A/n: This story takes place years after the end of Tokyo Ghoul: re. I've made up the dates used.
The Forgotten King
金木 研 | Kaneki Ken
Kaneki Ken passed away the night of Saturday, July 15th, 2090 at the age of ninety-five. A pillar of the community, Kaneki is credited with starting the worldwide movement fostering peace between humans and ghouls that began in 2018. He is survived by his wife Kirishima Touka, their children Ichika and Arata, and his grandson Izuku.
Midoriya Inko didn't give birth to her son in a hospital. She had never been admitted to a hospital in her life, she wasn't going to break that streak for something as unconcerning as childbirth. Instead, a trustworthy midwife came to the Midoriya house, shooed Hisashi out of their bedroom so that when he belched fire from unneeded stress it didn't cause problems, and talked Inko through pushing their son into the world. There was blood and tears, but nothing that would cause any real damage. Ghouls were stronger than that.
"Look at the little prince," the midwife cooed as they cleaned the baby off. "Have Mommy and Daddy chosen a name for him yet?"
Inko and Hisashi, allowed back inside the room once the pain was over, looked at each other. They had discussed names for boys and girls and neither and both. There had been no ultrasounds, no medical tests of any kind, nothing that would have let them know the sex of their baby before now.
The midwife handed the baby to Inko. The woman studied her son's round pink face, the fuzzy green hair covering his scalp, and the pale green eyes that he blinked up at her.
"He doesn't look like an Ayato," Inko said.
"He doesn't look like a Mikumo either," Hisashi said.
Inko looked up at the midwife. "His name is Izuku. Midoriya Izuku."
And so it was.
Two emos and sunshine
The Green One: hey ( ﾟ▽ﾟ)/ do you want to come over for dinner? my mom's making katsudon
The Purple One: YES
The Purple One: ur mom is a goddess
The Green One: your dads are working tonight?
The Purple One: yes
The Purple One: i didn't know what i was going to eat
The Bird One: Dark Shadow and I are pleased to accept your invitation.
The Green One: great!
The Green One: (≧∇≦)/
The Green One: dinner's at the usual time
The Bird One: Should we be expecting any other guests?
The Green One: nope! just you guys!
The Green One: wait
The Green One: my uncle Ken might stop by. that's fine, right?
The Bird One: Yes, it is fine.
The Purple One: can i come over earlier? i was reading one of ur history books the other day and i didn't finish it
The Green One: sure! you can come right now!
The Purple One: omw
Shinsou got jumped on the second Izuku opened the door. He sighed and nudged Izuku back inside so they weren't standing on the doorstep while the green-haired boy hugged the life out of him.
"Toshi! I missed you," Izuku said.
"We saw each other at the meeting last month," Shinsou grumbled.
"That's not the same! Why do you have to live so far away? We could be going to school together." Izuku finally released Shinsou except for one hand that he used to drag his friend to the border between the entryway and the rest of the house. "Mom, Toshi's here!"
There was the sound of light footsteps above them and Inko peeked down from the top of the stairs. "Hello, Shinsou-kun! I'm sorry, I'm a little busy—Have you been eating properly? You look thin."
Shinsou blinked and then Inko was standing in front of him. She squeezed his arm and frowned.
"You're skin and bones! When's the last time you had meat?" Inko demanded.
Shinsou ducked his head and mumbled, "At the meeting last month."
"Toshi!" Izuku exclaimed.
"My dads are pro heroes, I can't exactly keep human meat in the fridge," Shinsou said. Legally, and because he'd feel awfully guilty if one of them ate it by accident.
The two Midoriyas didn't accept that excuse. In seconds Shinsou was sitting at the kitchen table with a pair of chopsticks in his hand and a bowl of cubed raw meat in front of him.
"Eat," Inko said.
Shinsou felt his eyes change, purple and white being replaced with red and black. He bowed his head. "Thank you for the food."
He ate. He ate almost without pausing to breathe. He could eat human food—all ghouls could nowadays thanks to evolution and interbreeding with humans—and he could survive on it for a time, but he needed meat. Izuku kept up a running one-sided conversation about All Might being seen in Musutafu and theories about what the pro hero might be doing until Shinsou had finished all the meat in the bowl.
"Eraserhead is cooler," Shinsou said as he put his chopsticks down.
Izuku groans. "He's your dad, you have to say that."
Shinsou grinned and stood to take his dishes to the sink. Izuku protested when he started washing up but Shinsou waved him away.
"You fed me. The least I can do is wash a bowl," Shinsou said.
"I guess so," Izuku said. "Which book did you want to finish?"
"The Goat mission logs," Shinsou said. "I was in the middle of the part about the underground city in the 24th ward. Don't spoil it."
Izuku gave him a disapproving look. "It's not a story, Toshi. It's our history."
Shinsou shrugged. "That doesn't mean it isn't interesting."
Neither of them was wrong.
Izuku worked on homework while Shinsou read the nearly two hundred-year-old book. Both of them finished up just before the doorbell rang.
Tokoyami also got smothered by an Izuku hug the moment the door opened. The bird-headed boy exchanged a commiserating look with Shinsou over Izuku's shoulder.
"ZUZU! TOSHI!" Dark Shadow yelled. The sentient quirk hugged Izuku back and then flew over to ruffle Shinsou's hair. "U.A. OR BUST!"
"U.A. or bust!" Izuku cheered back.
Shinsou covered his eyes with one hand. "Too bright."
"Apologies," Tokoyami said.
Inko called a greeting from the kitchen. There were delicious smells filling the house. Despite having eaten less than two hours ago, Shinsou's stomach growled.
Inko laughed. "Dinner's almost finished. Go wash your hands and set the table, boys."
"Of course, Midoriya-sama," Tokoyami said.
Shinsou and Tokoyami had been over for dinner often enough that they knew where all the dishes were. Between them and Izuku, they had the table set in seconds and Dark Shadow didn't even break anything.
"We're not waiting for your dad?" Shinsou asked when they ended up only setting four places.
Izuku shook his head. "He's in Tokyo until next week. There've been some murders that look like they could be ghoul kills so he got himself assigned to the case to check it out."
Midoriya Hisashi worked as a criminal profiler for the police department and could get himself sent practically anywhere in Japan as long as there was murder involved.
"What a mad banquet of darkness," Tokoyami said.
"Do we need to worry?" Shinsou asked.
"I don't know," Izuku said. "My parents never tell me anything."
"Because you always figure out what's going on before we can tell you, dear," Inko said. "Tokoyami-kun, your bowl is the one with the red flowers."
"Thank you, Midoriya-sama," Tokoyami said.
They did another check of the meat in each bowl before they started eating, which was standard procedure for ghouls sharing a meal with a human. Once they made doubly sure that Tokoyami had the pork cutlet, they dug in.
"Midoriya-sama, you are a goddess. Izuku, I'm marrying you for your mom's cooking," Shinsou said.
"You're what?" Izuku asked.
"Are you prepared to be in line for the throne of the One-Eyed King?" Tokoyami asked.
There was silence around the table.
"Guys, I was joking," Shinsou said. "Not about Midoriya-sama being amazing, but I wouldn't marry Izuku just for her cooking."
"But you would marry Izuku?" Tokoyami said.
"Obviously," Shinsou said.
Izuku squeaked and blushed bright red. Inko laughed.
"You guys," Izuku complained. "You can't keep doing this."
"But you're so cute when you blush," Shinsou said.
Izuku blushed more.
"I suppose we will have to tone it down if we attend high school together," Tokoyami said. "The secrets of the underworld are not meant for the ears of the uninitiated."
"You have never toned anything down in your life," Shinsou said.
Tokoyami shrugged.
Izuku's face stayed pink for the rest of the meal, though he managed to turn the discussion to the upcoming ("It's not until next year, Izuku") U.A. entrance exam. Izuku was risking more to go to U.A. than the other two boys. Shinsou's dads were human, so he was only risking himself. Tokoyami's moms and siblings were ghouls but he was human, so any medical tests or high-stress fights on his end wouldn't risk outing them. Izuku not only had a fake quirk on his records, he was a ghoul, had two parents who were ghouls and his mom was the One-Eyed King. Getting caught could spell disaster for his whole family and the Japanese ghoul community.
The plan was not to get caught.
U.A High School Application Form
Program Choice
Program Title: Hero Course (Direct Entry)
Program Department: Department of Heroes
Program Code: HC001
Personal Information
Family Name: Midoriya
Given Name: Izuku
Gender: Male
Birthdate: July 15, 2175
Status in Japan (at time of applying): Japanese citizen
Country of Citizenship: Japan
First Language: Japanese
Quirk Name: Durable
Quirk Type: Mutant
Quirk Description: Body tissues are about eight times stronger than human average. This provides protection from wounds and allows for levels of force to be applied to actions that would otherwise damage bones/muscles.
Academic Information
Previous School: Aldera Middle School
Graduation Date: N/A
Expected Graduation Date: March, 2190
Final Year Grade Average: N/A
Expected Final Year Grade Average: 80%
Most of Japan's ghoul community knew that the One-Eyed King's son was applying to U.A.'s hero course. It was hard to keep it a secret when his application had been the object of debate in many of their monthly meetings. Most people were indifferent, several were vocal about their support (Izuku had gotten so many good luck messages and training suggestions that he'd started a new notebook for them) and some were afraid of the risk he was taking. In some cases, the fear turned into death threats.
All of Japan's ghoul community now knew better than to threaten Midoriya Inko's son. They never should have tried.
The One-Eyed King protects her own.