, “It’s bad enough the two of you were in danger, I couldn’t handle it if more of your class went missing.”

It comes to Izuku then, what’s been nagging him. The fight in the cityscape, in the rain. The visions of All For One killing All Might, killing Hizashi. Shigaraki murdering Bakugou and Hizashi. He has the distinct feeling that all of those visions are past now, and everyone is safe.

“Is All Might alive?” Izuku asks, looking at his parents, “Vision…before.” 

“Yes, but he lost his power to defeat All For One,” Aizawa answers, sharing a look with Hizashi, “Shigaraki and All For One are in Tartarus now, along with some other members of the League. Izu, is all this what you saw? When you touched All Might?” 

Tears of relief prickle Izuku’s eyes as he nods, thinking more clearly now, “Y-Yes, but in my vision All For One killed him and dad. I’m glad everyone survived. And that dad and Kacchan are okay.” 

“Yeah, we’re all fine,” Hizashi murmurs, “Izu, what did Shigaraki say to you two? What did he want?” 

Izuku tries to remember, shrugging a little helplessly and looking at Hitoshi. Hitoshi bites his lip, looking conflicted before he answers. 

“It was kind of hard to tell,” Hitoshi says quietly, “First he said All For One wanted us to work with the League, but he didn’t want our quirks. But then Shigaraki asked Izuku about the USJ and it kind of seemed like they were going against All For One.” 

Izuku nods, vaguely remembering this. “Yeah, and…at the end. Shigaraki said his sensei wanted us. I dunno, it was all…a blur, to me.” 

“Do you both feel up to a police interview?” Nemuri asks from Hitoshi’s bedside, “While it’s still fresh? We’ll all stay with you, but there’s a detective here ready to take your statements.” 

Izuku nods and Hitoshi agrees, and a man in a suit enters the room a few minutes later. He greets their parents, obviously already familiar with them, before turning towards Izuku and Hitoshi.

“My name is Detective Tsukauchi,” he says, sitting down in a chair across the room from them, “I’m here to conduct your formal interview. I’m very glad the two of you are safe. My quirk enables me to detect when someone is lying. I have your parents’ consent to interview you, but I would like your verbal consent as well.”

“I consent,” Hitoshi says quietly. 

Izuku sits up, wincing as his head pounds, feeling a bit sick to his stomach. “Me…too.” 

Tsukauchi nods. “This is an unorthodox interview, certainly, but I believe it is important to get as much information from you both as quickly as possible. May I address you as Hitoshi and Izuku?”

They both nod and after Tsukauchi gets through the baseline question of their names and ages, he has them walk through what happened at the training camp and then the League headquarters.

“I couldn’t use my quirk on them,” Hitoshi is explaining quietly, while Izuku listens, “And Izuku had just had a grand mal seizure, so it was stressful.”

“Why couldn’t you use your quirk?” Tsukauchi asks, no judgment in his voice at all.

Hitoshi flinches, looking up at his mom before saying, “They duct taped my mouth shut.” 

Nemuri curses, balling her fists against her legs, but she doesn’t interrupt the interview, Hitoshi going on to explain what happened with Shigaraki and the others. Izuku drifts through some of the interview, feeling spacey and in pain. 

“Izuku,” Tsukauchi says calmly, getting Izuku’s attention, “I understand you had several different visions of this event taking place. Can you let me know what those were?”

Izuku is exhausted now, his head aching, but he tries to explain. “Um…All For One, killed my dad, that is…Present Mic…and All Might. And Shigaraki killed Bakugou and my dad.” 

“I see,” Tsukauchi says, “Well, I think I speak for us all when I say we are very glad none of those things occurred. Now, both of you need rest. I’m going to speak with your parents in the hallway. Thank you for your time, and please get well soon.” 

Hitoshi says goodbye as the adults step out into the hall, but Izuku’s eyes are already closed, exhausted from keeping his concentration on the interview. He remembers Shigaraki making a jab at his quirk, saying it had such a huge weakness, and Izuku has to agree. If it only takes some duct tape and skin to skin contact to bring him and Hitoshi down, both of them have a lot of work to do if they want to be pro heroes.

“Izu, you okay?” Hitoshi asks and Izuku’s eyes flutter back open, looking at his worried friend. 

“Yeah,” Izuku croaks out, “I’m just so tired. My body always feels like it’s been run over whenever I have a seizure that long. Thank you for…for taking care of me. I know I was useless out there.” 

“Stop it,” Hitoshi chastises, “We’re fifteen , Izuku. I don’t think anyone expected us to be brilliant against the villains, but we held our own, and you stayed alive. I don’t think you realize how close you were to dying after that seizure. I thought I was going to have to give you CPR.”

Izuku winces. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Hitoshi replies quietly, “It’s not your fault, or mine. I’m just glad we’re both okay.”

“Me too.”

Hitoshi is discharged quickly, Nemuri taking him back to UA, but Izuku has to stay in the hospital for another twenty four hours of observation. Recovery Girl visits him twice, and Izuku feels much better after his second visit, even able to take a shower and change clothes. 

Hizashi and Aizawa are trading off staying with him in the hospital, letting Izuku know that Cementoss is building dorms on classmates. Starting Monday, all of class 1-A will be living in dorm building called Heights Alliance, so the staff is needed to help out at UA to meet with the students’ families and prepare them for the transition.

The quiet hours in the hospital leave Izuku with a lot to think about. He runs over the visions he saw, the conversations he overheard, and he tries not to think too much about how close he had been to losing not just Bakugou, but Hizashi as well. It was odd thinking that in another world, Bakugou and his dad were kidnapped instead of him and Hitoshi, and killed at the hands of the League.

All Might’s victory over All For One is celebrated, but Izuku can’t stop churning it over in his mind. All For One is in Tartarus, with Shigaraki too, but he can’t help shake the feeling that something is still wrong.

“Dad…if All Might lost his power, who’s the new number one?” Izuku asks quietly, once he’s feeling a little more put together. 

A shadow crosses over Aizawa’s face when he replies, “Endeavor. It was good you told us about Shouto when you did, Izu, or it would have been impossible to get him out of that house now.” 

Izuku curses, thumping his head back on the pillow. “He shouldn’t be number one. He shouldn’t even be a hero, dad. He’s a child-abusing monster.” 

“I know, kid,” Aizawa sighs, “Trust me, I’ve tried to report it, but no one will listen. Even if they suspect Endeavor’s guilt in the way he treated his children, no one is willing to shake the fragility of the public’s faith in heroes right now. As disgusted as I am to say this, we need Endeavor to keep up appearances, at least for right now until things stabilize. Believe me, as soon as I can, I’m taking the bastard down.”

Izuku remembers Shouto saying something similar to Izuku back when he had confessed his family issues to him at the Sports Festival, but that didn’t mean Izuku had to like it. He sits in silence for a moment, before one of the visions he had with the League comes back to him.

“Dad,” Izuku says quietly, getting Aizawa’s attention, “I think…I think there’s more to be worried about, with Endeavor. I just remembered this, or I would have told Tsukauchi, but do you know who Dabi is?”

“Yes,” Aizawa says, “He’s the scarred villain who wields blue fire.” 

Izuku swallows hard and murmurs, “He’s Touya Todoroki, dad. He’s Endeavor’s oldest son.” 

“Fuck,” Aizawa sighs, dropping his face down in his hands, “I’m assuming Shouto doesn’t know about this?”

Izuku shakes his head. “No one does, I think, not even the League. I only know because in one of my visions, Endeavor kills him. I think…I think he’s a villain to stop his dad. He might try to go after Shouto if he finds out Endeavor doesn’t have custody of him anymore. He might try and recruit him to their side.” 

“Shouto wouldn’t go willingly, but he should be warned,” Aizawa sighs, pulling out his phone, “And so should his siblings. I’ll set up a call with his sister to let her know. Thank you for telling me, kid, this is a really important piece of information.” 

Izuku nods, feeling relieved that he could help. His quirk has felt so useless lately, like something he can only use after the fact, but he’s happy that some information he had retained is going to be useful to someone. 

Later that night, Izuku is back in the apartment and bundled up on the couch with the cats. He already feels infinitely better compared to when he was rescued, and he’s happily sitting watching television and eating some delicious soup that Hizashi had made. 

Both his parents are home tonight, everyone showered and in pajamas and looking very casual. Aizawa isn’t even drinking coffee, actually accepting tea from Hizashi instead. They’re all on the couch, and Izuku is relieved to see that his parents actually appear to have gotten some rest. 

“So what happens now?” Izuku asks them, “With the League in prison? And All For One?” 

“You focus on school,” Hizashi smiles, “Enjoy being a teenager. When you feel better, we can help you and Hitoshi move into your dorm rooms. Maybe you could still spend weekends here though, the cats’ll miss you otherwise.” 

Izuku grins, knowing his dad really means they’ll miss him. “You’ll see me every day in class, dad. You’ll be glad to have a quiet apartment to come home to, and I’ll still stay here in the summer and on breaks.” 

“Yes, but it’s not the same,” Aizawa sighs, looking at Izuku over his tea mug, “I don’t know if either of us were quite ready for you to leave the nest so soon, kiddo.” 

Izuku feels a warm surge of affection for his parents, relief flooding him when he remembers that Hizashi’s death visions won’t come true now, at least the ones that he’s already seen where he dies at the hands of the League.

“I could stay here,” Izuku suggests quietly, “At least for a while. I mean, Hitoshi might want to stay with Auntie Nem, too.” 

“Nah, kid, don’t worry about us old people,” Hizashi smiles, although his eyes are a little sad, “We want you to have fun with your friends. Besides, we can also just come bother you in the dorms in front of your friends whenever we want, right?” 

Izuku groans, making Hizashi laugh and Aizawa smirk. They talk through the rest of the night, all watching movies and eating snacks, for once not worried about supervillains or anyone’s imminent death. 

Chapter Text

The next day, everyone begins moving into the dorms. Fortunately, Cementoss has furnished the rooms so there’s nothing big Izuku needs to bring. He packs up some of his books, clothes, and all his school items, but he leaves most of his things at the apartment. He also grabs some framed pictures of him and his dads, and even one of his mom that Bakugou’s parents had given him years ago.

It doesn’t take too many trips and soon Izuku is unpacking in his new room. He’s happy to learn that his floor and side of the building he shares with Shouto, Hitoshi, and Bakugou, which he’s sure that his dad did on purpose. He’s a little sad about leaving his parents and the cats, but once he hears everyone’s lively shouts from around the dorms, Izuku begins to get more excited about living there. 

Once Izuku’s unpacked, he lays on his newly made dorm bed, scrolling through the new phone his parents had gifted him, since his old phone was destroyed at the training camp. He smiles at the texts from his classmates in the group chat, saying how relieved they are that both him and Hitoshi are alright. 

Izuku can actually hear Hitoshi thumping boxes around his room, so Izuku swings off his bed and heads over, smiling at his friend’s dorm room. It’s fairly plain, like Izuku’s, but there’s touches of Hitoshi everywhere, books and games that his friend has always loved.

“Hey,” Hitoshi grins when Izuku comes in and sits down on the bed, “You here to help, or just relax?”

“Definitely relax,” Izuku grins, laying back on the bed, “It feels kind of strange, doesn’t it? Moving out?”

Hitoshi sighs, “Yeah, it does. My mom…she actually cried. I think she was still wound up from the kidnapping and everything. How did your parents take it?” 

Izuku remembers expressing some more concerns to his parents last night, afraid that Izuku will touch a classmate and see their death. He was going to have to be so careful living here with so many people. 

“It’d be good for you, kid,” Aizawa had said to him, “We’re right here, if you need us, but you deserve to have a normal year, to be with your friends.” 

“They took it okay,” Izuku says quietly from Hitoshi’s bed, remembering his dad’s words, “I think they’re mostly excited I might make more friends and stuff.” 

Hitoshi nods, continuing to unpack his books quietly for a few moments. After a while, Hitoshi clears his throat and asks, “Hey, uh, Izuku? What do you think…Shigaraki meant? When they were going to act ‘two days from now’ and he broke that tv?” 

“I have no idea,” Izuku sighs, “It’s kind of been driving me crazy. I dunno, I kind of get the feeling…Shigaraki wanted to be caught. I don’t know why.”

“What could he be trying to accomplish with that, though?” Hitoshi asks, stopping his unpacking to look at Izuku, “I mean, what can he accomplish from Tartarus?”

Izuku shrugs. “I don’t know, but he asked me about the vision I saw of his death. Maybe he’s made a decision based on that. I told it all to the detective and my parents, but apparently Shigaraki isn’t talking to anyone. I guess we may not ever know.”

Hitoshi busies himself with unpacking again, talking to Izuku about something that had happened in class, but Izuku’s mind wanders. What was Shigaraki’s plan? So many of the visions that had plagued his nightmares since childhood now no longer seemed possible. However, given the number of times he has seen people die at the hands of both Shigaraki and All For One, Izuku’s not ready to completely relax yet.

Once Hitoshi’s finished, he and Izuku decide to head downstairs and check in with everyone else in the dorms. Izuku already hears loud music playing, the television playing, and lots of laughing and talking. As they reach the common area, they see the majority of their classmates spread out on the couches, some working on homework and others just talking.

“Hitoshi, Izuku!” Mina gasps, jumping up with a squeal, “They’re back, everyone, they’re here!”

Bakugou and Shouto are there first, both hugging Hitoshi and checking in with Izuku. Izuku’s a little overwhelmed as his classmates begin to swarm them, hoping that no one will touch him accidentally. After the seizures he had with the League, Izuku has no desire to experience that again anytime soon. 

Izuku shyly meets with everyone as best as he can, but a few people try to hug him, and he flinches away. 

“Oi, extras, back the fuck off him,” Bakugou spits out, crossing his arms, “Do you fuckers seriously not remember his quirk is touch-activated?”

“Sorry!” Hagakure whines, sounding sheepish, “We just really missed you both and we’re glad you’re okay. Your parents were um…really upset. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Mic-sensei mad before, and Aizawa-sensei and Midnight-sensei were terrifying.”

Hitoshi sighs, sitting down on the end of one of the long couches. “Yeah, that tracks. My mom probably would have ripped out Shigaraki’s throat with her teeth if he had kept us there another day.” 

“And Hizashi and Aizawa would have decimated an entire city block,” Bakugou smirks while Izuku blushes, “Protective doesn’t even begin to cover it with those two.” 

Iida is standing in the center of the group, a hand on his chest. “Well, let me be the first to officially welcome you home to Heights Alliance! Now, I think that as our first order of business, we should meet and discuss dorm rules-”

Kaminari boos loudly, giving Iida a thumbs-down, “No, come on man, we can do rules and stuff tomorrow. Tonight is popcorn and a movie night. Come on, there's still a couple people in their rooms. We should go get them! Class party.” 

A little while later, all twenty of them are sequestered in the living room. Shoji is using his appendages to support Sero, Ojiro, and Aoyama, all of whom are sharing a popcorn bag. The girls have made a heap in the center of the floor with the exception of Jirou, who’s perched on the edge of the couch. Tokoyami is settled on the floor with Dark Shadow curled in his lap like a cat, and the rest of the boys are scattered on the couches. 

Izuku’s bundled himself up in a blanket and pulled up his hood so if he accidentally brushes against someone, he won’t see a vision. Tonight’s the first night in a while he’s really felt like a teenager, doing something that isn’t focused on death or the League of Villains. 

The movie they had chosen was a childhood favorite of many of them, an animated musical with lots of popular songs, and Izuku smiles when half the class starts singing along to the opening song.

It’s nice, domestic. Peaceful, even. Izuku is safe here. He knows his parents are nearby if he needs them, but in the end they were right. Moving to the dorms was the right choice and Izuku knows it now. 

Halfway through the film, exhaustion floods Izuku’s body, still recovering from the incident with the League. He drops his head on Shouto’s shoulder, glad to be pressed against his warm side, his eyes drooping closed. His last thought is of how lucky he is to have friends like this, looking forward to many more movie nights in the dorms.

The next week is shockingly normal. Izuku wakes up, eats breakfast with his friends in the dorms, and heads to homeroom with everyone. He walks to class every day with Hitoshi, but sometimes Bakugou and Shouto join them, too. Others walk with them on different days. Izuku makes coffee for Aizawa each day and leaves it on his dad’s desk, knowing his dad always wants more coffee.

There’s studying, training, homework. Izuku sees no death visions and doesn’t have many nightmares. He feels so good in fact that he takes a week off of meeting with Nighteye, something he hasn’t done since first started working with the man.

1-A is working together on preparing for the provisional licensing examinations, the tests that will give them licenses to use their quirks in public. Izuku doesn’t use his quirk to fight, but he wants the license anyway so he can be more active as a real hero.

Each night in the dorms after homework, when the whole class is ready to relax, it’s Bakugou who keeps them on their toes. Bakugou’s study schedule is second only to Iida’s and the two of them are determined to make sure that no one in 1-A fails the exams. 

“Come on, we have studying to do,” Iida says calmly one late evening as everyone groans, “Licensing exams are coming up. Let’s get to work.”

“If any of you fuckers fail, I will drop kick you into the ocean,” Bakugou snarls, making a few of them sit up a little straighter, “Not after how hard Glasses and I have been working to help you. Now open your goddamn textbooks and start studying!”

Izuku studies hard, relieved that much of the quirk theory and rescue protocols he’s almost learned by osmosis from his parents over the years. Growing up at UA has given him a leg up, on top of everything that Nighteye had taught him. Izuku’s more concerned with the practical execution of the exam itself, hoping it’s not all hand-to-hand combat. While Izuku is a black belt, he still can’t keep up with someone who has physical quirks. 

On the day of the licensing exam, the entire class takes a bus to the examination facility. There’s other schools bringing their students too, and Izuku’s eyes widen when he sees just how many people are here to take the exam. He makes sure his gloves are tight and his hood is on.

The exam is mainly a rescue exercise, and Izuku is relieved. He manages to pass, along with everyone else in 1-A, to their immense relief. Aizawa is there, looking proud as they all clamor to show him their licenses. Aizawa saves his most proud smile for his son, grinning when Izuku hands him his new license. 

“Well done,” Aizawa grins quietly, as if forgetting his other students are there, “Proud of you, peanut.” 

Izuku flushes beet red as his dad calls him his childhood nickname, Bakugou snorting out a laugh next to him. His parents don’t usually embarrass him, certainly not intentionally, but sometimes Aizawa could be oblivious when he was emotional.

“Did I actually just hear Aizawa-sensei call Izuku peanut?” Tsuyu smiles, “That’s adorable.”

“It’s a very…manly nickname,” Kirishima snorts, covering his laugh with a fake cough, “Maybe that should be your new hero name, Izuku.”

“Dad,” Izuku moans in embarrassment, Aizawa just raising an eyebrow, shrugging and not addressing it at all. The rest of the class seems to find this hilarious, and Izuku knows he’s not going to be able to shake ‘Peanut’ as a nickname from now on.

Back in the dorms, the class decides to celebrate. They order pizzas and Aoyama and Mina put up decorations while Jirou has a good party playlist going. It’s probably the first proper party that Izuku’s ever been to. He had birthday parties of course, with his parents, Nemuri, Hiotshi, and Bakugou growing up, but never with this many people, all celebrating the same thing.

“We did it!” Sero shouts from the kitchen, bringing out a tray of baked goods that Sato had made, “You guys, we seriously all did it!” 

Izuku observes his classmates from the couch, watching as Kirishima slaps Bakugou’s back from laughing so hard, Bakugou turning to rage at him while he doubles over. Mina is hugging Jirou and Yaoyorozu, and Tusu has her arm linked with Uraraka. He notices Shouto pressed against Hitoshi as they try to set up a board game on the floor. 

It looks casual, easy. Izuku wishes more than anything he could be like that. He’s envious of them wearing shorts and t-shirts, with no shoes or socks. He looks down at himself, his thick socks, sweatpants, hoodie, special gloves. Izuku feels a pang in his heart, wanting nothing more in that moment than to have a different quirk. To be able to touch other people freely, without any precautions at all.

He’s lost in his thoughts, so he doesn’t even notice at first when Hitoshi sits down right next to him, carefully slinging an arm over Izuku’s shoulders. 

“Come on, Shouto and I need help, peanut,” Hitoshi teases with a playful smirk, “Like, half the Monopoly pieces are missing.” 

Izuku smiles back, the joy rushing back into him a little, his melancholy thoughts forgotten for now. Sometimes having his quirk was really, really bad. But with friends like Hitoshi, Shouto, Bakugou, and the others, Izuku feels lucky. No matter what’s going to come in the future, he’ll always have them. 

Chapter Text

Izuku is in his parents' apartment when Aizawa gets the phone call.

He’s laying on his stomach on the floor of the living room chewing on his pencil eraser as he tries to complete his math homework. He’s decided to spend a couple of nights with his parents instead of the dorms, missing spending time with them outside of school. Hizashi is sitting at the kitchen table grading papers and Aizawa is nearly asleep on the couch. It’s silent, peaceful.

Aizawa curses when his work phone starts going off, picking up the call with a professional sounding, “Eraserhead here.” 

Izuku looks up curiously. His dad gets calls to his work phone all the time, but not usually on a Sunday afternoon. Aizawa’s eyes widen and he sits up, getting Hizashi’s attention as well.

“Are you certain?” Aizawa asks, sounding a little breathless, “That’s been confirmed?"

Hizashi and Izuku share a look before Aizawa curses, sounding angry as he continues. “How could they have let that happen? It’s the highest security prison in the entire country. Where is Shigaraki now?”

Izuku’s stomach drops at the mention of Shigaraki, his math homework all but abandoned. Aizawa listens for another long moment before sighing, running a hand through his hair.

“Alright, thank you for informing me. I’ll pass it along to my contacts.” 

Aizawa hangs up and Hizashi is at his side in an instant, clearly as curious as Izuku is about the call. Aizawa leans back on the couch, an unreadable expression on his face.

“Dad, what happened?” Izuku asks, breaking the silence first.

Aizawa looks at both his son and Hizashi, appearing a bit stunned. After a while, he says simply, “Shigaraki broke into All For One’s cell in Tartarus and decayed him. All For One is dead. Shigaraki is still in custody, he didn’t break out. He just murdered All For One, and went straight back to his cell.” 

Izuku stares, open-mouthed at his dad. Shigaraki killed All For One? It comes back to Izuku now in bits and pieces, Shigaraki’s insistence at knowing about his death vision, the way Izuku had taunted Shigaraki at the USJ.

This is Izuku’s fault. He’s suddenly certain that if he hadn’t said anything, Shigaraki and All For One would be working together and would have escaped from Tartarus now. Hizashi and Bakugou would likely be dead. He’s relieved of course, but there’s another part of him that begins to simmer with guilt.

“The villain world’s going to be in chaos,” Hizashi replies quietly, “Without the League and All For One, there’s a power vacuum. We’re going to have to stop a lot of infighting. I’ve heard the yakuza is getting ramped up now that the League’s off the map.” 

Izuku is just staring at his parents, his brain whirling with thoughts as they talk. All For One is dead. He can’t kill Shigaraki, can’t strangle Hizashi, or kill All Might. The League can’t kill Bakugou. Nemuri might even be saved. 

“All For One was going to kill so many of you,” Izuku says, relief in his voice, “So many people are going to live longer now. Is that…wrong of me to say?”

Aizawa squeezes Izuku’s hand, looking at him seriously. “No, kid, it isn’t. I wouldn’t go so far as to say this is a good thing, but the world is certainly less dangerous now with All For One gone. I wonder what made Shigaraki turn against him? All our intel said he saw All For One like a father figure.” 

Any of Izuku’s good feelings disappear almost immediately, his suspicions reaffirmed that this is his fault entirely. He caused his death. Who was he, to play god like this with people’s lives? Because of his actions, his meddling, someone died. A terrible person, yes, but a living, breathing person. Izuku was responsible for this.

“It’s my fault,” he says quietly, his stomach churning with guilt as his parents look at Izuku in surprise, “Shigaraki…at the USJ, when I touched him, remember I saw All For One kill him? I…taunted him with it, to get him to stop attacking dad. And then when the League kidnapped us, he asked me when it would happen, and I think I told him probably soon. He murdered that man because of me.”

“Izuku,” Hizashi exhales, shaking his head, “No. You didn’t pull the trigger here. Shigaraki did.” 

Izuku looks at his dad, his eyes full of resignation and guilt. “I may as well have loaded the proverbial gun, then. The worst part of all is that I’m still glad. Your terrible death I saw years ago? It won’t happen, it’s literally impossible now. A dead person can’t strangle you.” 

Hizashi’s eyes widen, looking a little lost as he stares at his son. Aizawa just squeezes Izuku’s hand again, rubbing his thumb over the back of Izuku’s gloved hand.

“Regardless of what you said or did, you are not responsible for this,” Aizawa says calmly, “That would be like me being responsible for a villain’s actions because I couldn’t stop them in time. I can still feel badly about it, but it doesn’t make their actions my fault. Don’t put that on your shoulders, Izu. Shigaraki had his own goals and motivations.”

Izuku swallows hard, trying to get a handle on his chaotic swirl of emotions. “But…the vision wasn’t a certainty. Shigaraki didn’t know that.” 

“That may be so, but that still doesn’t make it your fault,” Hizashi says, “And now that All For One is dead and All Might is powerless, Shigaraki has no goals. He likely chose not to try and escape prison because he has nothing left he wishes to accomplish. For someone like Shigaraki, Tartarus might actually give him time to rest.” 

“Try not to brood over this,” Aizawa tells Izuku gently, “Mulling it over in your mind won’t change the fact that it happened. You have to get to a place where you can accept it for what it is, and then let it go. You are not responsible for anyone’s death, Izuku.”

That same evening, a knock on their apartment door surprises everyone. Izuku’s already in his pajamas, halfway through brushing his teeth, and Aizawa’s crashed on the couch. Hizashi answers the door, and Izuku watches from the hallway as his dad’s back stiffens when he sees whoever is on the other side.

“How can I help you?” Hizashi asks. His tone is polite, but Izuku can hear the tension in it, quickly going to the bathroom to finish brushing his teeth, wanting to be able to hear whoever his dad is talking to.

“I would like to speak with your son, if that’s possible,” a strange woman’s voice says calmly, “We have an interest in his quirk.” 

“He has school tomorrow, he needs to get to sleep,” Hizashi replies, steel in his voice, “Showing up at our home is not appropriate. If you want an appointment with us, you call and we meet at a neutral location.” 

She laughs before saying, “Oh, forgive me, I was already at UA to speak with Principal Nezu. It seems that with the chaos and instability in the villain world right now, UA and the HPSC will be working together much more closely in the future. Your son’s quirk would prove invaluable to us.” 

“My son isn’t interested,” Hizashi replies, Izuku’s heart hammering hard, “Now, all of us have work or school tomorrow, and we need to get to sleep. Good night.” 

Izuku doesn’t hear what she says, but Hizashi closes the door quickly, locking it immediately. His face is tense and he shares a look with Aizawa, who had woken up halfway through the conversation.

“Call Hawks,” Hizashi says quietly, “Tell him someone from the commission was here for Izuku. He can pull some strings and stop it.” 

Izuku is confused and also extremely curious, stepping out from the hallway to look at his parents. Why would the commission be here for him? It doesn’t make any sense. 

“What’s going on?” Izuku asks, and he sees both of his parents wince. Aizawa just sighs heavily, leaning back on the couch and Hizashi looks worried, which makes Izuku’s stomach twist.

“It’s a long story, kiddo,” Hizashi sighs, “I’ll make some tea and explain.” 

After they’re settled with tea around the kitchen table, Izuku watches his parents have a silent conversation, both of them looking at each other and Hizashi raising an eyebrow before Aizawa finally speaks. 

“When you were a child, we were terrified villains would kidnap you,” Aizawa starts off, Izuku’s eyes widening in surprise. He hadn’t expected that. “Not because we were pros, or UA teachers, but because of your quirk. A quirk like yours, like Nighteye’s…people struggling for power or control want reassurances. Many people believe that vision-based, or prophetic quirks, can give them that.” 

Izuku’s confused, “But my visions…they’re not foolproof. They’re not guaranteed. It’d be just as much a liability as anything.”

“Shigaraki’s actions prove that it’s not the accuracy of the vision, but someone’s belief in it that drives them,” Hizashi says softly, “He believed your vision to be true, and took actions based upon that false belief. You’ve gained some attention this year, Izu. From people high up in the HPSC, who want your quirk for the same reasons we feared villains would. For their own reasons.” 

Izuku has no idea what to say, wondering why his parents are looking at him with such worry. “But, isn’t the commission…good? I mean, they employ all the heroes in Japan, right? If they want me, shouldn’t I do what they ask?”

“No,” Aizawa says so firmly it makes Izuku stare, “Listen, the HPSC isn’t what you think, Izuku. It’s corrupt. Heroes that break laws like Endeavor are never punished, allowed to continue their crimes. Innocent people have been branded as villains and even arrested or killed. And young heroes like you are taken, trained as soldiers or assassins, and more than often disappear.” 

Izuku’s stunned, but he doesn’t interrupt. Was this the corruption Shigaraki had seen in their society?

“We hadn’t planned on telling you any of this until you turned eighteen,” Hizashi says quietly, “But your dad and I, Nemuri, the UA staff. We’re working with some top ten heroes who see the flaws in the system, who want to bring it down. With their inside information, Nezu is compiling a report to submit to the government. It will mean a complete reshaping of hero society.” 

Izuku processes this for a moment, his head spinning with thoughts. “So…what do I do? If we’re trying to bring them down by getting insider information, shouldn’t I go along with it?”

“Absolutely not,” Hizashi says, “Izuku, people are disappearing. Heroes, our friends. The HSPC is using the chaos of All For One’s death to put their own pieces in place, and if they have their sights set on you, it’s not good. For your own safety right now, we want you to stay on UA’s campus at all times, unless you’re with us or at Nighteye’s for your internship.” 

Izuku takes this all in, his head reeling. He’s still trying to process the fact that he may be responsible for Shigaraki’s murderous actions, but having this on top of everything feels nearly unbearable. He had hoped when the League was defeated things would calm down, but Izuku knows now that’s not going to be possible.

“I understand,” Izuku says quietly, “I promise I won’t go with them willingly.”

Aizawa nods, “Good. Hawks is our ally in this, by the way. He was essentially sold to the commission by his parents when he was a child. He’s been trying to bring them down for years. He’ll help us, help you.” 

That night, after a long talk with his parents, Izuku lays in bed staring at the ceiling. He’s unable to sleep, thinking of All For One’s death and the apparently predestroy hero commission. Izuku resolves that whatever happens, he’ll help his parents bring the HPSC down.

Chapter Text

Izuku feels very grown up as he sits at Nighteye’s side in the conference room, at the right hand of the hero himself. Joining them are his parents and a dozen other heroes. Izuku’s not the only student here, Hitoshi is at Aizawa’s side and Jirou is with Hizashi, both of them studying with his parents for internships. 

Nighteye had called the meeting yesterday, indicating that it was of the utmost importance. Izuku hadn’t been briefed on anything yet, but Aizawa and Hizashi had looked tense at home, both of them just telling him he’d find out the details at the meeting today.

“There may no longer be a supervillain in charge of the underworld, or a League of Villains to contend with,” Nighteye begins, standing at the head of the long conference table with a projector screen behind him, “However, we must not forget that this world is still crawling with villains.” 

Nighteye brings up an image on the screen of a facility somewhere downtown, with a map next to it. 

“We have been tracking a branch of the yakuza for months in secret,” Nighteye explains, “Here is their headquarters. Their leader is known as Chisaki Kai, alias Overhaul. His quirk allows him to disassemble and reassemble matter, simply by touch. You can imagine that this makes him a formidable enemy.” 

Izuku tries not to flinch, glad for once his costume covers almost his entire face so no one can see him wince. The implications of what Nighteye is saying are horrifying, and Izuku can already imagine all of the deaths he’s going to see connected to this villain. 

“Overhaul despises quirks,” Nighteye continues, showing images of a drug up on the screen, “He has made it his life mission to destroy as many peoples’ quirks as possible.” 

“How?” a hero that Izuku doesn’t know asks, folding her arms, “That’s impossible.”

Nighteye shakes his head, “No, it is not. Overhaul has a little girl in this facility, not even six years old, who has a quirk with an ability to rewind things, people. He has been using his own quirk to use her body to make quirk-destroying bullets.”

Izuku feels sick to his stomach, trying not to think of the agony and the horror that this little girl is going through. The others around the table look the same, and Izuku sees his parents looking grimly determined from the opposite side of the table. 

“The child is called Eri,” Nighteye says, “Our objective is simple; enter the facility with any means necessary, and rescue this girl from Overhaul. We are not attempting to take down the yakuza, only to save her. Everything else can come later.” 

There’s a slew of questions, debate, but Izuku’s head is spinning. Since getting his provisional license and starting his internship with Nighteye, he had known he might be called to work on real missions, but he hadn’t expected something this important so soon. Resolving to do his best, Izuku tries to push aside any nerves he has.

“What kind of safety measures are in place?” Aizawa asks calmly, “Will we be able to pull out if things go south?”

Nighteye looks at Aizawa for a long moment before glancing at Izuku.

“Between Vision and myself, we will ensure the safety of everyone,” Nighteye says, and Izuku’s eyes widen, surprised at that. 

“Me, sir?” Izuku asks quietly, “What do you want me to do?”

Nighteye smiles at Izuku, a rare sight, before he says simply, “I want you to use your quirk. You will focus on the mission at hand and touch everyone involved. If you see anyone being killed by Overhaul, they will be given more support. We will be able to get through this without casualties if we can hone your skills.” 

Izuku’s stunned. He can immediately see flaws in Nighteye’s plan, but he doesn’t want to argue with the man in front of everyone. 

“What’s your quirk, kid?” a hero asks and Izuku’s stomach twists with nerves before he stands up.

“My name is Vision,” Izuku says quietly, “When I touch people, I see visions of their possible deaths. What I see isn’t set in stone, but it’s been accurate before.” 

“Similar to myself,” Nighteye nods as Izuku sits back down, “I have been working with Vision since he was a very small child. Where my own visions are more detailed and seem to be roughly ninety percent accurate, Vision sees one of countless potential possible futures for someone. While his quirk isn’t always accurate, as he said, it is thanks to Vision that Shigaraki took down All For One.”

Izuku flinches minutely, balling his fists on his legs under the table. The heroes are looking at him with respect, HItoshi with worry, and Jirou with surprise, but Izuku can’t look at any of them. He can tell his parents are probably sharing worried looks, but he just keeps his gaze forward, not wanting to give away how uncomfortable he is.

“This operation begins now,” Nighteye says, “Countless lives are on the line, including one small, very precious one. Vision, please begin.” 

Izuku tries to mentally prepare himself for what he might see. He looks up to see his parents have already stood, walking towards him.

“We’ll go first,” Aizawa says, looking sadly at his son, “Sorry, kid.”

Izuku just smiles wryly, reaching out to brush Aizawa’s arm, making sure to touch him lightly so as to not trigger a seizure. He makes sure to focus on Overhaul in his mind, so it wil hopefully bring those visions to the surface if they were possibilities. 

The vision is the same as always, the hospital. Izuku’s relieved to see both Aizawa and Hizashi in beds together, Hitoshi and the unnamed girl from before at his side. It’s exactly the same vision, and it brings Izuku comfort. 

“I didn’t see Overhaul kill you,” Izuku says calmly, “Your death is the same as always.” 

“That’s a relief,” Aizawa smiles, and Izuku turns to brush Hizashi’s arm next.

He had half-expected to see a repeat of the vision he had just witnessed, but in this one, Hizashi is an old man again. Aizawa and Izuku are both sitting at his side in the hospital and he’s attached to some kind of ventilator. Izuku watches with tired sadness as the older version of his dad passes away, Aizawa leaning forward to kiss him one last time. 

Izuku tries to quash his emotions, but his eyes are full of unshed tears when he pulls out of the vision.

“You were a lot older,” Izuku tells Hizashi, “I didn’t see Overhaul kill you, either.” 

Izuku touches every hero next, identifying three of them as potential victims for Overhaul. He sees some particularly violent deaths, not used to having this many visions in a row. He saves his classmates for last, touching Jirou’s arm gently. 

He sees her as an older woman, at least in her fifties, wearing a hero costume and bending over a ledge trying to save someone who’s slipped. Jirou reaches down, catching the person, and flinging them over her shoulder. The momentum makes her slip, and Izuku has to watch as she falls to her death.

He hastily mumbles she won’t be killed by Overhaul before he realizes he has to touch Hitoshi next. In all the years of their friendship, Izuku’s never seen Hitoshi’s death. Swallowing hard, he grazes his friend’s arm, relieved when he sees Hitoshi as a very old man in the vision. Hitoshi is sitting in front of a grave, looking as if he’s in a lot of pain. He reaches out to touch it, pressing a kiss to his hand and then to the name on the gravestone. It’s raining in the cemetery, and Hitoshi suddenly clutches his chest, falling over to the side. 

Izuku is almost in tears when the vision finishes, but he manages to tell Hitoshi he isn’t likely to be killed in the raid. Once he’s finished touching everyone, Nighteye uses his quirk on the ones Izuku had seen killed by Overhaul, declaring them off the mission as he saw their deaths as well. 

Meanwhile, Izuku is sitting at the table, gripping his legs and trying not to be overwhelmed by everything he’s just seen. On one hand, he’s relieved he saw his parents and Hitoshi die at an old age, but he’s also just seen many of the people in this room die violently, and very young.

“Vision, I will need you to use your quirk on me as well,” Nighteye says, bringing Izuku out of his thoughts. Izuku nods, used to seeing visions of Nighteye dying after their years of training. Izuku touches Nighteye’s arm, stomach dropping when the vision begins.

He can suddenly tell that this vision is happening today. Nighteye is wearing the same suit he is now and looks the same. Most damningly, he sees Nighteye in the ruins of the same building he had described as the yakuza facility. Nighteye is laying on the ground with a piece of pointed rock piercing his chest as he slowly bleeds out. 

Izuku jerks away, looking up at Nighteye with panicked eyes.

“Sir, you can’t-” Izuku starts to say hastily, but Nighteye talks over him.

“The operation is on and we are all set to move forward. Do not let the knowledge that you will likely survive the day give you false confidence. Vision’s quirk does not see career-ending injuries or permanent damage. It also cannot account for any deaths of those he hasn’t touched, meaning anyone else joining us on this mission could be in danger. Let us begin.” 

Izuku doesn’t get a chance to speak to Nighteye as the hero turns and leaves, the others standing to follow. Hizashi and Aizawa make their way to Izuku, wating for most of the room to clear before Hizashi asks, “Are you alright?”

Izuku shakes his head, “N-No, I’m not, but it doesn’t matter right now. We need to go save Eri. I can process all this later.” 

His parents look worried, but Izuku follows everyone else out of the room, determined like they all are to save one, precious little girl.

Izuku has heard Nighteye describe their quirks as a burden on more than one occasion. Walking through the rubble of the destroyed yakuza hideout, Izuku feels the tremendous weight of knowledge on his shoulders, already knowing what he’s going to find.

They had launched the operation, getting into the facility, but there were villains everywhere. Aizawa had managed to find Eri, getting her to safety, but Overhaul had done something with his quirk, turning him into what looked like a literal monster, all but destroying the place. The street was destroyed and there was debris everywhere.

Izuku walks like ghost through the rubble. Despite his warnings, he’s seen more than one dead hero, and a few who have lost their quirks due to Overhaul’s weapons. Swallowing hard, Izuku turns the corner, his chest tightening when he sees Nighteye’s body splayed out over debris from the collapsed building. 

Izuku rushes forward, taking off his hood and pulling down his mask, taking one of Nighteye’s hands. The hero is breathing shallowly, and Izuku winces when he sees that a rock has pierced Nighteye’s chest, just like in his vision. 

“I…zuku…” NIghteye coughs, blood on his lips, “Is Eri…safe?”

“Yes, my dad has her,” Izuku stammers, looking around for help. There’s no one near them, they’re down in what used to be the underground part of the building before Overhaul had destroyed the road above them, smashing the building to rubble. Izuku can’t even call for help as there’s no signal down this deep.

“That’s good,” Nighteye wheezes, his eyes closing, “That’s very good.”

Izuku feels a horrible sense of helplessness, knowing that whatever happens now, Nighteye is going to die. His teacher, counselor, mentor. Nighteye has been a stable figure in Izuku’s life since he can remember, and it comes to him now just how much he cares for the hero. 

“I’m s-sorry,” Izuku sobs to him, “I knew this would happen, but I…I c-couldn’t stop it. I couldn’t save you.”

“It is alright,” Nighteye coughs, “I also…knew. It’s a burden, what we have, is it not?” 

Izuku chokes out another sob, squeezing Nighteye’s hand. “It is, but I wouldn’t change it. I don't regret the years you spent training me. I promise…to do my best. I’ll make you proud, sir, I promise.” 

“You…already have,” Nighteye manages to say, “I’m so very proud.” 

Izuku watches in horror as the light leaves Nighteye’s eyes and his hand goes limp. It always strikes him how death is so instant. He wonders how anyone can ever mistake a dead person for someone sleeping. A body with no life in it doesn’t even appear human, it’s… empty, a vessel without life, a spirit. 

That’s how Nighteye looks now.

Izuku can’t help the tears that pour from his eyes, putting down Nighteye’s rapidly cooling hand. He wraps his arms around his legs and sobs into his knees, grief overwhelming him. Nighteye was dead. He was dead and Izuku couldn’t save him. 

Izuku allows himself a few minutes to cry before he wipes his eyes, gently moving Nighteye’s body off of the rock that had ended his life. He stands, bending down to pick up the hero, but Nighteye is so much taller than Izuku, it’s hard to carry him. Izuku manages a few steps before he has to stop, choking out another sob as he sees Nighteye’s lifeless face.

“We’ve got two over here!” a voice shouts, and Izuku turns to see EMTs rushing towards him. They separate him from Nighteye’s body, and Izuku’s ears ring. He can only watch as Nighteye is put on a stretcher, raised out of the ground by someone with a gravity quirk, and Izuku is helped up and out of the rubble.

When he’s climbed his way back to the street, he sees Aizawa standing with an unconscious Eri in his arms, looking concerned with Hizashi at his side. They both turn when someone points to Izuku, relief evident on their faces. Aizawa stays still with Eri, but Hizashi turns to run towards Izuku, his face falling when he gets closer and sees the state of his son.

“Nighteye’s dead,” Izuku chokes out, “I couldn’t save him.” 

“Oh, Izu,” Hizashi says, voice laced with grief as he pulls Izuku into a hug, “I’m so, so sorry.” 

It’s all a sad blur after that, Aizawa hugging Izuku and telling them he’d meet them back at UA, having to make sure Eri’s quirk doesn’t go haywire. Izuku tells police on scene what happened to Nighteye. Hizashi’s stepped away to talk to another hero when Izuku feels someone grab his arm.

“Izuku Aizawa,” a cold voice clips out next to him, “You are needed for a debrief, this way.” 

Izuku blinks to see a woman in a dark suit standing next to him. She has a badge identifying her as an HPSC employee, and her visage is stern and no-nonsense. 

“I have to stay with Present Mic,” Izuku says quietly, remembering what his parents told him about the commission. 

“It will only take a few minutes,” she says, smiling in a way that doesn’t reach her eyes, “Please, come with me.” 

Izuku’s tugged along for a few steps when a surge of red feathers suddenly blocks his view. 

“Get your hands off the kid. Now,” Hawks says from in front of Izuku, flaring his wings out so Izuku can’t even see the commission worker anymore. 

“Hawks, this is not acceptable,” the woman sighs, “You’ve been nothing but trouble lately. Do we need to schedule some reconditioning sessions?”

“Fucking try it,” Hawks snarls, “Just get out of here.” 

Izuku hears the woman walk away before the number two hero turns towards him, his eyes full of concern. 

“Are you alright, Izuku?” Hawks asks, very familiar considering this is their first conversation.

Izuku just nods, relief flooding him when Hizashi rushes over, putting a protective hand on Izuku’s back.

“Thank you,” Hizashi says to Hawks, “I’m taking him out of here.” 

Hawks nods, folding his arms. “Of course. Kid, I don’t know exactly why the commission wants you so badly, but don’t go anywhere with them, okay? Not even if it seems harmless.”

Izuku nods, grief and shock of Nighteye’s death still coursing through him. He’s about to turn and walk away with Hizashi when one of Hawks wings accidentally brushes against him. Izuku realizes then there’s a tear in his costume, and Izuku is lost to a vision as one of Hawks’ feathers touches his bare skin.

In the vision, Hawks is the same age he is now, but he looks bloodied, broken. He’s not in his hero costume, just in a pair of sweatpants, no shoes or shirt. He’s flaring his wings in front of someone else, and Izuku realizes with surprise that he’s seeing Hawks in front of Dabi.

“I won’t let you touch him,” Hawks snarls in the vision, “You’ve done enough, Endeavor.” 

Izuku sees Endeavor across from Hawks, looking enraged. The number one hero shoots a jet of fire at the number two, and Hawks can’t dodge fast enough. Izuku can almost smell the singed, burned feathers as Hawks falls to the ground, clearly dead. 

A tortured scream comes out of Dabi, who races forward and blasts Endeavor with a jet of the hottest fire Izuku’s ever seen. Endeavor dies and Dabi falls not soon after, and the three bodies are left in the rain.

“Izuku, come out of it,” Hizashi says quietly, “You’ve seen too many visions today.” 

Izuku’s eyes snap open, filled with an intense emotion he can’t describe. There weren’t many words spoken but the desperation he had seen in both Hawks and Dabi, no Touya, is something Izuku can only describe as loving. Whatever is going on between Hawks and the oldest Todoroki, he doesn’t know, but he feels a responsibility to try and help them both.

“D-Dabi,” Izuku manages to say to Hawks, “You have to save Dabi, now. Take him somewhere, get him out of the city.” 

Hawks’ eyes widen, looking nervously at Hizashi before asking, “How do you know about us?” 

“V-Vision,” Izuku stammers, feeling unsteady, “Endeavor’s going to kill you both if you stay here.”

Hawks winces, but he thanks Izuku, flying off in a flurry of red feathers. Izuku’s mind aches, from all the terrible things he’s seen today, and his body hurts, his chest in agony when he thinks of Nighteye, laid out in front of him, dead.  

Hizashi helps Izuku into the back of a police car and they get a ride back to UA. Hizashi doesn’t ask about Hawks, doesn’t make Izuku talk about Nighteye, he just squeezes Izuku’s hand through his glove, trying to offer small comfort to his son.

Izuku’s head is pressed against the window, too exhausted even to cry. The operation had been labeled a success as Eri was retrieved, but Izuku can’t find it in himself to be happy. Not after everything he's seen.

Chapter Text

Back at UA after the raid, Hizashi coaxes Izuku into taking a shower, promising he’d make them dinner. Aizawa is still with Eri in the main UA building, and Hitoshi and Jirou have both made it back to the dorms. Izuku went to his parents’ apartment, not wanting to be around anyone right now or answer any questions.

Nighteye was dead. Izuku had seen it happen, tried to warn the man, and there was nothing he could have done. Nighteye was dead, gone forever, and Izuku would have to watch as Nighteye’s body was lowered into a grave or burned to ash. His mentor, his teacher. His friend. 

Izuku thinks about how Nighteye said he knew this would happen as well, which Izuku doesn’t understand. Nighteye had always said he couldn’t see his own future. It comes to him slowly, as his churning through thoughts in his head, that Nighteye likely saw this death through reading Izuku’s future, meaning Nighteye has likely known it was a possibility for years.

Izuku sobs into his pillow, the rush of all the visions he’s seen on top of Nighteye’s death and whatever was going on with the commission and Hawks overwhelming him. His mind and heart are twisted with death and grief, and he tries to cry it out as much as he can into his pillow.

Hizashi hears him crying, entering the room and sitting on the end of Izuku’s bed, pressing a gentle hand to his back, rubbing it slowly. 

“I’m so sorry, honey,” Hizashi murmurs, voice wavering a little, “Do you want to talk about it?” 

Izuku just shakes his head, rolling over to bury his face against Hizashi’s leg, just desperate for comfort. Hizashi carefully wraps a blanket around Izuku before gently shifting him so he can hug him tightly. Izuku craves Hizashi’s embrace right now, wanting someone else to take all this pain away.

“You were so brave today,” Hizashi murmurs, rocking Izuku as he hugs him, “When you saw all those visions, one after the other. You saved a lot of lives today, Izuku. I know Nighteye’s death is painful, but so many more would have died if it hadn’t been for you and your quirk.” 

Izuku sniffs, clutching Hizashi’s arm, thinking of everything that happened today, not wanting to talk about Nighteye while the grief is fresh. “Is..is Eri going to b-be okay?”

“She’ll need time, and help,” Hizashi says softly, “Just like you needed when you were small. But right now, yes, she’s safe. Your dad is with her and they’re getting a room made up for her at UA adjacent to Recovery Girl’s. She’s officially a ward of UA now, so we’ll all get to raise her, in a way.” 

Izuku sniffs, rubbing at his eyes. “That’s g-good.”

“Come on, peanut,” Hizashi murmurs softly, “Let’s get some food in you and watch a movie. Dad’ll be back late, but we can rest until then.” 

Aizawa walks into the apartment some hours later to see Izuku wrapped in what can only be described as a blanket burrito, buried into Hizashi’s side. There’s a movie playing on the television and dishes on the coffee table.

“Hey, babe,” Hizashi murmurs with a soft smile, “How’s the kid?”

“She’ll be alright,” Aizawa says, eyes flicking to Izuku with concern before walking over to kiss his husband and squeeze Izuku’s arm through the blanket. 

“How are you, kiddo?” Aizawa asks him, voice laced with worry and love. Izuku’s stopped crying hours ago, but his heart still hurts and his stomach aches with grief. It seems impossible to think that Nighteye is gone, gone for good, but there’s more happening that he needs to tell his parents.

“I’m…processing,” Izuku sniffs, “I, um, was with him. When he died. So he wasn’t alone.”

“Sweetheart,” Hizashi sighs, tugging Izuku closer, “I’m so sorry you had to see that.”

Izuku shakes his head as Aizawa sits down next to him, biting his lip. “Don’t be. I’m glad I was with him. In the vision I saw of his death, he died alone. I at least got to talk to him before he died.” 

“We’re still sorry,” Aizawa says gently, “Izu, I’m sorry to ask you this, but your dad texted me that you had a run in with someone from the commission and Hawks. Can you tell us what happened?”

Izuku nods, sitting up as he wraps his arms around his legs. “Yeah, I was just so out of it after Nighteye, she snuck right up on me. Told me that she needed me for a debrief. Before I could think about what to do, Hawks got between us. After he got her away, I accidentally touched his wings and saw a vision.” 

Hizashi winces, sharing an anxious look with Aizawa. “Kid, do you need Recovery Girl? You’ve never had this many visions in one day before.”

Izuku shakes his head. “It’s okay, they were all short and I didn’t have a seizure. Nighteye…he was teaching me how to control my quirk so it didn’t take me over when I touched someone for a brief time. In the vision I saw of Hawks, Endeavor killed him, Dabi killed Endeavor, and in the backlash, killed himself.” 

“Fuck,” Aizawa sighs, rubbing his temples, “So, are you trying to tell us Hawks is a villain?” 

“No, that’s not it I don’t think,” Izuku murmurs, “I think it’s more like Dabi isn’t a villain, or at least, he’s not the same as the rest of the League, or All For One. And um…”

He blushes a little, “I think Dabi and Hawks are, uh, involved. Hawks took off pretty fast when I warned him.” 

Aizawa groans and Hizashi just sighs, both looking and sounding like exhausted parents. 

“That damn birdbrain,” Aizawa sighs, rubbing his forehead, “What the hell has he gotten himself into? That kid’s going to get himself killed. This is why there should be an age cutoff for pros, going pro at eighteen messed with his mind or something.” 

Hizashi snorts but then his eyes widen, looking at Izuku with worry. “Izuku…does Shouto know? About Dabi being Touya?”

Izuku winces. “I don’t think so. I couldn’t…I didn’t know how to tell him. I don’t know what their relationship was like and I didn’t feel like I had enough proof to say anything. It didn’t feel like my secret to tell.” 

“That was a good call,” Aizawa says, “Until we know more, I don’t think you should say anything. But don’t worry, I think Shouto will find out about this sooner rather than later.” 

Two days later, after Nighteye’s funeral and Izuku processing his grief, Hawks makes his move.

He wakes up to a normal morning, this time in his dorm room, when his phone goes off, buzzing incessantly on his nightstand. He rolls over, surprised to see it’s not even six in the morning, stomach sinking when he sees several urgent sounding texts from his parents, saying different versions of call me.

Izuku calls Hizashi, since he was the last one to text, and his dad picks up on the first ring.

“Izuku, listen carefully,” Hizashi says, voice more tense than Izuku’s ever heard, “Get dressed and wake up Shouto. I need you to bring him to the staff conference room at the main UA building as quickly as possible without waking up anyone else. Can you do that?” 

“Yeah,” Izuku croaks out, already trying to get dressed with one hand, “But what’s this about?”

“I can’t tell you over the phone. Please Izuku, as quickly as you can. Text us when you’re on your way.”

Confused, but understanding his directions, Izuku manages to pull on some clothes, securing his gloves before texting Shouto, hoping he’ll catch the other boy already awake. The dorms are silent, no one else is up and about this early, and Izuku walks down the hall, lightly knocking on Shouto’s door.

It takes a minute, but the door cracks open and Izuku sees Shouto’s exhausted face.

“Izuku?” he yawns, rubbing his eye, “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know,” Izuku whispers, “My dad called and said to get you and bring you to the staff conference room. It sounded urgent, and he told me not to tell anyone else.”

Shouto’s eyes widen before he mumbles, “Give me a minute.” 

Izuku waits outside Shouto’s door until he exits his room, dressed and looking slightly more awake. The two of them exit the dorm as quietly as possible, beginning the short walk to the main UA building.

“Do you have any idea what this is about?” Shouto asks Izuku, who shakes his head.

“My dad wouldn’t say,” Izuku murmurs, “Come on, let’s hurry.” 

They make it into the UA building and up the stairs quickly, and Izuku’s eyes widen when he opens the door. His parents are there as well as Nezu, and surprisingly, Hawks. Even more surprising than the number two hero is Dabi, who’s sitting down at the center of the table, staring at Shouto.

Shouto has seen Dabi before, but he seems to be putting two and two together, looking at everyone’s tense faces, and the way that Dabi isn’t in handcuffs. He looks at Dabi’s eyes, the same shade of blue as Endeavors, and Izuku watches the moment that his friend figures it out.

“T-Touya?” Shouto asks, his voice small. Dabi’s breath hitches and no one says anything as Shouto takes a shaky step forward. “It…it is you, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Dabi says, his voice quiet as he looks at his youngest sibling, “It’s me, Shou. I’m sorry.” 

Shouto looks stunned, moving to sit across from Dabi on the other side of the table, completely ignoring everyone else in the room as Izuku moves to go stand by his parents. 

“What happened?” Shouto asks quietly, “You…you died, nii-san.”

Dabi flinches at being called nii-san, running a hand through his hair. “Yeah, I fucking did. I lost control of my quirk on the mountain, and burned myself nearly to death. I woke up eleven fucking months later in a hospital, a John Doe, and when I saw that dear old dad announced my death to the world, I figured I should just stay dead.” 

“But…” Shouto sounds a little lost, wringing his hands together, “Where have you been all this time?” 

Dabi sighs, sharing a glance with Hawks. “Here and there. It doesn’t matter. The League, for a while. Hawks, more recently.” 

“Hawks?” Shouto asks, looking up at the winged hero in surprise, “You two know each other?”

Hawks grins, sitting down next to Dabi. “Yeah. I’ve been going undercover with the League for over a year. That’s how I met your brother. After a while, he figured out I was a double agent, and I figured out who he was. We made a mutual agreement not to kill each other.” 

Dabi rolls his eyes, “Yeah, something like that. Listen, Shou, the League might be fucked to hell, the yakuza power lost, and All For One a fucking ash pile, but we still have a huge problem.” 

“Father,” Shouto says distastefully, “Yes, I know. Did anyone tell you he lost custody of me earlier this year?”

Dabi’s eyes widen. “No shit, seriously?” 

“Thanks to Eraserhead and Present Mic,” Shouto says quietly, smiling at Izuku’s parents, “Izuku told them about what Endeavor was doing, and they got me into Fuyumi’s custody in a single night.”

“Shit,” Dabi exclaims, looking at the three of them in the corner, “Well, thanks. That makes me feel a lot better, especially with what Hawks did this morning.” 

Izuku raises an eyebrow, wondering why the number two hero suddenly looks sheepish, biting his lip.

“What did you do?” Izuku asks, unable to keep quiet any longer. Hawks just grins, rubbing the back of his hair, before he just leans back in his chair.

“I leaked all the HPSC files onto the dark web,” Hawks shrugs, “Including every shitty, illegal, immoral thing they’ve ever done, which includes covering up Endeavor’s abuse, the fact that they bought me, and were going after you. After Izuku told me Endeavor would kill Dabi and me, I didn’t have a choice. The Japanese government shut the commission down this morning. It’s absolute chaos out there.” 

Izuku is stunned silent, sharing a shocked look with Shouto. He can’t imagine the kind of chaos Hawks means, with unregulated heroes now with no restrictions, licenses meaning nothing, and villains having the opportunity to attack without retaliation. 

“The military has positioned itself at strategic locations,” Nezu says, speaking up for the first time since they had entered the room, “And the heroes not in danger from the HPSC reveal are going to continue to help. It will be a tough next few weeks, but I am certain Japan will be better off for it.” 

“So…” Shouto says quietly, “Does this mean you can come home now, Touya?”

“Yeah,” Dabi croaks out, reaching over to take one of Hawks’ hands, “I can. I actually, uh, I’m living with Hawks, so I won’t be moving in or anything, but I’ll see Fuyumi and Natsuo. And mom. We can get her out of that hospital now. Endeavor will be arrested within the day, if the asshole hasn’t left the country.” 

Shouto looks stunned, his eyes locking on their intertwined fingers. “You…live with Hawks? Why?”

“Because I love this fucking psycho or whatever,” Dabi scoffs, looking at Hawks, “Can’t let the asshole die. He can’t even cook for himself and he’s a total idiot.” 

“Aww, sweetheart, you really know how to make a guy blush,” Hawks coos, kissing Dabi’s cheek, “So, am I welcomed in the family, Shou?” 

Shouto’s eyes are wide, but Izuku can see the curve of his lip turn up. Aizawa looks like he’d rather die than witness this, but Hizashi is grinning and even Nezu looks pleased. 

“I’m glad he has you,” Shouto says to Hawks, “I can’t…I can’t believe this is really over.” 

Izuku can’t, either. He had assumed the conflict with the HPSC would take years to resolve, that multiple people would die. Hawks had made this decision based on what Izuku had told him. Just the simple action of telling him a possible future had ended the corruption so quickly. Everyone was safe from the HPSC now, including Izuku.

He’s not naive, he knows this means that there will be a lot of struggling between heroes and the government to regulate licenses and laws, and that the public will have a very shaky confidence in heroes. But overall, he knows that this will be a good thing. At least, he hopes. Without Nighteye to guide him, Izuku feels a little loss, turning to Nezu to speak to him quietly.

“Sir, I hope I didn’t cause any trouble,” Izuku says quietly, stomach churning, “I didn’t mean to be careless. This is my fault, just like with All For One, isn’t it?” 

Nezu just looks at Izuku for a long moment before he says, “No person knows the future for sure. Even if some of them do come to pass, in the chaos of our universe, we cannot reasonably expect to predict the future. If knowing these possibilities can save lives, they are worth knowing. You did well, young Aizawa. As you always have. There is nothing to blame you for.” 

Chapter Text

The chaos of the HPSC’s dismantling lasts a while. Izuku’s parents are constantly called out on patrol, along with the rest of UA’s staff, and even the hero course students are called out to assist when possible.

Without Nighteye’s guidance, Izuku has been working his quirk primarily on his own, asking his parents’ permission if he can touch them a few times a week to get his visions under control. Izuku's relieved that every time now, his parents are very old when he sees them die. 

He hasn’t had a seizure since his time with the League and for that, Izuku is grateful. He chalks it up to Nighteye’s teachings, knowing he never would have made it this far without his mentor. Nighteye’s death still leaves an ache in his chest, similar to the one left by his mother’s death, but Izuku tries not to let the grief overwhelm him. 

Against all odds, nearly everyone he loves has survived. Bakugou will grow to be an incredible hero, no longer in danger of being decayed. Nemuri, Hizashi, All Might, they’ll all survive the year now, Izuku’s sure of it. He hasn’t realized how much tension he had been carrying with them until their deaths were avoided. 

It seems strange that just telling Shigaraki and Hawks about his visions led to this. Izuku feels like he’s done nothing, but by planting the seeds of doubt in their minds, society has shifted entirely. Izuku feels an immense responsibility to use his power wisely, opting to continue never to reveal a vision unless he feels he absolutely has to. 

Once things have settled down more, Izuku’s living back in the dorms and attending class with the rest of 1-A. After such an intense year, it’s odd to go back to worrying about things like homework, and tests. 

His friends are different, too, Shouto smiling and laughing more than Izuku’s ever seen. He heard from his friend that Touya had reunited with Shouto’s other siblings, and their mom, and their family is back together again. No one’s heard from Endeavor in weeks. 

Eri is a fixture at UA now, running in to greet their class at least once a day with Nezu. Izuku smiles when he sees her, fond of the little girl that reminds him so much of himself. Eri is smiling, too, recovering from her own wounds. 

Izuku spends his evenings on the couch with his friends, still careful not to touch anyone, but enjoying their company. He, Hitoshi, Shouto, and Bakugou are all still close, doing homework together and hanging out on the weekends. Izuku’s opened up to his classmates as well, feeling comfortable spending time with any of them.

Currently, Izuku’s sprawled out on the couch in his parents’ apartment on a lazy Sunday. Hizashi and Aizawa have the day off and Izuku wants to spend time with them. Since everything that happened with the League, Eri, the yakuza, and the commission, his parents have hardly been home. A rare day comes where all three of them have time off together, and Izuku wants to relish it.

“Pops, what do you want on your pizza?” Izuku calls from the kitchen. He’s rolled out the pizza dough and is busy adding on toppings, at Aizawa’s instance that they make things from scratch and not eat so much frozen food. 

“Your choice, kid!” Hizashi calls from the living room, “But no olives, or your dad will commit a felony.” 

“Damn straight,” Aizawa deadpans from the kitchen table, making Izuku snort. He adds on everyone’s favorite toppings, putting the pizza in the oven to cook. It’s rare he doesn’t wear his gloves, so he marvels at the freedom of flexing his bare hands underneath the oven mits, smiling to himself. 

“Hey, dad, do you want to take Eri to the zoo next weekend?” Izuku asks Aizawa once the pizza is cooking, “I know a bunch of the others would want to come, too.”

Aizawa sighs, biting his lip. “I hope so. Her quirk control is getting a lot better, but I would definitely have to come with you and not let her out of my sight.” 

“Well, yeah, I was going to invite you two anyways, and Auntie Nem,” Izuku smiles, “Oh, I bet Hawks and Dabi would come, too!”

Aizawa groans, staring at the ceiling. “Must I be tormented by that overgrown pigeon and his love life drama?”

“It would make Shouto happy,” Izuku says, knowing Aizawa’s kryptonite is his student’s happiness.

“Fine,” Aizawa sighs, giving in instantly, “Alright, I’ll talk to Nezu and swing passes for whoever wants to come. Just your class and the adults you’ve mentioned, though. Oh, and if anyone destroys any school property in the dorms between now and then, they’re banned from coming.” 

“Kaminari didn’t mean to fry the microwave,” Izuku smirks, raising an eyebrow, “And Bakugou just meant to high five Kirishima, I don’t think they expected to break down the wall of the kitchen.”

Hizashi laughs as Aizawa just moans, “They’re menaces. All of you, menaces. The most accident-prone class I’ve ever had.”

Izuku leans forward with a smile. “But you love them, dad.”

“Yeah,” Aizawa grins, erasing Izuku’s quirk so he can ruffle his hair, “I do. Not as much as I love you though, kid. We’re proud of you, you know. Me and your dad.” 

Hizashi’s joined them at the table now, smiling at them both. “Yeah, we are. We got lucky, Izu, you’re the best kid we could have ever asked for.” 

Izuku blushes, knowing he’s the lucky one in this situation. “I love you both, too. Now come on, let’s eat pizza. I promise I didn’t burn it like last time!”

As they eat together, Izuku’s heart surges with fondness and relief.

There are no secrets now. Everything Izuku’s tried to suppress or hide since he was a child is either no longer a worry, or out in the open. There’s nothing, for now at least, that he needs to worry about holding close to his chest. His loved ones are safe, his friends are fine, and he has a great two more years of UA to look forward to.

Things aren’t perfect, of course. Izuku doesn’t love his quirk, he still hates seeing the visions of death, but he doesn’t let them scare him anymore. Instead, he uses them as fuel for his determination to succeed. He has seizures less and less, able to touch people for a little longer than he used to, thanks to the training he’s doing with his quirk. 

He’s lucky. Whatever happens now, his family has a future. His friends will live. Izuku is looking forward to a bright, long, and beautiful life with all of them.