Two weeks have passed the nice sunny spring weather disappeared somewhere so how does does sitting down to read a nice story sound like? This chapter essentially completes the first beginning part of the story and one part of Izuku's life.

What comes after that? You'll need to come back in two weeks to find out. The next chapter will also bring in a character you already know and if you read this chapter very carefully you might already find a clue about who that will be.

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Comments:

SentinalSlice: Yes, that was probably smarter. Especially since doing that would have led to police investigation where they might want to talk with his father. Who might not be too eager to partake in such conversation.

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Proofread by 3DPhantom

Chapter 6: What Now?

Izuku felt both loss and relief as the house disappeared behind a corner. Confused at his own emotions, he stared at the seat in front of him, shoulders sagged. It didn't last long as his father began making strange groans. The sight when Izuku turned made him gasp as his father's face morphed and twisted. The healthy skin and eyes lost their colour and smoothness before shrinking into his head, leaving behind only the usual wrinkled and scarred skin. His father pulled down his collar that had helped hide the pipe hanging from his throat, attached to something small enough to hide under the jacket. He reached under the seat and pulled out the collar part of his helmet with its breathing mask attached. With the mask on he drew a deep breath a few times with an audible hiss.

"Are you okay?" Izuku asked.

"Yes," his father answered. "I had to abandon most of my breathing aides to hide my state even with that shapeshifting quirk. My oxygen levels would have dropped a bit." He chuckled. "Haven't I become pathetic, unable to even breathe on my own?"

"No," Izuku blurted out. "You've guarded me even when I didn't know it, saved me, healed me and even taught me about my quirks. You too Kurogiri. None of that sounds pathetic to me."

"At least I can still impress my son. Hopefully that means I can offer comfort too. First, you should know that you don't need to worry about anything practical. I have started arranging things so you can live well and as normally as you want, though even now I cannot be present in your life as much as Inko was."

Izuku nodded gratefully, but the mention of his mother brought tears back to his eyes. His father brought his arm over Izuku's shoulder and pulled him closer. The next moment the car was a lot darker and they were in some large windowless garage. Izuku glanced at Kurogiri who was already stepping out. Izuku followed and did not need to be told to step into a warp gate that appeared in front of him. In an instant he was back in the luxurious apartment of the previous day, where he had been as…

Izuku choked a little, barely able to breathe as tears began flowing again. Only his father and Kurogiri were there. There was no one to confront, nothing to hide, nowhere to go and nothing that needed doing. For the first time he could just collapse. Kurogiri's misty form barely caught him as he did so literally. The mist felt soft and warm as it lifted him to a sofa. The sofa shifted a bit, followed by a familiar hand landing on Izuku's shoulder. No-one said anything for a long time as Izuku thoroughly soaked the fine leather. Eventually he was too out of breath to cry and too dehydrated to produce any more tears so he could only stare at the opposite window as his vision slowly returned to normal. He gasped, trying to take back control of his lungs.

"Perhaps we should get a breathing machine for you too," his father said. Izuku tried to chuckle, but it hurt. Father continued. "I am glad that worked. Comforting in a situation like this is not among my strengths."

Slowly Izuku sat up and stared at the floor. As he spoke it was barely a whisper.

"She's really gone."

"Yes," his father confirmed.

"They didn't even try to stop him. They just watched her die."

"The heroes?"

"I… I don't think I can call them that," Izuku said. His father pulled him closer.

"Here that is okay. You have lost so much because of those who are called heroes. We both have."

They sat there in silence for some time before Izuku raised his head and looked at his father's mostly missing face.

"Dad, how did you get your injuries?"

"You really shouldn't worry about that now."

"I need to know. I have wanted to ask for a while, but…It's what kept you from even visiting us right? Maybe, without that we could have all been together yesterday and..."

There was a pause of silence before his father spoke.

"All Might," he said slowly. "He destroyed much of what I had built until we inevitably faced each other head-on. It was the hardest battle I have ever experienced, and he only stopped once he thought I was dead. If it wasn't for the injuries, I was able to inflict on him, he might have stayed to make sure the job was finished."

After his father answered Izuku looked away.

"Heroes are supposed to capture villains, not…"

"That only applies as long as it is convenient for the heroes and those in charge," his father interrupted Izuku. "It isn't even a secret if you think about it. The most popular heroes and those most expected to become heroes are those with flashy physical powers that are best suited to injure or kill, while people with mental or supportive quirks are lucky to become heroes at all, even when better suited at solving situations without violence. You have already seen this with Katsuki Bakugo. Besides All Might, even the number two hero's power is, above all else, best suited for maiming or killing people in one of the most painful ways possible. If someone considered a villain, anyone without a card declaring them a hero, burned people half as bad as he has done for even small-time villains, that person would go to Tartarus without a question."

Izuku thought about his father's words. He was too shaken and winded to even begin muttering. Kurogiri quietly placed a bowl of katsudon in front of him. Realizing how late it was, gratefully Izuku took the bowl. After the first taste he started eating at an increasing speed, showing more energy than anytime earlier that day. The instant he finished Kurogiri was there to switch the katsudon bowl with a bowl of ice cream. Izuku nearly started crying again at the Nomu's kindness while his father never left the sofa. After the lunch Kurogiri disappeared somewhere, leaving the two alone. Eventually Izuku was able to ask the one question he needed an answer to most.

"Dad," he began, "what's going to happen now? Are we going to live here?"

"No, this place is under another name, but don't worry. Hisashi Midoriya is about to buy a nice house near a very good school. The rest will depend on what you want. You can live there in peace, go to school and continue with your life as is. I will finance your living as I have till now and keep in contact occasionally, but I cannot be present in a way that would risk involving you in my… business. It would be an ordinary, possibly lonely at first, but a safe live. That is what Inko would prefer."

The last part was a strong argument in Izuku's mind, but going back to almost no contact with his father hurt to just think about.

"What is the other option?"

"You will enter my life. We will be father and son, but only out of sight. You will know more of what I do and most likely get involved with it sooner or later depending on your choices. I should warn you this is the more dangerous option. It would make you a villain both legally and in public opinion if our relationship was ever exposed, and that isn't necessarily the most dangerous part. We would have to spend much time together just to train you so you could protect yourself when myself or Kurogiri aren't present. You would still live in the house and go to school."

"So those are my choices," Izuku said, looking down in deep thought.

"Yes. Details might be flexible to a point, but those are the two paths in front of you. Well, you could always decide you don't want to be involved with me at all. There are already bank accounts under your name so you won't be left empty-handed if you want to walk away."

"No," Izuku blurted out as his head bounced up. The two options had forced him to really think about them, but the third. He was physically unable to even consider it. He hadn't even thought about money. His father and Kurogiri were everything he cared about that he still had left. As that thought hit him his arm snaked around his father's and held onto it like the man would disappear otherwise. He had made his decision.

"People already call me a villain. I would rather be a villain with you than continue being treated like one alone."

"You should know that I am a harsh trainer. You will need my healing quirks many times."

Izuku gulped.

"I told you. It will be a dangerous life. If I need to be harsh to keep you alive I will. Do you think you will be up to it?"

"Yes," Izuku responded. "There was a time when I wanted to become a pro hero, back when I was still quirkless. If I was going to train and do what that would take, I should survive getting proper training with one… some."

"Very well. We will start with the quirks you took. Considering your past experiences, it will be easier if you present one of them as your quirk at your new school."

"It will probably help, I just… Even if someone is nice it wouldn't be for the real me."

"You have a few days to choose how you want to do it. It will take at least that long to arrange your transfer and prepare the house."

"Can I ask where you are sending me, not that anywhere wouldn't be better than Aldera."

"Of course. I am arranging for you to attend Soumei private academy for rest of the year."

"Soumei," Izuku mumbled, "isn't it…?"

"Prestigious, expensive and selective," his father answered. "After being absent for so long, how could I offer you anything but the best."

"I would ask how you can pull off an admittance to such a school, but I could just as well ask how you got this apartment."

"In time perhaps. Now, you need something to focus your attention on before crying again. Would you like to continue practicing with the quirks? Whatever you choose you will need to make them yours."

"Yeah," Izuku said and a memory hit him. "Yesterday I… I destroyed all my All Might stuff with it."

"I won't complain about that."

"No, I mean…" Izuku brought his arm up and made the Dragon Blade appear. "When I was using it, it changed somehow. One moment it just burns without really cutting like when you taught me to control it, then suddenly it felt completely different. I was carving out the wall behind the shelves I wanted to destroy, and it felt easy like I could have cut through a lot more. But to do that… it would need to be thinner… but that alone wouldn't..."

"Interesting, either there is more to that quirk than we thought," his father said, making Izuku pause his muttering, "or you are already well ahead of my lessons."

"What do you mean?"

"Didn't I tell you yesterday that I would teach you how to combine and use multiple quirks simultaneously? The other quirk you got was a form of vibration quirk. It may appear simple on the surface, but the simplest quirks often make for the most powerful combinations by altering effects of other quirks. For example, I have a quirk called Springlike Limbs. On its own it can give me slight enhancements to agility and force of my punches as well as the ability to absorb impacts, but combined with other quirks it allows me to push their power past the limits that my body could not handle otherwise. For you, the application of high-speed vibration could explain enhanced cutting ability. What I am surprised by is that you could achieve simultaneous use so soon without even intending it."

"That is… amazing!" Izuku's eyes widened and for the first time that day it was not to cry. "Most quirks have weaknesses or side effects, but if another quirk can counter that… I'll have to rewrite all of my quirk notes… strength quirk with body hardening quirk or maybe flight… water quirk could help focus electricity better than most of them can or maybe…"

"Then again," his father interrupted Izuku's muttering again. "Maybe I should not be surprised. If Kurogiri is right, you are a bigger quirk nerd than myself."

He smiled to Izuku behind his breathing mask.

"Enough talk, would you like to try it right now?"

"Yes," Izuku said with a smile of his own, not even close to the widest it could have been, but the distraction was welcome. He needed something to do and training with his dad sounded like just the thing.