Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

In the end of the world, only two remained.

Aizawa and Midoriya. A duo who met two years ago as a student with big dreams and a streak of broken bones, and a teacher, who faced the horrors of the heroics industry too young and was determined to never again, let a dream die because the person holding it fell first.

Death reigned anyway.

The heroes had been too late to raid the hospital in Jakku. The transfer of All for One to Shigaraki had been completed to its full potential. The war between heroes and villains ended decisively, upon the death of Katsuki Bakugo, whose body moved before he could think to save the life of his first friend. With one beacon lost, morale plummeted for the heroes. One after one they fell, students and pros alike. For every villain defeated, two heroes fell with them.

It all came to an end when the last survivors of UA, Pro Heroes Eraserhead and Present Mic, together with Provisional Hero Deku, broke through to Kurogiri, who had been freed in the chaos. With Kurogiri’s (Shirakumo’s?) support, the tides finally turned. That day, an exhausted and alone Shigaraki was unceremoniously defeated by the group of four.

But for every villain that was defeated, two heroes fell, and suddenly, Izuku and Shota were alone.

~~~~~~

Izuku huffed as he pushed rubble to the floor, the piece landing with a resolute thump as it disturbed the settled dust. The job would be easier with his, frankly, ridiculously overpowered quirk, but then he would finish too quickly, and have nothing to do. The end of the world as he knew it, was shockingly boring. Any task was a good task, especially when it came to keeping the hurtful thoughts at bay that wanted to strike at him at any given moment.

He heard another similar thump and looked past the new dust cloud to see a figure clad in tattered black. A metal prosthetic leg glinted in the murky light as the figure stepped towards Izuku, and reached out a hand to ruffle his hair. Tension fled out of Izuku’s body as he leaned in to the touch, and closed his eyes contentedly.

Maybe it was a given considering the two had been on their own for around a year, but they grew close. Beyond finding solace in another human presence, they came to genuinely love and care for one another. Aizawa may have become somewhat of a father figure to Izuku, and Izuku could only hope that despite the hardships, Aizawa found it in him to see Izuku as a son-figure. With these thoughts, Izuku missed the fond one-eyed gaze Aizawa swept over him. Aizawa stepped away and Izuku turned to face him and grin. He broke the silence.

“Do you think we can get past the entrance to the lab now that we’ve cleared all that rubble?”

The lab in question was a destroyed space research complex. Rations were running dangerously low, so they had to get creative with sourcing their food. As individuals belonging to the heroics industry, they paid little attention to the news surrounding space travel, but they were hoping with everything in them that a launch was being planned. Because a launch meant food designed to stay edible in space had been prepared.

“Looks like you did a good job over here kiddo. Let’s use that All Mighty quirk of yours to bust the doors.”

Izuku shot him an amused look, before decimating the reinforced metal with a 15% impact. Izuku had surpassed the strength of All Might’s prime at what should have been the beginning of his second year of UA. Having spent the whole year fighting villains, and the other for his life together with Aizawa, at 18 years old, One for All had grown exponentially in Izuku’s care.
What once was All Might’s 45% was Izuku’s new 15%. Naturally, he was a little bit scared of himself, but in the ruins of an entire nation, he had more important things to be scared of than the quirk that had become his.
Or, as Aizawa had tried to impress on him upon learning the truth of Izuku and his quirk, the tool.
And wasn’t that something? According to Aizawa, quirks are tools, and don’t make anyone more or less capable of becoming a hero, especially considering other, equally as powerful tools in the form of support gear existed. In the dust of a future he never wished upon anyone, Izuku’s past was healed through kind, logical (“it’s just logic, Izuku”) words.

Izuku digresses.

Carefully, the two entered the large complex, and began methodically searching for storage capsules, spurred on by the ever-present hunger in their stomachs. As they searched further inside, Izuku activated One for All at a low percentage to create a low flickering green light that came as a byproduct of the power from the quirk, which danced around his body in arcs of green energy.

Their quiet footsteps echoed in the empty hall, which eventually led them to a descending flight of stairs. Izuku shifted nervously. The stairs were shrouded in a darkness that made it seem like the hall was closing in on him.
He hitched a breath and moved to step back.
A warm hand placed on his back brought him out of his reverie as he turned to look at Aizawa. He was met with a supportive smile. Izuku smiled back sheepishly, and together they began to descend the long flight of stairs.

Eventually, the two found themselves in a room that looked like it was used for construction of technology. It was in a state of complete disarray, and it was clear that a project had been abandoned half way in favor of surviving the tremors that Shigaraki and his army had sent ripping through Japan. It was a strange circular metal rig, that, maybe in other, more fortunate times, would have caught his attention, but all Izuku could notice was that it very clearly was not built for space travel.

Disheartened, Izuku pointed out that it didn’t seem like the type of room to have any food. Aizawa lightly responded that it didn’t hurt to look. He gave Izuku’s hair another ruffle, which made him immediately feel better. Father figure affection for the win.

The two began to search the various drawers and cupboards together (it was too dark to split up without Izuku being a glow stick) but ultimately, the search was fruitless.

“C'mon kid, there’s much more of the complex we haven’t explored. There’s still hope for us yet.”

Izuku gave an affirmative and moved to exit the room. Suddenly, he tripped on a notch and lurched forwards, stumbling to remain standing when a deafening sound shook the building. Aizawa rushed towards him.

“Kid! What happened?”

“I- I don’t know, I think I tripped on a button or something!”

Aizawa’s hands hovered over Izuku, as he instinctively scanned for injury and distress, ready to help if needed.

He opened his mouth as if to speak again when the strange metal rig in the room whirred, and began to spin.

“You must have triggered a power generator. Let’s get out of here before anything happens.”

Izuku agreed hurriedly and they both sped back to the staircase they came from. Light sparked in the middle of the spinning metal rig, momentarily blinding the pair.
Suddenly, they were jerked backwards by an invisible force, forcing them towards the rig.
The whirring sound sped up.

“Midoriya, hold my hand!”

They reached out and linked both hands together, and tried to resist the force.
Izuku powered his quirk up to the max.
His jaw dropped in shock.

The force was stronger than Izuku.

It tugged on the two again, and they held onto the other like a lifeline. This would not be the end of them. Not after they’ve worked so hard to be alive today. Not after they’ve made a place for two of them in this desolate world.

The light brightened another increment.

“Sensei!”

“Midoriya!”

The force surged.

Their hands slipped.

“Dad!”

He saw sheer desperation painted on Aizawa’s face.

“Izuku!”

They were pulled separately to the center.

He heard his parent once more.

A plea to the world.

“Don’t hurt my son.”

And then everything went black.

Chapter Text

Gentle bird call twigged at his senses. Izuku’s face twitched as he slowly registered new sensations. His limbs felt like lead. He was lying on something comfortable. His nose itched and he put a hand on his face. A sunbeam, he faintly noted. His eyes twitched beneath their lids as he slowly woke from a deep slumber.

Ever so slowly, his eyes cracked open and the world shifted into focus. Izuku blinked. He stared dumbly at the clean, uncracked roof over his head. What in the world?
He sat up abruptly and began to observe his surroundings. Illuminated by sunlight was… an All Might shrine?
Wait- it was his All Might shrine! His room, he meant. Izuku looked down at the blanket pooling his torso. He was on his bed. He was on his bed- how? His apartment was decimated in the first attack, and his mother had become one of the refugees staying at UA.

Maybe he was dreaming? Normally he would assume that he was under the influence of a quirk, but, well, nobody else was exactly around to use their quirk. After all, for around a whole year it had just been him and- Aizawa! Where was his dad?

Izuku rested a hand on his forehead as he wracked his brain for his most recent memories. A growl from his stomach reminded him of the ever-present hunger. Right, yes, they were looking for food. They were looking for food in a space research complex and… his hand dropped. The odd metal rig.
Oh. Izuku had no idea what it had done, but what he did know was two things. He was in a room that had been destroyed two years ago, and that Aizawa wasn’t here. Izuku’s eyes dulled as his thoughts grew sombre. He quickly shook himself out of that. Wallowing in sadness wouldn’t get him more answers. Plus, he was alive (he thinks), so surely his dad was too?

Izuku felt for his quirks, assuring himself that he was ready to activate one should he need to, and slowly got up from his old bed. He stepped towards the door, black whip at the ready, and reached to the handle. He froze. Caught in his peripheral, was an arm with much too few scars to be his.
He held his arms out in front of him. Almost all of his scars were missing. Bewildered, Izuku noted that he only had a few scars on his right hand. They were his first scars, from breaking and rebreaking his fingers during the sports festival.
Another absence suddenly clicked. His chronic pain was gone. He’d had pain in his arms since the training camp in his first year!

Izuku was no idiot. Even with quirks, the situation he found himself in should have been impossible, going against the very laws that dictated the world. But between the hunger in his stomach, and the buzzing of his quirks, Izuku could tell that he was very much alive, and very awake.
He released a ragged breath.

Izuku Midoriya was in the past.

~~~~~~

He was staring at a ghost. At a face he’d dare not think about during the darker hours, when the losses hurt the most. Green eyes that echoed his own glanced up at his entrance into the room, brightened, and narrowed in concern at the tears that were no doubt beginning to fill his.

“Izuku?”

He let out a sob.

“Izuku?! Honey what’s wrong?”

She slowly approached him as he stood in the space between their living area and his bedroom, head ducked, and wiping the tears that had become a constant flow at the sound of his (alive!) mother’s voice.

When he looked up, he saw his mum, hands hovering in a way that Aizawa’s had only a few hours ago. The thought made his chest heave harder. He fell into her arms and clutched at her cardigan, releasing one-and-a-half year’s worth of grief as they stood in the little hallway.
It must have been well over half an hour before Izuku felt coherent enough to speak, and by that point, his mum had led them both over to the couch, cradling him in a comfort she hadn’t had to provide since Izuku was four, and freshly diagnosed as quirkless.

“Izuku, honey, can you tell me what’s wrong?”

“Mum.” he warbled out. “I- I’m sorry, just give me a moment.”

Inko looked on worriedly at her son who had begun taking measured breaths. What had happened during a single night to cause so much distress?

Izuku finished calming himself and considered what he was going to say. If he really was in the past there was only one option.

The complete and absolute truth.

He had already faced his regrets on leaving his mum out on the biggest part of his life, with her not finding out about the origin of his quirk until after the first wave, when she was already a UA refugee and Kacchan had been killed trying to save him from Shigaraki. UA didn’t last long after that anyway. She spent most of what should have been a long life with Izuku in the dark, and only found out in her final days. He would change that. He loved her so much and didn’t want to shut her out any more.

“Mum. I need to tell you some things. I’m going to sound completely crazy but I need you to know how truthful I’m being. Tell me you’ll believe me.”

Inko was already open to what he had to say- his distress was real. But the weight of the look he gave her as he spoke is what really sold her. It was a haunting look, as though he had seen the fate of the world, and that somehow, the weight of it was on his shoulders. She mustered up her resolve

“I will believe you.”

His look of relief made her want to cry.

“Mum… there’s no easy way to say this, but I think I traveled back in time from two years in the future.”

Inko couldn’t keep all her confusion off her face. Izuku looked the same he had yesterday. But she looked again at her son. The way he held himself… it was new. His back was straight in a show of self-confidence. Something that had been building, but was not quite at that level. The weight in his eyes was still there too. It spoke of lessons learned the hard way, and while she had no idea what to expect, and while she was so scared for her son, she would hear him out in full. It was the least she could do.

“Okay, okay. I believe you Izuku. What happened?”

Encouraged, Izuku began to speak a bit faster.

“Before I tell you about the future, I need to fill you in on some other things. This quirk… I’m sure you noticed it’s not anything like yours or… Hisashi’s.”

Inko was confused about Izuku calling his father by his name but nodded in confirmation. His quirk was a bit strange considering her weak pull quirk and her husband’s fire breathing quirk.

“It’s because I’m quirkless. You knew that already, but I mean it in the way that the doctor was correct. I was never going to get a quirk.”

Izuku began to feel nerves dancing in his stomach. The last time he shared the secret was after a war. But it was okay. This is his mother, who raised and loved him despite her fear of his dream. She was trying her best, and he would too.

“This quirk… it was passed down throughout generations. It’s a stockpiling quirk at its heart, and what I can use is not only the power stored in it, but the quirks of previous users.” Izuku let out a small amount of black whip to prove his point and Inko’s eyes blew wide.

“Remember the diet plan I had when I was training for UA? That was from All Might. He trained me, prepared me so that I could receive his quirk. He was the eighth holder of One for All. I’m the ninth.”

Okay Inko was feeling a bit faint now.

“A-A-All Might?!” She blurted out.

He gave her a sheepish grin and laughed gently.

“I felt the same, back then.”

He had a wistful look on his face that sobered Inko right back up.

“Why are you telling me this now? Why didn’t you tell me before?”

His face dimmed.

“The quirk in its original form was just one that could be passed on. But at the dawn of quirks, the holder of the quirk had a brother, whose quirk could give and take quirks. He gave his brother a stockpiling quirk creating One for All. The first holder died all the way back then, but the brother who could give and take quirks became the first supervillain, and built a criminal empire over 200 years. We assume he stole a longevity quirk. This brother calls himself All For One.”

Inko felt the weight of his words, and gestured for Izuku to continue.

“All Might had asked me to keep One for All a secret because it is a coveted power.”

Inko had a thought and moved to interrupt before Izuku cut her off.

“Before you say anything, All Might thought All for One was dead when he passed his quirk on to me. Don’t worry, I promise he wouldn’t knowingly hurt me like that.”

She relaxed against the couch.

“We found out All for One was still alive, and that not only did he still want to end One for All, but that he had a successor too. Near the end of my first year at UA- this year- he launched a massive attack with the Meta Liberation Army. Tons of heroes quite, or were killed. Most of Japan was destroyed and you and hundreds of other people had to stay at UA which had become a sort of fortress.”

Izuku took a shuddering breath. “Kacchan was killed to save me. And then the rest started dropping like flies. Eventually the first wave ended, with a quarter of my class dead or permanently unable to continue fighting. It was- it was hard.”

Both Izuku and Inko were crying at this point. Inko engulfed her son in a hug and he tucked his face in the crook of her neck, trying to get his breathing under control again. After recovering, he continued.

“It was a continuous fight for about half a year. By that point, everyone was gone, except for five people. Myself, my homeroom teacher, Present Mic, and two villains, Kurogiri, and All for One’s successor, Tomura Shigaraki. But there was something special about Kurogiri.”
“See, All for One had a doctor who created Nomu, a sick genetic experiment that created powerful creatures with multiple quirks. Aizawa sensei and Mic sensei told me that they had found out Kurogiri was made from one of their best friends who they’d thought was dead. They talked him out of the programming that made him forget who he was, and the four of us finally managed to take down Shigaraki.”

Their tears began to flood the apartment.

“After that, it was just me and sensei. We spent a year and a half, just the two of us trying to find food, and live. In all that time, we never saw another living soul.”

“Why didn’t other countries send in heroes to help? For there to only be the two of you left in the whole of Japan…”

“They did. All their heroes were killed too. I assume by the time that only two of us remained, they had given up.”

Inko dabbed her eyes with tissues from the sixth box.

“I can’t believe you had to go through that Izuku. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay Mum.” He gave her a gentle smile. “Even if it was hard, I was happy. Sensei took great care of me.”

His mother’s eyes softened in realisation. So that was why he referred to Hisashi by name. She had a thought.

“Izuku… did you come back alone?”

Izuku’s expression fell at the thought.

“To be honest… I’m not sure. He was there, but we were split up. Though… if I’m back in my past body, maybe he is too.”

His mum paused to consider something.

“I don’t want to be selfish, but you have school tomorrow. My heart’s been pulled apart and I need you here. Can we spend the rest of today together? I promise to discuss shared custody with your teacher sooner rather than later.”

Izuku’s face went red from being caught out and he hid it in her neck. He nodded softly.

“I need to see you too. It’s been a while.” He whispered.

Tomorrow he will face the rest of his peers, and figure out how to move forward with his knowledge from the future. Tomorrow, he’ll find out if his dad came back with him or if it was another loss he had to face. For now, though, he needed to spend time with his mum, and come down from an emotionally charged conversation.
He breathed. His mum did too.

Chapter Text

Shota sat defeated on the coffee table while his two best friends gaped at him from the couch opposite the table.

You may be wondering how he found himself in this situation. Shota was too.

He had woken up around midday. That in itself, was not common in the post-destruction world. However, it was normal when he was still operational as both an underground hero and a high school teacher.
Still, that time had long passed. No point being a hero when there was no one to save. No point being a high school teacher when there wasn’t anyone to teach.
His kid was there, of course, but the kind of lessons required were ones that Shota could not teach. Survival was learned together.

So that’s when Shota found out, with both of his eyes, two actual legs, his (operational) phone, and the apartment that had previously been destroyed, that he had gone back in time. He was two whole years in the past.

Without his kid.

But he digresses. After all, if he was pulled through that strange machine, Izuku might have been too. It was only logical. He would have liked to investigate his new circumstance, and get some certainty on the matter of time travel, and whether or not he was… alone… when an incredibly infuriating knock, coupled with the most infuriating voices, that he’d missed with all of his being, sounded at his front door.

He hadn’t allowed himself to consider the implications of time travel. Not when the pain had only festered for two, difficult years for one. One and a half even harder years, for the other.

With the grace of an elephant, Shota ripped his front door open, and greeted his friends with something they’d never received from him before. A hug.
He could practically feel the bewildered looks they were shooting over his head.

“Sho, what’s-”

Hizashi was cut off as Shota pulled both him and Nemuri inside. The two were dragged into his minimalistic space and knocked onto the couch. While they recovered from the shove, Shota had gracefully plopped down on his coffee table, and waited for the inevitable flurry of overlapping questions.
Like clockwork, his two friends began to speak.

“Shota what-”

“-Hugging us out of nowhere!”

“-shoved us on the couch.”

“Just wanted ramen with you but now I’m worried-”

Eventually their brain cells synced, and they asked the question that all their concerns boiled down to.

“Are you okay Shota?”

Ah. There it was. The question of the century.

Shota hesitated. The situation was so incredibly complicated he didn’t know where to begin. But, well. He’d missed Hizashi and Nemuri. A lot. Seeing them now…

~~~~~~

His friends were immediately flummoxed at the look on his face. Shota had given them one of the biggest, happiest and most relieved smiles they’d ever seen on him. Hell, they’d known him since his second year of high school and they could accurately count the amount of times they’d seen him smile at all. They shared a worried look. What had changed so much in a single day to warrant that kind of relief- and joy- at their presence?

Nemuri leaned forward to place a hand on his knee. He turned to face her directly, and met her eyes.
“What’s going on, Sho?”

He let out a world weary sigh and instead caught both their eyes as he broke the direct eye contact from Nemuri. He leaned forward and rested his chin on his hands. Not one to beat around the bush, he came straight out with it.

“I time travelled.”

Cue the gaping.

~~~~~~

By the end of his story Nemuri and Hizashi were crying. If Shota didn’t have permanent dry-eye, he would have been crying too.

Nemuri recovered first.

“Shota, I don’t even know where to begin- I- you lost all of us.”

“Yes.”

“It was just you and Midoriya for a year and a half?”

“Yes.”

“And the league- Shirakumo-”

“Yes.”

At the mention of their old friend Hizashi finally broke out of his stupor.

“I’m gonna DJ Punch the living daylights out of whoever did that to Shirakumo.”

Shota nodded sagely.

Hizashi took a breath and released his fists. He looked back to Aizawa.

“But, really, Shota. Are you actually okay?”

Shota rested his palms upwards on his knees and looked to the roof.

“Things were… different… hard. Between Nemuri,” he nodded in her direction, “and Shirakumo, at the beginning of the war, there was a lot of grief. All our co-workers, and then my students were also… that’s not something I’d wish on anyone. By the time Hizashi went, the only option was to move forward. With the kid, things were okay.”

A gentle look appeared in his eyes.

“We made a place for us. We were okay.”
“Coming back, though… seeing you two again.” As if waiting for permission, a tear suddenly fell from his shadowed face.

Nemuri and Hizashi felt their hearts break.

“Seeing you two again has meant the world to me.”

They could do nothing but step off the couch and engulf Shota in the second group hug that day.

~~~~~~

Some time later, after the small group of friends had time to decompress, Hizashi had a thought.

“I suppose you don’t know exactly what’s happened lately then, do you Sho?”

Shota stopped for a second, and grimaced.

“...not really no.”

Hizashi smiled fondly.

“All good, Sho. Your class finished their first internships about a week ago. They’ve started preparing for their midterms now.”

Ah. That meant that Stain had gone viral and the League of Villains would be acquiring their new members. Well, that was a problem for future Shota… near future Shota. He sighed.

Bluntly, Shota shared, “We’ve got work to do.”

Hizashi and Nemuri groaned dramatically.

“Shotaaa it’s the weekend.” Nemuri grumbled.

Hizashi enthusiastically nodded. “What she said. No work talk!”

Shota frowned, thoughts of the past two years (for him) floating around his head.

His friends sobered.

“Shota,” Hizashi started, “we know you’ve returned from a kind of hell neither of us could possibly fathom. When was the last time you had a real break? Let loose, had some fun?”

Shota actually had an answer.

“Izuku and I-”

Nemuri squealed.

“Izuku?! Aww Shota that’s cute.”

The tired man hid his face.

“Shooo did you adopt the little listener? Of course you did, you’re secretly a huuuge softie after all.”

Shota considered grabbing his capture gear so that he could strangle his friends.

“Oh my god are we aunties and uncles now?!”

Yes, they absolutely deserved to be strangled. Tomorrow, things could go back down to business. He’d have to speak to Nezu, and find out if his kid was here as well or not. But that was for later.

Right now, he’s still being ribbed by his two traitorous best friends who he absolutely did not miss at all. He’s not smiling. Really, he’s not.

Chapter Text

In the End, he had come to peace with the events that occurred. No matter how much he wishes he could have stopped everything, wishes he could have helped just that little bit more, it had already happened. The best thing for him to do was to move forward. Maybe he couldn’t have become a hero to others. So he had to be a hero to himself. No matter how long it took him to understand that.

Standing in front of the gate to UA, he felt like a fifteen year old all over again. Hopeful, excited, and anxious out of his mind. He supposed he wasn’t that far off. After all, he was, technically, fifteen once more.

The mix of emotions he felt at seeing this special place standing once again… he couldn’t begin to identify all the feelings filling his chest.

His eyes were locked on the logo of the famous high school that sat proudly on the arch. He felt every pulse reverberate in his chest as a chill passed his body through. It was a powerful sight for him, to say the least.

He clenched his fist. With the knowledge and power he now held, he would make sure UA would stay standing for decades to come.

With his affirmed determination, Izuku stepped onto the school grounds. He walked along the empty path to the gleaming building. The space was usually milling with students, all eager for a new day at the prestigious high school, but Izuku had come at the earliest time he possibly could. He needed to check on a few things after all. Hopefully, if he was right, he wasn’t the only one.

Izuku tried not to let in the thoughts that asked him what he would do if Aizawa hadn’t come through time with him. If he was all alone in that place… Izuku didn’t want to imagine. Or worse, what if Aizawa, his dad, was dea-

Eh?

Was it just Izuku or was the ground looking a lot closer than it had two seconds ago?

Right as he was about to kiss the pavement, he felt something grab the collar of his shirt.

He froze in his downwards path. A voice sounded from above.

“I’m pretty sure that’s a bad omen, kid.”

…

Pure, unadulterated joy filled his being. Izuku escaped the grip and righted his position so that he was standing to face the source.

There, in all his glory, was his scruffy homeroom teacher, Aizawa-sensei. The man who, for all intents and purposes, was his dad.

Izuku felt tears fill his eyes as he took the man in. While the man usually looked scruffy, it was much worse in the End. Comparatively, he was the tidiest Izuku had seen him in two years. As he observed carefully, he realised that Aizawa’s leg was back, as none of the fabric of his clothes was caught on the more jagged edges of the prosthetic the man had needed at the time. Finally, and most notably, was the uncovered right side of his face. The uncovered right side of his face, which revealed a fully present, and fully functioning eye.

He smiled shakily.

A beat.

“Hey sensei.”

Aizawa’s eyes softened immensely, and his lips shifted into an incredibly loving smile.

“Hey, kid.” he returned, gently.

Izuku sniffled.

“You… you have your eye.”

Aizawa nodded patiently.

“And… and your leg.”

Aizawa’s own eyes began to dampen.

“I do, kid.”

“...Most of your scars are gone.”

“As are yours.”

A moment passed.

“We’re back.” Izuku whispered, shakily. “We’re really back.”

“We are.”

And with that, Izuku flung himself forward, into waiting arms. His feet were off the floor as he gripped his father in a tight embrace. Aizawa clutched his son with equal fervor, holding him in his arms. The relief at having each other there, the version that the other had grown close with, spent the hardest points of their lives together with, and began to heal with, was fully palpable between the two.

They sank to the floor, not letting the other go and began to sob. Izuku hid his face in his father’s chest, while Aizawa lay his chin on Izuku’s head, tears falling on the green mop of curls that belonged to the child he loved so much. He buried his face in the curls.

“...You’re so small.” He keened gently.

Izuku let out a wet laugh.

“I’m almost sixteen.”

Aizawa breathed.

“God. You are.”

They sat on the ground in each other's embrace for a few more minutes, calming their tears. Slowly, they untangled, and stood on shaky legs.
Still not quite ready to be apart, they gripped each other’s hand.

Izuku felt a tug on his hand and looked up to see Aizawa looking back at him. A squeeze.

“Ready to go in, Izuku?”

Izuku squeezed back, and turned to look forward resolutely.

He straightened his shoulders.

“Yeah.”

Together, they took the next steps forward.

Birds chirped happily in the background.

Chapter Text

There was a post-dawn chill in the air as Izuku and Aizawa made their way to Nezu’s office. After a brief conversation, they both came to recognise that they would be unable to act as though everything was normal, and needed to let Aizawa’s boss, and Izuku’s school principal know.

It helped that they were also on the same page about informing him of the events to come regardless of the way they felt about everything. Nezu’s mind, and his pull as principal of the top hero school in Japan left him with the resources they’d need to be able to deal with the key players in the chain of events that led to the End.

Aizawa slowed as they walked through the large building. Noticing this, Izuku stopped and turned to look at him quizzically.

He noticed tension in Aizawa’s shoulders.

“Izuku.”

The green-haired boy felt his eyebrows dip in worry.

“I just wanted to apologise. For not going to find you as soon as I woke up here yesterday.”

Izuku let out a huff of relief and slight amusement.

“It’s okay. I didn’t go and find you either.” He gently pointed out. “Plus, after seeing my mother again, I was kind of a mess.”

His parent’s frame relaxed.

“Yeah. All though, it really was up to me to find you. I can access your records from the school. You would have no idea where to find me since the dorms don’t exist.”

Izuku’s nose scrunched.

“Isn’t looking up personal information like that without a good reason illegal?”

Aizawa shrugged. Izuku narrowed his eyes before a thoughtful look crossed the man's face.

“We should exchange phone numbers.”

Izuku blinked.

“I forgot that was an option.” He admitted sheepishly.

He felt Aizawa laughing at him with his eyes and pouted at the man.

“Gimme your phone.”

Aizawa laughed out loud this time and obliged. He quickly added himself in the contacts list, making sure his profile image was a silly selfie, with a most beautiful close-up of his eye, if he did say so himself.

He felt Aizawa leaning over his shoulder and could practically feel the amused eye roll.

Izuku then pulled out his own phone after locating Aizawa’s number and created his own contact for the man. He quickly took a selfie of himself with Aizawa over his shoulder before the man caught on to what he was doing and inserted the picture as his profile. He returned the man’s phone and finished typing up the contact name before saving it.

He looked up to see Aizawa giving him a slightly perturbed look.

“A bit past that, don’t you think Izuku?” He asked meaningfully.

Izuku’s face went bright red, but, without complaint, went to change the contact name from “Aizawa-sensei” to “Dad”. He turned his phone to the man and looked away, flush still visible on his ears and the side of his face.

“Better?” He mumbled.

He got an approving nod, and Aizawa began to walk again, hiding a small, pleased smile in his capture weapon.
Izuku pocketed his phone and rushed to catch up wearing a larger matching smile.

~~~~~~

“Welcome, welcome!”

The two entered the office, being greeted cheerfully by Principal Nezu. Aizawa walked on ahead, but Izuku, who had not been in the space many times before, moved slower to take the small room in. In the first half was a set of grey couches and a coffee table, surrounded by full wooden bookshelves. In the other half, was a large desk and chair, foregrounding a window which spanned the whole wall. Oddly enough, the chair didn’t seem to dwarf Nezu, who was animatedly offering Aizawa a cup of tea.

Izuku was pulled from his thoughts as Nezu turned to him.

“And for you, Midoriya-kun? Would you like any tea?”

He turned wide eyes to Aizawa and received a noncommittal nod.

“Ah, uh, yes please Nezu-sensei!”

Nezu led the two to the couches, and placed the tea in front of them with a clink. He then took a sip of his own tea as Aizawa and Izuku settled before assessing them with a sharp glint in his eye.

Izuku gulped under the scrutinising gaze, while Aizawa sat passively, seemingly unbothered by the principal. He does know from the stories his Dad shared in the End, that Nezu enjoyed unnerving people, having gained sadistic tendencies towards humans due to his past. He also knew that beneath that, Nezu genuinely cared about those who were under his care in his own unique way. Aizawa especially, seeing as he had once been a student and was now his employee. The two had shared a long-lasting professional relationship

Nezu relaxed the scrutiny, Izuku’s shoulders falling in response.

“Seems like you two have had more time than the rest of us lately.”

Izuku’s jaw dropped at the accuracy, whipping his head between the principal and the teacher. This development seemed to be within Aizawa’s expectations as he nodded to the rat’s-? Words.

“We came back from two years in the future.” He dropped, bluntly.

Welp, Izuku would let his dad do the talking. Seems he has everything under control.

Nezu lowered his tea cup.

“I see. This is certainly an unexpected situation. I assume there are things you feel that are important to tell me?”

Izuku blew steam off of his own tea while Aizawa sighed and ducked his head as he leaned forward on his elbows.

“The future is bad. No way around it. This is bigger than us. I would prefer to tell you and the rest of the teachers all at once if that’s alright.”

“Of course!” Nezu glanced at his watch. “We still have an hour before the school day, but your co-workers should all be here now. I can get everyone into a meeting room now, just to get them all up to speed.”

Aizawa nodded.

“Of course, we will arrange another time to talk more in-depth about the events and what we can do to change them. I will ask the teachers to stay after school, assuming Midoriya-kun and yourself feel up to it later today.”

Izuku blinked.

“You want me there too?”

Aizawa scoffed.

“Kid. Between the two of us we were there for everything. Don’t understate your importance in the events that occurred just because you’re fifteen again.”

Nezu’s nose twitched.

“I- fair. Okay. Do you want me to come to the staff meeting now too?”

Shota thought back to Nemuri and Hizashi’s reactions when he spoke about the kid.

“...Unless you really want to come, maybe spare my dignity a little longer.”

Izuku’s head tilted in confusion. Shota sighed again, and pet his curls, the kid’s nose scrunching at the action. “Cute,” he thought.

“You just mentally prepare yourself for seeing the class. You know where the meeting room is if you need to find me.”

His words were acknowledged with a nod. Izuku hopped off the couch and moved to leave the room, before stopping at the door, and turning to face Nezu.

“Nezu-sensei… Thank you for the tea. And uh- it was- it was good to see you again.”

He gave one last small smile, and left.

Nezu looked on sadly, and turned to Aizawa.

“It was bad?” He asked even though he knew the answer.

Aizawa gave a pained expression.

“You have no idea.”

“…”

“Your dignity, Aizawa-kun?

Shota groaned.

Chapter Text

Izuku’s leg jogged rapidly under the table, and he wrung his hands together. He tried to take deep breaths, but they were more shallow than what he was hoping for. He was sitting in a classroom. His classroom, for the first time in two years. Phantoms of friends long gone filled his peripherals, playing out memories of classes long-taught and conversations long-had. Well, most of what he remembered probably hadn’t occurred yet actually. They hadn’t even finished a third of their first year at this point.

This was going to be hard. His classmates… they were his friends… but they weren’t his friends as he is now. They had all undoubtedly grown close between the shared trauma and the dorms, where they lived in each other’s spaces.

But beyond all that, he’d just missed them all so much. Back in the End, he and Aizawa had spoken at length about the class. He- they- had been at peace with the situation. But that was before the prospect of actually seeing them again was tangible. He’d missed them all every day in the future, but he couldn’t change anything. He had to be happy with the time he’d had with them. He was happy. The time with them was precious.

Now he had more, and he could only dare to dream of a lifetime spent with his friends where they all lived to the fullest. They could graduate together, be pro heroes together, and retire together.

Izuku yearned.

Tendrils of black whip danced around his fingers. With the power he retained from the future self, he will twist his fate.

He pulled out his phone and glanced at the time. He must have been lost in thought for quite a while - he’d gained the courage to enter the classroom 20 minutes ago - ten minutes after leaving Nezu’s office.

The early arrivals among his class would start to turn up soon.

His heart jumped in his chest at the thought.

He was so glad his dad didn’t make him go to that staff meeting. He clearly needed the time to get this settled as it was. Izuku wondered if the man had known this. He probably did. Gosh, he really loves his dad.

Izuku sat at his desk expectantly for a few more minutes before giving up, and instead stood to lean against it. He tried to distract himself by looking out the window, but this window only showed the forested area around UA. He found himself glancing at the door so often he opted to just stare at it instead.

He waited.

The door clicked.

Izuku froze.

The door cracked open at a pace that taunted him.

His breath hitched.

His friend looked up as the door closed behind him. His face brightened upon noticing Izuku.

“Ah-! Good morning Midoriya! It’s unusual to see anyone in the classroom before- OOF!”

Izuku was not even going to try to stop himself from crying as he nearly barrelled Iida over. He felt Iida’s arms pinwheel, trying to recover from the sudden addition of Izuku, who was latched onto Iida like a koala.

“Midoriya-kun! Are you okay?! What happened? Do I need to find a teacher?”

Izuku gave a wet laugh. He felt Iida’s demeanour soften a fraction.

“Midoriya?”

Izuku hid an elated smile in the crook of his friend’s neck. He can’t believe he’s about to do this. He can’t believe he has the chance to-

“Hi Iida.”

The chance to be with his friends again.

This Iida was a bit more stiff than what Izuku remembered, but was clearly trying his best as he gently pet Izuku’s head. It did nothing to stop the gentle flow of tears leaking from his eyes. The blue-haired boy had tried to sit in his seat, but it was a bit of a tight squeeze between the desk, and the whole other teenager latched on to him, so he had, only with slight hesitation, sunk to the floor.

As the crying began to taper off, he lifted his head, and Iida tried to talk again.

“Midoriya… what’s wrong?”

But Izuku wasn’t paying attention.

The door had slid open again. Sparkles appeared in the open space.

Iida blinked as his lap was now empty.

Aoyama blinked as he was knocked to the floor, left completely unable to react to the speed Izuku had launched at him with.

“Mon ami, what is the occasion?”

Nope, too late. Aoyama didn’t ask his question fast enough. Izuku was now crying incoherently once again. Aoyama sent a baffled look over to Iida from the floor. The boy only shook his head in equal confusion.

Every time Izuku calmed enough that the people in the class felt they could ask him questions, another member opened the door, was tackled, and promptly subjected to the Midoriya Tears.

Hagakure was one of the last people to enter, and was currently in possession of the koala Izuku. The class floated around the two worriedly, speaking in low tones of concern for their green-haired classmate. Suddenly, Izuku untucked his face and turned to look at where the majority of people were grouped. The class froze. Izuku’s gaze swept over everyone as he counted all present. One, two, three, four- eleven, twelve- seventeen, eighteen. Panic gripped his chest. Still clutching to Hagakure, he look back and forth manically. One, two, three, four… someone wasn’t here.

Kacchan.

Izuku’s breaths came out in short bursts. No, no, no, no, no. He’d only seen Kacchan’s death. Kacchan wasn’t here. Did something go wrong? He was always one of the first to arrive. Everyone was here but him. Izuku’s tears thickened. Did him coming back change something? Was this not his past? What-

Bang!

A collective flinch passed through the tense class.

A sharp red pupil scanned the room.

“Oi, what are you extras loitering around for?”

Oh. He’s here. The alive, young, very explodey Kacchan. Well, if Izuku wanted to live past today he better not-

He launched onto Kacchan.

The class watched in horror.

Bakugo stumbled back.

“WHAT THE FU-”

Question time will be granted at Izuku’s whim. Right now, it was time to cry again. Kacchan had been gone the longest. Kacchan had been there the longest. Kacchan was Izuku’s first loss. He won’t let go, won’t let him go, let him die, again.

“Deku, what the hell? Get off right now!”

Izuku shook his head and gripped tighter.

Katsuki tried to shake him off to no avail.

“When did you get so pushy? LET GO RIGHT NOW!” This time he tried to unlatch Izuku’s hands. He had no such luck. “Oi, pink cheeks, what’s going on with the nerd?”

Uraraka looked up in distress. He was her best friend and she had no idea what to do.

“I have no clue! He’s done that to everyone that entered the room! He even gave Mineta a hug!”

Bakugo’s face twisted comically.

“Nerd, what the fuck?”

He felt Izuku mumble something in his shoulder. The class immediately silenced, really wanting some answers about his odd demeanour.

Bakugo huffed at the indistinct jumble of words. “Nerd?” He prompted.

Another mumble.

Jiro, Bakugo, and Shoji, who had formed an ear, froze.

Jiro hesitantly stepped forward, horror etched on her face.

“Midoriya… what?”

Finally, he let go of the now stock-still Bakugo, and stepped gently to face the class.

Some let out a gasp at the haunted look in his eyes.

With a never-before seen seriousness, he addressed the group.

“I haven’t seen you all since you died two years ago.”

…

“WHAT?!”

Chapter Text

Shota sighed as the last person entered the meeting room. His normally controlled emotions were warring in his chest at seeing all of his dead co-workers (friends) alive and happier than the last few times he’d seen them, right before the End of everything (the way Izuku referred to the future was catchy, okay?).

He wasn’t dreading the emotionally charged conversation as much as he would have two years ago though. Shota reckoned he went soft after prolonged time with the problem child. Izuku called him “more in touch with his emotions” or something equally sappy like that. But it was fine. If being emotionally vulnerable would stop the future that left only two people in the whole of Japan alive, it was a worthy sacrifice.

Damn, his eyes have never felt more refreshed from all the crying he’d been doing lately (with both eyes) so really, it’s a win-win.

The idle chatter around the long table silenced as Nezu raised a paw, and stood to address the room.

“Thank you all for coming with such short notice. I am aware that you all need to start heading towards your classes in around forty minutes, but I trust you know that if this meeting could have been had later, it would be.”

Shota watched as the teachers nodded in slight confusion. As his eyes caught one (1) Toshinori Yagi, his brain took a second to reboot. Oops. Maybe he should have asked the kid to come, his dignity aside. Well, really, he just thought the kid needed some time to come to terms with seeing his class again. Shota was still coming to terms with seeing his co-workers, let alone his class. But he had clearly forgotten a, very tiny, major detail to do with a certain number one hero. Like, oh, Shota didn’t know, the fact that his successor travelled in time maybe? And that his archnemesis’ successor was the reason for the End of the world as he knew it?

Welp. Shota was on his own for this. Joy.

As he slumped in his seat, Nemuri and Hizashi caught his gaze questioningly from their seats across the table. He nodded tiredly at them, and their faces shifted to looks of grim understanding. This meeting would not be easy.

As that exchange occurred, Vlad King mumbled “if there’s another attack being planned on the first years, I’m gonna flip my shit.”

Aizawa snorted. Some of the more expressive teachers (that was most of them) eerily turned their heads in sync with wide eyes to look at Shota. He raised an eyebrow in confusion. Their jaws dropped. Colour Shota officially lost.

He grumbled, “What is with you lot?”

Vlad pointed a finger between himself and Shota in complete befuddlement “I- you- I- You! What… huh?” Oh, great he’s broken.

Powerloader, the ever reliable vlad interpreter, translated the sentiment. “Eraser… you found something Vlad said funny. Your face changed shape.”

Shota’s eyes narrowed in profound confusion.

Powerloader screeched. “There! It happened again!”

Shota couldn’t even. “What the absolute fuck,” he vehemently breathed.

When he looked over to Nemuri and Hizashi for help, he found them cackling in their seats. He leaned his elbows on the table and held his head like he would if he had a migraine. He stared blankly at the table. It was too early for this. He wanted coffee, his kid, and to go home. In that order. Who cares about time travel and stopping the end of the world? His co-workers had lost their minds. Was this the new normal? He refused to deal with this on a daily basis.

While wallowing in self-pity, Shota failed to notice something vital to him at that moment. Prolonged exposure to Izuku, and only Izuku, had induced a change in Shota. Of all things, Shota was mumbling. The fatal flaw? It was slower than Izuku’s, on account of his forever low energy levels, making it coherent to his co-workers.

Nemuri and Hizashi had promptly ceased their cackling and were now waving their arms around in a frantic attempt to grab Shota’s attention. They were on their own. He was too far gone.

Nezu watched on from his position at the head of the conference table with a pleasant smile. What an interesting turn of events. Enough time had passed though, and they needed to get to the heart of the matter, inadvertently revealed by Aizawa, who seemed to be struggling a bit there.

Nezu tinked a tea cup that wasn’t there before. The room silenced once again, save for Aizawa’s desperate mumbles.

“I do believe instead of continuing as we have been, we should get to the heart of the issue. Aizawa-kun, if you will.”

Shota raised his head tiredly. He didn’t manage to get a word in before All Might coughed.

“Sorry Aizawa-kun, it only just hit me what you said.” Aizawa raised a brow confusedly while Yagi hesitated. “...Time travel?”

Aizawa blinked. “I haven’t said anything yet have I? How-?”

Half the room returned to chaos at the confirmation. Two specific staff members elected to laugh at the tired man again.

“Eraser! You were mumbling!” Mic laughed.

Shota frowned. “I don’t mumble.”

Midnight smirked coyly. “Not before you didn’t… it seems you’ve spent too much time around your kid.”

Aizawa’s eyes widened. Oh. The kid’s infected him… in more ways than one. That also means Shota has no idea what information his colleagues now have and which they don’t. Are his days of underground heroism over? He can’t afford to be so careless with important information. Well, hopefully he’s just comfortable here and won’t mumble on missions. Right now he really needs to get this meeting on track. It’s been completely derailed and now he only has around twenty minutes left to get the basics out, field questions, and ask that they all stay after school for a longer meeting with the kid. Speaking of…

“Senpai, you have a kid?!”

Thank you Thirteen, he very much appreciates you normally but you’re really not helping right now. He could feel the energy in the room rising again, so he stood up and let a quirk-fuelled glare sweep the space. Seriously, they’re pro heroes, not highschoolers.

“Alright. It’s been around twenty minutes already, and we’ve only scraped the surface of the reason why I asked for you all to be here.” He felt Snipe ready to interject. “Please ask your questions after I’ve finished talking.”

Finally, the staff of the prestigious hero school put on their serious faces, and Shota felt like he could actually speak now.

“What you all heard was correct. Myself, and one of the students in my class both travelled back in time, from two years in the future, to yesterday.”

He gave a pause to let them wrap their heads around the specific information before continuing.

“As I told Nezu, the future is bad. The events that led to that bad future occur near the end of this year, but as we are now, the pieces leading to that future are already in motion. The kid and I intend to stop them.”

The room sobered, knowing they were on track to a future bad enough for Eraserhead to be shaken.

“In the six months between the end of this year and the next, every single person in Japan had died, barring me and my student.”

He made intense eye contact with all the heroes. The weight in his gaze alluded to just how truthful the man was being.

“It goes without saying that I cannot allow this to be our future from where we are now.”

Sounds of assent circled the room. Aizawa relaxed his stance.

“I’ve already spoken to Nezu about this, but I’d like to go over the events in-depth in another meeting after the school day finishes. Of course, the kid will be here too.”

He glanced at the clock.

“We’ve got just under ten minutes to answer any of your burning questions. Go.”

Cementoss hesitated before raising his hand to speak.

“I see how truthful you’re being, and I understand that the importance of this situation cannot be understated… but why are you telling us now instead of telling us everything at once after the day ends?”

Aizawa resisted bringing a palm his forehead. He had forgotten to mention the main reason why he and the kid agreed to let the staff know the situation as soon as possible. He sat on the conference chair heavily.

“Right. The heart of the reason is that the kid and I are not going to act like the people you knew yesterday, because we’re not.” Eraserhead struggled over what he was going to say next. He was not used to being this vulnerable.
He also realised his worries were illogical. After living a life without them, he knew it was better to let them in. Be vulnerable. For all his aloofness, he did care about all of his co-workers. They’d been working together for so long he would consider most friends.
Though, he supposed that at this point in time he and All Might hadn’t had their “bonding moments” (thanks, Izuku), but, well, they were all good heroes. Good people. They would do right by him.
“The events that led to the End were emotionally draining, and without a doubt, the hardest, most traumatic situations we’ve been through. Me and the kid.” He hesitated, and breathed. “We need help. We need understanding. And sometimes, we might get overwhelmed, and need space.”

For the first time ever, Shota bowed to his colleagues and said, “Please take care of us.”

There wasn’t a dry eye in the room after that.

With falling tears, Hizashi and Nemuri rounded the table to hold on to Shota. He looked up to see Recovery girl fronting the rest of the UA faculty. With both hands, she gently reached to take one of Shota’s own. Vehemently, she spoke for all of them.

“Of course we will. Leave it to us.”

~~~~~~

When the occupants of the room felt calm enough, they prepared to head to their classes to officially start the school day.

Snipe was the first to reach the door, but just as he was about to go through it, he paused, and turned.

“Eraser… which kid of yours is the one we need to look out for?”

He felt Hizashi and Nemuri’s demeanours change instantly from sombre, to that of little gremlins from their positions on either side of him.

Ah. His dignity.

“Yeah Eraser, which kid is yours?”

Hizashi, you traitor.

Not so luckily for Shota, his colleagues picked up on the nuance of her tone.

“Senpai, did you adopt your student?! Is that the child you were talking about seeing before?”

Thirteen noooo. Why must she be so earnest and put Shota in the position to admit he basically had adopted the kid.

He tried to escape by hiding his face in his capture weapon and leaving through the window, but Hizashi and Nemuri would. not. let. him. go.

Nemuri laughed. “Shota, you're only making it worse for yourself by reacting this way.”

He froze. She was right. For once, she was the one speaking sense. She was the voice of reason in their relationship right now. She was being the logical one.

Welp. He was screwed.

Face still in his capture weapon, he mumbled out a “Midoriya.”

He could sense the other’s confusion, as well as his best friend’s mischievous joy.

Shota gave a hidden pout. A bit louder this time. “Midoriya.”

Thirteen lit up.

“Aww is Midoriya your child now Senpai?”

He just knew the other teachers were about to coo at him. Just because he was being more open than he used to be does not mean he was about to lose the respect (fear) his colleagues had of him. He would not be treated like he was cute. He summoned his resting face.

“Yes. Midoriya is my kid.” Teasing incoming. “Touch him and you die.” A wave of respect (fear) throughout the room. Perfect.

And with that, Aizawa left the room, seemingly as unbothered as ever, passing a frozen Snipe, who felt the primal urge to run in the other direction as Eraserhead brushed right past him.

Unaffected, Nezu chirped a goodbye as he returned to his office, suggesting as he went past that the teachers go to their classes soon, lest they end up being late. A mad dash to leave the room ensued, and the topic was, for now, put to rest.

They just have to survive the school day, and hope that whatever they hear at the end of it does not make them lose their faith in humanity.

Chapter Text

“WHAT?!”

Midoriya grimaced at the volume, though felt sheepish when he realised just how outlandish his claim was. He dipped his head to hide his face (with little success).

Then he began to wring his hands together, and mumble quietly.
“I know it’s not uhh… within the bounds of anything you’d expect to happen and of course it seems like an ordinary Monday to you all but-”

Kirishima waved his hands placatingly, eyebrows furrowed in worry.

“Woah, woah Midoriya, it’s okay. We don’t really get what’s going on though.”

Izuku’s face lit up like a strawberry, from all the attention and the fact that he was mumbling. In his defence, Dad had gotten used to it so he stopped being aware of when he was and wasn’t doing so.

“Sorry guys… um I’ll tell you a little bit about why I’m acting really strange… sorry about that by the way… but I’d also like to wait for D-er- Aizawa-sensei before going into detail if that’s ok?”

All his classmates nodded their assent except for Bakugo who let out a little “Tch.”

The class shifted around to sit on some desks and chairs, while Izuku moved to lean nervously against his own desk. He had a view of all of his classmates from his position. He had cried so many tears lately, but he really couldn’t help the fact that his eyes welled up at the sight of friends once gone too soon. Koda caught his eye to send him a gentle smile, and signal a reminder to breathe. Izuku beamed in response. His friends were so nice to him! The class relaxed marginally at the smile. Whatever had happened, it looked like their friend was going to be okay.

While Izuku mentally prepared himself to talk to his class, he took a moment to reflect. He was nervous, but not for the same reasons he would have been two years ago. He had grown in confidence (and in height! But as Dad had tearfully noted during their very nice hug that morning, he was small again.) He wasn’t afraid of speaking up to his friends, even if it was a crowd that would have scared fifteen-year-old him. He still remembers the first media training class with Mt. Lady, after all. No, he was nervous for a completely different reason.

Or, more accurately, he was afraid.

He was afraid of hurting his friends, spreading fear. Of his friends hurting themselves. When he tried to put himself in their shoes, hearing about a friend who time travelled from a time where they were all dead, you could guarantee Izuku would work harder than he’d ever done in his life to help his friend. He knew his classmates would think similarly. They had all been key players in the war. Every single one of them. They had simply become that powerful for civilians they didn’t even know. That hurt them enough. He saw the constant tension in their bodies, and the darkened eyes they tried to hide. For some, he saw the hidden winces of phantom pains. For all, he saw the tears that wouldn’t come.

How far would they go for their friend?

How far would he go?

Considering he mangled his fingers over half a quirk, the answer is probably not something he’d want to know. He knows his friends are no pushovers either when it comes to helping others.

A lightbulb switched in his brain. His head whipped up, startling those closest to him.

There was one surefire way to not only prove that he was being 100% truthful, but that the situation would be under control, and they wouldn’t need to risk their health over training and worrying.

He speedily whipped his phone out to inform his Dad on what he was going to do, and put it away just as quickly.

“Deku? Is everything okay?” Oops, he was worrying his friends again. He smiled comfortingly at Uraraka.

“Everything’s fine! I just had an idea that I think will help. Do you all mind following me to the field where we did the quirk assessment on our first day?”

Yaoyorozu stepped forward hesitantly.

“We wouldn’t mind Midoriya, this seems important… but Aizawa-sensei will be here to start class soon. Or, help us figure out what’s going on according to what you said earlier at least. Shouldn’t we stay where he knows we are?”

Izuku rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

“Sorry! Should have led with the fact that I just told him where we’re going. And Principal Nezu knows the general situation as well so everything should be fine.” He informed the others as he walked out of the room and gestured for the others to follow.

They were walking down the hall as a class now, Izuku fronting them as he led them to the field. He turned his head to indicate he was listening to Ojiro, who seemed to remind Izuku how very not normal his situation was.

“...did you message sensei?”

“Yeah!”

“...is having his phone number a recent thing?”

“Mhmm! Got it this morning.”

“Ah.”

Izuku willfully ignored the rays of confusion his friends were radiating and slowed as they reached the ball throw pitch.

He turned to face Yaomomo.

“Yaoyorozu could you please make me a ball to throw with a tracker like the one Aizawa-sensei had?”

It was clear she was still confused but she did so regardless, and handed the ball to Midoriya. He took it, and weighed the ball contemplatively in his hands before facing his class once again. His eyes strayed around before focusing on Bakugo as he began to speak.

“I already said that I haven’t seen you all since you died, right?”

He received slow nods.

“Well, I’m really glad you’re all trusting me enough to follow me out here with no explanation.”

The class could feel themselves being drawn in. Something about Midoriya’s demeanour was not something they had seen on him before. It was a strange self-assuredness that he seemed to have completely lacked just the week before. There was a deep weight to his words. There was experience. There was power.

Deku tossed the ball absently in his hand.

“See, for you all, it’s been an ordinary weekend.”

His right arm began to glow red.

“But for me, I lived the next two years to come where this power-”

The sonic boom sounded before the gust of wind formed.

“- was cultivated.”

And he turned charged green eyes to his class.

In the silence that was left, clouds began to form.

Standing in front of his class, he breathed, serene. The young heroes were too shocked to react.

Then, slowly, with a trembling hand, Yaoyorozu held the measuring device up to her peers.

Some people literally dropped to the floor in disbelief at the figure.

With raw power from One for All, and a small amount of stored energy from Fa Jin, Izuku Midoriya had launched the ball outside of the earth’s atmosphere.

It was infinity. Something that had previously only been achieved by someone who could literally nullify the effect of gravity. He did it with gravity.

From the ground, Kaminari stuttered in disbelief. “I- i… infinity…”

Midoriya thinks he heard a wheeze from Tokoyami’s direction.

Uraraka gaped out an unbelieving “I didn’t touch it… Deku… what?”

His class slowly processed what he had just done, but there was one member whose world had seemingly just been flipped on its head.

Kacchan had gone as white as a sheet.

Izuku thought back to what his and Kacchan’s relationship was like at this point. He didn’t know about One for All. They hadn’t had the fight, nor faced the trigger for the fight that finally paved the way to the beginning of a healthier rivalry, and the start of a reborn friendship. Right now, to Kacchan, he was still the useless pebble in his path. Now that he was considering his position logically, he didn’t even know why Kacchan hadn’t tried to literally explode him out of the surprise hug he received only ten minutes prior. He took a moment to feel a little bit bad for Kacchan, before reaffirming to himself that he needed to show his class he was strong. The bad future wouldn’t happen anymore. Not while he was here.

When Izuku tuned back into his class, he realised they wouldn’t be up for questions at this moment. Instead, he gently led them all back to the classroom, grimacing upon realising how bad the class must look to anyone else who saw them.

By the time he guided his last friend back into the classroom, Asui thanking him with a small “Kero,” a dark figure entered his peripherals.

He smiled at his dad, eyes betraying his slight concern for his class.

Izuku felt a hand plop on his head and shift as his dad gently ruffled his curls. Then he received a gentle look.

“Was it a bit too much for your friends?”

Izuku moved into his Dad’s space.

“A bit.”

“Your throw could be heard from kilometres away. Made it rain too.”

Izuku turned his head to the window. Oh. Oops.

Shota hummed lightly.

“We’re not the only ones here anymore.”

The double meaning was not missed by Izuku.

“Right.”

Midoriya felt his dad pull him in for a quick, encompassing hug, which he affectionately returned, before pulling back simultaneously.

“Are you ready to talk to your friends, Izuku?”

“Yeah. Are you gonna be okay Dad?”

The still new address made Shota’s lips quirk involuntarily.

“I’ll be fine, kid. I have you with me.”

Shota would fight All For One by himself to preserve the smile Izuku aimed at him. He tapped his child’s back. Deku got the message.

“Let’s go in.”

Chapter Text

The students of Class 1A slowly came back to themselves after the display that shocked them beyond reacting. Their teacher walking in the room with their friend was what finally caused their brains to come back online. The two stood in front of the podium, positioned close to the other, their teacher slightly behind their classmate. The class gaped a bit more, as they looked at Midoriya in a new light.

Izuku’s long repressed instincts went off, and he subtly tapped his dad to alert him of what was about to happen.

Bakugo’s explosions stopped before they sounded.

Izuku took a quick moment to internally get giddy about the fact that his dad’s quirk was back in full force. Well, maybe not full force as his orbital floor was still damaged in the USJ attack, but it was a drastic improvement from the fact that Aizawa had been completely unable to use his quirk to any effect after losing his eye.

He then turned his attention to Kacchan. The look of rage on his face was comparable to the one he’d had at the medal ceremony of the sports festival. The real 15-year-old Izuku would have been scared. This Izuku knew Kacchan better than that. He was scared, confused, and didn’t know how to express it in a healthy manner. He only really started cooling down after the remedial lessons he took to get his provisional hero licence. Deku smiled comfortingly at him.

“It’s okay Kacchan. I know it was a lot. I could have chosen a more appropriate manner to let you all know what’s going on,” he bowed slightly as he spoke, “but I have a really good reason that I hope will make more sense after Aizawa-sensei and I have told you all what’s happened.”

The class seemed surprised that Kacchan sat down without a fuss. He supposed that at this time that was a fair reaction, but with the power of hindsight, Izuku was now a certified Kacchan Wrangler. Assuring Kacchan answers were coming in the immediate future stopped the demands that were about to escape his scared friend. The lack of fuss was from how unbalanced Kacchan was feeling. Like Izuku said, expert.

“Class. It’s good to see you all again.” Aizawa gave them all a small smile.

The class’s surprise at the smile was quickly overridden by a collective droop in their faces as they realised what he meant.

“Sensei… you too?” Kaminari asked sadly, the tone mirrored by pity in his eyes.

He gave a little nod. “Midoriya and I wanted to talk to you about what happened because things will be different now.”

He caught the eye of every member of the class, to see 19 young, familiar faces face him with determination. Shota allowed himself to give the class a quick cheshire grin. There’s his class 1A. Izuku must've been thinking along similar lines, as he too turned to Aizawa to give him a blinding grin. He hid his softening smile in his capture weapon as he noticed his son’s joy.

He sobered slightly. Down to business. He and his kid hadn’t had too much time to discuss which details they did and didn’t want to share. There was no avoiding telling the class. They were too close to the centre of events.

However, there were certainly things that they did not need to know, especially now that he was back to a time where the naivete around the darker side of heroics was still present in his class. He had so much to re-teach them now. Joy.

On a more serious note, he wondered for a brief moment if they would become less competent heroes because of the lesser villain attacks before burning that thought beyond ashes.
He would not willingly cause trauma in the name of education. Aizawa knew what they were capable of, and would push them to become the best heroes they can be regardless of the fact that it may take longer than the first time around. He would see all his students graduate.

He would see them all become the pro-heroes they were determined to become.

Every single one of them.

Especially his son, who had his dream of saving people shattered the moment there were only two of them left. Maybe he was (extremely) biased, but now that he had the chance, Shota was certain Izuku was going to be one of the greatest heroes the world had ever seen.

“I’m not quite sure what you all know at the moment, so-“

He was cut off by his shaken students. “Midoriya said we died two years ago and then he sent a ball to space!”

He shot a look at his son.

“In my defence I was very emotionally compromised.”

“...Moving on. Both Midoriya and I lived the next two years from now. We came back due to a strange piece of technology left in the wastes of a very bad future.”

Izuku took over for the next bit. “The reason things were so bad was because of the League of Villains, the guys who attacked us at the USJ, and I believe that they’ve attacked Hosu now too?”

Iida and Todoroki winced, giving Izuku confirmation.

“The main issue is not the League themselves, but the man behind them.” Izuku took a breath. “I need to tell you all something that I never managed to get to tell most of you last time.”

He made direct eye contact with Kacchan as he spoke his next few words.

“My quirk is not something I was born with. For all intents and purposes I am biologically quirkless.”

Aoyama’s trembling look reminded Izuku of something else to bring up in the meeting later that day. Aoyama noticed Izuku’s gaze and turned his head down in fear. Izuku’s heart ached for his friend. He never got the chance to redeem himself, being one of the first in the class to be killed after Kacchan. This time around, Izuku would make sure Aoyama got the chance to live without fear, and hopefully, most of the guilt. Can’t feel guilty over inadvertently enabling events that didn’t happen after all.

“My quirk is one that can and has been passed on through generations. Its origin can be traced to around 200 years ago, with two brothers.”

Aizawa, knowing the story well now, continued on for Midoriya with his typical hunched posture.

“If you remember your history lessons well, you’ll know that this was around the dawn of quirks. You should also know that most of that time wasn’t documented due to chaos that came with the emergence of quirks. However, what we do know for sure, was that there was a man whose quirk was the ability to take quirks from others, and either keep them for himself, or give them to others.”

Izuku noticed poor Aoyama quaking in his boots. He also noticed some of the class giving him uneasy glances. They’d find out where his quirk came from soon enough so it was fine.

Aizawa continued, “This man is known as All For One.” His demeanour shifted to dead serious. “Under normal circumstances, I would have refused to tell you about him. This man is essentially a national secret level super villain. You will not, under any circumstances, talk about him to anyone outside of this room. If you feel you cannot keep your mouth shut, it may be best if you leave the room before we continue.”

Eraserhead waited a moment. They all stayed. Brats, he thought fondly. He made sure to double check anyway.

“Are you sure you all want to be here for this? Knowing the story will not affect your time here at UA, and this is not a test of any sort.”

Uraraka was the one who ended up speaking for the class.

“Sensei… with all due respect we understand you wouldn’t even offer to tell us if you didn’t think we really needed to know. And whatever it is must have something to do with Deku or the future.” She stood from her seat and made a fist in determination as she looked to the two at the front. “I think I speak for us all when I say we want to do everything in our power to help. Even if it's something as small as knowing the story so that we can provide comfort or solidarity, we want to help.”

There was a brief silence before others piped in.

“We just want to make sure you two are okay, kero.”

“Helping others is manly!”

“Midoriya-kun, Aizawa-sensei, please let us be there to lift your burdens with whatever may be coming our way!”

Both Izuku and Shota went wide-eyed at Uraraka’s declaration and the subsequent waves of support thrown at them by the rest of the class. Izuku turned his head back to face Shota and they shared a teary smile. They weren’t alone anymore.

Some of the class cooed at Izuku’s teary smile when he turned back. He let out a wet laugh at the reception of it.

“Sorry guys,” he said as he wiped some tears away. “I just need a moment.”

He received more vocal support at that. God, he loved his friends.

Once everyone settled, Aizawa began to speak again.

“Let’s resume now. So, we have a man from the dawn of quirks who can give and take quirks. Both his quirk name and villain name are All for One. This man is one of the two brothers that caused the creation of Midoriya’s quirk.”

Izuku took over.

“The other brother was believed to be quirkless. To force him into submission, All For One forced a power stockpiling quirk onto his brother. However, the other brother did have a quirk. The power to pass on other quirks.”

The class’ faces cleared up in understanding. Izuku nodded.

“The two quirks merged in the first user to become the quirk that I hold now, One for All.”

The class felt a gravity as Izuku continued.

“One for All has stockpiled the power of every previous user, growing exponentially with each new user. I received this power from the eighth a bit before the beginning of this school year. I am the ninth wielder of One for All.”

His eyes sparked a little at the declaration, as though his power was agreeing with him.

“This power… was kept alive with the goal of someday growing strong enough to be able to defeat All for One.” Izuku suddenly cut the class from their reverie as he waved frantically. “But that’s not something the eighth thought I’d have to deal with before you all say anything!” Aizawa distantly mused that Izuku was clearly remembering his own reactions to the story. “My predecessor thought he had defeated All for One five years ago at this point. It’s only after discovering that the Nomu from the USJ had multiple quirks that he realised All for One might not have been as dead as he thought.”

Jiro’s eyes widened. “Wait… the nomu?”

Deku nodded solemnly, not realising what some of his classmates had pieced together. Todoroki in particular had a particularly odd look on his face.

Yaoyorozu raised her hand hesitantly and Midoriya gestured for her to speak. “Sorry, I just want to clarify some things. This power is being cultivated to take down all for one, so I was wondering if I was right in assuming that you are now a direct target for this man?”

Aizawa was impressed by the speedy deduction, and Izuku winced at the bluntness. Izuku was trying to avoid saying that outright but he guessed it was a bit past that now. He gave her confirmation, and she continued.

“This nomu was created by the villain right?” Ah, Aizawa saw where she was going. He wished the kid good luck. Izuku hadn’t been outwardly trying to hide his connection to All Might, but the kid probably assumed he had more time to mentally prepare for the explosion. He subtly turned his gaze to Bakugo’s general vicinity, quirk at the ready, which he was still getting used to the feeling of again.

“...maybe I’m prying a bit too much, so forgive me Midoriya, but was All Might the villain’s target for a reason other than being the number one hero?” Izuku’s eyes widened as his classmates put the pieces together and yelled uproariously.

“THERE’S NO WAY THE DAMN NERD GOT HIS QUIRK FROM ALL MIGHT!” Deku sweatdropped, mentally thanking his dad for being quicker than him on the uptake and saving the room from being exploded.

Kirishima hesitantly spoke. “We all noticed the similarities between their quirks at the start of the year. It could easily be explained by it literally being the same quirk.”

Mineta added in, “Not to mention the scary amount of power Midoriya showed us earlier.” He shivered at the thought.

Slow nods of agreement travelled through the group as Izuku stammered like he was 15 again. Mentally, he meant. He was quietened as Aizawa plopped a hand on his head, the action also silencing the rest of the class.

“All Might was the eighth holder of One for All, however, Midoriya hasn’t had a chance to speak to him yet, so we won’t give you details of his involvement until we get the go-ahead from All Might.”

“...Wow, Midoriya.” Izuku looked at Sero, confused. “One of the greatest heroes to have ever existed gave you his quirk.” Midoriya went beet red at the roundabout praise.

“Man, Midoriya. Just when I thought you couldn’t get more impressive after internships you go and yeet a ball into space, then tell us it’s because the number one hero saw you and basically went ‘I want you to replace me.’”

Izuku hid his face in his hands while Aizawa sent parts of his capture weapon over to contain Bakugo, whose racket the class was ignoring in favour of their awe. It made for a comical picture, with a very embarrassed strawberry child in front of his glaring dad. Not that the class knew that last little tidbit.

Izuku was eager to move on. “Where were we in the story?”

“You were telling us how you realised All for One was alive because of the nomu.” Bless Asui.

“Right, right. So now you know the background of my quirk and of All for One. In the original timeline, we were attacked at the training camp that we’re supposed to go to during the holidays after midterms.” He swiftly decided to leave out the part of Kacchan’s kidnapping. His Kacchan Expert senses were warning him against including that little tidbit at the moment. “Those events led to All for One revealing himself and fighting All Might, who won, but ultimately, had to retire at the end of the battle.”

The thought of All Might retiring so soon had the class reeling.

“All for One managed to have plans in motion despite being in Tartarus. He managed to complete a transfer of his quirk over to his successor Tomura Shigaraki. This not only strengthened Shigaraki’s existing decay quirk, but also gave him all the other quirks all for one had stockpiled. By the end of this year, Shigaraki was stronger than All for One, and All Might was unable to fight.”

He paused a bit, losing himself in memories.

“In that time, Shigaraki also gained an army’s worth of allies. We didn’t finish our first year when the first wave of the war struck.” Solemnly, he added “That was when Kacchan died.”

A pang struck the hearts of all in the class. Bakugo as he was now, however, didn’t seem to accept this turn of events.

“THERE’S NO WAY I’D LOSE TO THAT FUCKER!”

Izuku looked at him in tears. “You saved my life.”

Kacchan was instantly silenced.

Wetly, Izuku continued, “I wasn’t anywhere near the power level I showed you all earlier. I hadn’t even surpassed All Might’s 60% at the time. The reality is that the villains were simply too strong.”

Aizawa decided to spare his son from talking about his friend’s deaths.

“Lots of pros were killed in the first wave. Morale was at an all time low. It didn’t help that if heroes weren’t killed, they were left physically unable to fight. I myself ended up losing a leg and an eye, rendering my quirk unusable. For you all, Bakugo’s death triggered one after the next.” He looked sadly upon his class. “The fighting went on for six months. In the final days, there were only five people left alive in the whole of Japan.”

It was like all the air was sucked out of the room. Five people?!

“The four survivors were on the hero’s side. The fifth was Shigaraki. He had been weakened from All for One, the person attempting to take over his body, but by the time that final fight came around we were all significantly weakened. The two heroes…”

This time Izuku saved Aizawa from recounting two of his best friend’s deaths.

“The two heroes that fought with us died alongside Shigaraki. In the end, it was just me and Aizawa-sensei. It stayed that way for the next year and a half. We had been searching for food preserves in a science facility when I tripped and accidentally activated the same device that must have sent our consciousness back into ourselves from two years before then.”

He changed his forlorn look into one of determination, creating hope in the hearts of his peers.

“I can only assume that the power stockpile has a link to the consciousness of each user. By the beginning of what should have been our second year, I had surpassed All Might’s level of power. The power I showed you earlier is a result of me holding on to this quirk for three years.” His electric eyes caught those of his classmates. “We have the means to stop all the villains now, before they kill anyone. I promise to you all that you will not see the future that Aizawa-sensei and I lived.”

They believed him.

Chapter Text

It felt rather anticlimactic to have classes as usual after that dramatic homeroom, but Cementoss-sensei walked in for their literature class, and they knew they would have to wait until their first break to settle their thoughts.

Izuku sent a worried look to his dad instead of moving to his seat. He wasn’t sure he remembered the content. Softly, Aizawa told him that the teachers had no expectations of him, aware he had already almost completed his first year, and that relearning all the academic work could wait until after they had averted what was to come.

He knew his dad wasn’t one for being affectionate in front of others, so he felt especially warm with fuzzies as his dad leaned down and gently hugged him, almost hiding his now smaller frame. Just as he was about to leave Izuku was struck with a panicked thought.

Alarmed, he whispered “Dad, Aoyama has his phone!” Aizawa blinked. He was going to wait until the break to speak to Aoyama, but he had indeed forgotten that phones were a working thing again. He nodded and mouthed “I’ll take care of it.” The panic in Izuku’s chest abated slightly. He gave his dad a weak smile before apologising to Cementoss-sensei for the hold-up and took his seat.

As he reached the door, Eraserhead looked back. “Aoyama, could you follow me please?” Shota hated the raw fear that his student was trying to desperately hide. He’d do his best to help fix it. To stop the gossip mongers, he added, “It’s unrelated to what you were all just told, and it would be in your best interests not to pry.” A warning look was directed at the rest of the class who nodded, some more agreeably than others.

~~~~~~

Shota had alerted Nezu to the fact that he would be having a meeting that Nezu should join at some point, before inviting Aoyama to take a seat on the couch, Aizawa mirroring him on the couch opposite. Aoyama had seemed to have gone past the trembling phase as he sat, incredibly tense, his face shadowed.

Erasherhead didn’t spend too long appraising his student, knowing that every second would have been torture for the kid.

“Aoyama. I will continue to watch over you.” Shota said simply.

The kid looked up, confusion colouring his pale face.

“Sensei… you brought me here… surely you know what…” Aoyama trailed off, too scared to self-incriminate.

Aizawa nodded his head slightly. “Midoriya and I are aware of your connection to All for One.”

Aoyama looked up to reveal tears falling from the terrified boy’s face. “Then you know what I’ve done. And what he’ll do now that I’ve been caught.”

It wasn’t as soft as the looks he found himself giving his son, but Eraserhead gave his student a gentle expression, and placed a hand on his knee. Aoyama tensed for a moment, peering confusedly at his normally strict sensei. Tears continued to fall.

“Sensei… why?” Aizawa tipped his head to indicate he wanted an elaboration. “Why… are you being so nice to me? Why am I not locked up in Tartarus right now? I don’t understand…”

His intense eyes made contact with the student’s.

“Nothing could convince me that you would ever deserve to be put in a place like Tartarus.”

“Bu-” He cut Aoyama off with a raised hand.

“You are a victim here Aoyama. You will not be punished for your parent’s choices, and you certainly will not be punished for the unintended consequences.” Aizawa’s serious look turned less serious again. “UA is one of the safest places to be, and I know for sure that you will make a great hero one day, Aoyama.”

Aoyama’s chest heaved as great sobs overtook him. Nezu appeared from behind the couch causing the boy to startle slightly.

“It is as Aizawa says, Aoyama-kun. You will not be harmed so long as you remain in our care. In fact, I believe it to be the best course of action that you continue studying and even reporting back as normal.”

With a severely distressed look Aoyama stuttered “Principal Nezu, surely you don’t want me to actively betray the school.”

Nezu tilted his head and put his paws delicately on his lap as he settled next to Shota on the couch. “On the contrary, Aoyama-kun, through this we can be 100% sure you remain safe. To act the same as before is to keep the future on the same track so that we can play events that are currently a certainty to our favour, to avoid the worst.”

Aoyama held his fingertips to his tears as he looked to the principal. “So you’re…”

“You will remain a student here at UA Aoyama. As for what happens after… no one has to know what your family did if you wish it so.”

The boy gaped at the principal’s words. He turned to Aizawa as the man leaned forward and spoke. “It is exactly as I said Aoyama. I will continue to watch over you.” A hand returned to the boy’s knee. “Trust us to keep you safe. Let us take care of it, kid.”

Tears of relief erupted from the boy’s initially slowing flow. He sniffled, and bowed as deep as he could while sitting.

“Senseis… I can’t possibly thank you enough.”

Finally, a small smile appeared under Aizawa’s capture weapon. Nezu also seemed pleased at the boy’s resolve.

“Let’s get you back to class.”

~~~~~~

Izuku had been pleased to find he only had a few hiccups in his memories once he focused properly on the content. He had survived two classes so far with little issue, aside from him getting nervous at the end of the second due to the impending break that would allow his classmates to ask questions. He would have been very happy to answer, but he’d cried a lot of tears already and wasn’t sure if he could handle more big conversations for another few hours.

Surprisingly, he was treated like it had been any normal day, the only difference being more classmates than usual sat around Izuku’s normal spot. If anything, it was more fun than normal, having the whole class in proximity at break. Even the current, more explodey Kacchan was dragged along. The proximity and happy banter reminded him of dorm life. When Izuku’s smile got a little teary at the thought of all the good memories once lost, his friends only quieted for a moment to give him caring smiles before continuing to rib the next classmate.

Of course, he knew it wouldn’t stay that way, but he was grateful for how thoughtful they were being.

Now, he was preparing for class with Mic-sensei. Izuku frowned lightly. This would be a little harder than seeing his other teachers, because Mic was the last one to go, and the one Izuku spent the most time with aside from his dad.

Izuku was too sad to acknowledge the concerned looks his friends shared when they thought he wasn't looking. Mic and his dad were best friends. They were best friends with Kurokumo (as a confused Izuku had taken to calling Kurogiri, with Shirakumo in control. Aizawa was not impressed. Mic was thoroughly entertained). With a group of three best friends, Izuku thought he might’ve been a little left out.

It was the complete opposite.

Aizawa at that point had not reached ultimate Dad status, but he was enough of a parental figure to be constantly teased by his friends, thoroughly embarrassing the man, before turning to jokingly (he thinks) fawn over Izuku. He was included in all their conversations, and each man made sure that the other two had little dignity left as they shared stories of their most embarrassing moments, constantly trying to outdo the other in front of Izuku.

He deliberately didn’t think of the harder moments when Shirakumo’s control faltered, his consciousness on a timer.

Point is, he was close with Mic-sensei. Of course, he was much closer with all his friends from the future and had lost them, but at least he wasn’t starting at zero again like he was with his teacher.

His downcast thoughts were interrupted as Mic-sensei burst into the room, high energy as ever, ready to start the lesson, before making eye contact with Izuku and absolutely lighting up.

Or maybe it wasn’t zero?

Confuzzled, Izulu watched as the man poked his head out of the door, and called across the hall, grin evident in his voice. Midnight-sensei sped into the room as a chaotic unit with Mic-sensei before scanning the room, and similarly lighting up at his face.

Now Izuku was extremely confused. He had never gotten particularly close to Midnight-sensei, but she seemed just as excited to see him as Mic was. Before he got a word out, the two rushed towards him comically.

“Lil listener!”

“Hi sweetie!”

Izuku backed up nervously. “Hi?”

The two lit up even brighter than before. The class had to block their eyes.

“Listener, new information has come to light…” he began, faux solemnly. “A reintroduction is in order!” Izuku blinked. Mic-sensei and Midnight-sensei beamed at each other before loudly proclaiming “You can call me Uncle Hizashi!”
Midnight jumped in. “And I’m your Auntie Nemuri!”

Izuku let out a flustered “Eep!”, and put his hands to his quickly reddening cheeks, completely flustered at the realisation that they knew about his dad.

They fawned over how cute Izuku was, causing him to steam up as he continued turning impossibly red.

“If your dad gives you any trouble you let us know, ‘kay?” Midnight winked at him.

“Yeah! If he’s too boring we’ll set him right back on track, ya dig?”

Thoroughly cooked, Izuku nodded dazedly.

Midnight’s eyes gleamed “Ooh we could take you out to do fun stuff he would never let you do!”

Mic nodded sagely. “You’re the perfect vessel for pranks now. He can’t get angry at you like he can with us.”

Finally, they stepped back. Izuku was saved.

“Oh well, look at the time, I’ve got to get back to my class now. She sauntered to the door, and turned to the class. “Be good for Present Mic now, kiddos!” It closed resoundingly behind her.

The class would have to get used to being speechless it seemed. Jiro, however, gave him a cheeky look.

“Oh they know your dad now do they, Midoriya?”

He tilted his head at her confusedly, before steam escaped his ears again and he deflated on the desk. Of course Jiro heard him whisper earlier.

She sniggered, while the class looked between the two with blank smiles of confusion. Mic stood in a power pose at the front of the room, with a look that matched the energy of the class because he could.

…

“What a mad banquet of darkness.”

Izuku wanted to become one with the table.

~~~~~~

Omake:

“Nezu… how do you know what Aoyama’s family did?”

Nezu turned curiously to Shota. “Whatever do you mean Aizawa-kun?”

Aizawa gave him a flat look. “You told Aoyama no one has to know what his family did. I haven’t told you anything about his family’s involvement beyond the fact that they did something.”

Nezu turned his beady eyes forward and sipped his tea.

“I have always liked puzzles. The pieces just seem to be falling in my paws today.”

Aizawa couldn’t hide all of his bewilderment, before turning away in resignation. Under his breath he muttered “Why do I even try?” before dismissing himself from the room, head shaking in resignation.

Nezu smiled. Ah, Aizawa had clearly been without him for too long. No matter, he’d quickly relearn to never question Nezu again.

Maniacal laughter filled the office.

Chapter Text

Izuku knew that he had been given a grace period by all his friends. He felt their looks all day, and he knew that the topic was on the forefront of their minds even as they spoke to him about completely normal things. It didn't help that he was a bit uncertain of the current events, making his displacement all the more obvious in normal conversation.

But he digresses.

Now, he stands in front of the door to the staff meeting room, nervous energy overflowing his small form. From his right, he feels more than sees his dad shift to catch his eye.

“Izuku.”

His head turns to face his dad’s. He blinks. He wasn’t expecting his dad to be nervous as well. His dad was worrying his lip slightly, something Izuku can’t recall him doing during his time at UA. But why was he nervous? He’d already spoken to the teachers, and they weren’t even teachers to his dad! They were colleagues, friends, equals.
Though, to be fair, Izuku could understand the fear of telling someone everything. He assumed Mic-sensei and Midnight-sensei (he tried not to think about what they asked him to call them lest he turn into a strawberry) knew everything, and Izuku himself had told his mum everything but it was… different.
Here, there would be a call to action, and the beginning of concrete plans to stop the End from coming. It made everything real.

“Izuku” He snapped his gaze back to his dad’s, who was now smiling amusedly. The smile quickly softened, and he pat the boy’s head. “You were mumbling.”

Izuku let out a little squeak in embarrassment, and his dad let out a huff. “You ready to go in, kid?”

Izuku shifted slightly. “Uh, I mean, will I ever?”

His dad, ever the introvert, nodded in agreement. “Fair. Though, if it’s any consolation, we won’t be the last in the room. Vlad’s class broke something so he and Cementoss are quickly fixing the grounds, and Ectoplasm went to get coffee first.”

Izuku nodded absently. Shota pushed the door open and let Izuku step in the room before following.

Izuku's gaze lazered on to a certain emaciated Man and he stood rigidly, as though stopping himself from doing something.

Those already present in the room looked over in slight concern at his demeanour, but Shota knew his kid well, and nudged him in the direction of the man.

A green blur appeared next to All Might who was knocked in his seat.

“Oof, my boy.”

Aizawa watched on in amusement as Izuku koala'd his 22nd (?) person of the day, while All Might flailed around unsurely. As soon as he noticed his increasingly damp shirt, however, he turned a smile on to his successor and returned the hug.

It was a sweet scene. Aizawa knew that this was one of the harder hitting losses, and he was so happy that Izuku got to have this moment.
Then he saw the sappy looks his colleagues were directing at the two. His thoughts soured. No, he would NOT co-parent with All Might. That was HIS kid. It’s not Shota’s fault he died too early and wasn’t there. Okay, maybe that was a little bit too dark, but regardless - co-parenting with All Might?

He didn’t really mind the guy (and admittedly, seeing how happy he made his kid made his opinion of the man skyrocket) but… that would just be weird. All Might was quite a bit older than Shota. He resolutely ignored the fact that Izuku’s mother was quite a bit older than him as well and that he wouldn’t have a choice in sharing.

He watched as Izuku pulled back and tearily beamed at the man. Oh god, his heartstrings were really being tugged. He was going to have to share wasn’t he? Well, if the kid was going to have multiple parental figures he supposed All Might was a fine choice. He clearly really cared about the kid. The tone of the room shifted as his son fully pulled away and moved to the front of the room where Shota had moved to, and he pulled himself from his thoughts. It was time to get serious.

He looked down the ovular conference room table, and watched the final people enter the room. Aizawa nearly hugged Ectoplasm as the hero went to the front to give Aizawa a cup of coffee, before sipping from his own cup and taking his usual seat closer to the other end of the table.

He noticed his kid eyeing some of the teachers he’d had that day, and Shota did too, in an attempt to get a read on how his kid had fared when he wasn’t around. They had never been apart in all those two years, and now they’d practically spent two whole days apart. Raking his eyes over Cementoss, Snipe, Hizashi, Vlad and Thirteen settled his worries. Izuku had been fine.
For the most part, at least.
He then noticed Izuku giving him a funny look. Shota raised his hands in defence. He was his parent, of course he looked up what classes the kid had that day! Izuku’s lips quirked in amusement. The only sign of embarrassment was the slight red tinge on his ears. He knew the kid was pleased by the show of care, though, which in turn made him slightly pleased.

The meaning of the silent interaction was lost on everyone else. The day count was currently co-workers, 1, Shota’s dignity, 2. He’ll take it.

Nezu, who was at the opposite end of the table, clinked his tea cup. A hush fell over the room.

“Thank you staff, for agreeing to come after classes. I know you are all busy people, and will undoubtedly become even more so upon the conclusion of today’s meeting.” The teachers nodded. “As for the contents of the meeting… We won't make any concrete plans, but we will have to make decisions on what to do surrounding the information Aizawa and Midoriya-kun have for us today.” He inclined his head slightly. “It goes without saying that this meeting is sensitive in multiple ways. Please be considerate towards Aizawa and Midoriya-kun, and please keep the contents of the meeting to yourselves. It would be best if we kept discussions of the events as private as possible.”

Midnight and Mic looked particularly solemn at that statement.

“Midoriya-kun,” Nezu looked apologetic as Midoriya squirmed slightly under the attention his address brought. “Just to get you up to speed, all the staff know from this morning is that upon the end of the year, most of Japan’s citizens will be gone barring you and Aizawa-kun, within six months, and that you both came back from two years into that future.”

Midoriya nodded, but looked slightly confused at the lack of information the teachers had. Aizawa sighed and dragged a hand down his face. “The meeting got derailed before it could even start.” Some of the teachers’ expressions went sheepish at that comment, but brightened back up as they heard their student softly giggle.

Aizawa shifted, and the room refocused. “All right. The kid and I will go through the whole timeline of events that we are aware of starting from now up until the next two years. I spoke with Mic and Midnight yesterday who told me we were preparing the students for their midterms.”

Nezu nodded. “Yes, they’re in a week.” Midoriya blinked, and pointed at himself.
“Do I…?” Nezu smiled.
“No, if you remember your previous score we will accept that. We can wait until the threat is dealt with before you go back to focusing on your education. Assuming you were on track to pass your first year by the end of it of course.”

Midoriya nodded and stepped back to let Aizawa continue.

“Nothing happened until the break, at the training camp. Even though we changed the location, the information was fed back to the villains.”

Mic’s glasses glinted dangerously. “Our previous suspicions of a traitor… they were proven correct then?”

Aizawa nodded. “It was a student. Nezu and I have already spoken to them.” Aizawa looked carefully at his friends. “The traitor is unwilling, so unless I see a real reason to, I won’t tell you who they are, especially since we’ve asked them to continue exactly as they would have.”

The staff who were preparing to protest considered his words carefully. Aizawa would not make an unsafe decision.

“You want things to remain as unchanged as possible… that includes ensuring the traitor’s safety, correct?” Cementoss asked slowly. Aizawa nodded both in acknowledgement of his answer, and the fact that Cementoss would have clued in to which student it was.

“Exactly. No point trying to change a future from an unpredictable present, especially with it posing such a high risk to the student.”

Another teacher, Ectoplasm, spoke up. “I think we were all initially under the impression that only a newer strong force could be behind such attacks. Namely, the League of Villains which attacked the USJ and Hosu, since they have the Nomu that gave All Might a run for his money… But surely they’re too new to be powerful enough to have that much influence over individuals and have deep, undetected, unwilling spies?”

Aizawa and Midoriya shared a pained look. Looks like they were going straight into the heart of the issue.

Slowly, as though testing his words, Aizawa answered. “The League itself is new, yes. However, there are much bigger, much, much older forces behind it than we could have ever expected.” He stared directly at All Might, who went slightly pale.

Carefully, the man asked “So you know it was that man behind the league and Nomu for certain then?”

“Yes.” Aizawa responded simply. Midoriya gave All Might an apologetic look and went on to provide more information.

“He basically raised Tomura Shigaraki, the visible leader of the League. We found out in Shigaraki’s final moments that he had orchestrated the traumatic event which led to Shigaraki being alone and vulnerable because…” Midoriya hesitated. “...because of someone he was related to.”

All Might looked particularly worried now. “Someone he was related to?”
Aizawa shifted closer to Izuku to provide comfort with proximity. From what he knew, Nana Shimura had been really good to the kid when her vestige was still around. While it would certainly hit harder for All Might, what AFO did hurt Nana, and subsequently Izuku.
Izuku’s shoulders dropped. “His name isn’t Tomura Shigaraki… at least not by birth. It’s Tenko Shimura.”

He watched All Might’s expression drop, and Nezu’s face became shadowed. “Shimura… the same Shimura…?” All Might asked with a shaky voice.

Izuku nodded solemnly.

A confused Present Mic spoke up. “Is someone going to tell us what’s going on?”

Izuku looked slightly sheepish. “Sorry. It would have made more sense if we’d done things in order but the context does help so…”

“I guess we’re going from the beginning before the beginning then.” Aizawa drawled.

Izuku huffed in slight amusement.

Eraserhead turned to All Might. “You can help with this part.”

All Might still looked shaken but managed a smile. “Yes, I figured this information would be shared here. Very well.” All Might turned his seat to look down the table instead of the front of the room. “If you all don’t mind, I’ll fill in some of the background information before Midoriya-shounen and Aizawa-kun tell their tale.”

All Might’s electric blue eyes shone from his shadowed face.

“It begins with a tale of two brothers…”

Chapter Text

The only sounds in the room were the breathing of its occupants, and the grave voice of the number one hero, sharing a story he had only ever told a select few.

“At the dawn of quirks, there was a man who had the power to give and take powers.”

He told the UA staff of the man behind the League of Villains, a man from 200 years ago, who he thought he had bested when he received his injury. He spoke of that same man’s frail brother who was thought to be powerless, and talked about the forcing of a power stockpiling quirk from one brother to the other.

The room held its breath as the number one hero told them of the frail brother’s original quirk, and the subsequent merging of the two quirks to form a new power: One for All. Finally, All Might spoke of the two hundred year long fight between All for One, and One for All, the only quirk the man couldn’t steal, and the only one that had the power to rival said man due to its ability to store power over generations.

The room as silent as those who weren’t previously in the know digested the new information. Years of pro hero work meant that all the teachers were able to put two and two together. Nezu watched as understanding dawned in their eyes, and their heads whipped between All Might and Midoriya.
He smiled at how quick his staff were. He would expect nothing less. All Might and Midoriya were growing increasingly sheepish, and Aizawa looked only slightly less done than he had in the morning so he decided to officially put the information out in the open.

“You all remember the sonic boom and the subsequent rain shower from this morning that I told you all to not worry about, correct?”

He found amusement in the way his staff’s jaws dropped as they took in the small, green teenager at the front of the room.

“No way.” Present Mic denied, crossing his arms in an ‘x’ shape. Midoriya gave him a confused smile. “Look at him! He’s small, like a green bean! Surely he can’t do what an extremely buff All Might did a bit over a year ago but stronger.”

Aizawa heatedly glared at his friend from behind Midoriya. Mic shut up immediately. It would not do to further poke the papa bear. Clearly, he chose life.

Aizawa’s dignity, Nezu amusedly recited in his head. It clearly would not last long if he was going to react to surprised outbursts like Yamada’s with clear protectiveness.

He put his paws together amiably. “Ah, Yamada-kun, consider that your student has had the quirk of the long uncontested number one hero for three demanding years. I do believe that while it is largely due to spectacular effort on Midoriya-kun’s part, do remember the fact that All Might was able to create similar atmospheric phenomena years after his prime, and that Midoriya’s unprecedented power is within expectations.”

His staff looked again at Midoriya, this time with a silent awe. Aizawa’s lips quirked in a subtle smirk that he didn’t bother hiding in his capture weapon. Even All Might looked impressed that the child had managed to, at minimum, reach the power he held in his prime in just under three years. Nezu suspected that what Midoriya had achieved was greater than what All Might could manage.

“Izuku?” Aizawa prompted.

“Ah, uh, yes I did that. I’m sorry for the disturbance I may have caused! I didn’t think about how loud or… impactful it would be at the time.”

Aizawa snorted. “They’re not looking for an apology, but I’m sure it’s appreciated. They want to hear from you what you can do.”

Midoraya’s mouth went in an ‘o’ shape, and he fidgeted slightly. He didn’t want to seem like a brag, but he would tell them for the same reason he gave a raw display of power earlier that morning. “Well, we haven’t gotten to the full timeline yet, but at the first battle, which started the two year period we’ve been talking about, I could use about 45% of All Might’s power, but after- oh.” He turned to Aizawa. “We haven’t told them about the past users.”
Aizawa acknowledged what Izuku said and turned back to face the room. “It would be more logical for us to get back on track and talk about the events in order, because One for All changed from how it manifested in All Might at a certain point down the timeline of events.”

Ever the quirk nerd, Izuku couldn’t help but add. “The Kyudai Quirk Singularity Theory.” His face scrunched up at the reminder of the doctor, and he missed the glint in Nezu’s eye that formed at the implication. Recovery Girl’s eyes widened at the implications of the singularity of such a powerful quirk.

Aizawa took control of the room again. “Well, All Might provided the background to the important bits, and you also know why Midoriya was closely involved with the proceedings which you may have otherwise questioned.” His colleagues nodded. “Ok, so you all know about the man behind the League, and you know about Tomura Shigaraki, who as you may have guessed, is related to a past One for All user, hence All Might catching on.” The staff nodded again.
They were idiots sometimes, but he was glad he could count on them to keep up when it really mattered. They were good heroes, good colleagues, and, not that he would have admitted before losing them all, good friends too.

“As we were saying before, the training camp was attacked thanks to a leak on our end.” Aizawa held up three fingers. “This led to three immediate events that we cannot morally allow to occur, no matter the subsequent slight unpredictability of the timeline.”

Midoriya took over. “The first is that Pro Hero Ragdoll from the Wild Wild Pussy Cats was abducted, and lost her quirk to the stockpile within All for One. Aside from the obvious, this is bad because of the unique abilities of her quirk that allow her to ‘search’ for enemy weak points. This was used against us in the final battle and was one of the main reasons for our downfall.”

Aizawa continued. “The next is the kidnapping of Katsuki Bakugo.” The teachers sucked in a breath. “He was taken by one of the new League members, who joined after Stain was apprehended, and refused recruitment efforts by the league.”

Recovery Girl wore a deep frown. “Why would they try to recruit a heroics student from UA of all places?”

Aizawa sighed. “His display of rage at the sports festival led them to falsely believe he was in heroics for the wrong reasons. I suppose they thought they could gain a powerful member and create discord throughout hero society simultaneously. They managed to do so without Bakugo, but again, for obvious reasons, we cannot knowingly allow traumatic situations like these to be inflicted upon our students.” He dragged a tired hand down his face. “I’d like to cancel the camp entirely, knowing just how much danger it puts the students in, and in any other situation, I’d vehemently suggest we do so. However, the final event that was triggered was that All for One himself decided to make an appearance.”

He ignored the loud “What?!” from Hizashi and let his kid continue from where he left off.

“The heroes did a raid on two locations within Kamino ward- a bar which acts as the League’s base, and a factory with around forty nomu.” The room chilled with the knowledge of so many nomu. Just one gave All Might a hard time. “Those raids led to an encounter between All Might and All for One.” All Might’s gaunt face took on a haunted expression.

“I barely survived the first encounter, and I’ve been weakening ever since.”

The staff looked horrified. “My god…” Midnight whispered.

Izuku was quick to reassure them. “Guys, it’s okay, All Might won and lived to tell the tale! All for One was put into Tartarus. The only cost was the destruction of a section of Kamino ward, and All Might’s immediate retirement.” He looked sadly at his mentor. “He used up the last embers of One for All.”

Aizawa and Midoriya let that settle with the staff, who were looking sadly at All Might. Nezu dipped his head. “It seems a world without All Might was coming much sooner than anyone anticipated. That will cast a lot of doubt on the heroes who had to fill the space without warning.”

Mirroring each other, Aizawa and Midoriya nodded, both lost in individual memories surrounding those events.

The pensive silence was broken as people in the room shifted, ready to move forward. The two time travellers looked at each other, uncertain of what to mention next.

Hesitantly, Midoriya said “It kind of splits here, because All for One sent the League away on their own, and we know of some of the things that happened there that we need to keep a lookout for.” He turned to Aizawa unsurely, and received a dip of the head in response. Aizawa was happy to follow Izuku’s timeline. “Those events did have a direct effect on UA that is worth talking about. Us first years were pushed to take the provisional licensing exam this year instead of the next. That meant that some of us went on work studies, and all of us were pulled in for the evacuation efforts on the first…well… wave of the war.”

“War?” Powerloader mouthed worriedly to himself.

“From the student’s work studies we picked up on the first bit of League action since All for One was imprisoned.” Aizawa shifted slightly. “They got into contact with the Shie Hassaikai, who are developing bullets that can permanently erase quirks.” Aizawa and Izuku made eye contact. They were in complete agreement that saving Eri would high up on the list of priorities.

There were so many bad things they knew of that they needed to stop, but they were on a time limit, and had to avoid alerting any of the big players that something was amiss. No one ever said averting the end of the world as they knew it would be easy.

“Me and the other work study students in 1A were all with agencies working the Shie Hassaikai case. Sensei was one of the heroes assigned as well. Uh… this might actually be a current active investigation, am I breaking the law if I say too many details?”

Aizawa considered his words for a moment.

“Honestly, I’m not sure. Best we keep it to the basics.” Izuku nodded. Present Mic and Midnight seemed slightly disappointed but put their serious faces back on quickly. Pro heroes are so cool, Izuku thought. Gossipmongers, Shota thought.

Izuku shook the irrelevant thoughts away. “The bottom line of that, was that the League came to be in possession of quirk erasing bullets. Of course, any faction with bad intentions having these bullets is a bad thing, and there’s a child being hurt to make the bullets so that’s something we’ll have to figure something out for.” Izuku devolved into a slight mutter storm that Aizawa smoothly moved past, very used to Izuku’s habits.

“As the raid on the Shie Hassaikai was on, another force of heroes and police had caught wind of the League’s warp gater, Kurogiri.” Hizashi and Nemuri went stone faced at the mention of the nomu who was made from their friend.
Aizawa worked to keep his face neutral, and was comforted by Izuku’s proximity as his kid moved slightly into his space. “Thankfully, Kurogiri was captured by the task force. Unfortunately, he was operating in a manner that left him vulnerable because he went to successfully wake up another of All for One’s projects.”
Aizawa had to fight harder to keep his face neutral, and was evidently failing, as concerned looks were cast his way. Izuku gently took over.

“He awoke a giant called Gigantomachia, who was faithful to All for One, and later, Tomura Shigaraki.” He looked sadly at Midnight. The staff caught the direction of his gaze worriedly. “Gigantomachia uh… killed quite a few heroes in the first battle.”

A wave of sorrow passed through the room, and those closest to Nemuri shifted their seats to be even closer, as though they were reminding themselves that she was still there.

“All I know of the villain’s activity is second and third-hand accounts from Aizawa-sensei and a hero who was sent to play a double agent. The League of Villains somehow came to be in charge of a whole hidden faction in society, who opposed quirk restriction laws. They called themselves the Meta Liberation Army. Together with the League of Villains, they became the Paranormal Liberation Front, and the main force behind the war.”

Izuku paused yet again. He felt his dad place a hand on his shoulder. This is where his involvement really came to fruition, and he was a little bit nervous to share the specificities of One for All. The quirk had basically become an open secret after the first war, but he had never explicitly shared its details to anyone but his dad.

“While all that was happening with the villains, classes were going by as normal.” He winced slightly. “Or, as normal as they could until I maybe got another quirk during a training exercise?”

Understanding dawned in Nezu’s and Recovery Girl’s eyes. The rest of the room, however…

Mic laughed, slightly crazed. “Little listener… what?”

All Might gaped at Midoriya. “My boy surely you can’t mean…” he trailed off, the anomalous notion being a lot to process.

Aizawa was thoroughly enjoying the confusion his colleagues were experiencing. Serves them right for trying to tease him after their first meeting.

Izuku ducked his head and coughed lightly in his fist. “So, One for All hit singularity meaning I slowly gained access to all the past user’s quirks.”

Midnight whistled. “Damn kid. How many quirks is that?”

“I’m the ninth user… two of us were born quirkless, so including One for All itself I have seven.”

Ectoplasm paused. “You have seven?” The rest of the staff similarly paused, including Nezu himself, interested to hear the answer.

Izuku nodded, and released a tendril of black whip. “Somehow, even though my body is weaker than it was two, three years in the future, my progress with One for All came back with me.” Meaningfully, he added, “It’s in the exact same form it was from the final moment spent in the future.” Comprehension filled Shota’s eyes. He had been wondering if Izuku would regain access to the vestiges of the past users. Izuku had mentioned how lonely he felt upon losing them. The silver lining, he supposed, was that Izuku wouldn’t have to go through that loss again.

Sniped huffed amusedly. “I was wondering why you were so specific about using 45% of All Might’s power. It’s because you had others.” He leaned forward, and, while seriously wanting to know the answer, asked lightheartedly, “How strong are you really, young’un?”

Izuku took a deep breath, and tried to radiate the reassurance he had aimed to achieve with his class. Standing taller, he told the staff “I’m strong enough to completely stop All for One’s schemes.”

The implications of that statement were vast. He had essentially just told a room of highly competent heroes, including the current undisputed number one hero that he could stop not only All for One, but Shigaraki who was implied to have become stronger by ending the world, and all of his side projects, like the nomu and Gigantomachia. From anyone else, including All Might, it would have been the most overzealous declaration of the century.

Of course, the staff all trusted Midoriya unquestionably, but confirmation from the harshest teacher in UA, the best hero school in Japan, and maybe the world, would be what sold it. They all turned to face Eraserhead for his endorsement. They were still unused to the more emotive version of their friend and were taken aback by the sheer pride glittering in his eyes. It was, however, very telling, and he didn’t need to say a word.

“Damn kid,” Vlad King said, supportively, but somewhat dazedly. “That’s insane.” From behind Vlad, Thirteen gave Midoriya a jovial thumbs up. “You must’ve worked so hard to gain mastery of seven quirks so quickly, and to such a high standard. Midoriya-kun you are an amazing student.”

The teachers were glowing with pride at the achievements of their student. This is what they worked for; ensuring that each student comes in to their full potential to make the world a better place, pro hero or not.

Izuku relaxed at the acceptance and support of his teachers, and sent a beaming smile to his dad. The sheer pride in his dad’s returning smile would fuel his serotonin needs for weeks to come.

Hizashi and Nemuri watched the interaction with hearts in their eyes. That was their best friend, prideful and loving towards a child of his own. The meeting had been going on for the better half of the hour, and they still hadn’t touched on the worst of it.
They turned to face each other, and she saw Hizashi’s heart break through his face as he mentally went over what got Shota and Midoriya to that point, and the losses along the way. She placed a comforting hand on Hizashi’s knee. She wouldn’t die this time. She would trust in Shota and Midoriya, and all the plans they would make together in the evening.

For now, they could do little more than prepare themselves to hear about the climax of the events which left Japan’s total population to a grand total of two.

Nemuri steeled her resolve.

Chapter Text

There was a tension in the room that couldn’t be missed, but its inhabitants were trying to make light of the situation before the briefing from their colleague and student continued.

The UA staff were still reeling at the idea of one of their students wielding as much power as Izuku Midoriya claimed he did. But none of them missed the sonic boom earlier that morning, and none of them missed the uncharacteristic confidence that shone through the small body of their student.

It did make them curious though- if their student was able to become that much stronger in a bit over two years, at what kind of level was their colleague?

“Hey, Eraser?” Nemuri asked. He turned to show her he was listening. “Obviously your kid,” Aizawa and Midoriya’s cheeks lightly dusted, “got a huge power up. You never said anything about yourself?” Aizawa’s breath hitched, and Izuku quickly grabbed his dad’s hand and squeezed it. The man recovered quickly, and squeezed his kid’s hand back in reassurance.

Shota’s friends all shot each other worried looks at the odd reaction. He raised his unoccupied hand to gain their attention, and gave them a soft smile, ignoring the squawks that came from Powerloader and Vlad, the main miscreants from the morning. Izuku wore a vaguely amused look of confusion, causing Nemuri and Hizashi to smirk at him. The kid was clearly too used to soft Shota to understand the reaction. It was also becoming more and more evident to the two that their best friend had gone very soft for the child

“Senpai… are you okay? Did… something happen?” Thirteen asked carefully. Shota gave his friend a rueful look. “Remember the quirk erasing bullets we were just talking about?” Gasps rang out around the room.

“Sho-” Hizashi began. He was quick to appease his friends.

“Don’t worry I didn’t lose my quirk, I cut off my leg to save it.”

…

“SHO, WHAT?!” Hizashi’s eyes bulged.

Even Izuku gaped at him for that comment.

Nemuri floundered. “Uh, Shota, why didn’t you think to, I don’t know, mention this when we talked YESTERDAY?!”

Nezu’s nose twitched. Izuku and Recovery Girl both hid their faces in their hands.

Shota winced. He was blunt with his colleagues and friends out of past habit and didn’t intend to be so blase. He had also only just now realised how that exclusion may have genuinely upset Nemuri and Hizashi. He shot everyone an apologetic look, and brought a hand up to rub the nape of his kid’s neck comfortingly.

“Sorry, that was a bit insensitive. I had a pretty good prosthetic, so it didn’t end up being too big a deal beyond being unable to fight actively.” He grimaced again. “Sorry Mic, Midnight, there’s something else I probably should have mentioned.” His two friends looked pained at his admission.

“Something other than being forced to literally cut your own leg off?” Mic tried faintly. Eraser nodded apologetically.

“My right eye was damaged to the point where it had to be removed.”
His friends looked even more pained.
“Does that mean you cut your leg off for nothing?” Thirteen asked weakly.

Aizawa shook his head. He felt Izuku grip his shirt.

“I still had my quirk factor, which the bullet would have deleted. I was still able to use my quirk albeit in a weakened state, but more importantly,” Aizawa nodded in Vlad King’s direction, “Provisional Hero Phantom Thief was able to copy my quirk and use it, leading him to become a key player in the early battles.”

Vlad looked heartbroken at the reminder that his students were at the frontline, knowing they were also killed.

Shota took a moment to reassure Kan, who was being comforted by Hound Dog. “Vlad. Your students came a really long way. All us teachers were so proud of the heroes they became.” Izuku nodded vehemently in support.

“Vlad-King-sensei, your class is amazing.” He bowed to the man. “It was an honor to fight alongside those versions of them, and I know they’ll be equally as amazing under your care this time around too.”

Vlad’s face scrunched up with heavy emotion. “...Thanks Eraser, thanks kid.” Twin smiles acknowledged his gratitude.

Aizawa huffed lightly. “Bottom line is, my kid’s the only one who got an insane power boost, however, he’s really all we need, and I’m absolutely not exaggerating. He could deck us all with his pinky finger.”

“Da- Aizawa stooop” The child in question mumbled out with an embarrassed pout.

Little huffs of laughter circulated the room, and tension eased from its occupant’s shoulders. None of the pro heroes missed Midoriya’s slip- that Aizawa’s claim over the child was a two-way street. Hizashi and Nemuri in particular shifted giddily at the notion. Their best friend was a dad! An embarrassing dad teasing their kid! They could definitely get behind that. (Distantly, a shadow of Hizashi’s future past- a version that no longer existed- smiled at the memories made with the kid and two of his best friends.)

Nezu’s tail curled in delight before gently falling. “I do hate to break this pleasant atmosphere, but I do feel it would be best if we moved this meeting forward again.” Aizawa nodded in agreement.

“Alright, back to business. I think we’ll go with Izuku’s side first.” Izuku nodded determinedly.

“Right. So the first signs that things were getting really big happened when Kacchan, Todoroki and I were on a work study with Endeavour.” Slight murmurs rose at that.

“Endeavour was still new to being number one hero, so a lot of eyes were on him. He ended up having a fight with a new and improved nomu, called the High-end nomu. These nomu had intelligence, and Endeavour, while succeeding, did not emerge from the battle unscathed. We also got to notice that Hawks was hanging around Endeavor a lot more than usual around that time, and I later learned from Hawks that he was the one playing double agent.”

Nezu’s eyes glinted. Aizawa added “This is something that we really shouldn’t be telling you, but I’m in agreement with Midoriya’s decision to do so. This information is all from Hawks, who mostly talked to Midoriya, but we do know that Hawks was a key player in this shady HPSC investigation.”

Midoriya nodded, and his face grew sad. “Hawks had to do a lot of things he didn’t want to, like pretending to kill heroes to get inducted into the Paranormal Liberation Front, and turning on the villains he actually became friends with during his time there.” He shifted his position to a more reassuring one. “If this isn’t something that we decide to change, please know that Best Jeanist will be okay.”

The teachers smiled at the kid for his caring nature.

“Um, so the point kind of is, there was a lot of social upheaval thanks to Stain, which has already happened, All Might’s retirement and the League. This is also when Hawks started sharing information with the heroes on the down-low. They knew there was a huge army waiting for them, and started the preliminary stages of planning evacuations and preparing for battles.”

Izuku absently grabbed a piece of his dad’s capture weapon and fiddled with it with a forlorn expression. Aizawa rubbed the nape of Izuku’s neck again. He would be fine.

“The official raids started after a tip off from Kurogiri.” He saw Present Mic’s and Midnight’s expressions fall, and confusion on everyone else's.

Powerloader turned his head confusedly. “Why would a villain in custody give a tip off?”

Izuku turned to his dad to silently ask if he wanted to take over. He simply gestured for Izuku to continue.

With only slight hesitation, Izuku did so. “It turns out Kurogiri wasn’t so much as an… individual legal person,” if this wasn’t such a serious topic that hit so close to home Aizawa would have snorted in amusement at the description. “and more of a nomu himself.”

Nezu’s face suddenly shadowed. He must have understood the hurt Eraser, Mic and Midnight were exhibiting. He made direct eye contact with the two at the front. “This is to do with one of UA’s greatest hurts. Shirakumo-kun.” The sorrow in their eyes said it all. The other teachers were not in the loop, but were able to deduce that Kurogiri was a nomu created with an old friend to some of their colleagues.

Gently, Recovery Girl addressed the three Pro Heroes. “Eraserhead… Mic and Midnight too… if there’s anything we can do for you…” she let her statement ring out, grunts of support following it. Mic and Midnight, having had less time to deal with the situation, let out pained, teary laughs. Aizawa gave a soft thanks, and turned to the kid to ask with his eyes if he could take over. His gave him a gentle headbutt, softening his demeanour. Midnight, still slightly teary-eyed, giggled at the scene.

“Oboro… he was still in there. Mic and I were sent to Tartarus to try and break through to him. It worked.” Mic’s breath hitched. “That’s where we found out where the high-end nomu were being made, including Shigaraki.”

Nemuri and Hizashi had already known they had Oboro back, but it being presented to them in this manner made it very real that a version of him was not only still active out in the world, but that they had come close to him. All the healing they had done in regards to his death had seemingly been undone. Especially for Hizashi- Nemuri was a part of their squad, but the fact remained that she was still a year above Shota, Hizashi and Oboro. Hizashi and Oboro were close. Shota and Oboro were close. It was a wound that had scarred less brightly for her than for them.

There was still a scar that had just been ripped open.

While Hizashi and Nemuri were stewing over the first half of Shota’s statement, other teachers went on to clarify the details of the second half.

“Eraserhead, Midoriya, why was Shigaraki in the nomu lab? It felt like you implied he was one of them rather than him being there to hide.” Aizawa appreciated that Cementoss addressed his kid as well as himself, because the All for One stuff was Izuku’s territory. He nudged his kid gently, prompting him to speak.

“All for One had a doctor who was behind the nomu. He was using a similar vein of technology to alter Shigaraki’s body so that not only would he be unnaturally strong without a quirk, but so that the quirk itself, All for One, could be medically transferred over to Shigaraki.”

The staff went wide-eyed at that. “To think that that kind of thing is possible through technology… the implications aren’t all that positive.” Nezu sounded out thoughtfully.

All Might looked slightly unsettled. “Do you know why that man passed his quirk on to Shigaraki? I really can’t see him entrusting his whole fight and legacy to another after fighting by himself for 200 years.”

Izuku’s countenance shifted to one of sorrow. That kid and his bleeding heart. He was truly going to be one of the greatest heroes the world had ever seen. “It became an almost psychic battle. Quirks leave behind vestiges of their user. All for One passed on his original quirk so that he could essentially take over Shigaraki’s now superior body.”

“That’s… not good.” All Might said worriedly. Ectoplasm nodded in stoic agreement.

“This is the point where everything went to crap.” Aizawa announced in a monotone. “I was on the team that raided the hospital which the doctor’s labs were under. We were delayed by thirty minutes. Shigaraki’s new body had been completed two minutes before we entered the room.”

A chilled silence filled the room like a dangerous fog.

Aizawa shook his head. “It was the worst raid I’ve ever been on. Only five of the twenty heroes on the team even made it into the room. We lost two of those five heroes, and completed none of the mission objectives before needing to flee.” He sighed deeply. “So many heroes were involved that they brought on hero students with provisional licences to help with the evacuation efforts. Since our first years all gained Provisional Hero licences, every single one of our hero students was out there.”

There was silence again before a horrified “Oh my god.” sounded. Shota agreed wholeheartedly with that sentiment. “None of us were happy with the hero commission for that as I’m sure you can imagine.” The staff nodded insistently. He placed a hand on Izuku’s head and ruffled it gently. “They all did good though. Really good.”

All Might smiled. “I can believe it.” Izuku gave a small smile.

Aizawa slumped resignedly. “Unfortunately, in addition to being ridiculously overpowered, Shigaraki now also had Ragdoll’s search quirk, and the same desire All for One had to take One for All.”

Midnight groaned. “This never ends, does it?”

Aizawa and Midoriya gave her twin rueful smiles.

Snipe slapped his knees. “Alright Eraser, Young’un, what happened next?”

It was time for them to hear the worst of the tale.

Chapter Text

“War is the only way to describe how large-scale the fight that began the two-year future period was. Shigaraki’s power was immense and he decimated all of Jakku instantly. The Paranormal Liberation front started battles all over the country. “

Aizawa’s grave tone rang throughout the room.

“Initially, it was just pros and third years fighting, with first and second years strictly on evacuation. However, a lot of pros, if they weren’t injured early long, began to quit on the spot the longer the battle went on.”

Midnight gaped. “They just… quit?”

Aizawa nodded and Izuku said, “Uraraka told me she watched a pro give up the fight right in front of her. He was one of many, but… it was a very harrowing experience. It wasn’t easy for her to see. It’s…we were all trying our best. I can’t really fault the hero though, but their fates were ultimately the same, whether they fought or not.”

The staff looked down contemplatively. All Might looked particularly disheartened.

Aizawa began to continue. “Even with the two of us,” He gestured vaguely between Izuku and himself, “the details of the battle were kind of lost in its scale. I suppose we don’t really need details though, you just need to know the vague things for context.”

Nezu nodded.

Aizawa breathed. “Well… as I’m sure you’ve all pieced together, the students ended up joining the fight. They saw things they really shouldn’t have, but it happened.”

Izuku’s eyes went a little teary. “Sato, Ashido, Yaoyorozu and Kirishima were the first to… they were there when Midnight-sensei… passed.”

Midnight let out a quiet “Oh.”

“Shigaraki used Ragdol’s quirk to locate me. Ka-” Izuku’s throat caught on his words. His dad’s arm shifted from his back to over his shoulders in an imitation half-hug.

“Bakugo was with Izuku. They tried to lead Shigaraki away from everyone else. As he pursued them, he was followed by Endeavour, who was number 1 after All Might’s retirement. Ryuku, myself, and a currently retired pro, Gran Torino,” All Might spurted blood, “arrived at a similar time. I was supported by Manual and Rock Lock, and Endeavour was supported by his sidekicks.”

Izuku subconsciously leaned in closer to Shota. “Shigaraki went after Endeavour first. Gran Torino took me and Kacchan a distance away since Sensei was blocking Shigaraki’s quirks.” Izuku fidgeted slightly. “He downed Endeavour for a bit, and went after Sensei. Losing him was the absolute worst case scenario. For that battle. And everything after.”

Aizawa had to turn his head away to not let his emotions overwhelm him.

“That’s why Kacchan and I went back to fight Shigaraki head-on.” Izuku felt tears build behind his eyes, but shook them away. “We had to keep the battle in the air otherwise Shigaraki could use his improved decay quirk to kill everyone on the ground.”

Guiltily, he hung his head. “I was so focused on Shigaraki and the other injured heroes that I didn’t notice the quirk erasing bullets he had in his hand.” His dad’s arm, which was still holding him, reached across his shoulders to tap his cheek chidingly. They’ve had this conversation before. The other pros deflated at the mention of the injuries their friend had to suffer.

He let out the weariest sigh his teachers have ever seen him let out. “Shigaraki activated a regeneration quirk. His body was fully reset. Our forces were divided between helping vital wounded heroes and actively fighting Shigaraki.”

Izuku turned his head upwards to the roof to stop any tears from coming. The staff shifted worriedly.

“Shigaraki sent out a lethal attack in my direction.” Shota felt himself tighten his arm around his kid as his voice shook. “That was when Kacchan came. He got the full force of that attack and was killed on the spot.”

Gasps rang out across the room. Izuku felt his hands curl into fists. “I was so angry that I used a higher percentage of One for All than I should have. While I did some damage to the regenerated Shigaraki, I ended up severely injured alongside the other pros.”

He continued, “It’s only through what we later found out to be All for One trying to take over Shigaraki’s body, that the battle could stop at an impasse.”

Present Mic looked at him sadly. “Little listener…” He really wanted to give Midoriya a hug. Why were they doing this in a formal meeting room again? Screw the otherwise convenient oval table, it was in his way.

“While we were recovering at the hospital Principal Nezu turned UA into a fortress, housing refugees, which was the majority of the city and all the student’s families.” His gaze went sad and unfocused. “They weren’t very happy with me staying there though.”

Thirteen half stood in her seat. “What?! Why?”

Izuku smiled sadly. “One for All kind of became an open secret in the fact that I was being actively hunted by the guy who was the reason their homes were all destroyed.” Izuku’s face hardened with grim acceptance. “I was a beacon. The wrong kind. I… probably would have left if Kacchan hadn’t been killed.”

The staff watched as Deku looked away, grief and regret written all over his face, while a large quantity of unknown emotions flashed across Aizawa’s.

Aizawa gently took over speaking. “We had a grace period of about a month. We know thanks to Kurogiri’s fragmented memories that Shigaraki was actively fighting for control over his body. During that time, all the students and the staff who could, continued to train. It was in this period, that, with the use of his other quirks, this kid here created a faux one hundred percent. Essentially, that means we now had someone whose power matched All Might’s, and was able to stand a fighting chance against Shigaraki.”

His grave voice continued. “Losing Midnight and Bakugo was a lethal hit to morale. I think… more would have survived the second battle had they still been around.”

The room felt cold with the sullen mood.

“It didn’t help that at some point, Shigaraki had released all the prisoners in Tartarus.” Nezu looked distinctly worried.
“Oh dear…”

“Beacuse of the prison break, that second battle saw the largest losses among active fighters. Among the staff we lost Snipe and Recovery Girl, but among the students…” Aizawa’s hair shadowed his face. “Of my class, only five remained. For Vlad’s class, it was six. We lost a bit over half of our second year hero students. The third years were actually doing better than most pros, but we still ended up losing around nine of them as well.”

A faint “Oh my god” sounded from Vlad, while Hound Dog had to leave the room.

“Shigaraki had returned for that fight as an overwhelming force, but had to pull back as All for One seemingly became more insistent. Because of this, Shigaraki grew desperate and quickly initiated a third wave. The UA fortress fell, and with it went all of the refugees and most of the non-hero students. Our hero students were more than halved across the board.”

Aizawa’s throat began to tighten and he squeezed his kid, who wrapped an arm around him to squeeze him back. He angled to face his son a bit more as opposed to the room. This would hurt him more.

“All of my class was gone. Only Izuku, two of Vlad’s, three of the second years, and around eight of the third years remained. Of the staff, Cementoss, Hound Dog and All Might were killed.”

Mic sniffed loudly, as tears poured down his face. “SHOTAAAAA!” He cried. The other staff looked to be in similar states. Aizawa activated his on Mic quirk to prevent his volume from increasing. He looked faintly put out, but didn’t say anything in the otherwise solemn room.

For the first time in what felt like hours, a small uptake of lips adorned Shota’s face as he looked down at his son in pride, practicedly ignoring the previous mood. The teachers perked in interest at the shift. “This is, fortunately, also when Izuku genuinely surpassed All Might’s prime with core power alone.”

Izuku’s face went red- not so much at his achievement- they knew how strong he had become- but because of the way his dad was making it sound. The grief in his heart seemed to vanish for a moment in the face of his dad’s pride.

And the bragging… it was so embarrassing but it felt nice to know that his dad felt that way. Really, really nice. He just didn’t know that his dad was the type to do these things. Or that he even wanted to. Maybe it’s a universal dad thing? Something warm and content blossomed in his chest at that thought. He turned to face away from the room and hide his red face in his dad’s chest.

Shota’s proud quirk of the lips shifted to show amusement. He encircled both arms around his son, rested his chin on Izuku’s curls, and closed his eyes.

The staff around the table gaped at one another upon seeing the loving look on Eraserhead's face. How did he go from the stoic man he was before, to an adoring parent amidst all the heartache and grief? Normally that would harden a person’s heart, but Shota seemed to have done the opposite. He opened his heart to his equally hurt student, who opened his heart in turn, and let each other go beyond the bounds of teacher and student into something more protective, personal and loving.

Their hearts ached for the two at the front of the room, who were now exiting their impromptu hug, one giving a bashful look, the other giving dangerous glares to those who might comment. Within two months, they’d nearly lost everyone, and their saga went for two years.

The world could be so cruel to the kindest people. But it did do one thing right- it kept Izuku and Shota together.

Chapter Text

Aizawa glanced wearily at the clock. The meeting had been going on for nearly two hours. He and Izuku had been standing for nearly two hours…

With a huff, he grabbed two chairs and put them in front of their place at the end of the table. Yes, it was scarier to have Nezu able to directly stare them down from the opposite end as opposed to standing so they could look at everyone better but the man was tired. And phantom pain was apparently still a thing even though his leg was back. Joy.

Izuku glanced at him worriedly, knowing the signs that his phantom pain was acting up. He just smiled tiredly at the kid and gestured for him to sit as well.

Mic gave him a similar look. “Sho, is something wrong?”

“I still have phantom pain from when I lost my leg even though my leg is currently very present.” He deadpanned.

Recovery Girl frowned, before catching Shota’s attention and giving him a reassuring look. “It should fade with time, as you become more aware that you have your physical leg back as opposed to a prosthetic.”

Shota nodded in acknowledgement, relief only clear in the minute dropping of his shoulders.

Gently, Nezu prompted “Are you able to continue, Aizawa?”

“Yes, don’t worry. The pain is nothing new, and we should be done within the half hour.”

Nezu nodded and gestured to the two at the front, inviting them to continue at their own pace.

With a final worried glance at his dad, Izuku began first. “Those first two battles and the fall of UA occurred within the span of two months. By the third month, it was a small group made up of those of you who were still alive, and the last of us students.”

Ectoplasm’s heart broke. “Oh kid…”

“Vlad-Sensei went out with his two students to scout out some places… none of them came back.”

Vlad’s eyes misted over at the thought of his whole class being killed.

“Near the end of those three months we had another small-scale fight, with a group of villains. Instead of losing people, we actually gained one. Kurogiri seemed to have been suffering after Shirakumo was awakened for a bit. He was all… glitchy, and didn’t seem to have a sense of self at all, much less an allegiance to any side.”

Izuku’s lips quirked. “Sensei and Mic-Sensei refused to leave him behind. Mic sensei in particular was very… vocal.”

Shota snorted. “Hysterical is more like it.”

“Hey!” Mic whined. “Leave a guy and his apparently not dead friend alone.”

Izuku shook his head. “Anyway, it was getting a bit hard to tell by then, but somewhere around the four-month mark was where it got bad again.” Izuku suddenly went silent. He didn’t want to talk about it anymore. Going further made it more real. Delving more and more into grief long moved past for the sake of necessity. To live another day.

Shota picked up on the sudden silence and the withdrawn body language Izuku was suddenly exhibiting, and shifted to lean forward slightly more than Izuku was, drawing attention to him instead of the kid.

“Four months in was when Shigaraki’s internal battle with All for One was beginning to drive him to near insanity. He began letting out indiscriminate shockwaves of his improved disintegration, indiscriminately killing people on both sides, and decimating the last of any major buildings.”

Shota’s eyes glinted with deep emotion. Izuku’s glazed over, as he lost himself in some horrible memory. Shota subtly bumped his knee against Izuku’s own.

“While we know that at least one other league member was still alive, the only humans the kid and I actually saw past this point were Mic, Kurogiri and Shigaraki.”

Recovery girl laughed with morose incredulity. “Four months was all it took…”

The room took a moment to reflect on that information.

“Me, Izuku and Hizashi travelled around with a relatively mindless Kurogiri. That is until Izuku did some hand wavey stuff with his quirk that would give scientists an aneurysm.”

Izuku looked as though he didn’t know if he was offended or not by that. All Might cocked his head in slight confusion, though a sharp glint in his eye revealed he may have pieced something together.

Shota sent a sharp look to Hizashi and Nemuri. “It’s impossible to replicate what happened. It was a set of seemingly impossible circumstances that led to a continued unstable existence.” He breathed deeply. “However, it was in fact, the continued existence of a version of Kurogiri with Oboro- Shirakumo as the driver’s seat.”

Nemuri and Hizashi looked incredibly pained.

Izuku nodded sagely. “Kurakumo.”

Mic and Nemuri momentarily let go of their pain with twin amused huffs.

Aizawa considered his next inclusion. It wouldn’t mean anything in the grand scheme of things, but, with a glance at Izuku, he thought it might be okay to be a little bit more personal, even though it was an illogical addition to the story. Maybe it would bring his friends some peace knowing there was a light in the darkness.

“The four of us… obviously we were all in the throes of immense grief and turmoil and all that fun stuff,” he flopped his hand dismissively while the staff looked on in faint horror. “but we were okay. While I would never wish for any of those things to happen again, in a moment away from the heartache… it wasn’t…bad. It was nice watching Mic and Oboro being stupid together. And corrupting my kid.” He finished dryly.

Izuku had a cheeky smile on his face while Hizashi and Nemuri shook each other excitedly. Their nephew would clearly be okay with helping them with pranks. Score. They ignored the glare Shota had sent their way.

He sighed and dragged a hand down his face. “Anyway, we kept travelling, trying to hunt down Shigaraki and whoever was left of the league. By the time we saw him again, it was pretty safe to assume it had been around six months.”

The Pro Heroes in the room recalled what Eraser had said that morning. He claimed it took six months to end the world. This was the end for them, then.

Aizawa leaned forward, gravely. “We found him. Alone, and very clearly affected by it. Thanks to Kurogiri,” “Kurakumo.” “we know that the only reason he managed to last so long in his psychic battle for his body was because of his friendship with the other league members, namely Spinner, who joined after the Stain fiasco.”

“The five of us fought. Not only was Shigaraki significantly weakened by All for One’s consistent efforts to take over, but we also had a very strong teenager. Unfortunately, a cornered Shigaraki was an immensely dangerous one regardless. From that point on, it was just me and Midoriya for another year and a half.”

Aizawa and Midoriya fell into a tired silence. Hizashi fidgeted before bursting out of his seat and storming to the front of the room. He placed a hand on both Aizawa’s and Midoriya’s shoulder, looked them in the eye and announced "I'm giving you both a hug now.”

Both looked extremely confused before their faces were hidden by an emotional Hizashi Yamada, who was actively ignoring Vlad and Powerloader's vehement shaking of their heads.

Izuku froze before sinking into the embrace. It had been familiar, once. Maybe it could be that way again. Meanwhile, Shota was having an internal war. Being soft with his kid was one thing. Being soft with his best friend in front of other people was another. He felt Hizashi’s grip tighten as the man muffled sobs. It was then that Shota chose to follow Izuku, and go limp in the embrace, before wrapping his arms around Hizashi and Izuku.

Izuku’s waterworks were promptly reactivated.

Shota was about to turn to focus on his child when he felt another pair of arms wrap around him. He quickly stiffened, and turned his head as much as he could while trapped by Hizashi to see a similarly tearful All Might, who accidentally egged on the Midoriya tears, which made All Might’s tears worse. Gosh, Shota thought. He had really forgotten what a pair those two made.

He was about to try and awkwardly escape before he felt another pair of arms. And another. Oh no no no don’t tell him he was in the middle of a group hug. Shota Aizawa, the stoic, no nonsense teacher and pro-hero, was inside a sappy, tearful group hug.

He shifted again, before he heard Hizashi mumble a weak “Sho, don’t even think about it right now.” Shota slumped, defeated, in the centre of a huge hug between that majority of UA’s staff, with a bonus teenager. Well. The warmth radiating from the group was a nice reminder they were all alive anyway. He supposed he could stay a bit.

His arms tightened around Izuku and Hizashi. A single tear slipped from his eye.

The reminder really wasn’t so bad. Izuku tightened his grip similarly.

Yeah. They were all alive.

Chapter Text

Concrete dust filled the pre-dawn air with a low haze. Izuku stared, unseeing, at the demolished urban landscape thousands of people once called home. He registered an uneven gait stop, and move to sit next to him on the pile of concrete. He didn’t acknowledge his sensei, and his sensei made no move to break the introspective silence that filled the hazy hair.

A draft gently tousled Izuku’s hair. He closed his eyes to remove the sting of concrete dust. Their proximity allowed Izuku to feel Aizawa shift to make himself more comfortable on the pile. He opened his eyes again and exhaled lightly, continuing to stare into a distant horizon.

“My dream…” Izuku started, “was to save people.” Aizawa made no indication to show he was listening, but Izuku knew by now that he would always listen. Izuku’s gaze unfocused enough in the low light to blur the line where the land met the sky.

“When you tell people there’s no one to save, that would normally be a good thing. They’re all happy and healthy, and the saviours aren’t needed.” A familiar tightness built up in his chest. “It’s different when there’s no one to save because they’re all gone. I couldn’t save them.”

Aizawa turned to face him. Izuku continued to look sadly at the horizon, which was slowly lightening to an early dawn purple. The calm environment could not quiet the screams of failure which circled his head like a hurricane. A tap on his shoulder pulled him out of his reverie, and he turned to look at Aizawa, who pinned him with an intense look.

“Midoriya, absolutely none of this was on you. It’s on so many other people and a multitude of other factors we as individuals will never be able to fathom, but this war, this destruction, absolutely none of it is because of you.”

Midoriya felt tears well up, but pushed them down to give Aizawa a considering look. “Sensei…” he sniffed. “That’s not fair for you to tell me that.”

Aizawa averted his eyes, knowing what the kid was trying to say. Midoriya could see the similar self-blame written in Shota’s micro-expressions. He locked his eyes back on the kid’s. “I was the adult, and pro-hero. While as a teenager and student, it was never a burden you were meant to shoulder, it was quite literally my job to take care of all of you.”

The sky gradually continued to lighten, as the purple rose higher, making way for the first beams of light, scattered among the settling concrete dust. Midoriya’s eyes caught the light almost eerily as he turned his head to the horizon contemplatively. Feelings of failure curled in his gut once more. He recalled the weight of responsibility he’d felt as One for All’s wielder. But they’ve had that conversation before. Rather, his thoughts took him to a time before all that. Before that war, and before his time as a hero-in-training.

He breathed.

“My dream was to save people.” He could feel Aizawa’s confusion, having just talked about the guilt, but Izuku continued on. This was a different part of him he wanted Aizawa to understand, so quickly, he cut in. “I didn’t want to be a fighter. War or not.” He clenched his fists. “But for some reason, being a paramedic, firefighter… literally any other profession that lets you save people was never an option. I wanted to be a hero. Heroes are different from people like doctors. Of course, you see anyone in a life saving profession, and feel relief. But heroes,” Izuku breathed out, “Heroes are different.”

A sliver of understanding dawned in Aizawa’s eyes, but it was clear he didn’t quite see what the actual point of this was just yet.

“Heroes are untouchable, yet they’re the easiest to reach out for. The personas are individualised, and they have audiences. There’s a point to all that branding I suppose. They’re the manifestation of tangible concepts, and there’s never one hero that’s quite the same as another.”

Izuku reached out to catch the first appearance of the rising sun in the palm of his hand.

“You can reach out to them.”

He closed his fist.

“And if they reach back… they can save more than just your body.”

Aizawa leaned back to watch the dawn break, and hummed a tone that could have been agreeance.

Izuku let out a shuddering breath.

“Like All Might… I wanted people to look at me and feel safe. More importantly, I wanted them to feel hope. Maybe, if Deku the hero was around, their lives wouldn’t just be saved, but be changed for the better.” His voice broke, and Aizawa turned to look at him intently. “They needed to be safe.” A sob built up in his throat. “I wanted them to know they would be safe.” The sob broke out from his chest, and thick globs of tears suddenly began pouring from his face. “But they’re not here.”

Aizawa’s lips parted in a heartbroken expression as he watched Izuku break. He reached over to place a hand on the kid’s shoulder, and angled his body to face the kid more fully. His other hand hovered unsurely, before he decided to reach over and catch Izuku’s far forearm in a gentle not quite a hug, but a loose hold.

The tragedy of this child exacerbated his own guilt, which must have shown on his face, because the now seventeen-year old still has tears flowing freely, but directed a sad smile at Shota.

Izuku laughed morosely and leaned into the hold, resting his head on Aizawa’s chest. Aizawa wasn’t sure what to do until Izuku let out a whispered “Hypocrite.” Aizawa elected to simply tighten his hold on the kid, making it closer to a hug.

They sat, breathing together as the sun began to ring in a new day, ignoring the desolate plain that was now illuminated by the beginnings of a golden light.

Shota couldn’t help but wonder where all the guilt ended. Would it just be them carrying the weight of a gone country for as long as they lived?

Belatedly, he responded to Midoriya.

“You’re right.”

He felt a hitch in the kid’s breathing, but Midoriya stayed where he was.

“For me, it’s the students and civilians who were my responsibility, both as a teacher and a hero.” Izuku raised his head, a retort on his lips, only to stop as he saw the man’s expression. He watched with his wide eyes as Aizawa looked at him with an almost soft expression. The man sighed, and continued. “As the heroes and teachers kept falling, those who remained also became my responsibility.”

Izuku’s eyes widened as Aizawa fully opened his expression for the first time, baring his raw emotions for all to see. Gently, Aizawa placed a hand on Midoriya’s cheek. “But kid, when does it end? When does the responsibility we feel for others prohibit the responsibility we have for ourselves? What you did was amazing. You saved the most important person you could have ever saved.” At Izuku’s tilt of confusion, he clarified. “You saved yourself. Midoriya, for as long as you are here, you won’t have failed.”

Midoriya’s eyes bored into Shota’s own. “Sensei… I want to help you too.” He smiled softly at the kid and shook his head. “You are allowed to care. Your desire to help, to save, is nothing short of astounding, but Midoriya, you’re my student, my kid. Don’t worry about me. I’ll take care of you, and make sure you are here. So long as you are here, I won’t have failed.”

The sun rose fully over the horizon, golden light filling the expanse for a moment. Izuku could see his awe at his teacher’s words, reflected back at him in the man’s eyes. And past his own reflection, lay Aizawa’s pure will and determination. Izuku understands. He doesn’t want Izuku to take care of him. He wants Izuku to let him take care of Izuku himself.

Aizawa will watch over him, protect him, and be there for him.

“We’re not all gone.” The man says.

Izuku’s shoulders relax, and a small smile forms on his face as he nods. “Right.”

He turns away from Aizawa to face the sun, breaking his hold, but now being shoulder-to-shoulder. “We both want to save people… so I guess I’ll have to be here for you to save me.”

Aizawa relaxes, and a similar smile breaks out on his face at Izuku’s acceptance of the claim he staked over his care, and the gentle push he gave Midoriya to tell him that Shota himself was not his responsibility. From here on out, Shota will take care of Izuku.

Feeling giving, he told the kid “I’ll be here too. We’ll save each other, okay?”

Izuku leaned his head on Aizawa’s shoulder. “Okay.”

Aizawa hummed and leaned into the kid in turn. The sky turned bright blue. There were no skyscrapers to block the view.

Chapter Text

It was unanimously decided to end the two-hour-long meeting after their group hug, and return the next day to begin planning the changes they need to make. An extra day wouldn’t hurt, and it had been an emotionally tolling meeting. They used the opportunity to ask Nezu to invite two more people. All Might’s reaction to the requested individuals was to spurt blood.

As the staff prepared to go home for the day, All Might gently approached Izuku, who beamed at the man.

“Hi All Might! Is everything ok?” All Might smiled back and laughed kindly.

“We’re as okay as we can be in times like these.” Izuku’s smile turned slightly rueful, but the beaming quality was still there. He was just so happy to be addressed by the people he cares about that his smile refused to drop.

All Might pat his head placatingly. “I don’t want to take up too much of your time young Midoriya-” He paused to pat the kid’s head again at the incredulous look Izuku wore at the concept of All Might ‘taking up’ his time. He would always have time for his mentor. All Might’s face softened. “There are just a couple of things that I’d like to ask about without other prying ears about things you danced around explaining fully, if that’s okay with you my boy.”

Ah, Izuku had noticed All Might picked up on some things. Nezu probably did too, but it would mean more to All Might. His smile softened as he looked up at the man. “Of course. There are some things I think you’d like to hear as well.”

All Might gave Izuku one final head pat. “Thank you, young man.” Before he walked away to let Izuku go home he told him “If you ever need anything, even a hug, don’t hesitate to come find me.” Uh oh, Izuku felt his famous Midoriya tear ducts activate. All Might chuckled, and waved goodbye to a teary green bean as he left the room.

Izuku was left standing in the room of pro heroes shifting to leave, and was hit with a wave of uncertainty. Logically, he knows he should just go back to his mum’s house and live his best life until the next day… but… well.

He walked up to Aizawa, who had just finished getting all his stuff together and turned to face Izuku.
“What’s up problem child?” Izuku made a face at the resurfaced nickname while his dad’s eyes scrunched amusedly.

Izuku floundered for a moment, not really sure how to articulate his uncertainty. In the end he settled on pointing at the man, receiving a confused look. To clarify, he simply said “Dad.”

Shota’s eyes dawned with understanding, and his expression softened. He leaned forward and donked his forehead against Izuku’s own affectionately, earning a giggle from the teenager.

He straightened up again to sling his brown messenger bag over his shoulder. “Give my number to your mum. I’ll try my very best to figure something out with her, okay?”
Izuku really couldn’t stop smiling at the moment. He supposed it had something to do with it being the best day he’d had in like two years but he digresses.

Shota moved across the room and gestured for Izuku to follow, which he happily did. They walked out of the meeting room and down the halls of UA side by side as Shota began to check in on his kid.

“Was everything ok today with your friends and in your classes?”

Izuku wrung his fingers as he considered his answer. “Well… classes were fine. I’ve forgotten a lot of the stuff, but it’s all slowly coming back. It’s basically just revision for me.” He pulled a face. “I’m not too sure how I feel about that. I feel like I'm cheating even though I know I’ve put in the proper effort to learn everything the first time.”

Shota nodded. “We’ll have to see what to do for you about testing. Nezu seemed pretty happy to just accept the grades you got the first time, but I don’t expect either of us to remember exactly what you got for more than anything major like your exams.”

“Yeah.”

Shota looked at his kid worriedly at the lapse in the conversation. “Everything ok with your friends?”

Izuku’s expression went slightly downcast. “They were all wonderful to me. As they always are. But It’s kind of hard being faced with a version of my friends that haven’t had the same experiences with me you know? I’m closer to them than they are to me if that makes sense.”

Shota frowned. He had been worried about something along those lines. It was different for him because he had been friends with Hizashi and Nemuri for around fifteen years. There hadn’t really been anything major in the current year. Same with the majority of the UA faculty, most of whom he’d known for at least four years. But for Izuku, his closest friendships were formed during this time, and they’d been sent back to when they’d only known each other for a couple of months. He’d had lots of important moments with his friends he’d never get back. Especially…

“Was… everything okay with Bakugo?” He asked hesitantly. Izuku stopped in his tracks causing Shota to stop and turn back to face him. Izuku stared contemplatively at the ground.

“Nothing really happened today. If anything, he avoided me I think. It’s just…” Izuku hesitated. Shota made an encouraging gesture. “You remember how I told you that Kacchan taking that blow for me almost felt like the apology I’d never thought I’d get from him?”

Shota nodded. Izuku began walking again so he followed. “Seeing all the work on our relationship gone was hard. We haven’t had our fight, and he wasn’t told about One for All in confidence or anything like that. We haven’t learned to work together and we haven’t really fought alongside each other.” Izuku sighed dejectedly. “He’s gone back to not knowing how to feel about me, and I think my show of power may have actually made his current feelings about me worse. Remember how he reacted to seeing my quirk on the first day?”

Shota recalled having to restrain Bakugo and rubbed his eyes in sympathy for his past self’s dry-eye. “Yup.”

“Yeah.”

“Ah.” Aizawa slumped his shoulders in resignation at having to deal with the old Bakugo. “Make sure to let me know if you need me to talk to him.”

Izuku let out a small smile. “Okay.”

As they began to approach the door, Izuku turned the conversation on his dad.

“Dad?”

Shota hummed, hiding a smile at the casual use of the still new address.

“Were you okay? Seeing everyone again I mean.”

Shota looked up at the sky as they walked down the path to the gate, before looking at Izuku. “I imagine me seeing my friends would have felt pretty similar to you seeing yours. I hugged Hizashi and Nemuri yesterday and they lost it.”

Shota smiled at the sound of Izuku’s laugh. “As for seeing the students… I’m just glad I have the chance to see you all graduate I think.”

Izuku bumped his shoulder against Shota gently. “Yeah.”

The two began to slow as they passed the bounds of the gate. Logically, they would just say their goodbyes and part here as they went to their respective residences. Izuku fidgeted, and Shota suddenly felt as though the distance between him and his kid was too far.

In a blur, the two met in a tight hug. Izuku tucked his face in Shota’s chest as Shota ducked his face into Izuku’s head of unruly curls.

“Dad?”

“Yes, Izuku?”

Izuku breathed in deeply before loosening his hold, causing Shota to do the same. He looked up at his dad. “I’ll… I’ll see you tomorrow?” His statement ended up as a question for reasons he wasn’t quite sure of.

Shota placed a hand on his child’s cheek and rubbed his thumb gently across it. “Yes. You’ll see me tomorrow.” Gently, he pressed a kiss on his son’s forehead. “Come in early if you want. You’ll find me in the teacher’s lounge, okay Izuku?”

The deep paternal affection combined with the impending separation made Izuku want to cry. “Okay Dad.”

They parted ways with gentle “see you tomorrows”, and Izuku began to follow a once familiar route to his house.

~~~~~~

The sun had begun to set by the time Izuku walked in his front door. He called out to his mother. “I’m home!”

The speed at which she rounded the corner revealed her worry to Izuku. “Welcome home honey.” She reached up to press another kiss on Izuku’s forehead, eliciting the thought of him having two parents who loved him enough to show genuine affection, which gave him warm fuzzies. They really need to meet…

“Was everything okay at school today? How was the meeting with all your teachers?”

He smiled. “It was good. Really good. I’ll tell you what happened today over dinner?” Inko’s hovering hands stopped fretting as she looked at his expression. Her body drooped with visible relief, and she gave him a teary smile. “Of course dear. I made katsudon!”

Izuku couldn’t help but let out a joyful laugh. “Again? We had it yesterday!”

She gave him a smile. “Well you’ve had a big couple of days. Better get to the table, it’s almost done!”

Izuku let her lead him further into their apartment with cheeks that hurt from smiling so much that day, and eyes that hurt from all the crying.

~~~~~~

Shota’s head was in the clouds as he walked down the street, letting the day settle in. It felt like he had spent the day surrounded by living ghosts. It ended up being a good thing, because they all leaned closer to the living side than the ghost side.

He began to wonder about the future on a smaller scale. Not to do with nation-ending villains, but with the individual futures of his students and friends alike. What changes would they bring to a world where they got to live?

His mind wandered to his kid- Izuku. He frowned lightly. He didn’t want to show any doubt in front of Izuku, but he wasn’t really sure how his mother would react. She might think that it was really weird Shota wanted her to- what? Share her son?- With him, a man she’d never actually met before. He didn’t even really have an idea of what that would look like beyond him knowing that he wouldn’t be able to take only seeing his kid for short periods of the day. He shook his head. No use worrying about something that hasn’t happened.

If anything, it was unreal that he was in a position where custody(?) over a child was one of his main concerns. The silent world that was made up of two had suddenly burst to life in a cacophony of colour and noise.

It was overwhelming, but an undoubtedly good thing.

He continued down the street as his attention was drawn to a little side alley. He paused to take in the details of the scene. A bin rattled eerily, and there was the odd sound of something almost scratching on metal. But he didn’t reach for his capture weapon.

Suddenly, the top of a bin popped off, causing Shota to tense for a second. Immediately, he relaxed at the tuft of ginger that popped out the top of the bin. Bright green eyes turned and met his. A chirpy meow greeted him, and a cat jumped from the bin to approach him and curl around his legs. Shota looked down and his eyes widened at the affectionate feline. He turned to face the alley again to see five other cats looking at him intently.

Unbidden, a smile bloomed on Shota’s face, hidden in his coiled capture weapon. He had forgotten about the stray cats he used to feed. He bent down to stroke the orange cat’s fur. “Sorry.” He whispered. “I forgot to bring you food.”

The cat simply purred against his legs. He continued to smile, and pet its head one more time, before continuing on his way to his apartment. Two days ago, the only streets he walked were abandoned. As he walked today, he was watched by evidence of life. Cars passed and cats watched his path.

Chapter Text

The halls of UA never failed to perk Izuku up. He’d had a groggy morning after not sleeping well. It had been a late night, with Izuku talking with his mother for hours both during and after dinner.
He had then ended the evening by thrusting a piece of paper with his dad’s phone number written on it at his mum, before promptly going to hide in his room, exhaustion from the emotional day hitting him all at once.

Lying in bed saw him struggling with the sound of all the traffic that had been absent for two years, and the distinct absence of his dad’s breathing. Why it hadn’t bothered him the night before, he wasn’t too sure, but what he did know was that dragging himself out of bed to go to UA early in the morning was among his top 10 accomplishments.

Nonetheless, walking the halls of the beloved hero school brought a special kind of joy and pride that always brought his mood and energy up as he arrived for the school day. Usually, he would have to dodge a crowd of students but, like yesterday, he had come early.

Izuku slowed his gait as he approached the door to the staff lounge. Sensei had said it was okay, but what if he decided that his old life was better after the second day and didn’t want anything to do with Izuku anymore?!

Izuku, maybe, needed a bit more sleep, but it’s not like Shota had been his dad so openly in the past (future?) either. It was new.

Actually, maybe that wasn’t the case. Izuku had spent some time thinking in the solitude of his room, and realised that the way he and his dad were acting now, even after receiving the new, formal, address, was exactly the same as how they’d acted in the future.

He thinks that, maybe, they had both only summoned the guts to put name to their familial feelings towards each other because they thought they were about to lose the other. It was the quickest way to put all the unspoken things into words. I see you as you see me. I wish we could stay together. I love you.

Izuku relaxed his shoulders which had unconsciously hunched up in his self-deprecating spiral, and moved to knock on the door. Before his fist could connect, the door sped open to reveal his perpetually exhausted father. He froze as his eyes locked on to Izuku. Izuku froze in response.

They stared at each other for a few moments before Shota reached down and picked Izuku up. Izuku let out a squeak in mild horror and intense embarrassment. He could hear Midnight and Mic laughing from further in the staff lounge. He elected to ignore the ongoing squawks that Vlad King and Power loader were letting out (he thinks it was them at least. He’s never heard the sound of a mental breakdown so clearly, much less from the pro heroes).

“My child.” Izuku hid his quickly reddening face in his dad’s capture weapon. Clearly his earlier worries were unfounded, but he is understandably Very Confused. And very embarrassed. Why is he being carried like a three year old?! In front of all his teachers no less.

“Awh but Shoo~” Hizashi dragged out.

Izuku was beginning to think that he was missing something.

Shota closed the door with his foot and carried an embarrassed green bean to the other side of the room, all while ignoring his gawking colleagues. He plopped on the couch and held Izuku close, one hand curled around his head, and the other around his back. Izuku felt more than saw some of his teachers approach, and then back off, likely due to the force of an unseen glare supported by Shota’s grip tightening around Izuku.

“My. Child. Go get your own.” Mic and Midnight laughed again - Vlad and Powerloader hadn’t even stopped doing… whatever they were doing. “We’re going to nap right here until class needs to start. Come within thirty metres of us and die.”

“Shota the room isn’t even that big.”

“I know.”

Izuku’s head was still tucked into his dad’s capture weapon, but he could very much get behind a nap before class. He wondered if his dad had the same issues sleeping without Izuku, in a much louder world than they were used to that Izuku had had.

He leaned back to look at his dad’s side profile, which was caught in a quirked glare still aimed at his friends. Izuku smiled and curled into his dad’s hold, head resting on his shoulder, not completely hiding his face this time, and lightly fisting his shirt.

In a move unseen to Izuku, but very seen to the gawkers, Shota ceased his glare in favour of smiling at his child.

Mic shook his head unbelievingly. “If you had told me I’d see my best friend being openly affectionate to any degree, I wouldn’t have believed you.”

“Usually you’re meant to put a time frame on statements like those.” Sounded Cementoss, who appeared to be refraining from cooing at the duo on the couch. A smart choice, considering Aizawa’s threat.

“There is no time. This is a never event. I wouldn’t believe.”

Midnight, Vlad King and Powerloader nodded sagely along.

They ceased their teasing to smile at their friend, who had also relaxed alongside his kid, and actually seemed to be settling into a nap. Well, they supposed they shouldn’t have been surprised about that.

Nemuri’s smile went particularly sappy. “Who would have thought that out of all of us, it was grouchy ol’ Shouta who got himself a kid first?”

A bunch of the other teachers laughed lightly. Shota sensed the respect (fear) level from the other teachers dropping in his half-asleep state. He quickly rectified that.

“Thirty. Metres.”

They all paled. “Right, we’re going now!”

Thirteen and Snipe were already out the door.

~~~~~~

Izuku towards class 1-A a bit later than he did the previous day due to the impromptu nap session with his dad. He had never been more well rested after a nap than what he felt now, he thought happily as he opened the door to his class. He distantly wondered if it was some kind of Dad power. The hug that his dad gave him before sending him on his way to class certainly helped.

He entered the room with a pep in his step, and was met with a bit over half the class already present.

“Hey Midobro! How are you feeling?”

Izuku sent a brilliant smile to Kirishima. “I’m good! I feel really well rested!”

Kirishima clutched his heart. “Too bright.”

Bakugo, who had been sitting quietly let out a “tch” while Aoyama piped in. “Oui c'est magnifique.” His glitter surrounded the numerous victims of the smile.

Izuku, of course, missed all that as he turned to face Iida, who had a hand up in greeting.

“Midoriya-kun, I trust you feel well?”

“Hi Iida!” Izuku couldn’t resist and bypassed his wave to give one of his best friends a hug again. Iida stiffened before quickly relaxing and returning the hug with a smile.

Uraraka appeared behind Iida and similarly returned her own hug from Izuku. “Hey, Deku! Glad to see you’re feeling okay.”

Izuku stepped back to grin at his two friends just as Kaminari and Jiro entered the room. He noticed slight tension fall from their shoulders as they saw his happy demeanour. He got a “Hi Midoriya!” and a “Yo.” from them respectively.

“Good morning, Kaminari, Jiro!” Izuku jittered with the happy energy he felt. He turned to face Iida and Uraraka again before noticing a certain explosive teenager and speeding over.

“Kacchan! How are you? Are you okay?” Midoriya fretted over Bakugo, who was growing visibly agitated.

“Fuck off shitty Deku! Why wouldn’t I be fine? Go take your pity party somewhere else.”

Izuku paused for a minute to frown at the wording of Bakugo’s complaint, before his attention was taken by Aizawa entering the room. He quickly shifted to take his seat, noticing that the remaining members of his class had entered the room as he was focused on Kacchan.

Normally the class would have silently waited for Aizawa to speak first, but yesterday’s events were clearly still fresh on their minds as they chose to greet him instead.

“Morning Sensei!”

Shota grunted out what could be interpreted as a greeting in return, sounding relatively noncommittal. However, Izuku knew that the sound was actually a mix of appreciative and fond, and that he was hiding a small smile in his capture weapon. He smiled at his dad who noticed, and huffed fondly, relaxing out of his hunched position, resulting in his small smile becoming visible to the class. Collective giddiness spread throughout the room at knowing they got a smile out of their normally stoic teacher.

“Morning you hellions.”

Excited chatter broke out at the return of their greeting, before the thoughts weighing on the class's mind reigned it back in.

Asui placed a finger on her chin wonderingly. “Are you and Midoriya-chan both feeling okay today, kero?”

The class went slightly too quiet as they awaited a response. Aizawa sighed, and moved to stand beside the podium instead of behind it. “I won’t run a normal homeroom today either. Let’s talk instead.”

Izuku could feel his classmates hesitate a little bit, before looking back to pay attention to Yaoyorozu. She glanced at their other classmates, reflecting their worries. Based on their reactions, Izuku wondered if they had talked about his and Aizawa’s situation with each other already.

She seemed to find her confidence, and spoke for the class as a whole, confirming Izuku’s suspicion. “We all want to try really hard to avoid talking about topics that may be hurtful or invasive towards you two,” She gestured at Izuku and Aizawa. “So please, if we say or do anything that is hurtful, or even just not something you want to think about that day, please, let us know.” She finished her statement with a bow, to which Izuku shook his hands frantically, while Aizawa nodded in thanks.

They sat in silence again for a few seconds before Uraraka gently spoke, attracting the class’s attention. “It… must’ve been hard.” Quickly, she added. “I mean- that’s obvious right? But I was thinking more about the less obvious things. Like… for you both individually there was only one other person for a whole year and a half. Obviously it would have been lonely and hard at times, but… it must’ve been hard for you both in other ways too. Like, touch starvation, or moments where you maybe didn’t want to be around the other?”

Both Izuku and Shota took a moment to think, before looking at each other. Uraraka wasn’t wrong, but by the same score, she wasn’t entirely right either. The class was probably thinking that Aizawa had still maintained a boundary of teacher and student, when in reality, it had begun to fall three months in, and really shatter by the time there was only five people left in Japan.

The class didn’t really give them a chance to think about it more. Sato piped up with a “Yeah, Midoriya at least has been super tactile since he came back, so we know he’s definitely been missing hugs!”

Izuku pouted embarrassedly while Sato gave him an enthusiastic smile. “Don’t worry Midoriya, it’s not a problem or anything!” He rubbed his hand on the back of his head sheepishly. “We weren’t- or at least I wasn’t expecting it was all. You were just still kind of nervous around us in bigger groups only last week, and some of us haven’t spent much one-on-one time with you yet so the hugs were a very big surprise!”

Izuku’s eyes widened. “Oh, I’m sorry, I hope I didn’t make any of you uncomfortable or anything! I’ve been trying really hard to separate the future versions of you all from the way you all are now, but I might mess up a bit because I’m closer to you all than you all are closer to me.”

He could feel some sad gazes on his back, but he was still facing Sato at the back of the class. The teenager was quick to appease Izuku. “Don’t worry Midoriya, like I said it was just unexpected. I can’t speak for the others, but I’d be really honoured if you came to me for anything you needed, even if it's just another hug. We’re all training to be heroes, right? It’s the least we can do.”

He got enthusiastic agreement from all other members of the class, except for Katsuki. Izuku laughed tearfully, and pointed accusingly at Sato. “You all just want me to cry again, don’t you?” Short laughter rang around the room.

Kaminari hummed. “He has a point though, if you need hugs feel free to come to us! You were stuck with Sensei after all!” Kaminari shivered at the deadpan look he received for that comment.”

Jiro rested her chin on her hands and laughed at Izuku with her eyes at the class’s agreement. Their teacher was very stoic after all, but she knew better. Izuku playfully narrowed his eyes at her in return, only flustering a little bit at the memory of his slip up yesterday. He’d have to remember there are ears everywhere again.

By now the class was openly chatting, and people had moved from their seats to easier access to Izuku or their teacher. Izuku decided to make it easier for them by moving to stand by Aizawa instead, instinctively leaning his head slightly towards the man, before pausing, and giving him a sheepish look. Aizawa sent him a tired one in turn.
It was funny that the class was talking about the lack of physical affection considering that exact thing was so ingrained that Izuku had come to expect a hand in his hair every time he approached the man. Judging from his dad’s tired look, he had to stop himself from doing just that. Oops.

Uraraka, who was one of the closest to the two now perked up. “Oh yeah! Deku, what was the whole reintroduction thing with Mic-Sensei and Midnight-Sensei all about yesterday?”

Izuku felt Aizawa still from his place slightly behind him. Izuku had forgotten about that. He floundered, trying to think up something to say.

Sero chimed in. “Yeah, Midoriya, they said they knew your dad and told you to call them Aunt and Uncle didn’t they? But you seemed really surprised, like this hadn’t happened before which is kind of weird considering they seemed to know an actual family member.”

Jiro, the only person in the room in the know, began to positively cackle as she watched their teacher’s passive face shift to one of mortification. Everyone else was too focused on Midoriya to notice.

Bakugo walked past grouchily, grumbling. “I don’t know what they were on. Nerd doesn’t have a dad.”

Todoroki’s eyes twinkled. Izuku paled.

“Todoroki, please, no.”

Izuku felt Shota look at him in confusion. Izuku had wanted to take this conversation to the grave. He hadn’t told anyone. Not even his dad. He could only pray that Todoroki would take pity on him and not say-

“So you are All Might’s secret love child.”

…

He did not remember the Todoroki of this time having that much sass.

The room exploded. Izuku thinks Jiro nearly passed out due to lack of oxygen. He risked glancing back at his actual parent (thank you very much Todoroki), to see his fingers flexing agitatedly as he stared off into some unseen distance.

Izuku chose life and averted his eyes, slumping resignedly as his classmates shouted questions and exclamations over each other.

He wanted another nap.

Chapter Text

Despite the debacle in the classroom caused by one spiteful, vengeful, Todoroki who came straight from hell to haunt him, the remaining homeroom was rather peaceful. Izuku got even more odd looks from his classmates than before, and he could feel Kacchan positively fuming, but he had decided to live his life on false pretences, and pretend that everything was normal.

Eventually, homeroom came to a near end and Aizawa prepared to go to his next class. Izuku hadn’t thought to ask before about his own work, but he suddenly found himself a bit worried for his dad, so he discreetly walked up to the man, avoiding the attention of his various classmates who had now split off into groups to talk.

Shota, who was watching Izuku approach, smiled at him. “What’s up, kid?”

Izuku returned the smile and tilted his head. “I know you have to go to your other classes in a minute, but I realised I hadn’t thought to ask about how you feel about them?”

“What do you mean?”

“Like, have you told them what’s going on, are you confused about what you’re meant to be teaching them, things like that. Basically, are you adjusting okay?”

Shota wore a considering expression while physically stopping himself from petting Izuku’s hair in appreciation of his child’s considerate nature.

“It was a bit of an adjustment but I spoke to Nezu about it when we met with him yesterday after you left. He let me know what the classes had already covered in the syllabus. I’ve been teaching this stuff for years, so for the most part I was fine after the reminder.”

Izuku relaxed, relieved.

“I didn’t tell them about the time travel though. 1-A would have found out because they’re your friends, and are already involved, but the other classes don’t need to know.” he shook his head. “It wouldn’t do them any good anyway. They’d be worrying over something that will never happen. Plus, a lot of it is confidential.”

Some others had noticed the conversation by now and piped in.

“Your change in demeanour wasn’t all that obvious anyway Sensei. We might not have known anything was wrong if you didn’t say something!”

Jiro nodded. “Hagakure’s right. Chances are, his other classes didn’t even notice something was wrong. If anything, they probably assumed Mic-sensei stole his coffee again and he was just tired.”

Izuku saw the evil thoughts that appeared in his dad’s eye at the reminder of the coffee theft that occurred two years ago for him. His classmates smiled at them innocently. Izuku shivered. How many times had he missed the evil glint before becoming close with the man? His actual fifteen year-old self would have also been smiling innocently with the rest of the class.

Shota checked his watch. “I need to go now. Be good for all your teachers. Except Mic.”

The class laughed and waved as he left the room. Izuku smiled and went to take his seat, but was stopped by his phone pinging. He slipped his phone out of his pocket to read the message then put it on silent. The contact name and picture made him smile as he pulled up the message.

Dad:
Forgot to remind you about the second meeting after school today.

Ah. Yes Izuku had forgotten. In his defence he had been very emotionally compromised lately and a lot of his brain power was being used up by that. He sent a smile and thumbs up emoji before slipping his phone away and waiting for the next teacher to walk in. Time for another day of classes. With a glance at Katsuki, he wondered about how their practical heroics class would go.

~~~~~~

“Midori! You have to help us with all our assignments now!”

The class had dressed in their hero costumes (Izuku nearly cried) and were walking towards gym Gamma. Ashido and Kaminari were keeping step with Izuku. They had somehow noticed his lighter than usual note-taking and asked him about it, prompting Izuku to remind them that he’d already completed the majority of his first year.

“Yeah, Midoriya, you’ve seen all the tests, so you know all the answers. C’mon, help some buddies out?”

The two continued ribbing at him, but it had actually caught the attention of the other classmates. “Oh yeah, Midoriya?” Izuku turned his head to look backwards at Todoroki. “Don’t you technically have two year’s worth of actual field experience as a hero now?”

The class paused, and all their heads eerily turned to face Izuku, who was sweating at their hungry gazes, before drooping sadly. “Remember how we said the fighting went on for six months?”

The class drooped with him. “Oh…”

His eyebrows dipped sadly. “There wasn’t really… anyone to save after that. No need for heroes.”

The class stewed in thought as they entered the gym.

Midoriya tapped his chin thoughtfully. “Though, while only six months of the two year period was with active hero work, I still did hero work throughout most of this year on work studies and stuff. I do have around a year and a half’s worth of practical experience so maybe it isn’t too far off.”

“Don’t sell yourself short, young boy! The kind of power you displayed yesterday is a testament to the incredible amount of work you put into your growth as a hero!”

Izuku went wide-eyed and gaped, warring feelings of awe and nostalgia filling his chest. He never thought he’d be able to see All Might again, much less the inflated version. He felt stars fill his eyes, not unlike when he first met his mentor.

Bakugo shoulder checked Izuku as he walked past and grumbled. “You’re acting like you’ve never met the damn guy even though you’ve apparently got his quirk.”

Izuku was about to defend himself before remembering his classmates didn’t know about All Might’s deflated form.

All Might turned to face Bakugo. “Now young Bakugo, let’s not push our classmates around like that.”

Bakugo just let out a “Tch” and kept walking to the side of the group.

All Might watched Bakugo walk with an odd expression before he turned to face the rest of the class to begin their lesson.

~~~~~~

Practical heroics class that day had the class split into quarters. Two quarters of the class would fight each other, while the remaining half of the class were told to analyse the fighting and the teamwork as the sole focus, without worrying about anything like property damage, hence them being in a gym instead of one of the school’s grounds.

Izuku had whipped out his old hero analysis book with glee (“Bro, where did it come from?” “Bro, I don’t know.”) and jittered on the spot. The urge to write down his thoughts at light speed was one that had gone ignored, as he and his dad never settled in one spot, meaning they couldn’t carry things like notebooks and pens around. However, now he was able to do just that again. It made him more excited than he thought it realistically should. .

He flipped through past chapters, thinking of the updates he could make with his own experiences and new knowledge. Especially for his classmates, who had made techniques that don’t currently exist, and some of whom had had quirk awakenings in the two months they had lived for. It was definitely something he should bring up at some point, at least to one of the teachers. They might not want him to give away all the answers, but it may be helpful anyway. He’d have to see.

In his excitement, he’d missed the class being divided, and was disappointed to find he’d be fighting first. He sighed sadly, and tucked the book away (“Where did it go?!” “Bro, I don’t know?!”). He would have to do some analysis writing later.

He walked over to his team of five, who cheered and greeted him with high-fives, which were happily returned. He turned to smile at the other team in excitement at the exercise to notice them all looking down despondently.

Sato slumped. “We’re doomed.”

Aoyama nodded along in fear. “Oui. I never expected to stare at death in the face so young, but I fear today is the end for us.”

Momo placed a hand on her cheek worryingly.

“Revelry in the dark.”

“Yup, kero.”

Izuku blinked. Why were they acting the same way they did when his dad gave special classes? Wait, no, why were they acting worse? Asui, Yaoyorozu and Tokoyami almost never joined in on the dramatics. Was there something about the exercise he’d missed?

He turned to face his team again only to see them facing him all smiley, faces comically relaxed. He could almost see the flowers beaming off them, directly contrasting the gloom from the other team.

“...Am I missing something?”

The four smiling faces of Kaminari, Uraraka, Ojiro, and Kirishima drew out an immensely pleased sounding “Nope~”

He blinked again. “Okay… do we want to make a plan?”

“Nope~”

Izuku narrowed his eyes confusedly, before looking at the rest of the class. They were looking at him. It was only then that Izuku’s brain cells came online, eyes widening in realisation. “Oh.”

He turned to All Might. “Um, All Might? Maybe you should give me a percentage limit.”

He coughed. “That would be wise… maybe 25%?”

Izuku’s eyes bogged out of his head. “That’s a lot, are you sure?”

Immediately, sounds of protest came from the onlookers. “What do you mean 25% is a lot?” demanded Bakugo.

“Uh… you do remember I’ve technically had All Might’s quirk for nearly three years?”

Bakugo stepped forward in challenge. “Yeah, but just because you’re at the same strength as him, doesn’t mean we can’t beat 25%. Don’t get an ego just because you launched a puny ball into orbit.”

All Might nearly deflated in surprise. “Um… orbit did you say?”

Bakugo faltered. “Yes?”

All Might turned to the rest of the crowd. “And that was the same shot that created the sonic boom and changed the weather?”

The class nodded.

All Might turned to look wide-eyed at Izuku before turning back to Bakugo. “...My boy, while I could probably have sent a ball into orbit in my prime, it definitely wouldn’t have caused that kind of atmospheric interference. Rockets don’t change the weather when they leave the atmosphere. Young Midoriya’s power without a doubt has far surpassed my prime.”

The team opposite Izuku’s fell to the floor in defeat. “Doomed.” Sato repeated. Bakugo’s hands smoked as he stood stock still, uncomprehending of All Might’s words.
Izuku wrung his hands nervously. “I think I’ll stick to 15%..?” He didn’t want to insult his friends, but he was comparing his own power levels to All Might’s. More specifically, his practical exam with Kacchan. All Might definitely wasn’t going all out, even with the addition of the cuffs. If Izuku had to guess, he was using around 45%, which is nearly exactly what Izuku had figured out his 15% was. It would be tough for the other team, but as the class was already preparing for their exams, he figured a group of five would be able to win.

Of course, that was discounting his other quirks. He had used Fa Jin to aid his launch of the ball, but… it was overkill. He would have gotten the same result, albeit slower, with One for All on its own.

Izuku channelled his inner hero and smiled warmly at the team on the floor while the class reeled. “Let’s have a good match.”

They averted their eyes. Izuku felt Uraraka’s inner demon preening at the fear caused by their team.

…

Her aura made him to join the others on the floor. Well, maybe at 15% they would beat his team and he would end up on the floor anyway! He believed in his classmates, and was really excited to be able to have classes with them again. He hoped they were able to learn a lot together from now on.

Chapter Text

So, Izuku reflected, as the opposite team groaned from their positions on the floor. Maybe they were not ready for 15%.

“We used so much teamwork in that fight just now.” Ojiro commented happily.

“Yup, yup!” A relaxed Uraraka returned.

Kaminari and Kirishima high-fived in the background.

Or, upon further reflection, maybe it was more to do with his experience level. That, and the fact that they were hesitating because they had already accepted they would lose. That simply wouldn’t do.

He approached the other team who pouted at him, before he whipped out his notebook and started… teaching them? “I’m very sorry for overwhelming you, and not really allowing for the point of the exercise to get through, but I do have a few suggestions, especially when it comes to fighting opponents more experienced than you!”

“You would have absolutely been able to beat my team first if you didn’t let yourselves feel overwhelmed by your prior knowledge, which is something that will happen a lot on the field, especially with organised crime, especially the ones that have a sort of bureaucracy because you can expect them to have contingency after contingency which will allow them to outsmart you.”

“It all comes down to your personal confidence and self reflection. You need to be able to know your abilities inside out to…”

The class simply stared as Midoriya continued on about his thoughts to a very dazed group who were still on the floor.

All Might stared dumbfoundedly for a bit, before remembering that he was the teacher, and turned the face the half of the class that was actually meant to be analysing the battle.

“Well, while that happens over there, any comments from your end?”

They blinked and looked at each other.

“Midoriya has too much confidence in us.”

“Agreed.”

~~~~~~

Izuku blinked at All Might. The Pro Hero held his gaze with a classic grin.

Izuku pointed between himself and his class stutteringly. “You want me to fight the whole class with only 5%?”

All might let out a joyous laugh. “Quite right, my boy! It will still allow for teamwork, simply requiring even more coordination than before. And we can still analyse the fight after. I will record it here!” He declared, holding up a bulky camera.

With a glint in his eye, he added. “It will be an excellent test of adaptability for the class as well.”

Ah, Izuku realised. All Might was devious. Izuku made sure nothing showed on his face, but nodded to indicate he’d understood what All Might was really asking. Of course, to the class, it sounded like they just had to adapt to the shake-up in the exercise. Izuku knew that he had other tricks up his sleeve that would throw them for a loop.

He didn’t notice All Might shiver at the look in his eye that formed after hearing the relieved exclamations about his limits. It was strangely reminiscent of a certain tired teacher when his coffee was stolen. He also didn’t know that All Might was incredibly glad he blamed Yamada after realising the coffee wasn’t meant for him. He wasn’t sure if he’d still be alive today, otherwise.

The class chattered excitedly as Izuku took his position opposite them. He could hear the poor class presidents attempting to seed a strategy, but mostly seemed content to go follow Bakugo’s plan of “constantly attack until that fucking nerd has no choice but to keel over in defeat.”

Izuku would have words about strategizing where your enemy could hear. In normal person speak, Kacchan wanted them to use their numbers to beat Izuku in a battle of endurance. In their defence, they didn’t know about his extensive crowd control capabilities, but they had also just been talking about how he was much more experienced than them. They should really treat him like a third-year at the very least. Izuku pointedly did not think about how he was probably more experienced than even third years. It was hard not to be when nearly every day had some kind of new battle.

Izuku was pulled from his thoughts as All Might yelled “Start!”

He quickly spread 5% throughout his body and evaded the barrage of attacks from the full on frontal assault, Bakugo at the head, goading him on.

“You think you’re top shit now, huh Deku? Think you can beat us with your fancy quirk and your top notch experience?” He sneered.

Izuku was impressed with Kacchan’s attempt at teamwork, but gracefully dodged an attack from behind instead of letting himself get distracted. He felt Kacchan’s temper rise, but paid it little mind as he dodged a laser blast from Aoyama. The class moved to encircle him.

A pattern began to emerge, and Izuku quickly identified the waves his classmates were using to keep up the continuous assault. Aoyama would shoot from a distance before quickly being covered by Sato and Kirishima. They would try to keep Izuku’s attention until Aoyama was unable to continue where Yaoyorozu would team up with Koda to send in birds who dropped flash grenades around Izuku. He had actually never seen them team up before and was delighted at the vicious combination, dodging around the birds with glee.

More and more groups would rotate to try and cover each other, but only a small portion of them had noticed something important. Yaoyorozu gaped at the realisation while Todoroki frowned and Bakugo seethed.

Izuku hadn’t taken a single hit. Nor had he done anything other than slowly push the class back into a corner. He grinned, and noticed All Might lean forward in anticipation. The classes’ only warning was a quick hissing sound before their vision was obscured by a thick, light purple smoke.

“Kero?” Asui croaked confusedly, jumping backwards to assess the change. Her croak changed from confusion to surprise as a black rope tugged on her ankle, causing her to fall. She wasn’t able to recover from her disorientation fast enough to realise that she was now quite literally bundled up with the rest of the class. The strange black rope had been tied up with a bow, only visible thanks to the receding smoke.

Bakugo let out a shriek of frustration from the middle of the bundle. Izuku may have been feeling petty and made sure he was packed in the tightest.

The class blinked at the figure in the haze which the rope was connected to. Was there someone else in the room? As they clocked the figure, they tried to tense up, ready to attack a new unknown villain before All Might let out his boisterous laugh. “Well, it seems young Midoriya has won.”

The smoke cleared to reveal that the silhouette was their slightly sheepish green-haired classmate, who was holding on to the unnatural rope.

Bakugo was angered beyond coherent words, but the class largely ignored him, in favour of telling Midoriya exactly what they thought.

…

“Huh?”

The thoughts were also not very coherent.

All Might called for their attention. “Let us revise the footage shall we? Analyse your team work and your fighting, and figure out exactly why you were unable to win, even as a large team.”

While they were distracted by their teacher, Izuku subtly retracted the black whip and let it sink away, and grabbed his notebook with a childish joy. Analysis opportunities were always a highlight of practical heroics class.

As All Might projected the footage, murmurs slowly arose from the class. It was Mineta who ended up pointing out what they were all thinking.

“Are we already five minutes into the fight?! I don’t think we hit Midoriya once!” He asked frantically.

Yaoyorozu had a hand placed worriedly on her chin. “I noticed that right before the fight ended.” She pointed to a part on the screen. “You can see that he’s not even moving that fast, but rather seems to be controlling the groups that formed the waves we were attacking with. Around halfway through our second rotation, he noticed the pattern, and was not only able to predict the attacks that were next, but when they would happen based on how tired the main attackers of each wave were getting.”

Ashido’s eyes widened. “An overreliance of teamwork?”

Iida nodded and pushed up his glasses in agreement. “It seems so. Because there were so many of us, our plan became simple and predictable. It was easy to follow, but easy to identify and counter.”

All Might grinned. “Astute observations, well done.” He raised a finger. “There is another important point that young Yaoyorozu mentioned that you should focus on as well.”

Kirishima frowned. “About the fact that he was controlling the groups?”

All Might laughed. “Indeed. I’ll rewind the footage from the very beginning up until now where we’ve just stopped. Watch your positions carefully.”

He sped the footage back and forth in reverse. The class stared dumbfoundedly at the incredibly clear change. Most of them hadn’t noticed, but when it was put like this, the shift from being evenly spread around Midoriya, to slowly being backed in a corner was all too obvious.

Ashido gaped. “Woah, Midoriya, how did you do that?”

Izuku smiled and pointed at himself in the footage, which showed him jumping backwards. “Watch my evasion patterns.”

The class intently watched the playback, which was slowed down again. Todoroki raised his eyebrows. “We’re literally following him into the corner. The people behind him couldn’t stay behind because there was too little room to manoeuvre.”

“I thought we were the ones backing him into a corner!” Sero exclaimed.

Todoroki shook his head. At the same time, All Might said. “It is good that you were aware of the change in positioning on the field, but the fact remains that the attacking group had no intention of cornering the defensive group. In heroics, there are often times where something seems too good to be true because it is.”

The class took a moment to digest his words before having their attention taken by tiny popping explosions. With a dangerous glare, Bakugo challenged, “Yeah yeah, the nerd can dodge well. Good for him. What I want to know is where that smoke and rope came from.” He glared at Izuku for good measure.

Izuku rocked backwards and forwards on his heels. “So, about that-”
He was interrupted by the warning bell for practical classes, alerting them that they had to start changing now or risk being late to their next class.

Bakugo slouched and stomped past. "Tch. Saved by the bell.” He looked back and ground out a “Don’t think this conversation is over! We're talking after school.”

Izuku blinked. “Kacchan I have somewhere I need to be-” But he was already out the door. He felt All Might place a hand on his head.

“Don’t worry young man, I’ll let the staff know you’ll be held up.” Izuku grinned sheepishly at the man before moving towards his class so they could go to the changing rooms together.

He caught up with Uraraka, Iida and Todoroki, and was met with a bright grin from the former. “You were amazing today Deku! You completely had us, even with 5% of your full power!”

Iida nodded. “You put us to shame. Power is clearly not everything. Your astuteness even in the middle of a large battle where you are incredibly outnumbered is astounding.”

Izuku dipped his head in embarrassment. “Ha, those are very kind words. Thank you. I did have some tricks up my sleeve though.”

The group paused outside the changing rooms. Todoroki tilted his head. “Is your quirk like mine now or something? It was your quirk right? Or…” he hesitated, “Did something happen to you with that All for One guy?”

Uraraka and Iida suddenly looked gutted, but Izuku was quick to reassure them with denying gestures. “No, no! Don’t worry, he didn’t get to me.” They quickly relaxed. He gave them a cheeky smile. “It’s the ‘or something’.” Then he bolted into the changing rooms, leaving his three friends with whiplash.

Uraraka sighed and smiled. “Deku’s always been a bit of an odd one.”

Iida chopped his hand and Todoroki nodded in agreement.

“Well, if it’s nothing hurting him, then the weird quirk stuff is fine. He’ll tell us when he can. We should get changed now.” Todoroki walked into the boy’s room, Iida following after waving to Uraraka. Their friend was full of surprises.

Chapter Text

Shota’s eyes were glued to the screen of his phone. More specifically, the contact he had just added, with an accompanying message staring innocently back at him.

Hizashi sidled over in an exaggerated manner. “Sho~ What’s got you thinking so hard over here in this corner, all by yourself?” He dragged out, teasingly.

Hizashi’s brows furrowed when Shota didn’t move to acknowledge his presence, and shifted his teasing demeanour. “Shota? Is everything okay?”

Finally, Shota blinked, and turned to face his friend.

“Yeah, Hizashi. Sorry. I was just… thinking.”

Hizashi gestured towards Shota’s phone. “Is it something to do with why you couldn’t take your eyes off your phone?”

Shota slumped. “It’s… well, take a look for yourself.” He passed his phone to his friend and leaned his head back against the wall.

Hizashi blinked at the message, and looked at the contact details. He smiled softly as realisation set in, and looked back over to Shota. Shota was worrying his fingers pensively, but turned to meet Hizashi’s gaze as he passed the phone back.

“Hey Sho?” Shota hummed. “You really love the little listener, don’t you?”

Shota jolted. Hizashi searched his eyes imploringly, unusually serious. “You really love the kid.” He stated instead of asked. “So let the two of you have this nice thing.”

Shota took a moment before a smile he couldn’t hide formed. He did… love Izuku. Frankly, he couldn’t love the kid more even if he were his own flesh and blood. He only now realises they’ve never said those words. Maybe they didn’t need to, but…

Shota looked up, a warm feeling in his chest. “Yeah. I do love the kid.” Hizashi pat his back gently before going to his desk to prepare for the last class of the day. After a moment of rummaging through papers, he looked back at Shota, who was looking down at his phone again, typing something this time. He let out a soft, toothy grin. Shota had come a long way, and Hizashi had never been more proud of his best friend.

5 minutes after sending a tentative message, Inko Midoriya’s phone lit up with a response.

She let out a shaky breath.

~~~~~~

Izuku fiddled with the straps of his bag in consternation. The last class had just finished up, and instead of going to a meeting where concrete plans of action would be made against the looming threat, he had to talk with a moody Kacchan. Honestly, he’s not sure which of the two made him more nervous.

But… he also knew that this conversation would be a good thing. Like their fight in ground beta, this was a way for them to move forward. At least that’s what he was really, really hoping for.

He just wanted his friend back.

His friends gave him sympathetic smiles as they waved and left the room. Izuku waved back weakly, dropping his hand in a sigh, before snapping to attention as Kacchan straightened up.

He grunted as he slung his bag over his shoulder, and wordlessly indicated for Izuku to follow.

The old Izuku would have never dared to contest Katsuki, but he didn’t want to leave the main building of the school because he would be even more late to the meeting.

“Kacchan, it’s okay if we stay in here. Nobody is going to come to the classroom.”

Katsuki grumbled, but ultimately swung his bag off his shoulders, and closed the classroom door with an air of finality as poor Koda, the last to leave the room, rushed off to avoid the tension.

Izuku wanted to tell Kacchan to be more considerate, but the teenager was already agitated.

They stood in silence as Izuku let Kacchan get his thoughts in order. Honestly, he was kind of proud of Kacchan for taking this step a bit earlier in the school year than last time.

“A pebble.” He murmured, catching Izuku’s attention. “That’s all you were meant to be.”

He looked up, intense red eyes boring into Izuku’s vivid green ones. “So what am I meant to do when I wake up one day, and that pebble has become a mountain bigger than All Might?” He ground out. “Not only that, but with your fancy quirk, and extra years, we’ll never be on even footing again, will we? You were always below me, but now…” He looked off to the side.

“Tell me what All Might saw in you.” He demanded. “Why you? What makes you stronger than me? Even in the future. What makes you stronger than every other hero in Japan?”

Izuku wasn’t sure if Katsuki himself knew if he wanted Izuku to actually give an answer or not, but he wouldn’t let him discredit himself like this.

“I can’t tell you what All Might saw, but as for the future, what I do know is that it wasn’t because I was stronger than you. It was the opposite actually. We fought and you won, and our strength grew at the same pace. The day you died…” Izuku let out a shaky breath.

“It’s exactly like what I said before. You saved me. You were a hero. My hero.” He emphasised. “But because you were a hero, I lived and you didn’t.” Izuku looked to an unseen distance.
“If you didn’t move that day… maybe you would have survived to see the End in my place.”

“So you’re looking down on me now.”

Izuku startled, and faced Kacchan who had his arms crossed. “Where did you get that from?”

He glared at that response, but Izuku was genuinely confused.

Bakugo let out a frustrated breath. “Look, whatever shit I did in the future wasn’t me. Two days ago you were a bit more than a pebble. You came back from your internship, and suddenly, you could keep up. Now there’s a fucking canyon between us that I can never cross!” He snapped, and took a step forward.

“Don’t pretend like we’re the same.” He roughly shoved his hands in his pockets. “By now I’m just ancient history to you.”

Izuku wondered if Kacchan knew how little sense he would have made for anyone other than Izuku. He was almost speaking in riddles. But Izuku has had a version of this conversation before.

“You don’t get to choose that for me, Kacchan. I’m still here at UA for a reason.”

Katsuki glared. “The fuck you mean?”

Izuku felt tears build under his eye, and let himself feel all the weight of the world he had lived in. Bakugo’s brows lifted. “I never became a hero, Katsuki.” He stiffened in surprise at the use of his given name. Izuku just held his stare tearfully.
“No matter how strong I became, or the years of experience I got, by the end of it, neither of our dreams were realised. We never graduated, never became pro heroes, never got a chance to work cases as professionals, or even place on the hero charts.”

Izuku shuddered in sorrow. “And… in the end, you saved more lives than me. You saved me, and I lived. I lived, but everyone I tried to save died anyway.”

Tears fell from his eyes, and for the first time, Katsuki let an expression of heartbreak cross his face.

“Fuck!” He cursed vehemently. “Fuck!” His shoulders slumped, and he looked up, past the roof. When Katsuki’s own tears fell, Izuku couldn’t help but properly begin to cry, years of heartbreak catching up with Katsuki’s inadvertent acknowledgement of his pain.

They stood in the room for a moment, working to get their respective tears under control.

Finally, Katsuki breathed, and moved to pick up his previously abandoned bag from the floor. “All the strength in the world…” He began. “Wasn’t worth the future you and hobo-sensei came back from.”

Izuku let out a hum in agreement, and went silent at Kacchan’s oddly considering expression.

“Was getting a dad worth it?”

Izuku sputtered in surprise. “What?”

He gave Izuku an odd look. “Hobo-sensei literally hugged you in class yesterday. How the other extras missed it I don’t know. Mic and Midnight-sensei too.” He huffed. “Dumbasses, the lot of them. Literally talked about it this morning and missed everything.”

He shook his head as if to get rid of those thoughts. He spoke again, louder than the previous volume as he began to walk to the door.

“I know you’re involved in some fucked up shit. Just make sure to live through it.”

Katsuki looked back at Izuku with a challenging gleam in his eye.

“You’ve already surpassed me far beyond what I can catch up to. But know this. It won’t matter, because we’ll graduate, and I’ll figure out a way to become number one anyway.”

He opened the door, but right before he stepped through, he paused, and ducked his head. He carefully didn’t face Izuku, but spoke to him anyway.

“Glad you got some good things out of the bad… Izuku.” And then he walked away.

Izuku gaped with the widest eyes he’d worn in a while. Kacchan… had just called him by his given name for the first time since they were four. Kacchan acknowledged his hurt, and their precarious situation, and everything that was going on, and Izuku felt so seen by the one person he’d wished to be seen by for years.

It wasn’t an apology. Not yet. But just like their fight at ground beta, it was the start of something better. It wasn’t quite a rivalry. It would never be that anymore. But, wishfully, Izuku hoped that maybe they were on the path to being friends again.

Izuku smiled tearfully, before readjusting his bag which he never took off his shoulders, and left to go back to the same conference room he had spent hours in just the day prior. Things would never be the same again. But maybe that was for the better.

Chapter Text

By the time Izuku entered the conference room for the second time that week, all of the heroics teaching staff were present, and milling about.

Mic perked up at his entrance. “Hey, the green bean’s here!”
Izuku waved as other greetings were sent his way, and moved to an open seat, prompting the teachers to do the same, albeit at a slower pace.

Izuku smiled as his dad approached and took the spot next to him, not at the front of the room this time.

Shota smiled back warmly.

“Hey, kid. Was everything all right? All Might let me know what happened.”

Izuku knew he probably looked like a bit of a mess, so he was grateful that his dad simply kept his expression warm and inviting instead of calculating.

He beamed tearfully at the man. “It actually went really well. He didn’t even look like he wanted to fight!”

Shota raised a brow in amusement.

Izuku ducked his head slightly, and his dad bent to meet his expression in slight worry. “Izuku?”

“He… he called me that. Izuku, I mean.” He admitted, in slight disbelief.

His dad’s eyes widened, but his expression softened at Izuku’s continued smile. He smiled in turn, and rested his palm on his son’s forehead as he tenderly brushed his curls away from his eyes.

“I’m glad it worked out. You’ve wanted him to call you that for a while now, haven’t you?”

Izuku leaned into the palm resting on his head. “Deku didn’t bother me. But… now that he’s said my given name…” He sighed, unable to find the words. “It’s fine if he keeps calling me Deku, but.. it…” He trailed off frustratedly.

“It made you feel like he saw past his own version of you to a deeper part?” Shota guessed.

“Yeah. If I had to describe how I felt earlier, it would be seen. I think he got to that point before the End too but he never…”

Silence fell over the two as they considered what could have been and what was happening now. As they registered the last teacher sitting, they were pulled out of their little bubble to focus on Nezu, who was now the sole head of the table, the other end empty this time with the different seating arrangement.

Izuku looked to his right to see that he was flanked by All Might, who gave him a beaming smile and a gentle hair ruffle. Shota was on the end of the table, but Hizashi and Nemuri beamed at him from the space across.

Izuku peered around the room at the empty seats. “Are they not here yet?” All Might’s eyes looked comically pained while Shota shook his head.

“Detective Tsukauchi and Gran Torino met up to come, but ran into some traffic. They’ll be here soon.” Izuku nodded.

“All right staff. And student.” Everyone turned to face Nezu who had shuffled and placed papers down on the table. “Thank you for staying back after hours again!” He smiled genially. “We will be joined by Pro Hero Gran Torino and Detective Tsukauchi shortly, but it would be best if we didn’t wait much longer. As you all know, we are here to formally strategize against the looming threat. As for our first order of business… we need to get Midoriya-kun a provisional license!” He cheered.

Izuku blinked, then sighed at his own forgetfulness. Right, laws still had to be upheld here.

Nezu gave an amused chuff at the reaction. “Technically you need to be a license holder for formal strategy meetings, but due to the confidential nature, everything will be off-record. That’s something for everyone to keep in mind.”

Ah. So basically, this whole thing was illegal. He hoped the detective wouldn’t have a problem with that. He eyed All Might warily. They were friends so… probably not.

Snipe leaned forward on his arms. “How’re we going to achieve that? The commission is usually very strict on the young'uns only taking the exam on the set dates.”

Nezu’s tail swung, seemingly enjoying the challenge the notion had posed. “There are a couple of options. The easiest route would be for All Might to go straight to the commission, and throw his influence around and get an individual exam. The only problem is, that would draw unnecessary attention to Midoriya.”

Vlad raised a brow. “Wouldn’t a private provisional licensing exam taken by a single first year UA student draw attention anyway?”

Mic piped in. “They also might wonder why we can’t wait just over three months to take the public exam, and press for details we can’t give.”

Nezu nodded. “Yes, quite right. That led me to consider the smaller public exam occurring in two weeks that was part of a vigilante reform program. It’s out in Fukuoka, and would cause the commission to ask questions. We could, however, simply inform them that we have an excelling first year who has been requested for a timely raid. UA does love supporting educational activities after all.” Nezu’s nose twitched. “Of course, this explanation works for the first scenario, but the commission would be too interested in an All Might recommended first year to accept that explanation.”

The staff sat contemplatively before Izuku spoke up. “I think the choice really depends on how soon we want me to get it? If we’re going to abide by the initial timeline in our plans, it works out fine, but if we want to avoid the attack on the training camp and Kacchan’s kidnapping, we may need to operate much sooner.”

As an afterthought, Izuku added. “I’m also comfortable with vigilantism if it comes down to it.”

Aizawa smothered a laugh behind his hand, and All Might wheezed. “My boy-”

Without even looking at All Might, Izuku dealt an unexpected blow. “You really can’t talk here.” He sputtered while the other teachers lost it.

“Ooh, does All Might have a dark past?” Midnight drawled teasingly.

Mic taunted him similarly. “Vigilantism, Mr. Number One Hero, hey?”

“It was only once!” All Might defended. Izuku faked a cough, and All Might looked over in betrayal.

“Twice.” He conceded, only a little bit desperate.

Izuku coughed again.

“Okay, maybe it was a… few times… but we’re getting off track!” He gestured between Nezu and Izuku. “Let’s stop what is already happening from getting more illegal.” He nearly begged.

“I hate these meetings.” Muttered Powerloader.

Nezu cackled delightedly. “We’ll keep that in mind, Midoriya-kun.” He ploughed ahead, ignoring All-Might’s pained sound. “The final option is to get what is essentially a temporary provisional license, until you can properly acquire one at the official licensing exam. Myself and a few of your teachers would sign off on your abilities and send a request to the commission for permission to act as a licensee.”
“The downside here is, one wrong move as a temporary license holder could damage your chances of ever receiving a proper provisional, and full-fledged license later down the track.”

Izuku shook his head. “I’m not too worried about future prospects right now. A mistake, even as a temporary license holder, may have worse consequences than me not being able to get a proper license.” He closed his fist. “Our focus must be All for One. Becoming a pro hero means nothing if he’s still around anyway.”

The teachers looked on sadly at their student.

“That will be taken into consideration, thank you Midoriya.” Nezu said, uncharacteristically soft. The air of a broken dream haunted the room for another moment, before Nezu shuffled his papers and regained the initial pep in his voice.

“Well, I suppose our choice in the matter can wait until we make more important decisions.”

The staff nodded.

Nezu sighed. “As Aizawa-kun implied yesterday, we are faced with a dilemma.” He caught the eyes of his staff and student, who were watching him with serious expressions. “Where is the line between preserving the timeline to keep events predictable, and protecting our students from harm we know for a fact they will be subject to?”

A gruff voice suddenly rang across the room.

“Preserving the timeline? What kind of mess have you got us into now, Toshinori?”

All Might went rigid in his seat, and Izuku turned in his chair excitedly to face the door. There stood a plain man in a trenchcoat, and a much shorter, aged man in a bright yellow hero costume. “Gran Torino!”

Gran Torino grunted in acknowledgement. “Wasn’t expecting to see you again so soon, you zygote.”

“Welcome, welcome! Please, sit.” Nezu gestured for the two men at the door to take the two empty seats at the table, Gran Torino sitting by All Might, and Tsukauchi on Gran’s opposite side. Tsukauchi nodded at the teachers.

“Sorry we’re late.” He said, as he placed his hat on the table. “Got caught up in a bit of traffic.”

Nezu waved off the apology as Tsukauchi smiled tiredly at All Might in greeting.

“You two came at just the right time. We’re going to take down All for One with the help of our time travellers!” He gestured towards Aizawa and Midoriya cheerfully.

Tsukauchi and Gran Torino’s bewildered gaze landed on the two.

Shota groaned at Nezu’s penchant for chaos while Izuku laughed nervously.

“We… might have to fill you in on some things.”

Tsukauchi held his forehead, feeling the future headaches that he was sure to have. Gran Torino scowled. “I’m too old for this crap.” He muttered.

“Let the meeting officially begin!” Nezu cheered, popping suddenly out from Aizawa’s capture weapon.

Aizawa, resigned to his fate, looked onward unfeelingly as Izuku began to explain the abridged events of the past two years of their lives. Nezu stayed gleefully perched on his shoulder. It would be another long meeting.

Chapter Text

“I’m too old for this crap.” Muttered a yellow-clad initially retired pro hero.

He and Toshinori’s detective friend, who was also in the know, had needed a breather after learning about the whole All for One and time travel mess. He decidedly went on to ignore the fact that they were the only two survivors of the entire nation and that a lot more people knew about One for All now. Namely, all the UA heroics teaching staff, and a class of first years.

They had bigger problems anyway.

“So, preserving the timeline to protect everyone in the long run, or losing track of the timeline to protect people from more concentrated attacks.” Gran Torino outlined. “To me it’s clear which one is the lesser of the two evils, but I can understand the issue of knowingly putting children in danger.”

Nezu nodded. “We can also consider that change will be accomplished regardless of our choice.” His tail curled behind him. “We will not let that future happen, but it could potentially be drastically more difficult to locate key players if we go off-track.”

The room went silent for a bit before Eraserhead sighed. “Well, once you’ve put it like that, I don’t think the kid is going to let us do it any other way.” He looked at Izuku fondly, who had clearly been stunned out of a deep thought process with a sheepish look.

“Plus ultra, right?” Izuku grinned.

All Might laughed knowingly, and Tsukauchi sighed, recognising the like souls. “They just picked the harder choice, didn’t they?”

“Yes.” All Might affirmed.

Nezu’s whiskers twitched. “It certainly isn’t the wisest choice, but it is the one that reflects the single greatest asset a hero needs, that cannot be taught.” He let a bit of pride leak through in his voice at the end. His gaze raked everyone in the room. “At the end of the day, we are all heroes in this room, so I see no need for further discussion. All in favour of going off a predictable course?”

Izuku’s shoulders visibly dropped in relief at the unanimous support for the harder choice. Midnight winked at him as she lowered her hand. “You want to save everyone, don’t you cutie? You have our full support.”

Mic shot him finger guns, and Ectoplasm nodded in approval from both of Midnight’s sides.

“You have a good heart, Midoriya.” Ectoplasm intoned.

Mic beamed. “You just keep on being you, little listener.”

Izuku began to flush at the attention, and Aizawa pat his head consolingly.

Nezu clapped his paws. “Well then, the natural decision from here on out is to begin planning raids. Time is of the essence while things are still within the bounds of our knowledge. Did you bring the paperwork, Detective?”

Tsukauchi nodded, and pulled some sheets from his briefcase. “I’ll have to get an official statement from Eraserhead in regards to the locations.” Tsukauchi sighed. “I assume that this meeting isn’t actually above-board, and that I can’t cite ‘time travel’ to verify the validity of the information.”

Some of the UA teachers laughed nervously. Tsukauchi decidedly kept his eyes trained on the paperwork. “Right, well, I’ll let that slide considering the circumstances, but I can’t falsify official documents. As things currently stand, Eraserhead’s information would be written as a tip from him, without any registered patrols backing up his claims. The higher ups may not approve the raids, especially since some will require major evacuations.”

“Not to mention there are two locations.” Aizawa said, tiredly. Bureaucracy. “Will scouting out the areas under the guise of a normal patrol be concrete enough for the commission?”

Tsukauchi pursed his lips. “Should be. The only problem is, it’ll have to be a raid on the nomu factory and league without informing them that All for One is the real target.”

Cementoss let out a humming sound. “All Might-san, does the commission know enough about All for One, that this would raise flags regardless?”

All Might lifted his hand to his chin in consideration. “I think it would be flagged in the system, but ultimately, UA teachers stumbling across evidence against the league on a scheduled patrol and pushing for a raid wouldn’t be out of character considering how targeted the attacks are. Once they see that Nezu and I are backing it, they should be fine with it.”

“Um…” Izuku raised his hand awkwardly and cringed slightly as all the eyes turned to him. “There’s someone else… Dr. Garaki?” Aizawa’s face darkened at the memory of the man. “He’s the man behind the nomu. He wasn’t at that particular nomu facility or he would’ve been caught the same day All for One initially was. He’s probably still in Jakku.”

Tsukauchi dragged his hand down his face. “That’s… going to be a lot harder to get a raid on for.” He glanced down the table at Eraserhead and Deku. “Where did you get the initial tip-off from?”

They wilted. “Kurogiri.”

Tsukauchi paused. Kurogiri’s identity had been a trip and a half to learn. “Ah.”

Thirteen kindly put their thoughts back on track. “We can just capture Kurogiri in the first set of raids.”

Izuku and Aizawa blinked at each other. “Right.”

“That still leaves the issue of actually getting him to talk.” Vlad King groused, not unkindly.

Eraserhead nodded, masking his emotions. “Last time me and Mic were called in, after they discovered who the base of the nomu was.” He shook his head. “We could try again, but the method we used to awaken his subconscious as Shirakumo was unreliable.”

Deku put a hand to his chin, before looking up at Shota directly, catching his attention. “You remember how we got Kurogiri to Kurakumo, right?”

Shota looked at Izuku in confusion. “Yes… I also remember that we can’t do that again.” He said, unsure of where Izuku was going.

The rest of the adults in the room looked at each other in confusion. They never really got detail besides ‘hand-wavey One for All stuff’.

“I had kind of thought of this after Kurakumo… became a thing… a different way to do it had some more… people been around.”

Shota softened his gaze and gestured encouragingly as the mood of the room dropped slightly.

Izuku smiled, but the loss reflected in his eyes spoke volumes. “There are a few quirks that react to the subconscious in funny ways, particularly to do with One for All.”

Aizawa’s eyes widened. “Shinso.”

Izuku nodded. “Mmhmm.” He shook his head as if to physically ward off the bad memories, and turned to Nezu and Tsukauchi. “What are the chances that they’ll let a current general education student use his quirk on a member of the League of Villains? For science?”

“For science.” Shota muttered, slightly hysterically, lost in memories of his personal student. Who was currently still alive. And had a scheduled lesson every Wednesday and Thursday.
Whoops, he nearly missed tomorrow.
Hmm, he was hoping to meet with Izuku’s mum sooner rather than later. He didn’t think he was going to continue coping very well with the lack of contact with his son. Well, maybe Izuku could join them. Izuku did have a few new tricks up his sleeve that would fit right in…

Nezu tilted his head thoughtfully. “I’m sure I can convince them to bring him in as part of the interrogation due to the high profile nature of the case, and the need for quick results when Kurogiri inevitably proves to be uncooperative.”

“Yay.” Izuku whispered.

Shota pet his head proudly.

Nezu’s tail shifted slightly. “Well, we may have been getting ahead of ourselves. There is still the issue during the raid of defeating All for One, and the aftermath, as even Tartarus could not hold him.”

“I think it goes without sayin’ that a speedy, unexpected retirement of the Symbol of Peace is not what we need right now.” Everyone nodded at Snipe’s assessment.

Midnight snorted, and leaned back casually. “Well, with our dear Eraser on the field, and the resident green bean, I can’t actually see too much of an issue, knowing our current All Might won against him.”

Gran Torino’s and Tsukauchi’s eyebrows rose into their hairlines. “You want to bring a fifteen year-old-”
“I lived to like, eighteen.”
“... fifteen year old zygote to fight a man who the undisputed number one hero nearly died against when he was still in his prime?” Gran Torino asked incredulously.

Shota nodded. “You’re right. But, consider:” and gestured grandly to a ferally grinning Izuku, who had let out long strands of black whip to writhe behind him menacingly, complete with a very light use of smoke screen, for the extra mystique.

Tsukauchi did not yell, “WHAT IN THE NAME OF ALL THAT IS HOLY AND GOOD-”

Gran Torino speed-walked out of the room. “This is out of my pay-grade. He’s your problem, Toshinori.”

All Might wheezed. “Torino sensei, please come back-”

Nezu addressed everyone at the table, including a grouchy old man who had been dragged back by a frightened All Might. “It seems our plan of attack is clear.”

Powerloader blinked. “Wait, what’s the plan? Did I miss something?”

“The plan,” Present Mic cut in amusedly, “Is to sicc the green bean, Sho and All Might on an unprepared All for One and watch the chaos unfold.”

“So attack and pray for the best?” Powerloader deadpanned.

“Yep!” Mic chirped.

Nezu laughed. “We will figure out the details once we gain the required intel and approval. There will be other heroes on-site. But for now, that does seem to be the most effective course of action.”

Gran Torino blinked dazedly. “Going to pretend that the kid I had for internships a bit over a week ago is going after the Scourge of the underworld with full confidence from the UA principal.”

He shivered as he saw Izuku surround himself with black whip again in his peripherals.

Nezu’s grin went slightly feral in response to Izuku’s (and his scheming Dad’s) feral energy, before he schooled his expression, and let out a heaving sigh.

“Unfortunately, the heart of this matter is, what happens after?”

Tartarus could not contain the symbol of evil after all.

Chapter Text

Sometimes, Izuku reflected, that while killing a killer means that the same number of killers exist in the world, it doesn’t mean the same number of victims exist.

This was the unfortunate logic that followed Nezu’s question.

When the strongest prison isn’t enough to contain the man who would orchestrate the end of an entire nation there is only one true solution.

“We have to kill him.” Is what Izuku didn’t say. He turned to his dad in shock, who gave him a saddened look. The room’s occupants nodded solemnly, but were looking at Izuku in slight worry.

Aizawa searched Izuku’s face before briefly turning to the rest of the room and signalled for them to give him a minute. Polite conversations started up in the background to give the two a semblance of privacy.

Izuku opened his mouth to speak. Shota’s expression softened and he leaned forward to cup the side of Izuku’s face, cutting him off. Izuku leaned into the hold in confusion, not understanding the situation.

He felt his dad’s thumb gently rub his cheek. After a moment of sustained eye contact, his dad explained himself. “Let us handle this burden, Son.”

Izuku’s heart skipped a beat at the address. Then, his eyes widened.

Oh.

Oh.

He reached up to grab the hand holding his cheek.

“I am- was- eighteen. You don’t need to shelter me, I promise.”

Shota sighed, and dropped their still conjoined hands. “I know.” He peered up at his son from his hunched position. “But let me try anyway?”

Izuku sniffed tearily. “Okay, Dad.”

His dad’s expression melted, and Izuku was incredibly pleased that he didn’t stop himself from pressing a kiss on his forehead, despite them not being alone in the room. The warm fuzzies healed his hurt soul.

They took another quiet moment before turning their seats back to face the table properly, and nodded to Nezu, who signalled to the room that they were ready to continue.

All the staff turned to Izuku in worry, but it was All Might who asked, “Will you be alright?”

Izuku gave him a wry smile. “I was… fully prepared to make that suggestion myself. I know I’m going to be part of the team attacking him directly. Plus…” Izuku looked down in sorrow. “I was the one who dealt the killing blow to Shigaraki.”

That piece of information gave everyone a bit of a jolt. Midoriya and Aizawa hadn’t shared that little tidbit before.

He looked at the staff ruefully. “None of you need me to tell you how choosing to end someone’s life feels. Just… entering a battle with the intent to kill rather than save is… yeah…” He trailed off, as the teachers nodded in understanding.

All Might placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “My boy, I had honestly thought that I personally ended All for One’s life 6 years ago, anyway. Of course, no attacks were made with the intent to kill, but there is a line when it comes to defending yourself from a powerful adversary who is without a doubt intending to kill you.”

“Yeah, kid.” Torino groused. “Sometimes, the only way to save people is to kill. It seems you’ve already learned that lesson.”

Izuku made a sad agreeing sound.

“I would like to agree…” Everyone turned to face Recovery Girl. “And I know Midoriya said it didn’t matter so much to him, but as his teachers and support staff, I’d like to think we could have a failsafe.” She elaborated before anyone could express their confusion. “It’s clear that we want to do this quickly, meaning we’d look at getting Midoriya-kun a temporary signed-off provisional license. The first official villain encounter ending in death is an end to his career.”

She gave Izuku a look. “I completely understand that the entire nation is at stake, which is why I’m not dissenting to any plan. But, if only for your sake, as a gratitude for all the lives you’re about to save, I’d like to hope that at the very least, we could guarantee you the career you want.”

Izuku was very touched by the consideration, and the agreement by his other teachers.

Ectoplasm rubbed his chin in thought. “We could possibly spin the takedown in our favour regardless of the outcome. After all, a provisional student taking down someone that gave the undisputed number one hero a hard time is someone that they’d definitely want in their ranks.”

Nezu nodded. “Yes, I was of the same mind. The same can be said for potential media coverage. A lack would simply mean no controversy, while its existence would allow us to bring hope, and show the public that the next generation of heroes is already strong.”

Izuku sniffled and held his dad’s hand under the table while All Might rubbed his back comfortingly, the warmth and care seeping in his bones. He hadn’t realised how little hope he’d had for his old dream until it was rekindled by the steady support of the UA staff. He felt fifteen again. Not just in body.

His dad leaned forward on the table to address everyone. “So right now the vague plan is, scout the area to provide legal ground for a raid, authorise a temporary provisional license for Izuku, and during the raid, capture Kurogiri, and kill All for One.” He stated.

He received murmurs of agreement and continued. “For this first step to be successful, we need to treat Kurogiri’s capture as a priority. He needs to be kept off the scene to prevent escape, because All for One has a quirk to forcibly activate other quirks.”

“I see.” Nezu clasped his hands pensively. “To clarify, All for One doesn’t reside in the League’s main base?”

Both Deku and Eraser shook their heads. “The league is in a bar, All for One stayed in the nomu factory, likely to be near the doctor who probably moved between nomu factories”.

“Right.” Nezu clapped his paws together. “Well, the remaining details are best left to be determined once we are officially authorised for a raid. I assume you will be scouting the locations out as soon as possible, Eraserhead?”

Aizawa nodded. “I’ll try to swap shifts with the other underground patrollers in that area for next week. Spend around five days in the area to limit suspicion and make sure I don’t miss anything before we submit a raid request.”

“Excellent. After that, we bring Shinso-kun in to help interrogate Kurogiri, who will give us reasonable means to investigate the hospital in Jakku. We can also send Recovery Girl in as initial reconnaissance if need be.” She nodded in acknowledgement.

His head dipped as he regarded his notes. “We should probably refrain from planning further ahead to limit the amount of moving pieces, but it would do well to keep the quirk erasing bullets in mind, as well as the Meta Liberation Front and the villain Gigantomachia.”

Eager assent circled the room, as the staff sensed the meeting was coming to a close and were ready to go home and rest from now two days of overtime.

Izuku found himself sharing a look with his dad. Something that had dealt such devastation in their time had been broken down into simple, manageable, and most importantly, achievable steps that they couldn’t ward off instinctual disbelief.

Was stopping off the end of the world as they knew it really so easy?

“Hindsight is 2020.” Shota muttered, seemingly unthinkingly, causing Izuku to snort, breaking their little bubble of shock. Shota rolled his eyes and knocked a fist on Izuku’s head affectionately.

Hizashi and Nemuri sidled over to Shota while Izuku felt Gran Torino’s cane prod his foot. He turned around to face the man inquisitively.

Torino regarded him for a minute, before huffing, not unkindly. “You’ve got the eyes of a veteran, kid. You shouldn’t have them, but you do. Shigaraki-” He cut himself off, and sighed. “Shimura. Tenko Shimura. I should have watched over Nana’s family.”
He bowed his head in apology. “I’m sorry that part of everything that happened to you was because of my negligence, but know this, you zygote.” He reached his cane up and emphasised his next words with taps to Izuku’s chest. “You’ll be a real asset to the raid. I’m glad that you’ll be there to help clean up after my messes, ‘cause you’ll do a real good job of it.”

Izuku had been too stunned to get a word in edgewise before Gran Torino said his goodbyes and left.

Izuku took a minute to himself. He watched as detective Tsukauchi rubbed his forehead tiredly in response to something All Might said that had him rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. Recovery Girl walked up to Nezu and had a short exchange before she too left.

Slowly teachers began to file out, waving to him, which he returned in his slight daze. The day’s events hit him all at once, and he moved to slump tiredly next to his dad. He followed his dad out of the room, the two being flanked by Hizashi and Nemuri.

Izuku let their idle chatter wash over him as they made their way out of the school. He reluctantly parted ways with his dad, feeling the toll of separation more intensely in his tired state.

He arrived home, enjoyed the warmth of his mother’s kindness, and passed out the second his head hit the pillow.

~~~~~~

Omake:

The next morning, Izuku woke to intense buzzing from his phone. Blearily, he tapped his passcode, and stared uncomprehendingly at the spammed messages.

Then there was a thump, and he was on the floor, laughing. Left on his phone screen, was the culprit of Izuku’s humour.

Kacchan:
Nerd WTF
THE WHOLE POINT OF THE TALK YESTERDAY
WHERE THE FUCK DID THAT ROPE AND SMOKE COME FROM
WHAT ARE YOU SOME KIND OF ELDRITCH BASTARD TIME TRAVELLER NUTJOB

Another notification.

I CAN SEE YOU READING THIS YOURE GOING TO TELL ME WHATS GOING ON RIGHT FUCKING NOW

NERD

His Mum had to check on him after he started wheezing on the floor.

Chapter Text

Izuku was tucked on the staff room couch with his dad, having arrived even earlier than yesterday. He was pleased to report that he was not picked up like a three year old this time, and had made it to the couch with his own two feet.

His dad only pouted a little bit when he realised Izuku had snuggled up to him without noticing he was at the door and dragging him himself. Izuku craned his neck to grin up at him. Shota could only sigh fondly, put the coffee he’d been sipping down, and wrap an arm around his kid.

“Dad.”

“Yeah?”

“I showed the class black whip and smokescreen yesterday.”

A pause. Izuku gave a cheeky grin that his dad could definitely sense.

“Is there footage?”

Izuku scoffed. “Of course, who do you think I am?”

That earned him a hair ruffle. “Good kid.”

They stayed snuggled for another moment before his dad seemed to remember something else. He wordlessly passed his phone to Izuku, already open on a message. Izuku read the messages first, then the contact. He blinked.

“Oh. My mum messaged you?”

He felt his dad nod, and he passed the phone back.

“I’ll be coming over to your apartment on Saturday to discuss…” His dad hesitated. “Shared custody?”

Izuku’s breath hitched. He hadn’t thought about it like that. He thinks he loves that idea.

“I’m not too sure.” His dad admitted. “I just… wanna be able to spend time with you outside of school after everything.” His hold around Izuku tightened minutely, and Izuku’s chest went pleasantly warm at the admission.

“I think your mum wants to meet me first, before letting some random man spend time with her precious child.” He pinched Izuku’s cheek for emphasis.

Izuku absently batted his hand away. “Makes sense.”

“Yeah.”

This time, the silence was not broken, and Izuku sank into the warmth radiating off his dad’s body. He tucked his feet so that they were on the couch, not the floor (having taken his shoes off you heathen), and let himself doze off, not quite napping like yesterday, but also not fully awake.

At some point, his dad started carding a hand through his hair, and Izuku fully melted, completely relaxed.

It was only ten minutes later that Izuku was jolted from his doze, as the peaceful silence was broken by the opening of the staff room door.

In between a yawn, Izuku greeted the newcomer. “Hi, All Might. Dad’s asleep.”

Shota grunted.

“Mostly asleep.” Izuku amended.

All Might smiled warmly. “I’ll be quiet, my boy.”

Izuku grinned tiredly back.

Izuku let his brain turn off again as All Might went to his desk and planned some lessons. He didn’t open his eyes when he was addressed again.

“Young Midoriya?”

“Hmm?”

“Do you have any plans during either of your breaks? Besides eating.”

Izuku wracked his tired brain. “No, I don’t think so.” He opened his eyes to see an almost nervous looking All Might. “You wanted to ask about the other users of the quirk, right?”

All Might nodded. “Yes, my boy. If you don’t mind, of course.”

Izuku lazily saluted at him. “S’all good.” That shocked a small laugh out of the man, who went back to work. His Dad’s previously stilled fingers began carding through his hair again so Izuku figured he shouldn’t let himself drift off again. It’s likely other teachers would start filing in shortly.

He grabbed an end of Shota’s capture weapon and began to fiddle with it intently, only pausing to wave at every teacher that entered. Midnight-sensei (Aunty Nemuri?) eventually made her way over to tell him that students were arriving on campus, so he would have to go to class soon.

Izuku sighed and looked at the couch forlornly, missing the smirk that formed on her face. To make a point only to herself, she nudged Shota as well. “Shota~ you gotta prepare for your classes.”

After a grumpy look, he also sighed, and stared forlornly at the couch. She cackled and walked away, leaving him to grumble about “evil heroes”, and them being why “lawlessness is preferred”. What a drama queen.

Izuku and Shota eventually emerged from the corner that the couch was tucked in, and they waved to each other as Izuku left the room, while Shota went to the desks to slump on his own.

Cementoss peered at Shota from his desk. “Eraserhead-san, did you pass your bad sleeping habits on to Midoriya?”

Eraser sighed. “We never got any good sleep in those two years. First from the constant danger, then from nightmares and the cold.” The man looked tiredly at Cementoss. “If he’s anything like me, now he’s not sleeping because it’s so loud.”

Cementoss hesitated. “Loud?”

Eraser nodded. “Yeah. Normal city sounds that just weren’t around like cars and stuff. There weren’t really any birds either.”

Cementoss dipped his head in acknowledgement. “If you need me to take over a class Eraser, just let me know.”

“Will do. Thanks.”

Shota sighed again. “I need coffee.” Then he perked up. “I left my coffee by the couch. I need my coffee.” He leaned over the back of the chair, and called out to All Might, whose desk was closest to the couch.

“All Might, could you pass me my coffee? It’s in a keep cup on the floor.”

“Ah yes, one second.” All Might pushed out of his chair and went over to the couch. He paused, and peered around for a moment.

“Uh, Aizawa?” He called.

“Hmm?”

“It’s not here.”

Shota paused. “Then where-” He blinked, then let his head hit his desk.

“Aizawa-kun?”

“That brat.”

~~~~~~

Izuku felt himself wake up with every sip of coffee he took as he walked towards his classroom. Dad snuggles were always a good way to start a morning, but dad snatched coffee was even better. Izuku thought it was only fair, since he had to wake up early to see him anyway.

His mum was barely awake by the time Izuku had left the house. He ended up making breakfast for the both of them since he’d woken up at 4am and hadn’t managed to get any meaningful rest afterwards.

He thinks that he’d slept fine the first two days because of all the emotional talks, but his feelings had slowly begun to settle, and the differences in sleeping conditions really got to Izuku. He thinks he might need to see a therapist. When he woke up in the dark to the absence of his dad’s breathing, he mayhaps panicked a bit. Just a bit.

Izuku opened the door to his class, and was greeted cheerfully by the usual early crew plus a few extras. That was before Uraraka went up to him with the biggest eye bags he’d seen on her, and grabbed his upper arms.

“Deku.”

Izuku blinked. “Uraraka?”

She gave him a nasty glare. “I got no sleep because of you.”

He felt his eyebrows raise in worry and surprise. “Huh?”

“When sensei first called you a problem child, I’m like, who, Deku? But now? Now I see the logic.” She continued to rant, waving hands that Izuku had to dodge

They had the attention of all his present classmates by now, but no one took mercy on Izuku and saved him from a semi-feral Uraraka. He gave them the stink-eye, and they looked away.

“Uraraka, what’s wrong?”

She paused, with her hands mid-air. Finally, she dropped them, and sighed.

“Deku, you can confide in us, you know that right?”

Izuku tilted his head. “Of course. Is that what this is about?”

She cracked a tiny smile and shook her head. “No. I’m glad you feel that way though. The you from last week would have probably been less sure.”

Izuku gave her a wry smile.

She huffed. “Anyway, I know you said that All for One didn’t get you or anything, but then I remembered about the nomu.”

Izuku’s face slipped in slight horror at what his poor friend had been thinking and was quick to reassure her. “Uraraka, nothing bad happened to me.” Because he knew they were listening anyway, he projected his voice to the now full class. He noted Kacchan was listening intently, and valiantly ignored the glare that was definitely a reprimand for ignoring his messages. “I do have multiple quirks, but I was always going to get them even without the conflict.”

She tilted her head. “Really?”

“Yup! I did mention how my quirk can be passed on, but something I maybe didn’t mention is that it’s a stockpiling quirk at its core.”

“It stockpiled quirks.” Midoriya and Uraraka turned to face Bakugo, who had crossed his arms with a challenging gleam in his eye. “Am I wrong?”

Izuku grinned, fear of Bakugo long gone. “You’re right! Initially we only thought it stockpiled power, but it stockpiled the other user’s quirks too. In the initial timeline, I unlocked my first new quirk in a joint training exercise at the end of the year.”

Uraraka’s eyes bugged out. “Woah! Really?”

“Yup!”

She heaved a great sigh, and her shoulders lost all their tension. “Whew… I’m so relieved you weren’t experimented on.”

Izuku pat her shoulder consolingly. “Don’t worry, my quirk is just haunted instead.”

She blinked. “You’re joking, right?” He began to walk to his seat, sipping the last of the coffee. “Wait, Deku, you’re joking right?”

Tokoyami shook his head. “What a mad banquet of darkness.”

~~~~~~

Omake 1:
As Shota walked in the room, he spied a certain coffee cup on a certain child’s desk. He walked in the room with an impassive expression.

The class quietened to let him speak.

“Problem child?”

Izuku blinked up innocently at him.

“Yeah?”

“Detention for being a brat.”

They stared at each other for a moment, the class looking between them in confusion. Izuku was the first to break contact.

“Yeah, that’s fair.”

It was then that they noticed their sensei’s coffee cup on their classmate’s desk. They sweatdropped, and hoped that Midoriya would live to see the next day.

~~~~~~

Omake 2:

“Is he gone?” Hizashi Yamada peeked over at Shota’s desk from where he was hiding the second he realised the man’s coffee was missing.

Cementoss gave him a thumbs up, and he heaved a great sigh of relief.

“Oh thank god. I’m not ready to experience Shota’s wrath. Not after the last time he thought I stole his coffee…” He looked off into the distance, as though replaying a memory he’d rather forget. His gaze caught a certain Pro.

“Hey, All Might, you good?”

He jolted, and quickly gave a shaky thumbs up and grin. Hizashi just sighed, and collected the sheets he needed for his class.

He began ranting to Cementoss, who followed him out of the room.

“It’s not fair that his best friend of fifteen years can’t even take a sip of his coffee- not that I did anything to it in the first place! And then a green bean comes along and suddenly Shota decides he can deal. What an asshole.” Mic’s voice lost volume as he left the teacher’s lounge, and All Might finally felt a drop of sweat fall.

Aizawa would never know what really happened to that coffee. He never wanted to see that look in Aizawa-kun’s eyes again. He prayed for Midoriya.

Chapter Text

Izuku waved his friends off when the first break of the day arrived, and went to meet All Might in one of the staff break rooms that they normally used for private conversations.

He ran into his dad on the way there and got a passing hair ruffle as they passed each other down the hall.

He was grinning by the time that he opened the door to see All Might in the room.

“Good to see you, young Midoriya! Please, come sit. I made tea.”

Izuku smiled gratefully as he sat down across from All Might and picked up the delightfully warm cup.

He gave himself a moment to bask in the presence of a man he had loved dearly. He owed his life to this man, in more ways than one, and Izuku could never pay him back, even with what was essentially a second chance at life.

He looked up to see All Might smiling fondly, and a little bit sadly at him. “I owe you just as much, please do not fret over a debt that has been repaid many times over.”

Ah, Izuku had been mumbling. He simply gave the man a small smile that encompassed too many emotions to really identify, before shaking his head to stop the sad thoughts. He took another sip of tea before initiating the conversation.

“I assume you’ve figured out there’s more to One for All than what we initially thought.”

All Might coughed lightly. “Well, the other quirks make it quite clear that we were missing the full story,” He leaned forward, “however, it was something else that caught my attention.”

Izuku nodded, and gestured for him to continue.

“You mentioned knowing that quirks leave… vestiges of previous users behind during the first meeting. Of course, you were speaking in the context of All for One and young Shigaraki, but I assume there wasn’t that much of a leap between passing All for One and One for All.”

Izuku nodded again. “You’re right.” He met All Might’s hopeful eyes. “At first, there wasn’t much, but they began to communicate to me when I was unconscious, and later, could appear to me when I was awake. They helped me master each of their individual quirks.”

“I see… stockpiling quirks as well as power then? And that allowed for the vestiges?”

“Yeah.”

All Might shifted slightly. “Did you…” He trailed off, but Izuku sent his mentor a gentle look, knowing what he wanted to hear.

“Yes. I met Shimura-san. Her smile is lovely.”

All Might beamed. “I couldn’t agree more.” He softened slightly. “I am so glad that you got to meet her, and she, you. There is no doubt in my mind that she would have absolutely loved you.”

Izuku felt warm at the praise. “She was very kind to me.” His eyebrows dropped slightly. “She struggled with a lot of guilt though, being aware of Shigaraki’s heritage.”

All Might let out a shuddering breath at the reminder of what All for One had done to his master’s family. “Right.”

Izuku watched him shake his head, and waited for him to take another sip of tea. All Might lowered the cup from his mouth and cradled it in his hands.

“In that same meeting… you were also very specific about One for All’s form to Aizawa. Did something happen?” He hedged uncertainly, clearly trying his best to not trigger any bad memories for Izuku in the case that something did.

Izuku gently placed his tea cup on the table, and looked unseeingly to the side, his mind taking him to memories from a year and a half ago.

His brain flashed images of a punch that flashed rainbow with the lights of the previous users of one for all, and images of a cracked body that refused to go down without a fight.

He recalled weaving in and out of sound blasts, and being saved from instant death at the last second through a swirling portal. He recalled a twinge of fear as a gray scarf entered his peripherals, from someone who was in no condition to join the dangerous battle.

He remembered new determination, and feeling like his limbs were on fire, the vestige’s very wills becoming raw power as Shigaraki and the last heroes clashed in one final, devastating blow.

Dust.

And then there were two.

As Izuku slowly came back to the present moment he slowly shook his head, before realising he was meant to be nodding. “No, uh, yes, I mean.” He felt his lips wobble.

He fully returned to see All Might’s concerned expression. Izuku sniffed and wiped his eyes. “Sorry.” He breathed. “Give me a moment.”

While Izuku struggled to get his tears under control, All Might softly, albeit hesitantly circled the coffee table. He wrapped his long arms around the boy, gently so that he could pull away if he wanted to. Izuku sank into the hold instead, and All Might’s arms tightened.

“Sorry… that was just a really… day. It was a day.”

All Might loosened his hold to let Izuku pull back and wipe his eyes. “I can imagine, my boy.”

“I have their quirks still, but the vestiges as people… they’re gone.”

All Might continued to hold Izuku for a while. In the silence his thoughts strayed to his old sidekick.

An unchangeable future, huh?

Izuku missed the next class, and All Might stayed by his side the whole hour, even as the light returned to his eyes, and they chattered aimlessly about the funnier experiences with One for All and its vestiges.

All Might would be here for his boy, past, present and future.

~~~~~~

Shota had been worried when he heard that Izuku didn’t show up to a class (and there was something to be said for the warm feeling he felt on the principle of being told that, not as a homeroom teacher, but as the parent the other UA staff now saw him as).

When he remembered that All Might wanted to talk, it didn’t take much to realise that some of the worst memories were pulled to the forefront of Izuku’s mind in HD quality.

He didn’t let his mind linger on it, as he tried to disregard the tugging grief that seemed to remain eternally in his chest.

What his mind did linger on, was the wellbeing of his child, who he was unable to go and comfort due to his work. Honestly, he would ditch his class in a heartbeat to go help his kid but… All Might had it handled. Sometimes, you didn’t need someone who understood. Sometimes, you needed someone to stand strong, and hold you while your foundations crumbled so that you could rebuild them, instead of crumbling together in one giant heap of debris.

Plus, he only found out during the lunch break, after Izuku had already recovered, and attended a separate class. So it was fine.

Though, he was currently the most distracted he’d ever been in a class, and the third years looked at him worriedly as he trailed off in the middle of a sentence every now and then as his thoughts strayed, memories and worries lending their way to a dangerous mindset of catastrophising.

Luckily, it was the last class of the day, because Shota wasn’t sure how much longer he could go without seeing his damn kid.

With an awkward jolt, he suddenly remembered that this was one of the days he stayed behind after school to train Shinso.

Nooooo.

Listen, he was all for getting Shinso into the hero course. He knew from experience that Shinso would make a damn good one. He almost pouted to himself. He just wanted to be with his kid. Was that too much to ask?

…He should totally get Izuku to join Shinso.

Yes, it was foolproof. Izuku would be able to help Shinso learn some more specialised techniques, after all…

Shota paused. The class was too silent, even for doing the worksheets he’d handed out after giving up on lecturing. He looked up.

“Eraserhead mumbles?!”

Goddamnit.

“He has a kid?!”

Fuck.

The bell to end the day went, and Shota was out of the room before the third years could even blink.

He had problems to avoid and a kid to hug.

Chapter Text

Izuku sheepishly waited in the staff room after class, having been let in with a wink from Mic-sensei. (“Call me Uncle Hizashi out of class, I can tell you still call me sensei in your internal dialogue!”)

They didn’t have a meeting today, and wouldn’t have one again right up until the raid had been approved, so he didn’t have an easy excuse for staying behind. But all his senseis were sending him knowing looks and cheerful waves! He knew he wasn’t subtle, but they could at least pretend he was.

He fiddled with his hands, trying to hide how off-kilter he still was from the near-flashback he’d had earlier. He was pretty sure that Dad taught Shinso after school today, but surely he came by the staff room first. Right?

~~~~~~

Shota usually went to meet Shinso straight after classes, but today he took the scenic route to pass by the staff room. Just to see if the coffee machine was refilled, nothing more.

Yup.

…

He ran a tired hand down his face. He didn’t even know why he was trying to fool himself. Shota opened the door to the staff room and was met with a green blur which he practisedly caught. Poor kid must have had a really bad day.

Izuku clutched Shota tightly and buried his face deep in Shota’s chest. Shota held him back with just as much fervor.

“Everything okay?” He whispered into Izuku’s hair.

Izuku just gripped him tighter.

“Okay.” He breathed. Shota simply tightened his hold.

Izuku eventually loosened his hold and pulled back. He exhaled, collecting himself, before smiling up at Shota. “Thanks.”

That earned him a hair ruffle and a soft smile before falling into companionable silence.

Izuku fidgeted slightly, having seen his dad and achieved his purpose. “I should probably go back to my Mum now…”

That was when Shota honest-to-god pouted, startling a short laugh out of Izuku. Hizashi, unseen by both, snapped a photo.

(“Yes. After fifteen years. I finally have it. Blackmail.” He whispered triumphantly.

Nemuri shuffled over just as silently. “Seriously?”

Hizashi grinned. “This is the start of a new era.”

They mimed a high-five, and went on with their work, giving Midoriya and Shota some privacy.)

“You okay, Dad?” Amusement danced in Izuku’s eyes.

Shota crossed his arms and spoke grouchily. “I didn’t have my coffee thanks to a certain brat.” Izuku batted his eyes innocently. Shota then sighed, expression going sheepish. “...and I’ve just been missing you, kid.” he admitted.

…Did Shota really expect Izuku to not tear up at that?

Shota sighed fondly and opened his arms again, just in time for Izuku to bury his face in his chest.

“I’ve been missing you too.” Izuku sniffled. “It’s been a bit harder than I expected each passing day to not have you around all the time. We might need a little bit of therapy.”

Shota snorted. “Maybe a little.”

They pulled back again.

Sensing the impending separation, Shota quickly asked if Izuku wanted to join him and Shinso for a training session.

Izuku’s chest felt pleasantly warm at how much his dad wanted to see him, but ultimately shook his head. “I don’t think Shinso-kun would like that very much right now.”

Izuku watched as his dad’s lips pulled down into a pout again, his posture slumping a bit more than usual.

“Aww, Dad.” And then Izuku squished him into a hug for the third time in five minutes and nuzzled his head into his dad’s neck. Extra affection for the road. He ignored the squeal that came from his dad’s friend’s direction.

“Don’t worry. Shinso won’t be able to resist my friendship attempts. I’ll join you two when he likes me a bit more again.”

Shota’s lips reluctantly tugged up, and he let out an amused huff. “I don’t doubt it.”

Izuku gave him one last nuzzle before pulling back and pushing Shota out the door. “Now go! You’ve kept him waiting for too long.” He pushed Shota again who stumbled.

“Dad, hurry up! Poor Shinso is gonna think you’re giving up on him. Make sure to provide comfort.” Izuku said sternly, as he pushed again.

“Okay, I’m going, I’m going!” Shota laughed.

Before Izuku could shove him a fourth time, he dodged, and caught Izuku in a noogie briefly enough to drop a kiss on his head. “Bye Izuku. See you tomorrow.”

Izuku laughed and batted Shota’s arms away. “Bye Dad! I’ll be in bright and early again so make sure your old man self is awake!”

“Brat!” He called at Izuku’s retreating figure. He grumbled as he walked. “That kid’s gotten too cheeky… the old him would never.”

Shota stepped outside and approached the small field to see Shinso nervously pacing. He turned as Shota stepped on a branch, and slumped with visible relief, before quickly straightening up and smoothing out any lingering emotion on his face.

Shota raised a hand in greeting. “Sorry I’m late. For the foreseeable future I’m going to quickly drop by the staff room before our lessons, so use that time to warm up. Sorry for not letting you know beforehand, it was unplanned.”

Shinso grunted. “It’s fine. I warmed up anyway.”

Shota let a tiny smile curve on his face. “Good,” he nodded. He wished more students would show that kind of initiative.

Shinso looked positively spooked for a moment before trying to school his expression again.

Shota felt his eyebrows furrow. “Is everything alright?”

The teen rubbed a hand against the back of his head awkwardly. “Sorry. Thought I saw something.”

Shota tilted his head consideringly before deciding to not press the issue.

“Okay… Now show me what you learned last week.”

Shota mayhaps needed a slight refresher on where Shinso was at, but he was sure as hell going to pretend he had a plan. He was a good teacher like that.

He let out a feral grin at the amateurish movements. He would have to put Shinso through the wringer again, and watch him get tangled up in the capture weapon. It was bound to be as funny as the first time he taught him how to use it.

~~~~~~

Izuku looked back at the gates of UA. His mind flashed to his mother, who was waiting for him at home, soothing the once eternal ache of her loss.

He wondered what it would be like to have a home with his dad as well.
What it would be like to return to him in an apartment, and not an ash-ridden plain.

To just be a kid with his dad, just the two of them.

He should probably talk with his mum.

Chapter Text

“I’m home!” Izuku called out as he entered his apartment.

“Welcome back!” His mum rounded the hall to help Izuku with his bag as he shrugged off his blazer and shoes.

When he looked up to greet her properly, her eyes widened.

“Izuku,” she breathed, “is everything okay?”

His initial reaction was to just smile and tell her everything was fine but…

He let his shoulders drop, and the exhaustion that must have already been on his face shine through any lingering mask from the school day.

“Sorry, Mum. Everything’s just catching up with me now that we’re kind of settling into the past again.”

She ushered him onto the couch. “Izuku, why don’t you relax while I make us some tea?”

Izuku managed a gentle laugh. “I’m okay Mum, really.”

She turned to face him with an unusually serious expression. “Izuku, I know I haven’t been the best mother to you. I said all the wrong things when you were growing up and suddenly, there’s a version of you already grown and hurt more than I want to imagine. Let me take care of you while I still can.”

Izuku’s eyes grew watery for the hundredth time that day. “You’ve always been a wonderful mother to me.”

Her own eyes welled up and she squeezed his arm before quickly turning away to hide her face and go make some tea.

Izuku was left to his own thoughts for a few minutes. Logically he knew that he was bound to break. Too much had changed too quickly and too unexpectedly.

It was a dream to be back with everyone again.

But dreams can be decayed with a touch, and he was warring between paranoia and hope. The strange and the familiar.

More prominent than anything else at this point in time was his need to merge familiars from different timelines to create a new present that he was allowing himself to selfishly reach for.

He just got his mum back, and giving her up was not an option.

But did that mean losing his dad too?

Selfishly, selfishly, he needed this settled before anything to do with All for One. He felt so guilty. People were hurting. Especially people like Aoyama, and perhaps, the man of his nightmares too. Tomura Shigaraki.

But Izuku hadn’t been apart from Aizawa in two years, and he was really, really feeling the separation. More so now that they had titles to acknowledge that nuances in their previously unspoken relationship.

“Dad.”

“Izuku.”

(“Son.”)

He’d gained so much by coming back to the past, but he’d come to peace with those losses. He was not going to lose what little he had gained.

Selfish, selfish, selfish, his tired mind screamed. But now, he reminded himself as his mother brought tea over and sat next to him on the couch, exactly the way they’d sat the morning Izuku realised he’d time traveled, he was not a hero.

Right now, he was just his mother’s son. And he was going to ask if it would be okay for him to be his dad’s son as well.

He sipped at the warm cup that had been pressed into his hands.

It was silent for a while before his mum finally prompted him to speak. “Izuku?”

Oh, where to begin?

He took another sip from his cup, before placing it on the coffee table, and watched the steam dance for a moment.

He shifted on the couch and saw his mum’s worried gaze follow him.

“I uh… my d- sensei showed me that you messaged him?” He felt his heart skip a few beats. He didn’t want him mum to think she wasn’t enough. This conversation would have to be very delicate on his part.

She furrowed her brows. “That is… what you wanted me to do, right?”

His eyes widened and he rushed to reassure her. “Yeah, that is… just… thanks.”

Her eyes narrowed worriedly. “Izuku, what’s wrong?”

Izuku felt his breath shake as he exhaled. “Are you… okay with it?”

“You’re going to need to give me a bit more than that, honey.”

He turned desperate eyes on his mother, cracking slightly under the weight of his guilt and his longing to have a home with his dad.

“It’s my fault for not bringing it up, but we’re thinking the same thing, right? Like…” He thought of what Aizawa had said earlier that day. “Like split custody. The thing divorced parents do where the kid goes between houses? You barely even know him- are you- and, and, I don’t want you to think I don’t want to be around you anymore because you’re my mum and I love you so much and losing you was- it was…” Izuku trailed off, unable to continue through his shortening breaths.

His increasingly hazy vision meant that he missed his mum’s panic growing with every rugged breath. Her hands hovered wildly, trying to figure out how to best comfort her son.

She was out of her depth, but one thing was immediately obvious to her. “Izuku, Izuku, honey.” His breaths were still short, and she nearly fell back into her own spiral. But that wasn’t what he needed right now. “Don’t worry about me.” She cupped his face and locked her watery eyes onto Izuku’s own panicked ones. Once she was sure she had his attention, she repeated. “Don’t worry about me.”

Mustering all her conviction, she asked him, “What is it that you want, Izuku?”

He blinked, as though the question had surprised him. “Me?”

She let her hands drop from his cheeks and moved to hold his own. Izuku’s hands were larger than hers. They had been for a while, but the reminder of how grown her child was caused her lips to wobble.

“I’m your mother, Izuku.” Her voice was like a whisper. “Let me take care of you.”

Izuku’s mind immediately flashed back to when his dad had essentially said the same thing yesterday. He understood immediately. The waterworks began as his heart broke and began to pour out to his mum.

“We… we haven’t really talked about it. Me and my teacher. Nothing really beyond me calling him dad and him calling me by my given name, but he’s… he’s my dad. I love him like a Dad and I’m pretty sure- I know- he loves me like a son and we’re here. We’re here in the past and not the ruins of a whole country.”

“In the future there was no reason to exist. All the dreams were gone, and there was no one else but him. And he didn’t have to take on a parental role but he did. And suddenly we’re both here, not only with a present, but a future, with so many people to love and care for and with him I-” Izuku hiccuped a sob. “Just as much as I want to be a hero, I really want to live a life where we just get to be a dad and his kid in a world of dads and their kids.”

Inko thinks her heart physically broke in two. “Oh, Izuku.”

He raised his head from where it had ducked down to reveal huge globs of tears pouring down his face. “Is… is that okay, Mum?”

Inko hadn’t had to deal with this many emotions at once in her lifetime as she had in the past week. Her thoughts flitted between how empty the house would feel without Izuku for extended periods of time, how much danger her son was going to face, Hisashi, and how utterly small her bright, vivacious and heroic child sounded right now.

Really, what else could she say?

She reached upwards to place a gentle kiss on her son’s temple. “Of course, Izuku. Leave it to me.”

Inko would do her best to never do wrong by Izuku again, no matter how difficult it was for her. Izuku was strong. She would do her best to match his strength so that he would never have to cry like that again.

Chapter Text

The remainder of the school week went quickly and without much fanfare. His classmates were too focused on their practical exams which were still next week, and Izuku had settled into a comfortable routine that let him see his dad before and after school for a bit, before he went home to his ever worried, but oddly determined mother.

Izuku had gotten lots of requests for hints on what the exam would be, and he only almost gave something away to Mina, who had slipped him an All Might sticker pack.

He was more tempted than he’d like to admit, but he had resignedly passed the sticker pack back to an equally resigned Mina.

He couldn’t think of anything useful he could say without completely giving the exam away, but as the school day finished, he may have told her to hold on to the stickers for the written exams. She positively lit up, and went her merry way with newfound cheer.

He’d needed to flash his dad an innocent smile, but really, he knew nothing. It was fine. Izuku just hoped it didn’t get out that he was not only bribable, but very cheap.

Kacchan gave him a look too, but Izuku had just mouthed “no one will ever believe you,” earning him a middle finger as he left the room.

Things came to a head upon the conclusion of their Saturday classes.

It was the Saturday his parents would meet for the first time, which was an odd thought without context.

He lingered behind in the classroom, waiting for everyone to leave from their final homeroom of the day before speeding over to his dad and donking his head on the man’s chest.

One hand rubbed his back while the other scratched his scalp, and Izuku went boneless.

He managed to send the man a shaky smile after pulling away, and all but dragged him out of the school gates. His dad was coming home with him, after all.

~~~~~~

Shota couldn’t help all the thoughts flying rampant in his head as he walked to the train station with his kid.

Apart from the nerves that refused to settle down in his stomach for the upcoming talk, he was also filled with a vague sense of wonder.

Izuku held his hand like a five-year old as they walked down the street. Their arms swung idly, and two realities in Shota’s mind were colliding.

He’s seen this scene before, Izuku’s hand in his as they walked around a levelled city. “I bet that was a convenience store.” He would point to what must have once been a building given the vague impression of a street that was once there.

Shota would hum and point at the space across from it. “And I bet that was an arcade.”

Izuku would give the space a critical once over before decisively nodding, and asking if Shota thought the arcade was one that students frequented, or one for stressed out office workers.

They spent a while like that, amidst the fight for general survival. Trying to see ghosts.

Here he was again, Izuku’s hand in his. Built up areas hid the horizon, and the giggles from school girls who entered a brightly lit building caught his attention.

“I didn’t know there was an arcade near this train station.”

Izuku didn’t turn to face him, but Shota knew he was smiling.

“That one’s frequented by students. Uraraka, Iida and I all go to this train station, so once, Uraraka and I convinced Iida to play at that arcade with us.”

Shota eyed the arcade closer. “I wonder if that’s the one that Shirakumo and Hizashi tried to drag me to when we were students…”

Izuku tilted his head curiously at it and let out an odd sound.

Shota looked down at him and raised his eyebrow in question.

“Do you ever wish you could’ve gone back further?”

Izuku’s voice had a wide range of undertones that would be difficult for most to pick up. Shota thought he sounded sad.

“What do you mean?” He asked, carefully. Both their eyes lingered on the arcade.

“Time travel.” Izuku’s eyes unfocused slightly, before he blinked and turned to look up at Shota. “Do you wish you could’ve gone back to a point in time further back? Because of Kurogiri.”

Shirakumo. He’s asking if Shota would have rather gone back to save Shirakumo.

“This world is cruel.” He was blunt, and Izuku turned to him in confusion, not sure how that answered his question. Shota elaborated. “By the time we met when you joined my class, he was just a ghost that belonged 15 years in the past.”

They had started walking again, lost in a small bubble. “His death played a large part in who I am today, especially with my teaching, as you know.”

Izuku nodded. They’d learnt a lot about each other in the End.

“But that was because he died, and I had accepted it, and moved on in my own way. Of course, like that, I would have said no to your question. The past is the past, and fifteen years is a long time.”

“But that’s not what happened.” Izuku stated.

“No, it’s not.” Shota agreed. “We found out he was alive, forced into a changed body and identity. This world is cruel.” He said again, but he could see Izuku understood where he was coming from now.

“You’ve been tempted.” Izuku pulled a face at his own word choice.

With a slight huff, Shota said, “That’s one way to put it.” He looked almost wistful as they passed another, smaller arcade, before shaking his head. “Regardless, my answer to your question would still have to be no.”

Izuku looked at him carefully, with his ever present kindness. “Can I ask why?”

Shota felt a small smile form on his face. “Because I wouldn’t have you.”

“Oh.”

He watched as his son’s eyes widened, and the tips of his ears went slightly red. The kid was flustered. Cute.

They boarded the train and sat in comfortable silence, watching the scenery flash by outside the window.

Soon enough, they were walking the last stretch of the route to the Midoriya’s apartment.

Shota found himself eyeing some corner stores that twigged the back of his brain. He hummed slightly in realisation, catching Izuku’s attention. “I didn’t recognise the route because I was too young for UA, but I grew up in this area.”

Izuku tilted his head. “Really?” He began to look around the area as though seeing it in a new light.

He nodded. “We lived over in that direction.” He pointed off to the left.

Izuku’s eyes widened. “Oh wow, that’s actually pretty close to me and Kacchan.”

Shota nodded. “I noticed it when we did the home visits for the dorms.” He then turned his eyes to the side in thought, as he tried to recall some memories. “I remember going to this small river when I was little to spend time by myself. I stopped going after they built a bridge over it because it increased the people traffic. Then I think we moved only a few months later.”

Izuku gave him an excited grin. “Kacchan and I went there with a few other kids in the neighbourhood all the time! I can’t believe you went to that same place.”

Shota felt his lips quirk again. “It is a good place for kids, isn’t it? Except, I remember that there was a pretty big drop to the water after the bridge was added.”

Izuku pursed his lips. “Kacchan did fall off, once.” He admitted. Shota snorted, then stopped himself.

“Sorry. The mental image of a small Bakugo flying off a bridge was a bit funny, that’s all. I hope he wasn’t hurt.”

Izuku’s eyes danced with some amusement. “In hindsight, he did look a bit silly. I was pretty worried for him at the time, but he was perfectly fine. I think the drop looked bigger than it actually is because we were small.”

Shota hummed. “That’s true.” He hesitated, knowing his next suggestion may be moot depending on how the impending conversation with Izuku’s mother went, before asking anyway. “Maybe we should go on a walk together at some point? It might be nice to make new memories in a healthy city instead of the ones of us walking around debris and more debris.” He ended dryly.

Izuku laughed, then turned to Shota, sincerity in his eyes. “I would like that.”

Cool, Shota’s kid wanted to hang out with him. It totally didn’t do funny things to his heart. Nope. Not at all.

“Oh, my apartment building’s just ahead.” Oh, Shota was only a tiny bit scared now.

Izuku must have noticed a slight shift in Shota’s demeanour. He let out an oof as Izuku encircled his arms around him, very tightly. Shota couldn’t even return the hug, asit ended as quickly as it came. Shota was able to ruffle green hair though.

“Thanks, kid.”

Izuku sent a knowing look his way to hide his own nerves. Shota knew him better than that, and gently bumped his shoulder. Izuku nudged him back.

Shota let out a heavy exhale as they entered the building. He stopped Izuku before they started walking up any stairs, earning him a confused look.

He bent down slightly to be level with Izuku, and rested his hands on his shoulders.

“Kid. Izuku.” Izuku’s eyes bore into his own, returning the seriousness that Shota had suddenly adopted. “No matter what happens today, I need you to know that it changes nothing.” He searched Izuku’s face for anything negative before continuing. “All the time we spent together by ourselves, or with Mic and Kurakumo,” Izuku cracked a small smile at the name, “won’t be erased. Everything we did together happened, and I will forever love you like a son.”

Izuku’s eyes welled up, and Shota felt every inch of his demeanour soften. He moved his hands from Izuku’s shoulders to his cheeks, and wiped away some stray tears with his thumbs. Quietly, he uttered, just for the two of them. “That will never change.”

Adoration shone, reflected back at the other in soft jaws and gentle eyes.

The moment came to an end, and finally, they went up the stairs.

Chapter Text

Izuku opened the door to his apartment and peered in.

“I’m home! Aizawa is here with me.”

“Pardon the intrusion.” his Dad muttered.

He heard his mum put some dishes down, and she appeared at the end of the short hall. “Welcome back Izuku!”

Izuku leaned down to allow her to press a quick kiss on his forehead before she beckoned him and his dad further into the house. “Welcome as well, Aizawa-san. Please come take a seat. I made tea.”

“Thank you.” He bowed lightly, and followed Izuku closely, clearly feeling out of place, and very, very awkward.

Izuku sent him a small smile but honestly, felt the same. He supposes there was no way that the conversation could occur without some awkwardness, at least for the initial meeting period. ‘Hey Mum, meet the man I took in as my Dad when you were dead and want to spend more time with!’ Yeah, no.

Izuku wanted his dad to feel comfortable though. Izuku took a seat at the dining table and gestured for his dad to take the one to his right. The second the man sat down, Izuku dragged his chair over into his personal space with a cheeky grin.

That got him an eye roll, and the minute dropping of tense shoulders. Small wins.

He missed the look his action got from his mum, who had turned around to bring tea to the table.

She placed cups down, earning her two small “thank yous”, and then took her own seat opposite Aizawa.

Izuku got the sense that neither adult knew exactly what to say, so he decided to save them from what would have otherwise become an incredibly long, incredibly awkward stretch of silence.

“Mum,” he began, softly, slightly extricating himself from Shota’s side to reach a hand across the table. His mum gripped his hand tightly. “This is Shota Aizawa, Pro Hero Eraserhead.”

“We introduced each other over text.” She said, faintly. “But it’s nice to see you in person, Aizawa-san.”

Shota inclined his head. “You as well, Midoriya-san. There’s also no need for formalities, Aizawa is fine.”

She nodded.

Izuku could sense both his parents hesitating again. He internally lamented both of their lacking social skills, and was about to speak again when his dad spoke instead.

“You probably know that before everything else, I was your son’s homeroom teacher.”

She nodded.

“You also probably know that it was just us for a year and a half before we came back to the past just under a week ago.”

She looked slightly heartbroken at the reminder of the End. “Yeah.” She gave Izuku a crooked smile. “He’s mentioned you quite a bit since Sunday.”

Izuku felt his cheeks go slightly red and turned his head off to the side in embarrassment, but didn’t stop himself from childishly gripping his dad’s upper arm.

His mum seemed to be eyeing Izuku’s grip and his dad’s face carefully. Izuku never knew what his mum’s impression of Aizawa was before, even when he really just was a teacher, but when she looked to Izuku’s right she seemed to see something that confused her.

Oddly, her shoulders released some tension. “I guess we should get to the heart of the matter then?”

Izuku felt his dad minutely still. He was nervous. He spoke anyway.

“I…” Izuku watched his face carefully fill with determination as he made eye contact with his mother. “Your son- Izuku and I spent a lot of time together. As you already know.” His eyes flicked to Izuku before boring back into his mother’s. “There’s no real easy way to tell a person’s mother that they’ve grown to love their kid as their own, but…” He sighed, and took a moment to look to his left.

Izuku could see his reflection in his dad’s eyes. He tilted his head in slight question. His dad’s body seemed to sag, and, seemingly without thought, a thumb reached up to brush his cheek affectionately.

“Izuku is not my flesh and blood and never will be, but frankly, it wouldn’t change a thing.”

It was the second time that day he’d heard words along a similar vein, but that didn’t stop him from directing wide-eyed awe at the man he’d chosen to call his dad.

Aizawa turned away from Izuku to face Inko’s direction, but didn’t look up at her. “I know this is a big ask from a man you don’t know… but… to spend time with Izuku in that capacity is something I really want to talk about. Is that something that you’re open to?”

When they both finally looked at Inko properly, they saw both her hands up, covering her mouth, and thick tears forming at the bottom of her eyelid.

Izuku’s brows furrowed, and he leaned forward on the table. “Mum?”

Aizawa frowned. "Midoriya-san?"

She sniffled, and pulled a tissue box over with her quirk. “Sorry- just give me a moment.”

She delicately dabbed at her tears, and blew her nose before discarding the tissue. Izuku looked with faint worry, but both him and Shota gave her space to get her thoughts together.

She rested her arms on the table. “Sorry. It’s just been a while since… since I’ve seen someone else care for Izuku in that way.” She looked off to the side pensively. “It’s something I’ve felt terrible about. To have Izuku grow up without a father like that.”

Izuku straightened in surprise. Hisashi Midoriya was not a taboo subject so much as he… just never came up.

She gave Shota and Izuku a morose smile. “Izuku never said anything, but I couldn’t help but sometimes wonder: Would Izuku be happier with two parents around? Should I try harder to enter a profession so that we no longer have to rely on Hisashi’s income from all the way in America? So that he could come back and be a proper father to Izuku?” She shook her head.

“I’ve had these thoughts on my mind a lot more since he mentioned you on Sunday. He didn’t say much about your relationship then, but he didn’t need to.” She bore her jade eyes onto Aizawa, who held her gaze, sensing the seriousness. “I knew that Izuku was no longer just mine the second he said your name with the same stars in his eyes that he had when Hisashi was still around.”

Aizawa took a moment to blink in surprise.

Softly, Izuku said. “I barely remember him.”

A sad look formed on Inko’s face as she turned to Izuku. “I know.”

Finally, a real smile bloomed on his mum’s face as she took in the both of them together. “Izuku probably doesn’t remember half the conversation we had when he came back on Sunday, but I believe that I was the one to first bring up shared custody.”

That had both Izuku and his dad gaping. Her lips quirked. “At the time, I only said it to keep Izuku from running out of the house and hunting you down himself.” She admitted. “I couldn’t stand the thought of him leaving me and getting hurt again. It seemed that ever since he started UA all that he’s been doing is getting hurt.”

She sighed, and her eyes grew watery again. “But I’ve had a lot of time to think about it after Izuku gave me your number. Izuku- he… my baby’s already grown up all the way to be eighteen without me. And I can’t stop the things that have already happened and hurt him. It’s too late.”
Her face filled with determination. Izuku could only watch his mum in wonder at her words. “What I can save him the hurt of, is that of losing a parent.”

Izuku turned at the same time as his dad, and they stared at each other with intermingled shock, and blossoming hope.

Memories of a meeting between his mum and All Might had shaped his expectation of this meeting. Resistance, despite the talk that he’d had with his mum the day prior.

His dad seemed to be of the same mind. “Are you sure? Izuku mentioned that when dorms were built for the school you were very resistant.” He looked slightly desperate, like he needed all doubt to be erased. Izuku felt the same.

She gave them an apologetic smile. “I can only imagine that my misgivings about UA were exacerbated for some reason,” Izuku and Shota grimaced. “But, this is different. This isn’t about me protecting Izuku from danger. This is about his emotional wellbeing.”

Izuku couldn’t stop himself from speaking. “So you’re saying… it’s okay?” At her slightly exasperated look, he rushed to elaborate. “I wanna split time between you and my dad.” She blinked at the title. “Is that okay?” She smiled.

“Well, I’m not going to arrange anything legal at the moment. He needs to be a bit more than an acquaintance for me to consider something like that. I am, however, open to discussing informal arrangements.” She confirmed.

Izuku’s cheeks pulled back into a positively joyous, involuntary grin. He used his quirk to leap over the table and grip his mum in a tight hug, earning him twin scolding cries of “Izuku!” that quickly devolved into laughter.

“Thankyouthankyouthankyou-” Izuku repeated as he continued to squeeze his poor mother.

“You’re welcome Izuku but-” She wheezed slightly and pat Izuku’s back weakly. “Please let me breathe.”

“Right, right, sorry.” He pulled back, still glowing with joy. He whipped around to look at his dad. He was now standing (probably because Izuku jumped over the table-) with hands in his pockets, lips pressed together, and eyes positively shining.

Considering his dad’s usual level of emotiveness, his utterly pleased expression was the greatest display of joy he’d ever seen on the man.

Izuku rushed around the table this time, and gripped the man in a tight hug which was returned with equal fervour.

“I got you, kid.”

“You got me, Dad.” He breathed.

His dad’s grip tightened around him, before they both let go.

He faced Inko, and bowed deeply. “Midoriya-san, the trust you have placed in me is something I will take great care of. The chance to be in Izuku’s life is something I will be eternally grateful for.”

Inko shook her hands frantically. “Please, Aizawa, there’s no need for that. If anything, I should be thanking you for taking care of Izuku when I couldn’t. You’ve clearly done well in my absence, and I couldn’t be more thankful.”

She then bowed at Aizawa, who seemed at a bit of a loss for what to do. Izuku watched the interaction like a tennis match. “Midoriya-san…”

She straightened, and gave a watery smile. “Oh, and please, just Midoriya is fine.”

His dad’s shoulders dropped, and he let out a breath, giving an awkward smile.

A silence fell, with none of the tension that any of the previous silences had.

“...Do you want to hear about all the stupid things Izuku did when he was little?”

“Mum!” Izuku squeaked.

Aizawa visibly perked up. “Yes.” He followed Inko who was gesturing towards the couch.

“Dad!”

Inko pulled some photo albums over with her quirk. Izuku groaned in the background. They grinned at each other. This would be the start of a beautiful friendship.

Chapter Text

Aizawa had ended up gossiping with Izuku’s mum for hours. Izuku didn’t even realise he’d done so many stupid things around his dad in particular, but there had been no room for a pause in the conversation.

That, unfortunately, meant that neither of his socially awkward parents ran into a silence they wouldn’t be able to fill.

Look, it’s not his fault that he hadn’t planned his landing after convincing Kurakumo to let him “skydive” with his quirk and ended up with his face fully buried in the dirt… twice.

“It was three times!”

“Whatever, Dad!”

And listen, he was three, (three!) when he tried to ask a particularly sad looking statue if they needed someone to help them.

“You were nearly seven, Izuku.”

Izuku threw his hands in the air. “It was really realistic, Mum!”

Aizawa badly hid a snicker as Inko teasingly replied, “Whatever you say, honey.”

On an unrelated note, Izuku now knows what it’s like to have no dignity. None, whatsoever.

The illusion between his school life and home life was now fully shattered for both his parents. They knew who he really was both at home and out. No where was safe. They knew too much.

He felt a knock on his head and shot a put out look at his dad.

“Chill, kid. You’ve had nothing to hide for two years anyway. It’s much too late to be complaining about things like that.”

Izuku narrowed his eyes at his dad, whose grin turned sadistic, and whose eyes widened slightly disturbingly.

“Though, there are a couple of other someones who still need to be disillusioned.”

Izuku felt his brows furrow in confusion before they shot up past his hairline. He gaped at his dad.

“Nonononono Dad please don’t tell Mic, or All Might, or Midnight Sensei, please, please, please, please-”

His dad smirked. “What, don’t tell Hizashi that he used to scare the living daylights out of you with quirk-powered vocalisations that he is currently very capable of replicating?”

Izuku’s hands were flying all over the place in dismay. “Yes, that! Oh my god, please, I cannot live with that again. Dad, I swear to god, I will steal all of your coffee for the rest of eternity.”

That caused the grin to drop. “You wouldn’t.”

Izuku crossed his arms challengingly. “I wouldn’t what? Steal your coffee like I did on Wednesday?”

“You brat-”

They were startled by a clearing of the throat, and both sheepishly turned to face Inko, who looked like she was going to both laugh and cry.

She wiped a watery eye and shot them both a smile. “Izuku, be nice.” Izuku opened his mouth to retort but she brushed over him to address Aizawa and get up off the couch. “Aizawa, would you like to stay for dinner? I’m afraid I didn’t notice the time.”

The boys blinked, and glanced out the window to find that the sun had indeed, nearly gone completely down.

“I never realised I did so many stupid things until I heard about them for hours on end.”

Both his parents let out a startled laugh. Shota shook his head fondly, then turned his attention to Inko.

“Thank you for the offer, Midoriya. I’ve actually got a patrol that’s starting soon, so I would have needed to leave around now anyway.”

Izuku wrapped his arms around one of his dad’s arms in a childish grip. “Ugh, do you have to? I’m not gonna see you for ages!” He drags out.

Shota simply pats his head gently with his free hand. It looks like the long day has caught up with Izuku, and he’s begun to crash. Oh, that reminds him that he should tell Izuku’s mother about the time when Izuku-

Izuku began to poke his cheek. “Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad.”

He made eye contact with Izuku’s amused mother before turning an unimpressed gaze down at his son. His technically eighteen year-old son. “Izuku, Izuku, Izuku, Izuku.”

Izuku didn’t say anything more. He just buried his head on Shota’s arm and tightened his grip. A wave of concern came over Shota.

“Izuku?”

He felt one more squeeze on his arm, before his son fully detached himself.

Inko rounded the corner to return to the couch she had vacated. “Izuku?”

He smiled at both of them. “Sorry, sorry. Just… be safe on your patrol?” Izuku’s wide eyes bore into Shota’s own, and he felt his demeanour soften.

“Of course, kid. I’m only scoping out the edge of Kamino ward. I won’t be going around the League’s bases until later in the week. I’ll keep you updated, okay?”

Izuku nodded.

Shota ruffled his hair. “And you know you’re being dramatic about not seeing me for ages. You're staying over tomorrow, remember?”

That got him a small, pleased smile. “Yeah.” Izuku agreed.

Inko let out a small, unseen sigh.

Shota privately wished that Izuku’s mum had allowed him to stay over more, but ultimately agreed with the logic that Izuku should probably start small, just a day here and there. It was actually a very good parenting choice on her part anyway. Plus, he definitely wasn’t going to push his luck with her trust either.

The fact that she agreed to Izuku staying overnight at Shota’s place at all was a miracle.

Between sharing dumb stories, they’d spoken about potentially working towards half a week at Shota’s. The second half would be spent at Inko's, meaning Shota could teach Shinso without keeping Izuku waiting. He still wanted Izuku to join them some time, but Izuku had made a good point a few days ago about needing to befriend Shinso again.

He knew Izuku was more upset about the loss of that friendship than he let on. Shota had also ended up relatively close with Shinso too. Nothing like Izuku and All Might, but enough that he went home after training with Shinso on Wednesday and cracked. Just a little.

Shota had a feeling that Shinso would probably be seeing a lot of both of them in the near future. Shinso is going to be so confused. Shota guarantees it will be hilarious.

He digresses.

Shota said his goodbyes to the Midoriyas, got son hugged, and went off to do his first full hero shift since returning to the past.

~~~~~~

Eraserhead’s hair whipped around his face from where he was perched on a street light. He took a moment to pull his goggles up to his eyes, before continuing to survey the immediate vicinity, hair no longer irritating his eyes.

It was unusually bright in Kamino ward.

Even without the bright lights of night life that Shota hadn’t seen for two years, the way was still clearly paved by a fully exposed full moon.

There were few shadows, and nowhere for villains to hide.

This is why the hero was mostly unsurprised when the man who had been eyeing him from below the street light awkwardly called out to him.

“Um, excuse me…” He faltered as Shota limberly dropped down from the light to lean against it from the ground. “...sir?”

Shota raised an eyebrow. “This isn’t the safest of areas. You probably shouldn’t call out anyone agile enough to balance on a streetlight without knowing who they are.”

The man glanced away awkwardly. “Sorry, um, I know, but… you’re a hero right? I heard your thoughts.”

Shota tucked any sign of wariness into the farthest corners of his mind, and carefully tilted his head.

“Yes… I am. Got a permit for that quirk use?”

The man’s body tensed causing Eraser to be vaguely reminded of Koda. The man was clearly anxious, but it probably wasn't for any nefarious reasons. He didn’t shift his posture at all, but lowered his mental walls.

The man relaxed.

“Sorry sir. I know I shouldn’t be using my quirk, but I promise I’m not trying to spy on anyone or anything!” He rubbed a hand behind his head sheepishly. “It’s just a really surface level passive mind reading quirk that I was using to try and find someone who could help me. I heard you thinking about the lighting being good for spotting villains… and you were on a streetlight, so I assumed and-”

Eraserhead shifted so that he was standing fully instead of leaning on the streetlight, cutting off the nervous tirade.

“It’s alright. Just watch the unauthorised quirk use as best you can with your passive one.” Eraser intoned.

The man nodded rapidly.

“What do you need help with?”

The man blinked, before perking up. “Oh, yes, I forgot- sorry, I just need some directions, that’s all.”

Eraser nodded, and soon enough, the man was bowing in thanks and heading off in the direction of his new house, with the stern suggestion that exploring the area should wait for daylight hours.

Shota allowed himself a brief sigh, lamenting the tedium that came with some patrols, before preparing to head back onto higher ground.

In that moment, two things happened.

Shota grunted and stumbled as a searing pain spread through his leg.

And the man who Shota had just helped was yanked down an alley in a move that Shota missed.

“Fuck.” Shota groaned. He let himself sink to the ground with his back against the street light. He rested his head on the knee of the leg that didn’t hurt, and inhaled and exhaled heavily.

He was familiar with this song and dance, but he had been enjoying what had mostly been a reprieve from his phantom pain. Turns out regaining a lost limb (or returning to a version of your body which still had it-) eliminated most, but not all of it.

He hoped that what Recovery Girl said about his phantom pain eventually fading would hold true, because the pain was a bitch to deal with.

His mind strayed for a moment, wondering if he should call Izuku over before remembering that he was back in the past, and Izuku was no longer within shouting distance practically all of the time.

He sighed, both at his thoughts, and the fact that the pain was quickly becoming more manageable.

The risk of phantom pain meant that patrolling at all was probably much too dangerous. One wrong move on a roof or in a fight could mean the end.

But, Shota thought, so could letting the sleeping villains lie. He took another moment, allowing the pain to become background. Then, he stood up, and launched himself upwards.

The future was at stake, and Shota had to be very careful with everything he did.

Letting pain consume him was the least of his worries when faced with the threat of All for One, and the End.

Chapter Text

Izuku had the front door open the second he heard footsteps stop in front of it.

“Dad!” He beamed at the usually scruffy man, who was now in casual wear, hair tucked back like he did in off-hours at the dorms, and launched himself at him.

His Dad caught him, and carded a hand through his hair.

“Long time no see, Izuku.” he teased.

Izuku ignored the teasing aspect. “Very long time.” He mumbled into Shota’s chest. He felt his dad’s huff of amusement.

The hug lasted for a few more moments before Izuku let go and sped back into his room to grab his bags.

He heard his mum go out to greet his dad while he did a final check for having everything he needed for school the following day since he was spending the night.

He emerged a moment later, school bag resting on one shoulder and a duffle resting on the other. He wobbled on the spot as he tried to close his door with his foot while he gripped the straps to his bags.

He finally settled as he got the door closed, and grinned at both of his parents who had turned to watch him from the entryway of the short hall.

“You ready to go, kid?”

“Yeah! Just a second, Dad.” Izuku glanced at his mum before shuffling awkwardly with his bags. “Could you grab this for me?” He angled the shoulder with the duffle towards him.

His dad nodded and stepped forward to take his bag. The second his left shoulder was free, Izuku turned to his mum and enveloped her in a large hug.

She laughed lightly, and returned the hug a bit tighter than she normally would. When he pulled back he saw tears building in her eyes. He wordlessly pulled a handkerchief from a pocket on his school bag and handed it to her with a soft smile. “I’ll call you in the evening, okay?”

She dabbed at her eyes with the proffered object. “I would like that. Thank you, Izuku.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Mum.”

She gently pressed Izuku’s handkerchief back into his hands. She then reached up to plant a kiss on his forehead, giving him warm fuzzies.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Izuku.”

He gave her another quick squeeze, before bounding back over to Shota, offering to hold his duffel again. His dad shook his head with a smile. He’ll hold on to it for Izuku.

His mum turned to face his dad. “You have my number, so please keep me updated on anything that needs updating on.”

Shota nodded.

She hesitated for a moment. “Just… take care of Izuku, okay?”

Izuku saw his dad’s eyes bore into his Mum’s. “I’ll do my very best.” He inclined his head. “Thank you for trusting me with your son.”

Inko’s shoulders dropped, but she smiled. “I think he’d figure out a way to stay with you with or without my blessing.” Her eyes turned to rove over Izuku. “But I haven’t seen him this happy since the day he got his UA acceptance letter.” Her eyes went back to Shota. “I think this was the best decision I could have made.” She said determinedly.

Shota ruffled Izuku’s hair in wordless agreement.

He took a moment to assess the state of everything. “It looks like everything is in order. Should we head off now?”

Izuku shifted his school bag so that it was on his back properly. “Yeah.”

“We’re off!” He called as he and his dad stepped out of the apartment.

“Take care Izuku!” Inko responded, just before the door closed.

“I will! Love you, Mum. Thank you!”

The door closed, and suddenly it was just him and his dad.

His dad nudged him and they began to make their way to the staircase.

“I assume you’re good with taking the train? I usually get around that way.”

Izuku nodded. “Yeah! I think you’ve mentioned something like that before. Or maybe Mic did. He was complaining about you stealing his car one morning when he needed it.”

His dad smirked. “He’s the one who showed me where he keeps his keys and told me to ‘have at it’ whenever I needed.”

Laughter bubbled out of Izuku’s chest, and he had to stop himself from falling down the stairs. He ignored his dad’s raised eyebrow.

“Sorry, sorry. That’s just… very typical of mic. He does very sweet things and then forgets that you’re…” Izuku trailed off cheekily, eyes shining.

His dad’s own eyes narrowed down at him as they stepped out of the apartment building. “I’m what, brat?”

“You’re… you.”

Shota bapped his fist softly against Izuku’s head in a playful reprimand. “You were thinking of a different word. I’d bet Hizashi on it.”

Izuku leaned away from his fist and laughed again. “I can neither confirm nor deny.”

The conversation lulled for a moment as they walked down a familiar path

“Speaking of Mic,” Izuku began, “How have you been, you know, after being able to hang out with him again?” He looked up at his dad, before adding, “And Midnight-sensei too.”

His dad was silent for a moment, clearly lost in thought.

“It…” He hesitated, grabbing Izuku’s full attention. “It’s been easier than I thought it’d be.”

“Easier?” Izuku asked.

Shota grunted an affirmative. “It’s easy to pretend nothing happened.” He clarified.

Izuku made a noise of understanding. He was about to prompt for more, when his dad turned the question on him.

“What about your friends? You have been spending most of your break times with them but I can tell you aren’t engaging with them the same way you would have normally done.”

Izuku guiltily thought back over the past week. He had gently brushed off most attempts of anything more than surface level interactions with his classmates. Except for Kacchan. But then Izuku dodged him for the rest of the week too.

He watched his shoes as he walked. “I think we’ve talked about this before, but… after knowing everyone for a year… coming back to a time where they’ve only known me for three months is… hard.” He looked to the side at the active street. “Even with Kacchan, despite knowing him for years before, anyone would be able to see how much better our relationship was by the time he… yeah.”

Izuku sighed. “They’re also not the greatest at pretending nothing happened either.”

“I figured.” Shota dryly intoned. Izuku let out a sad chuckle.

“You know…” Shota began, carefully. “It’s okay if you can’t bring yourself to let them in again. Even if you still love them all a lot.”

His dad left him to his thoughts for a bit as they approached the train station and went to wait for the train to arrive.

His dad was right, at least in the way of implying that he had a choice to make. He couldn’t be with them but keep them at arm’s distance. He refuses to toy with their feelings like that.

He remained torn as they stepped on the train. His dad also took a moment to nudge him and point out the stop they had to get off at, to which Izuku absently nodded, and stored the information away for when he’d go to his dad’s by himself.

Tension formed in his head as he mulled over what to do. He didn’t know how he was meant to just… decide like that.

“Do you want to see Hizashi and Nemuri?” Shota suddenly asked

The question took him by surprise, and he looked to the side where his dad was seated. “Present Mic and Midnight-sensei?”

His dad nodded.

Izuku blinked. “Why?” He blinked again as he realised how rude that might have sounded. He waved his arms frantically. “Not that I mean I wouldn’t be happy to see them or anything! Especially since I got along well with Mic and Kurakumo, but… why?” He finished lamely.

His dad pursed his lips and leaned forward, resting his weight on his arms and hunching his back to follow through with the seated position.

“I think it might help.” He admitted.

Izuku tilted his head. He still wasn’t quite sure what his dad meant. He did, however, trust that the man knew him more than well enough to know what he was doing.

“Okay.” Izuku nodded. “Today?”

Shota shrugged. “If you want.” He then pulled his phone out of his pocket and turned the screen to show Izuku hundreds of messages from the two that his dad had ignored. “Though, the second they found out you were coming over, they’ve been begging to see you.”

He tucked his phone back in his pocket, and leaned back in his seat. “I told them they should give you a chance to see my place and get comfy for today, but it’s really up to you.”

Izuku blinked. “They want to see me?”

His dad gave him a strange look. “You’re the one who told me that they told you to call them Aunt and Uncle. That, and they’ve slipped and called you their nephew a few times in front of me when talking to other teachers. They’re not subtle.”

That startled a laugh out of Izuku. He also fought an embarrassed tinge on his cheeks at the fact that his dad’s friends had been talking about him, and treating him like a real nephew to people in their circle.

“Also, you know you can call them by their names outside of school, right? You kept using their hero names, even in the End, but you really didn’t need to. Especially for Hizashi.”

“I know.” Izuku whined. “But they’re heroes! And my teachers! It’s hard…”

That earned him the most impressive “really?” look he’d received in a long time.

“Stooop.” He pouted. “You’re my dad. It’s different.” As an afterthought, he added, “Plus, I literally still called you sensei on the regular just a week ago.”

It was his dad’s turn to blink. He honestly looked a little dumbfounded. “...Has it really only been a week?”

An amused smile tugged at Izuku’s lips. “It’s only been a week, Dad.” He confirmed.

“...Holy shit.”

A shocked laugh escaped his chest. “Dad!”

Shota pulled a face. “I was still calling you Midoriya just last week, too. Why?” He spoke with the most bewildered tone Izuku had ever heard from the man, sending Izuku further into peals of laughter.

Before he even had time to stop laughing and begin formulating a response, the train’s arrival at their stop was announced.

Izuku bounded up from his seat, and practically dragged Shota off the train.

Shota huffed fondly, but ultimately let his son lead him off the train. He wondered how long it would take Izuku to realise that he didn’t know which direction he was meant to be going in as he continued to be dragged around the station.

Shota found himself glancing around all the city infrastructure, and at his son, who was visibly younger from how he had been just a week prior.

Wow. A single week, huh?

He listened to Izuku chatter with a smile.

Well, it had easily been one of the best weeks of his life.

He can't help but wonder what the next week will bring. But for now, they'll get through today, no responsibilities other than being a dad and their kid.

Just being a dad and their kid in a world full of dads and their kids.

He really was so blessed.

Chapter Text

It took Izuku nearly five minutes of walking before realising that he didn’t know where he was going. He turned around to face his dad sheepishly. He pointed back at the direction he had been walking.

“So, uh… is this the right way?”

Shota held a deadpan look at his son whose smile grew increasingly more strained as the silence went on.

Then, he smirked, and gently bapped Izuku’s head with a fist. “You just got lucky, brat.”

Izuku deflated in relief, and released a nervous laugh.

Shota raised his eyebrows at Izuku. “What’s got you so distracted? You usually only get this swept up in your head when you do analysis.”

Izuku looked off to the side in thought, then shook his head. “Nothing. Nothing…” He trailed off unconvincingly.

They walked in silence for a bit before Shota broke it. “I know you agreed to it on the train, but you don't have to see Hizashi and Nemuri today, you know.”

Izuku froze for a millisecond, before his eyes narrowed in determination. “No.” He shook his head. “I still want to see them.”

Shota reached out a hand and lightly ruffled the top of Izuku’s head.

Izuku resumed idly chatting, as he had been since they got off the train, and before long, Shota could see his apartment on the horizon. He pointed it out to Izuku in a murmur. Izuku nodded in his peripheral vision.

After a moment of stillness, Shota felt a hand grip his. He gripped it back. Izuku didn’t speak.

They made no move towards the apartment, but Izuku’s gaze didn’t stray from it either.

“When…” Izuku asked shakily, “When was it destroyed?”

Shota felt himself suck in a breath, and tightened his grip on Izuku’s hand again for a minute.

He’s never been super attached to his apartment, but…

“A month in, after the prison break. Shortly before UA fell.”

Izuku exhaled. “Oh.”

Shota let go of Izuku’s hand to instead bring Izuku into a side hug. He kept his arm tightened around Izuku’s shoulders. “It’s just an apartment to me, Izuku.”

Finally, he loosened his grip on Izuku to move in front of him, and put a hand on both of Izuku’s upper arms. Izuku looked up at him with wide eyes. Shota smiled softly at Izuku. His kid was so young.

“I know things look really, really different now, Izuku.”

Izuku’s eyes strayed to the standing buildings and surrounding traffic.

“But kid…” he let go of an arm to gently direct Izuku’s face back to where it was before, and locked eyes with him again. “We’re still the same. And we haven’t had a physical home in a long time.”

Izuku’s eyes were suspiciously watery, but before Shota could pull out a tissue from his pocket, Izuku burst forward to wrap his arms around Shota’s midsection. Shota stumbled back slightly at the unexpected movement, but recovered, and returned the hug.

Izuku’s head was tucked in his chest, and he was able to rest his chin on his head. He breathed for a moment with Izuku, waiting for him to gain control of his emotions.

They had gone through many changes over the past week alone, so he wasn’t surprised that some things had to give at some point, from either of them.

Some things didn’t change though.

“I love you, Dad.”

Shota’s eyes widened, and he found himself suddenly having to fight his own welling of tears. He buried his head in Izuku’s curls. He didn’t really know if it was to stifle the tears, or if it was so that he could be closer to his son. What he did know, was that-

“I love you too, Izuku.”

Memories collided of hugs just like this one, and yet ones not like it at all.

The surrounding buildings and traffic faded in and out as the past and the present merged.

Hugs of mourning, loss, grief. The landscape is bloody.

Hugs of loneliness, survival, comfort. The landscape is dusty.

Hugs of tentative contentment, growing affection, and love. The landscape is barren but clear.

Now, it was relief, overwhelm in the best of ways, and more, more love. The landscape is vivid and full of city life.

They broke apart, and rooted back in the present.

Izuku beamed tearily up at his dad.

Shota smiled impossibly softly down at his son.

“Home?” Shota asked.

“Home.” Izuku nodded.

~~~~~~

By the time they arrived at Shota’s apartment, Izuku was physically buzzing with nerves. He found himself reassured by the fact that his dad was also giving his typical tell for nervousness as he was shifting. The man was usually stoic and boasted genuinely good control over his body as part of his stealth hero training.

Izuku knew that his dad probably thought that being nervous over this was a bit silly, because they both knew the important things.

This was a change though, and a situation they never thought they’d get to explore.

They got to exist as an actual family unit together, even if it was only for a day.

He felt his dad place a comforting hand on his back while he grabbed his keys from his pocket with the other hand.

His dad removed the hand so that he could open the door, and he gestured for Izuku to enter.

The moment Izuku stepped in, he was hit with the overwhelming smell of dad, and instantly knew that this apartment could become just as much as a home as his mum’s.

As much of a home as his dad, the man himself, already was.

He heard his dad close the door behind him as he took in the space. The first half was open plan, and relatively small, with a living area to the right, and a kitchen and dining space to the left.

It was minimal, but surprisingly tastefully decorated. It was all clean shades of gray, with fluffy textures, especially in the living area. The occasional pop of colour came in some dark wooden furniture, like the coffee and dining tables, and a few framed photos of his dad and his friends. He was too far away to see the pictures closely, but he didn’t need to see to know which people would feature on his dad’s wall. Insider knowledge had Izuku wondering if his dad’s friends had something to do with that.

Insider knowledge also meant he knew that, if that was true, he kept it for sentimental reasons, regardless of if he liked it or not. The big softie.

Despite the relative monotone, the space was warm, and clearly decorated with care, which would have subverted all of Izuku’s expectations of the man when they first met. Of course, he’d known better for a while now, but it was the principle.

He could see a hallway entrance, which he figured led to bedrooms, bathrooms and a study.

“Feel free to explore.” Izuku turned around to face his dad, who was putting keys away, and swapping his shoes for house slippers. “There’s also a pair of house slippers for you there,” he pointed to a red pair, “but I actually don’t mind if you wear shoes in the house.”

Izuku blinked. “You sure?”

His dad deadpanned at him in response.

Izuku felt himself grin sheepishly. He launched into a quick hug with his dad, who wasn’t able to return it fast enough before Izuku had already zoomed towards the hallway.

He heard a slight huff of amusement, and after a short pause, light footsteps that followed him at a more sedate pace.

Izuku peeked to the left first. Three doors.

The wall with two was a bathroom, and a separate toilet, while the one on the end of the hall was what must’ve been his dad’s room.

Izuku blinked at the lack of furniture. All there was was a double bed and a single dresser. “Wow.” He turned to his dad who was looking at him in vague amusement. “You live like this?”

His dad raised an eyebrow. “What do you think?”

Izuku grinned, and jovially ignored him as he continued looking around.

It was a pretty small apartment, only slightly larger than his mum’s, Izuku noted, as he made his way to the last two rooms. He peeked in the one along the same wall as the bathrooms and found a study, full of half-graded stacks of paper.

His eyes roved over the room taking in its detail.

“You know, I would ask why you felt the need to have a mini-fridge in your study when the kitchen is right there, but, humour me, what are the chances that it’s all jelly packets?”

His dad avoided eye-contact.

Izuku laughed and checked the final room at the other end of the hall. He froze in his place at the stark difference this room had to all the rest.

It was another bedroom, roughly the same size as his dad’s, but with much less empty space, there being a bed, dresser, desk, and even some storage, plus a lot more colour.

He wouldn’t think much of it, if it wasn’t for the single, signed, All Might poster on the wall.

“It’s All Might coloured.”

“Yes.”

“And there’s a signed poster.”

He heard his dad shift slightly from behind him. “Yes.”

“You hate All Might.”

“Hate is a strong word.”

“I love All Might.”

“Really? I had no clue.”

He whipped around to face his dad.

“It’s… for me?”

His dad had the audacity to look genuinely confused. “Did you think you were gonna sleep on the couch?”

Izuku shook his head frantically. “No, no, but… I thought it was a guest room?”

His dad’s brows furrowed. “It was, before I had a kid.” He sounded, slowly. “I’m really not seeing the confusion.”

Izuku gaped. “But- I- you-”

His dad sighed, and gently placed a hand over Izuku’s mouth. “Nuh uh, my turn to speak.”

Izuku relaxed, and Shota removed his hand. He shifted his posture so that he was more level with Izuku’s height. “Kid, Izuku. You’ve known I’ve loved you like a son all this time, and you know I wanted this as much as you did. I bore my heart out to you mother, who’s practically a stranger to me. Why wouldn’t I keep a space for you in my house?”

Izuku’s shoulders dropped. “I… don’t know. Maybe you just wanted to keep a place for Mic and Midnight-sensei?”

Shota waved his hand dismissively. “They have their own places. If they wanna stay, they can take the couch. Or the floor, I’m not picky. That space is yours now, forever.”

Izuku stared at his dad’s back, overwhelmed. Tears welled up and fell at astonishing speeds. His dad turned around and he watched his face shift into concern as he caught sight of the tears.

His dad’s hands hovered awkwardly in a way they hadn’t in a long time, as he grew more and more attuned to Izuku’s emotions and needs for affection.

He gaped, seemingly unable to find the right question to ask Izuku, who stood and let the tears keep falling.

“...Kid?” He tried. A sob escaped Izuku, and his dad floundered. “Izuku?”

“It’s…” Izuku tried amongst the tears. “It’s…” he hiccuped. “It’s perfect!” he wailed.

Shota stilled in surprise at the opposing reactions. “What?”

Izuku fisted his eyes to quell the tears. “It’s perfect.”

His dad was still still with surprise as Izuku let his head fall into his dad’s chest. He wrapped his arms tightly around his dad’s midsection.

“It’s all I’ve ever wanted, Dad.”

Shota finally relaxed, and turned a soft look onto Izuku, who couldn’t see it. He wrapped his arms around his son to complete the hug.

“It’s all I’ve ever wanted too, son.”

“I love you.”

Chapter Text

Izuku was sat cross-legged on his dad’s couch, gesticulating wildly while his dad nodded along from his spot on the floor, leaning against the couch.

“... and then in heroics with All Might, Mina scared poor Sero and Sato so bad that Sero missed his tape placement and Sato choked on the packet of sugar he was chugging, and then Sero fell onto Sato’s back and they knocked eachother out meaning they automatically lost though All Might managed to bring up their lack of spatial awareness which made me think that-”

The door snuck open.

“Whew, listener. You’ve sure got a pair of lungs on you!”

Izuku froze, and turned to face the door. His eyes lit up and a brilliant smile overtook his face.

“Mic! Midnight-sensei! You’re here!”

Izuku bounded over to them, his dad quickly following- the man was clearly happy to have them here too. Izuku was about to launch himself into a hug with Mic as per tradition before freezing right in front of the man who looked much less traumatised, and somehow felt less familiar than he remembered.

He momentarily cursed himself. Izuku thought that he had already gotten used to being with the past version of his teacher again, aided by the fact that his Mic had been gone for a whole year and a half, but that clearly wasn’t the case.

He felt an ache in his chest.

Which is why when a pair of once-familiar arms encircled him anyway the ache moved up and forced its way out in the form of a long overdue sob.

Now that it wasn’t in a group situation like the hug from the meeting, Izuku could tell that his hugs were exactly the same as they used to be a year and a half ago.

Izuku let himself indulge in the gentle hold for a few long moments before pulling back and sniffing. A much more familiar hand was placed comfortingly on his back.

“Thank you- sorry, just- thank you Mic- I mean, Mic-sensei, sorry for breaking down on you.”

His dad rubbed his back gently while Izuku looked to the side and smiled sheepishly at Midnight. He took a second to process her soft look, not just in terms of facial expression, but her entire outfit.

He’d never seen the true civilian Midnight before.

He finally gathered the courage to look at Mic again, only to be brought to near tears again at Mic’s own soft gaze.

“Don’t mind it at all, listener. You’re more than welcome to come to me and Nemuri for anything, especially now that you’re Shota’s kid. You’re basically family now.”

Before Izuku had the chance to get overwhelmed Midnight jumped in.

“We know that you spent a lot of time with Hizashi in the future. Things might be a little bit different, but you’re one of us now. You can come to us not just as your teachers, but as aunts and uncles, please call me Auntie Nemuri-”

“Nemuri.” Shota huffed and lightly shoved her away, but he was unsuccessful as Mic quickly filled the space she took over and left directly in front of Izuku to second her statement.

“Yeah, listener! None of that sensei nonsense outside of class. Since your Sho’s kid Uncle Hizashi-”

“-and Auntie Nemuri-”

“-is my new name!” He beamed, with Nemuri comically in his personal space. “Unless you’re not comfortable!” He said, still with a smile. He then wagged a finger in Izuku’s face. “But no sensei.”

Nemuri nodded in agreement. “No sensei.” She parroted.

After a moment, Izuku let the tension fall from his shoulders, and gave a sheepish, almost relieved smile to the two.

Then his dad gently moved past him, ruffling his hair as he went, to greet his best friends with a hug in the safety of his own home.

They both accepted with eager smiles.

“I will never get tired of Shota’s hugs.” Nemuri declared as Shota moved on from her to Hizashi.

“Saying things like that everytime I hug you is why you never got them before. And why you don’t get them at work even now.” Shota groused as he pulled away from Hizashi.

Nemuri pouted dramatically, and Hizashi and Izuku couldn’t help but laugh a little.

As they moved back to the couch with their new additions, Nemuri grinned. “So, Green Bean,” Izuku blinked at the nickname, “did you like the room Sho set up for you?”

Izuku dipped his head and rubbed a hand on the back of his neck. “He told you?”

Both Nemuri and Hizashi barked out laughter, and Izuku turned to his dad in confusion to see the man grumbling lightly under his breath.

“You should have seen All Might’s face when our dear Shouta went up to him asking him to sign a poster!” Nemuri exclaimed.

“He-” Mic wheezed- “He pinched himself like he was in a dream and then nearly fell over when it hurt!”

Nemuri doubled over. “And Shota just stands there, completely deadpan-”

“And then!” Mic struggled to breathe properly. Izuku was almost impressed by how quickly Mic and Midnight had managed to recall a memory and laugh themselves silly. Almost. Mic hadn’t really changed in the End, clearly. “And then Snipe also pinched himself and Snipe did fall and unfortunately took Thirteen down with him and-” Mic laughed himself out of speaking so Midnight took over again.

“Snipe and Thirteen made a loud bang when they fell which startled Powerloader into spilling his piping hot coffee over himself and Vlad so they both hopped around trying to get the hot coffee to cool down and then-”

Izuku stared in comical horror at Mic and Midnight as he heard of the… misfortune that befell nearly all of his teachers some time in the past week. God help them all if the rest of the student body found out that this was what their teachers, pro heroes, were like in supposedly professional work settings.

“-so anyway that’s how the whole UA faculty ended up on the floor while your dad didn’t move a muscle. I don’t think his face even twitched as he stood in the centre of the chaos, it was glorious really.”

Izuku just gaped at Nemuri. She grinned smugly, even though she too had apparently been part of the staff who ended up lying on the floor. “So of course, though none of us are stupid-”

“Debatable.” Groused Shota.

“-we can’t resist getting a reaction out of your typically unemotive old man.”

“Old man.” Shota muttered incredulously as Nemuri steamrolled over him.

“So even though we know who the poster is for, we ask him, we’re like- Eraser~ what’s the signed All Might poster for? And this man gives us the most tired glare I’ve ever seen, and trust me, I’ve seen a lot of them. It was glorious.”

Mic, now recovered, happily finishes off the tale. “Sho did that weird grumble thing he does when he’s grumpy-”

Shota cut Hizashi off with an unintelligible grumble.

“Like that!” he crowed. Izuku let out a little laugh at that. “And finally tells us properly that he’s setting up a permanent room for you.”

Before Izuku could recover from what he just heard, Nemuri finished with a “He was so embarrassed about it, it was so sweet!”

Shota nearly pouted. “I was not embarrassed to have a room for my kid but you all make things bigger deals than what they need to be.”

Hizashi and Nemuri finally calmed down enough to soften a bit.

“It’s just- nice to see you be so sweet Shota.” Nemuri said warmly.

“And it’s nice to see you want to take care of your precious listener!” Mic cooed and gently pulled Izuku’s cheeks in a childish manner. Izuku whined but let him.

“I’m eighteen!”

Hizashi cackled. “Not anymore!”

“Let me squeeze my nephew’s cheeks too!” Nemuri squealed and sped over to give Izuku the same treatment which was received with slightly more grumbling than before.

“I’m still a teenager.” Izuku mentioned petulantly.

“Oh, are you now?” Izuku could hear the smugness in his dad’s voice and gave the man a filthy side-eye. The man clearly took the route of ‘if you can’t beat them, join them’, but Izuku would not let him win.

Izuku turned innocent eyes on to maximum cuteness. “You wouldn’t want me to tell Uncle Hizashi and Auntie Nemuri about what Kurakumo did every time you got grumpy now, would you?”

Hizashi and Nemuri swooned.

Shota’s frame snapped up straight and he levelled a piercing glare at his demon child.

“Don’t even think about it you imp-”

Nemuri intervened. “Awh Shota, Midoriya here’s an angel, he could never do anything wrong.

Shota’s expression narrowed at his child’s faux-innocent gaze. “You’re being manipulative.” He hissed.

“Shota~ I bet Obo- Kurakumo just turned you into the little grumpy storm cloud you are, throwing such wild accusations at my precious nephew.” Hizashi tutted.

Both Shota and Izuku paused, though Hizashi and Nemuri didn’t seem to notice, too distracted by Izuku’s “cuteness”.

Shota kept a more careful eye on Izuku without dropping the lighthearted mood.

Izuku raked discerning eyes over Hizashi, before making a decision.

He nodded faux sagely in response to Hizashi’s previous comment, hoping he would disregard the pause. “Yeah, dad’s just a grumpy storm cloud who won’t make the grey go away unless…”

“It rains cats and not dogs!” Hizashi cackled, and high-fived Izuku.

Nemuri clapped in delight. “I’m loving the wavelength you two are on! Grumpy storm cloud Shota who won’t lighten up unless there’s cats.” She cackled. “I’m using that from now on.”

Shota and Izuku stood as Hizashi and Nemuri’s boisterous chatter tuned out of their awareness.

Suddenly, they were hit with a wave of nostalgia that threatened to drown them in a different time.

The tide threatened the air in their lungs.

The scene in front of them went murky.

A boisterous laugh, slightly warped as though it was filtered. “Now, Shota, don’t be so grumpy in front of your cute little student. Let’s get you wrapped up in a cloud…”

A quiet mutter. “Sensei’s like a storm cloud.”

A slightly too-loud yell. “He’s so gloomy and grey!”

A cheeky nod. “Sensei needs it to rain cats and dogs for the grumpiness to clear up.”

A returning bark of laughter. “Maybe just cats, a rain of dogs wouldn’t help.”

A boyish smile hidden behind a purple fog. “You hear that, Sho? Every time you’re grumpy I’m gonna have to turn you into a storm cloud.”

A bright cheer. “Storm cloud Shota!”

An impish smile. “Don’t worry sensei, Mic and I will find the cats for you while Kurakumo bundles you up.”

A performative voice, once heard on a radio. “We’ll make sure the grumpiness goes away…”

A triumphant call that once rallied fellow students. “By making it rain cats and not dogs!”

A mix of young, loud, and warped laughter echoed with unintelligible grumbles, muffled, submerged.

And then as quickly as it came they were pulled back to the surface, and the present increased in clarity like it had never left.

Nemuri and Hizashi gave them a look of concern.

Nemuri tilted her head. “You two okay? You went oddly quiet just now.”

Shota watched as Izuku searched Hizashi’s face, not even registering Nemuri’s question. Hizashi looked back amiably, questions written on his expression.

Understanding dawned on Izuku’s face. He didn’t move from his spot in front of Hizashi, but turned his head to face his dad.

“Thank you. This… this helped.”

Shota smiled warmly in return. “I hoped it would.”

Izuku’s eye twinkled with a knowing glint, before turning back to Hizashi, and latching onto his torso.

Shota saw Hizashi and Nemuri exchange baffled expressions, before Hizashi turned his attention back to Izuku, accepted his fate with a smile, and returned the hug.

Izuku tightened his grip.

The hug was familiar.

Chapter Text

After the inside joke revival that only two of the four people present knew about, Izuku’s guard completely dropped, and the floodgates opened as he and Hizashi fell into a deep conversation about hero pop culture. Shota and Nemuri watched with bright amusement in their eyes at the high energy way the two nerds conversed.

“I think they’ve forgotten we’re here.” Nemuri joked.

Shota nodded in agreement, and watched Hizashi throw his head back in boisterous laughter, before leaning forward again, and talking faster than before.

“The first time we saw Izuku match Hizashi’s conversational speed in the End was… frankly terrifying.”

Nemuri’s eyes bogged out as the two began to talk even faster. “I’ll bet! They could probably set a world record. Are they even breathing?”

Shota ran a tired hand down his face. “Considering the fact that Izuku once nearly passed out during one of their conversations, I’m gonna go with no.”

Nemuri let out a startled laugh. “He WHAT?” Her face quickly swapped to concern. “Is he okay-?”

A wry smile formed on Shota’s face. “He just asked Hizashi to train him in increasing his lung capacity and the rest is pretty much history.” He sighed. “Though, Izuku’s probably forgotten that he might have to train that up again. I really don’t know how he can use his quirk to the same capacity when his current body is nowhere near as strong as it was.”

‘Quirk’ was always a magic word for Izuku who finally paused in his nerding out with Hizashi and perked up like a pet hearing the treat bag being shaken.

“I have a theory about that!”

“Oh so you do remember the rest of us are here.”

“Shhh Dad- anyway- I have a theory!” Izuku stood proudly, staunchly ignoring Nemuri wheezing after he shushed his dad. “I normally think of One for All fitting inside a cup, where the cup is my body and the water is the quirk. If it contains too much then the cup- or vessel- cracks, and I break my bones!” He grinned

All three adults stopped emoting in the background to stare blankly at the cheerfulness in which this child spoke about breaking bones.

After a slightly awkward pause, Izuku cleared his throat. “Anyway- I have a theory that quirks, and One for All in particular, are much more esoteric than what we currently think. There is of course, a body component, hence why I broke my bones, or why Dad gets dry-eye, or why Mic-”

“Uncle Hizashi.”

“...Uncle Hizashi-” a very loud, happy cheer unnaturally dropped in volume with his dad’s quirked glare- “Doesn’t get ear damage, or why Midni-Auntie Nemuri doesn’t need to sleep much.”

Nemuri beamed at the address, then smirked. “To be fair, your dad sleeps enough for the both of us.”

Izuku steamrolled ahead in his explanation. “So yeah, body component, and of course, psychological components but that kind of ties in with the body with brain stuff. But then there’s another element, something to do with what people would probably call a soul.”

All the adults listened with rapt interest. Hizashi tilted his head slightly.

“Of course, it’s much more clear with One for All because of the vestiges in it-”

“Hang on,” Hizashi held up an ‘X’ with his hands, then spun his finger in a ‘rewind’ motion. “Let’s backtrack. What do you mean by vestiges?”

Nemuri piped in. “Yeah, you mentioned them in the first meeting we had but none of us really understood it.”

Izuku paused. After a moment’s thought, his mouth quirked in a very familiar, feral manner which had Hizashi and Nemuri reeling. Much like what he did to Gran Torino and Detective Tsukauchi, Izuku let little tendrils of black whip frame him menacingly, with flickers of green lightning and a tiny bit of smokescreen for extra effect. He gave them his version of his dad’s “logical ruse” grin.

“The ghosts that haunt my quirk.”

Hizashi and Nemuri stood stock still, paralysed, before simultaneously screeching, and jumping to hide behind Shota, whose shoulders were shaking suspiciously. Of course, they both couldn’t fit behind Shota so they crashed into each other, and ended up falling in opposite directions on the floor.

“The WHAT?!” Nemuri screeched after taking a moment to fix her glasses and collect herself.

Izuku waved his hand dismissively. “Yeah, so One for All at its core is a stockpiling quirk, which stored power, or energy, quirks, and apparently, imprints of other users which is cool.”

Hizashi and Nemuri just gaped at Izuku who was getting into mumble territory on his explanation as he dropped his quirk and continued.

“So the imprints of other users could be to do with this human ‘soul’, which brings up the possibility that, as quirks can acclimate to bodies, they can also acclimate to souls. Since Dad and I have our memories and minds, but not the bodies we had in the future, it basically confirms that there’s a part of us not inherently connected to our bodies.”

Hizashi stood up and waved his hands about wildly. “Wait wait wait wait listener- are you saying there’s GHOSTS here right now?!”

Izuku turned sad, wide eyes onto Hizashi. “No… they’ve been gone for a while now.”

All three adults felt the heartbreak in Izuku’s voice in their chests. Mic deflated sadly. “Oh, listener…”

Shota gave him a sad look, already knowing Izuku’s feelings on it, and Nemuri subconsciously clutched her hand by her chest.

Izuku smiled warmly in response to their empathy. “But it’s okay! We’ve got so many people back now, there’s no point in dwelling on those who were already passed anyway.”

None of them called him out on the fact that it seemed like he was trying to convince himself more than them. Shota made a mental note to gently bring it up later.

“But, back to my theory.” Izuku had thankfully returned to speaking at a normal pace. “Even though the vessel is still a bit small, it’s like the water has learned to utilise the space more efficiently as it has a sort of… shape memory of the vessel.” Izuku brought a hand up to his chin in thought. “A cup and water really isn’t the best analogy, even before so I’ll keep thinking on a way to properly describe the quirk, more for my own sake than anything, but basically, even though my body is out of alignment, non-physical parts of me are more integrated with the quirk, and there’s something going on that current science can’t explain.”

“...Huh. You’ve thought about this a lot over the past week haven’t you?” Nemuri tilted her head.

Izuku smiled, and Shota piped in. “He can’t get enough of quirk theory. Haven’t you seen his notebooks?”

Hizashi gasped excitedly. “I didn’t realise those were about quirks! Do you like talking about them too, Green Bean?”

Izuku vibrated on the spot excitedly, and Shota let out a fond groan. He let out a mutter to Nemuri. “If you think they didn’t shut up about hero pop culture, wait til you hear them talk about quirks.”

Nemuri raised her eyebrows in interest, and then slight fear as the pace in which the two talked rapidly descended to incomprehensible speeds.

Shota sighed fondly. “There they go again.” He wouldn’t say out loud that he missed it but he didn’t need to.

She flung her hands in the air. “I didn’t even know Hizashi was that into talking about quirks!”

Shota gave her a strange look. “You don’t hear him announcing people and details on their quirks like we’re characters to profile in an anime?”

She crossed her arms petulantly. “Well, yeah, but I thought that’s just 'cause he likes talking and not because he particularly cared for quirks.”

Shota huffed. “Fair enough. I didn’t really put it together until we started travelling together and saw them get into a conversation about this for the first time either.”

The conversation tapered off, and they simply basked in the moment. For the sake of speed, Izuku and Hizashi were no longer speaking full sentences, and while Shota was numb to it, Nemuri struggled to find the bandwidth to comprehend it.

She shook herself out of it, and her thoughts wandered to earlier that afternoon.

“Hey, Shota?”

Shota hummed.

“Earlier when the bean and Hizashi were teasing you,” that got her a raised eyebrow she ignored, “just… you don’t need to share the details, but what was it really about?” Her eyes locked on to Shota’s searchingly.

Shota sometimes forgot that Nemuri was a genuinely good, sharp, Pro hero. If it was anyone not currently in the room asking, he wouldn’t have answered, but he knew that it came from a place of care, and nothing else.

Shota hesitated, not sure how to frame his thoughts. “Earlier… when we were on the train to get here… we talked about how it felt to recover the friendships we thought we’d never get back.”

Nemuri raised a hand instinctively to place on his arm and comfort him, before pausing, and letting it drop again. Shota didn’t seem to notice, looking off in the distance as though there was something he could see that she couldn’t.

“It’s different for Izuku than it is for me. I’ve got fifteen year’s worth of friendship and history with you and Hizashi. Izuku’s come back from knowing his friends for a year, only to be met with versions of them that have only known him and each other for three months.”

Nemuri let out a heartbroken “Oh…”

He sighed. “Izuku’s been holding them at a distance, partially to protect them from what he saw, but also to protect himself. The class was actually really close, so to lose that really, really hurts him. And…” Shota’s voice dropped in volume. “He actually saw a good half of them die, Nemuri.”

She gasped in horror, and brought a hand up to cover her mouth.

Shota’s face was downcast. “He’s been acting like everything’s okay, but he’s always been like that. Plus, I think we’re both still in a sort of honeymoon period, feeling all the good after coming back. It’s going to wear off.” He rubbed the side of his face tiredly. “I don’t think he considered this before, but I told him that he can love and miss them, and not reconnect with them as they are now.”

Nemuri’s voice was shaky. “I mean… yeah… who would fault him for keeping his distance with memories like that haunting him all the time. My god.” She then frowned. “But… he really doesn’t seem like the type…”

Shota nodded in agreement. “Hence why I thought it’d be a good idea for you two to come over. He had a strong bond with Hizashi, and Hizashi is… how do I put this? One of the most consistent people I know.” Nemuri made an agreeing sound. “So, I thought that perhaps by talking to Hizashi outside of a classroom setting again, they would stumble onto their shared interests, and show Izuku the potential to recreate old relationships as he is now.”

Nemuri’s eyes lit up with understanding. “Ohhhh.”

Shota huffed. “I just didn’t expect them to recreate the exact same inside joke that we had when it was the three of us plus Kurakumo in the End.”

Nemuri’s eyes went wide. “The one about grumpy rainclouds and raining cats but not dogs?”

Shota nodded.

“The exact same inside joke?”

“Yeah.”

She shook her head in amazement. “That’s… wow. That’s insane.”

“It certainly does insane things for my heart.” Shota groused. He let the unspoken thoughts settle in the silence. The thoughts that he never expected to hear that joke again.

Shota’s eyes wandered to Izuku, and Nemuri watched as her friend subconsciously relaxed at the sight of his kid’s smile. She couldn’t help but let a soft one form on her own lips as well.

Shota’s eyes looked more reflective than normal, as though there was something behind them. Like a window. “I wonder… if there’s something to be said for the human soul that Izuku was talking about before.”

Maybe something deeper connects us all, is what he didn’t say.

This time, when Nemuri’s hand reached out to rest on Shota’s arm, she didn’t stop it. And he didn’t shrug her off, either.

Maybe it was time for him to see more potential in letting old friends in as well.

Chapter Text

By the time Hizashi and Nemuri left the Aizawa apartment, the sun was dipping into the horizon.

Shota let out a weary sigh, and even Izuku let out a breath, all energy drained from copious amounts of high-energy yapping and emotions.

Shota glanced out the window to check the time again.

“Dinner, kid?”

Izuku made an agreeing sound, and made an aborted move to get off the couch. “I suppose we don’t need to scavenge for food anymore-”

Shota let out an incredibly relieved sigh. “That’s the best goddamn thing that’s happened with this whole time travel thing.”

Izuku nodded vehemently. “Right? On the first day we came back I thought I used all my tears after seeing my mum, but then I smelled the breakfast she made after and the neighbours called the building administration on us for flooding.”

“That sounds about right.” Shota muttered fondly. He wandered to the kitchen while Izuku shifted to watch over the back of the couch, and peered in the fridge.

“Do you want anything in particular?” He asked while scanning the available ingredients.

Izuku fidgeted slightly. “I’m good with whatever!”

Shota made an acknowledging sound, and pulled out ingredients for a basic meal. Nothing too fancy for today. Pickiness was a luxury he never cared for, and both he and Izuku were long forced out of any pickiness with food anyway. As long as they ate something in a day, they were good.

He began to wash some veggies. “Have any of the other teachers bothered to give you homework or assignments?”

Izuku nodded before realising his dad wasn’t looking in his direction. “Yes- well actually, they said I didn’t have to but I’d rather do worksheets I’ve already done for revision if nothing else. I don’t want to fall behind the rest of my peers.”

He dropped slightly to a mutter, but Shota didn’t even register the shift, following along just fine. “I think I’ll ask to do most of the tests even though I don’t have to. It would make it easier to pass first year normally, instead of trying to work around the fact that I would have already passed it in… the future?” Izuku trailed off. He glanced between Shota and his still fidgeting hands.

“Fair enough. You still get a free pass for this week’s midterms though.”

Izuku nodded. “Yeah. I assume you’ve already finalised the matchups for the practical portion without me in them anyway.”

Shota grunted in affirmation and began to cut the meat and veggies.

There was a lull in the conversation as Shota concentrated on his task and Izuku ran out of commentary on school testing. He felt eyes on him peeking from over the back of the couch.

Shota idly wondered why Izuku was staring but didn’t give it much thought until- “...Do you want me to help with dinner?”

Ah. That was why Izuku was so fidgety. Silly kid. He felt his expression soften, and he turned to face Izuku fully. “You’re thinking too much. This apartment is now your house too. I don’t care if you steal all the food or make a mess or paint the walls green.”

Izuku sputtered, clearly not expecting to be read so thoroughly, so quickly. He was also very clearly not sure if he wanted to bother refuting the fact that he would ever make such a terrible mess, knowing full well Shota knew he wouldn’t.

Shota rolled his eyes and turned back to the food while Izuku gathered himself.

“I think that would have been nicer if you hadn’t been holding a knife.” Is what Izuku settled on.

Shota snorted involuntarily, and stopped cutting a carrot to point it lazily in Izuku’s direction. He again faced Izuku properly, so that he could see his amused gaze. “You’re my son and this is your home now. Got it?” He affirmed, teasing tone tinged with seriousness, as he swashed the knife faux-threateningly.

A giddy laugh bubbled out of Izuku. “Is this supposed to be stockholm syndrome now, Dad?”

He normally had a better natural poker face than Izuku, but Shota grinned too, betraying similar giddiness in his chest every time he called Izuku “son”, and his amazing, wonderful child returned it with a “dad”. Particularly in this current setting.

“Yes.” He deadpanned. “I brought you here against your will.”

“You wish.” It came out softer than what Izuku had probably intended.

He was trying his best to be as blasé about the situation to comfort Izuku, but domesticity like this was something he never let himself even consider until the moment he saw Izuku again, at the gates of UA a week prior.

While it had been unspoken, he and Izuku had been a small family unit for well over a year, and they didn’t need a physical home. But this? He thought, as Izuku finally stopped fidgeting and properly relaxed into the couch, notebook somehow in hand, this was shaping up to be really, really nice.

Dinner ended up being a quiet affair, with both Izuku and Shota being unable to smother small smiles as they ate. Shota didn’t notice that he had stopped eating at some point, just to watch his kid.

Izuku was seemingly engrossed in his dinner, lips ticking up at random intervals that had Shota’s own doing the same, both just so pleased with their current state of existence.

Shota took in all the small details, and the differences from the End. The eternal pallour from the End, had been replaced with a vibrant complexion. Izuku’s cheeks were more filled than what Shota remembered from before, though he was nearly certain it was because he was just used to them being slightly gaunt. Izuku looked so healthy now.

Something that made him melt with adoration was that, under the warm lights of his apartment, Izuku’s eyes were the same. They were as bright and kind as they had always been in smaller moments, stolen away from the blanket of grief that hung over their timeline.

He wonders if they’re the reason why his relationship with Izuku morphed into a parent-child one.

It was hard to be sure, because even when he tries to think back on older memories with him, he can’t recall ever not loving this kid the way he does now.

He nudged Izuku’s foot from under the table. Izuku looked up at him, stray crumbs on his cheek, and with those same, bright, kind eyes.

“I love you, kid.”

Izuku’s shoulders raised with the tears that immediately welled in his eyes.

Shota laughed softly, and pulled over the new tissue box.

Izuku beamed wetly, and dabbed at his eyes with a proffered tissue.

“I love you too, Dad.”

Feeling like they were floating, they went through the motions of settling down for the day.

Back in the End, this meant setting up a crude camp with the mostly in-tact tent they had managed to find, sponge baths if they were lucky enough to find a resource-rich area with excess fresh water, and lying there, listening to the other breathe, to distract from the lack of city noise and bird call.

Now, with only some minor hiccups of Izuku knowing he’s more than welcome and that this is his dad’s place and he can be comfy but he’s just not quite sure if it works differently from what he’s used to- they took turns to have a proper shower, change into pyjamas and brush their teeth. After a moment of staring at each other, wondering if it would be ok for their brains to have a routine similar to what they did in the End or not, they decided to deflate on the couch, the two of them taking up only one of three cushions.

Neither said anything about it.

They sat and breathed. Shota was squished on the edge of the couch, with Izuku squishing in close, and resting most of his torso on Shota’s.

They felt the other’s chest rise and fall.

An indeterminate amount of time went by.

“I’m kind of nervous.”

Shota hummed to show he was listening.

“This week… we’re actually going to try and change the future.” Izuku’s tone wasn’t uncertain, so Shota didn’t think he needed comfort. Sometimes Izuku just needed to get thoughts out of his head.

Izuku hummed pensively. Shota waited.

He eventually shifted a little bit off of Shota to face him slightly.

“I’ve been thinking that maybe we should have waited to tell my friends- the class- about everything?” Shota furrowed his brows confusedly at the shift in topic, but waited for Izuku to find the words for his racing thoughts.

“They have their midterms this week and I just trauma dumped a war on them!” Izuku blurted out, then hid his face in his hands. “And then they’ve been so kind and trying to pay attention to my every feeling and not overstepping and Uraraka said something about losing sleep over worrying about me and I saw a couple others nod along and-”

Shota winced. Yeah, maybe they should have waited. Too late for that though. Plus…

“Izuku,” Izuku’s worried mutterings came to an abrupt halt. “We wanted to tell them because we knew they’d notice something was up. Chances are, they would have just worried themselves silly over your change in demeanour anyway.” Hellions, he thought fondly.

Izuku fiddled with his fingers sheepishly. “That's true…” Shota could hear a slight smile in his voice.

Shota was very proud of the class. Proud of who they grew to become in the short year and a bit he knew them for, of course, but more so of how this more green version, only three months in, were handling everything. They were being so kind and considerate, and Shota could see the heroes that they grew to be, and would grow further into already.

If they passed the midterms again, he thought with a mental evil laugh. This whole period could be considered a test in managing stress, distractions and priorities, a must-have skill in the world of professional heroism.

Depending on the success rate of the ‘test’, he should find a way to replicate the lesson for future classes.

U.A. was known for its freeform education, after all.

He came out of his own thoughts to see Izuku giving him a slightly judgemental side-eye. But joke’s on him, because Shota knows for a fact that Izuku doesn’t have a mind reading quirk in his small collection.

Izuku raised a brow.

Probably didn’t have a mind reading quirk. Whatever. He totally wasn’t ignoring the fact that he knew the kid could just read him that well now. Hours of useless chatter in a post-apocalyptic setting and all. He could read Izuku back, just as well, anyway.

Shota raised a hand to card it through Izuku’s hair. “I know you feel a bit useless, kid.” Izuku deflated again, and he knew that he had hit the nail on its head. Shota also knew that Izuku was the furthest thing from useless, but he knew the feeling well and elected not to say anything on it. “Nezu will be in contact with you some time this week about your temporary provisional license, and I’ve already begun patrols around Kamino ward. I’ve been circling to make it natural but I’ll start narrowing in on them and we’ll have our evidence for a raid by Friday.”

Shota booped Izuku’s nose, and Izuku’s eyes crossed to watch his finger. Cute. “We’ll be okay. We’ve got a whole team behind us determined to make sure that we don’t face a future like the End again.” Shota shifted to make proper eye contact. “We’ll be okay.” He repeated. “Got that, problem child?”

Shota wasn’t surprised when Izuku’s eyes welled up again. He felt Izuku smush his face in his chest to hide the tears, and felt arms tightly around his midsection. “I got it, Dad.”

Shota gently wrapped his arms around Izuku, and gently rocked them side to side.

They breathed a little more, and Shota felt proper drowsiness set in for the first time since they returned to the past.

He nudged Izuku. “Go call your mum before you fall asleep.” Izuku got up and yawned, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

“‘Kay.” Izuku answered, but made no further movement.

With some effort, Shota also got up from the couch, and hovered a hand on Izuku’s back, gently guiding a bleary Izuku to his room.

He pushed the door open and flicked the light on. Izuku paused, and looked back at him with adoring eyes that took Shota’s breath away.

“I love you, Dad.” Izuku said, just because he could.

Shota heard the in-betweens. I’m so happy to be here. Here with you, here as a kid and his dad. Here with a future. Here with a future that has both of us.

Shota wrapped his arms around Izuku’s shoulders and pulled him in for a tight hug. Izuku laughed sleepily and returned the hold.

He squeezed his eyes shut. “I love you so, so much.”

He felt Izuku’s hold tighten.

They stayed like that for a few more moments, before Shota finally pulled back, planting a kiss on Izuku’s temple as he let go.

“Call your mum and go to bed, Izuku. If you’re not already up in the morning I’ll wake you.”

Izuku nodded and went to grab his phone.

Shota lingered in the doorway.

Izuku’s eyes caught his, and he beamed at him. Shota smiled back, softer than anyone other than Izuku would ever know.

“Goodnight Izuku.”

“Goodnight Dad.”

“I’ll see you in the morning.”

And with that, he closed the door behind him, went into his own room, and fell into the most restful sleep he’d had in years.