Chapter 2: All Might

Toshinori valued his relationship with young Midoriya. He would even go so far as comparing Izuku to a son, although he had never verbalized it.

It killed Toshinori to see the look in Midoriya's eyes when he heard that his father was waiting to see him. Midoriya, who had practically been glowing at lunch today, looked sick. He instantly paled, losing the shine in his eyes. In fact, he resembled the insecure boy Toshinori had first met more than the hero that Izuku strove to become.

"You're sure it's my father?" the boy asked.

"As sure as we can be," Toshinori said grimly. "You don't have to meet with him if you don't want to. We checked your file and he signed over all of his parental rights to your mother. You control everything that happens."

Midoriya still looked panicked, but he said, "I do want to see him."

As Toshinori walked Izuku to the main campus, he couldn't help but worry for his young successor. He could feel the anxiety rolling off the boy in waves.

Placing a hand on the boy's shoulder, Toshinori had him pause. "We'll go in when you're ready, Midoriya."

"All Might?" the boy asked in a small voice. "What if he doesn't want me?"

But the boy's real question was easily read in his eyes: Why doesn't he want me?

"Unfortunately, Midoriya my boy, we don't get to choose our blood. But we do get to choose our family. You get to control who is close to your heart, who you fight for. No matter what your father says or feels, you have people, Midoriya my boy, people who will fight for you," Toshinori said. "You have your mother, your classmates, Aizawa, Gran Torino… and me. You will always have me."

Midoriya wrapped his arms around Toshinori's thin body, tears leaking down his face. The two stayed like that until the boy could compose himself, wiping his tears away with trembling hands.

Toshinori patted the boy's head, hoping he had said the right thing. But, one didn't become the Symbol of Peace without knowing how to make a good speech. It helped that Toshinori felt each word in his very soul.

Breathing in deeply, Midoriya said, "I'm ready."

Toshinori didn't question the boy, he merely nodded and began leading the way to the interrogation room. Once there, Midoriya opened the door. Before he could go through, though, Toshinori placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Remember what I told you, Midoriya my boy."

All Might couldn't help it when his eyes slid over to the man standing in the back of the room. Hisashi was a plain-looking man, his hair shaved close to his head. His eyes were black and beady, only resting on one thing for the barest moment. He was slight, and vastly shorter than Toshinori.

Upon seeing the man, Toshinori's hero instincts flared up, all senses agreeing that this man couldn't be trusted.

Aizawa was giving Hisashi a death glare before he departed, saying, "As soon as you're done we'll be here to see you out."

Closing the door gently, Toshinori followed Aizawa to the next door down, the observation room. Aizawa had already prepared popcorn for the both of them, so Toshinori settled into one of the recliners.

When Izuku introduced himself both men groaned. Kneading his temples, Aizawa muttered, "Of course he knows who you are Midoriya, he's half your DNA."

Hisashi began rambling about how old Izuku was and how happy he was to be back in Japan. Toshinori saw how each word chipped away at his successor and the boy's hard-earned confidence. Both Aizawa and Toshinori stiffened when Hisashi said, "Sometime I'm going to have to see that quirk of yours in action."

Izuku's eyes were hazy, unfocused. "Oh, you saw the Sports Festival," he said faintly. He looked broken, resigned to his fate when he clenched his hand into a fist and met his father's eyes, a steely resolve set into every line of Izuku's face. "You came home because I have a quirk now, didn't you?"

Toshinori's chest was bursting with pride at seeing Izuku face his father head on. Aizawa's face quirked into a smirk. "Midoriya always comes off as so… pure. It's nice to see he has a cutthroat side."

Hisashi's fumbling reply made Toshinori long to dump his bag of popcorn over the man's head. Or a vat of acid. As the conversation progressed, it was painfully obvious that it was going nowhere. However, when Izuku called Hisashi Mr. Midoriya, Aizawa choked on his popcorn (but Toshinori had never seen his look more proud).

Then the conversation took a sinister turn.

When Izuku told Hisashi about his hero analysis, the man perked up. "That must help you a lot in your hero coursework. You must know a lot about heroes, and their weaknesses."

"Yagi, I don't like this," Aizawa said.

Straightening up, Izuku said, "I usually focus on their strengths."

Toshinori barely heard Hisashi's reply. He was furious on behalf of Izuku, and quirk or no, he was still All Might. "Young Midoriya has handled this well, but there's no reason to let this continue."

Marching to the interrogation room, Toshinori wrenched the door open, utilizing every ounce of self-control he possessed to keep his voice calm. "I'm afraid visiting hours are over." He also took care to straighten to stand at his full height. While his amount of muscle mass was laughable, Toshinori still towered over most people, and he could still be an imposing figure when he chose to.

Hisashi glared at Toshinori, venom in his eyes. "I wasn't done speaking with my son."

"Well, the rules are the rules," Toshinori replied, desperately wishing he had still had his quirk so he could literally throw the man out of the school. "I apologize, Mr. Midoriya, but you really must leave."

Smoke was beginning to leak from Hisashi's mouth, and Toshinori vaguely remembered Izuku telling him that his father could breathe fire. "I've come all this way to see my son," The man said, a puff of smoke accenting each word. "I will see my son."

Izuku shifted, but before things could escalate, Hisashi backed off, hacking on smoke.

"You're leaving now," Aizawa announced from behind Toshinori. "You will be escorted out by either me or the police."

Hisashi nodded, moving to leave. Before following Aizawa through the doorway, though, the man turned back. "I'm still determined to get to know my son. I'll be back."

Toshinori tensed as Hisashi moved towards Izuku.

"Can't a father give his son a hug?" Hisashi asked, deliberately draping his arms over Midoriya. Midoriya, on the other hand, stood completely rigid, looking more panicked than Toshinori had ever seen him.

It looked like Hisashi may have whispered something in his son's ear before letting Izuku go and sauntering after Aizawa.

Midoriya, he was left looking broken. Years of paternal pain and betrayal was clear on the boy's face as he stared at the now closed door.

Decades of being the number one hero had taught Toshinori how to deal with everything but this, it seemed. Midoriya's pain was clear on his face, but if he pushed too hard, Toshinori sensed he would only bring greater suffering to the boy. Hesitantly he asked, "Do you want me to walk you back to the dorms, Young Midoriya?"

The boy attempted a smile, and the sight of it made Toshinori feel like his heart was slowly being crushed by an unforgiving fist. "Thanks, but no. I'll be fine, All Might. I need to finish my laundry." With a quick wave, the boy practically sprinted from the room.

It took everything in Toshinori not to follow after his protege, but he knew that he would probably make things worse. Izuku was having troubles with his father. The last thing he needed was conflicting emotions. Toshinori was aware that he was something of a father figure to the boy, and the boy needed time to understand his own emotions. It killed him, but Toshinori watched on as Izuku darted across campus, small shoulders weighed down with far too much.


A/N: Hey everyone, back with another chapter! I really enjoyed writing this chapter, and I hope you all enjoyed it! It's finals week for me, so I won't make any promises on when the next chapter will be up. Leave a comment, let me know what you thought, and/or whose perspectives you want to hear from! Next is going to be Todoroki, and then Inko, but after that I'm not totally sure.

fencer29-I'm glad you enjoyed Aizawa's chapter!

patrickthenobleman- Thanks, I can never spot my own typos!