Chapter Six:

The green-haired boy had his father's curls and his mother's eyes. So adorable! Hisashi also saw his childhood freckles on his son's face. Izuku's skill with a lightsaber as he deflected Stormtrooper bolts definitely came from his uncle's training.

From the ship entranceway, Prince Katsuki screamed, "Hurry up! Time to get off this shitty Death Star!"

Izuku ran for the ship, crying, "But Uncle Kazuki—"

"He said we had to escape while he was holding Darth Omnus off!"

Hisashi took this as his cue to step out onto the balcony. He released Kazuki's robe, letting it flutter down to hit the floor. "Did you know the strongest Jedi Masters vanish their bodies into the Force when they die? I never thought my foolish little brother had it in him."

Izuku stared at the robe. His abilities no doubt detected the truth in the statement. (Technically, none of that had been a lie). Grief blazed in his eyes and through the Force. He turned and ran into the ship.

A part of Hisashi's heart panged to watch his son vanish into hyperspace, but he had his tracking beacon planted. It was all necessary for his plan.

Hisashi returned to his quarters. Kazuki lay against the wall, panting. Sweat soaked the bandages on his head and shoulder. A bruise molted his forehead. He'd been wrapped in chains from head to foot. More importantly, the binders on his wrists had been specially developed to cut off the Force.

Kazuki cracked one eye open. "The more I think about it, the less I understand. Why would you want Izuku to think I was dead? These—" he raised the binders slightly "—will make it impossible for him to detect me and see through your lies. But wouldn't it be more like you to use me as bait to lure him into a trap?"

Hisashi froze, then relaxed. Of course Kazuki had seen through what he wanted with his Jedi robe. His little brother had always been good at guessing his thoughts even after their bond had been broken—and annoyingly good at seeing through his schemes.

Whistling, Hisashi opened his closet door and took off his mask. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"It doesn't make sense." Kazuki's eyes narrowed. "What do you have to gain from making your son hate you even more?"

Hisashi refused to rise to the bait. "Let's just say I have another scheme to bring Izuku back to me. You'll see him again soon."

Kazuki went silent, no doubt pondering a million different possibilities. But Hisashi's statement had been designed to throw his little brother off-track. Kazuki would bite off his own tongue and commit suicide if he knew what his older brother actually had planned.

Shortly after the destruction of the Death Star, as Izuku approached the podium to receive his medal, he felt an itching in the back of his mind. He staggered sideways.

An attempt to form a Force bond. Uncle Kazuki had warned him about this. He cleared his mind and blocked the attack.

The technique worked perfectly. Uncle Kazuki had saved him again.

A wave of grief swamped Izuku. He couldn't manage to smile for the cameras. Tears stung his eyes.

First, Hisashi rubbed peppermint oil into his eyes. He resisted the urge to blink, staring at himself in the mirror until his eyes looked properly red and swollen. Then he dipped his fingers in water and ran them down his face, imitating tear tracks.

He'd put on many performances during his time puppet-mastering the Empire, but this might be the most important one of his life.

Time to go.

Hisashi flung open the cell door. "It's all your fault!"

Kazuki looked up from the bed. Shackles fastened his ankles and he held a book up between his bound hands. "What could I have possibly done while locked up in here? Did my traditional Tatooine voodoo doll finally take effect?"

Hisashi almost snorted but managed to restrain himself. He had to sell this very carefully. Kazuki had always been gifted at telling when he was lying. But at the moment, his younger brother was cut off from the Force, and for a Jedi that was like losing half their senses.

"Izuku died during the attack on the Death Star."

Kazuki paled. He tried to leap to his feet, only to be restrained by the shackles. "Why would you tell such a lie? What would you gain from it? I-it doesn't make any sense."

"I hope you're happy. You destroyed the Empire's greatest weapon just like you wanted so badly, but it cost your nephew's life. Was it worth the trade?"

"I'd know if he was dead. I would. Our bond…" Kazuki stopped. Of course he knew full well that without the Force, he couldn't feel anything through his bond with his nephew. He simply didn't want to believe it. But he was starting to be convinced.

Hisashi slammed Kazuki into the wall. "If you hadn't helped him escape me, he'd still be alive."

It wasn't like Hisashi to use physical force as long as he had the upper hand over his brother. Normally he tried to be more generous. He counted on that to sell the act. He pressed down on Kazuki's throat, very careful of the amount of pressure, then staggered backward as if regaining control over his rage.

Kazuki fell back down onto the bed. He looked dazed. "That's not…I…" His Force signature was a mess of shock, guilt, and despair. So many un-Jedi-like emotions.

Nothing like the death of a loved one to turn a Jedi. Hisashi reached out through their broken Force bond and pressed. This time, he got in.

He didn't let so much as a twitch of triumph show on his face. Instead, he kept subtly poking around until he found Kazuki's Force bond with Izuku.

He poured pure Dark Side straight down it.

Izuku bent over the sink to splash water on his face. When he looked up, Darth Omnus' face stared back at him from the mirror.

He leapt backward, using the technique Uncle Kazuki had taught him to push intruders from his mind.

But nothing happened. Hisashi Shigaraki smiled at him. "I'm glad to see you seem in good health, little one."

"Is that sarcasm?" Izuku snarled.

"Not at all. I know my enemies have fed you countless lies about me, but I've always loved you and cared about your well-being."

Izuku's mind raced. His uncle's technique should have worked. He'd already successfully stopped his father from forming a Force bond with him several times. Nor did he feel another attempted bond poking at his mind right now. His heart rate gradually calmed. Then what was this? Some new trick?

Probing for information, Izuku said, "I have to admit, I've never heard of a Jedi or a Sith turning themselves into a magic mirror. How did you discover such an ability?"

Hisashi smiled and avoided the query. "The Dark Side has numerous powers the Jedi could never imagine. For example, my immortality, which I'll shortly share with you."

"I'd never want that." Sweat dripped down Izuku's neck. That hadn't been an attempted bribe. It had been presented like a statement of fact.

Hisashi's face started to fade. "It appears this is all the time we have currently. I'll be back again soon."

"Please don't," Izuku said to the empty bathroom.

Hisashi balanced a tray of food as he opened the door. "Kazuki?"

His younger brother didn't respond. He huddled with his knees to his forehead and his hair hiding his face. A cough came from the shaking form.

Hisashi had stopped by a few more times to scream at and berate Kazuki. But his little brother didn't look in any shape for it today. Hisashi placed down the tray. "You should try to eat something."

Kazuki didn't respond.

Under normal circumstances, this would worry Hisashi, but at the moment keeping Kazuki weak very much suited his purposes. He didn't enjoy doing this. But it was an act of desperate need. If only he could pull this off successfully, then he'd never need to fear losing his family ever again.

Kazuki coughed even harder, a wet choking sound.

"You have to at least take your medicine." Hisashi lifted up Kazuki's head by his hair and crammed a pill into his mouth.

Limp in his hands, Kazuki neither struggled nor complied. His eyes stared straight up without seeing anything. Half the irises had turned Sith yellow.

Hisashi hissed in victory. Very soon, it would all be over. His brother would have no need for medicine nor even food except for the pleasure of tasting it. Once they got past this initial difficult stage, everything would be better.

The triumph fed his power. The Dark Side rose up inside him like a blazing fire. He stuffed all of it down his Force bond with his brother.

Kazuki's bond with Izuku still blazed bright, but now it had a second dark line attached, curling around it like creeping ivy. Under Hisashi's coaxing, the darkness thickened.

Of course, Izuku's technique to block him would have worked perfectly, if only he'd been using it on the right bond. But his son would never guess the intrusion into his mind came from the Force bond of someone he believed dead.

It came as no surprise to Izuku when his father popped up in his dreams again. Hisashi showed up every night, now.

Immediately, Izuku let the dream landscape shift to the sands of Tatooine.

Hisashi winced. "That's just petty, little one."

"You told me once that you never wanted to set foot on Tatooine again. Feel free to leave." Izuku shrugged. The artificial wind threw sand at his back. He willed a blast of sand directly at Darth Omnus' face.

The Sith sidestepped. "How are you doing? You look pale. Have the filthy traitors been feeding you properly?"

Izuku stared at him. "I refuse to play this game where you pretend to be a concerned father."

"It's not a game—"

"You murdered my mother and my uncle. You're no father to me." Izuku felt a spike of pain down his former Force bond with Uncle Kazuki. It hurt constantly. Master Yagi had told him that the death of his former master, Nana, had been agonizing. Bonds with blood relatives were even stronger, hence why the old Jedi had forbidden them. Izuku sometimes wondered why the pain seemed to be getting even worse instead of improving over time, but he didn't want to worry anyone by complaining.

Hisashi recoiled. "I did not kill your mother! That's a lie from your Jedi kidnappers! I was trying to save her."

From past conversations, Izuku knew this was a sore spot. He twisted the blade. "Whatever you were trying to do, she died, and with that, you lost any right to call yourself my father."

"You don't understand, but soon you will. Soon we'll never be apart again."

A chill crawled down Izuku's spine, despite the desert heat. "What does that mean?"

Hisashi only smiled and pressed.

Izuku felt his father's mind pushing against his. Seeking out his location. The sands of Tatooine started to blur. In desperation, Izuku threw up a recent memory of a jungle with purple moss covering the trees.

"Ah, so you're on Rox IV. See you soon, son." Hisashi vanished.

Izuku woke up. "How does he keep doing that?" he asked his bedroom ceiling.

At least he'd pulled a trick of his own at the end. Rox IV was a base the rebels had recently abandoned after the purple moss had turned out to be poisonous. It would be great if his father got sick, although Izuku wouldn't get his hopes up.

He sat up and rubbed his eyes. A picture of himself with his arm around Master Yagi hung on his wall. In the glass, he glimpsed a distorted reflection of his sleepy face. His eyes were yellow.

Screaming, Izuku ran to the bathroom.

No matter how hard he stared into the mirror, his eyes still looked green.

"What was that, idiot?" Katsuki called from the bedroom next door, sounding grumpy and sleep-deprived.

"Nothing. A nightmare," Izuku called back. He tried to convince himself he'd imagined it.

Hisashi knelt over his younger brother's trembling form, stroking his hair as he fed more darkness through their bond. Just a little more…just a little more…

Kazuki screamed and recoiled. He stared up with pure yellow eyes. Fear and horror spiked through their bond.

Hisashi reached out and soothed the emotions. Kazuki relaxed into his grip.

Yes. That had done it. Hisashi let a smug smile spread across his face. He could feel his Force bond with his brother, stronger than ever. The power of his immortality hummed under Kazuki's skin, too. He felt a separate bond with his son now, not merely a parasite off his brother's.

More importantly, he knew where his son was.

Hisashi picked up a bowl of soup. "You should eat." He infused the command with power.

Obediently, Kazuki picked up the spoon between his bound hands and started sipping. It was all Hisashi could do not to scream in triumph.

Through the bond, Hisashi yanked his brother's Force abilities into himself, just like he'd inadvertently done during their childhood. The power fed his own like a spark to gunpowder, growing exponentially. He could level a planet without even needing the Death Star. As expected, this was how it had been meant to be. After it had created him, the Force had gifted him with Kazuki as a means to make himself even stronger. It was their destiny.

He unfastened the binders. "You won't need these anymore."

As soon as Kazuki had finished eating, Hisashi picked him. He could take his brother to a much more luxurious room, now. The bundle in his arms felt too light and clearly could stand to gain a few pounds. As he carried Kazuki down the hallway, Hisashi said, "I can tell you now: Izuku is alive. You'll see him again very soon."

From Kazuki came a rush of emotion: first relief and joy, then a dawning horror. Hisashi let the first feelings through while completely clamping down on the negative emotions.

"Thank you, big brother," Kazuki murmured, no trace of anything but happiness in the weak voice. The blankness of his eyes didn't match his tone. They'd have to work on that.

Hisashi hummed under his breath as he planned. After that adorable little trick Izuku had pulled with Rox IV had left him with a purple rash all over, he owed his son a surprise.

Izuku was carrying out a routine patrol along the Rebel base walls when he heard a humming noise overhead.

He looked up to see what looked like the entire Imperial fleet blotting out the sun.

Hello, little one, his father whispered in his head.

Although he had no idea how, Izuku knew with total certainty that his father had found everyone because of him.

Izuku stepped out of the shuttle wearing binders. He'd traded himself in exchange for letting the other rebels escape. In fact, he'd told his father under no uncertain terms to take the deal or he'd kill himself. His friends would never have taken him hostage, but Izuku was more than willing to barter with his own life.

As Hisashi approached, Izuku tried to think of something sarcastic to say. But he wasn't in the mood. There was a strange pressure in his head. It got worse the closer the Sith came.

His father smiled. "You're safe now, son. We'll never be separated again. Be happy."

Against his will, the corners of Izuku's mouth shot up. A feeling of peace and joy cast a fog over his mind. A voice in the back of his head shouted at him to do something, but he still couldn't feel any negative emotion. Perversely, that made it even worse.

"What have you done?" he managed to ask, nearly biting his own tongue with the effort.

"Protected you, my beloved child." Hisashi pulled him into a forceful hug.

The unwanted touch made goosebumps rise along Izuku's arms. It pierced through the veil covering his senses. He remembered his plan. Now, with Darth Omnus so close, was the perfect moment.

Izuku slid the knife tucked up his sleeve into his bound hands. He lunged.

"Stop," Hisashi said.

Izuku froze. His blade hovered right over the black uniform. With just one push, he'd pierce the Sith Lord's possibly nonexistent heart. But he couldn't move. His hands trembled.

A floaty feeling rose up inside Izuku. He blinked. The space station dock had become too bright. His eyes could no longer make out fine details, just the wavery dark form of his father in front of him. He had to do something. Something important. He blinked again. The mental fog reared up like a tsunami and dragged him under.

Izuku returned to awareness to find himself sitting on a comfy bed. A room had been decorated with model ships and posters of wilderness worlds. It was stylish, if a bit childish. The desk held a giant holoscreen. A shelf of snacks stood next to the door. The plush green carpet resembled grass and the ceiling had been painted like the sky.

When had he gotten here? How much time had passed? What had happened while he'd been unaware?

The binders were gone. He felt disconnected from his limply hanging arms and legs. His left forearm itched. It had a red mark. Had something been implanted there? He tried to scratch.

Hisashi knelt down and took his hands to stop the movement. "How do you like your new room?" The gentle voice compelled his attention, making him lose his train of thought.

"It's beautiful," he answered. No, no, I don't like this place. But he couldn't articulate what bothered him, and he didn't want to seem ungrateful. He felt so strange. The numb feeling filled his head. I have to fight this off. If I don't resist now, I'll be lost forever.

Izuku reached out into the Force to try and focus his mind. But as soon as he touched the Force, all the negativity emptied away. It left him feeling like a hollow cup waiting to be filled.

Something was wrong, but he couldn't think of what. He felt safe. Comfortable. Protected. Something was wrong.

Nothing was wrong. His breathing evened out. All the responsibilities and anxieties he'd been carrying around ever since joining the Rebel Alli—the who?—fell away. He was happy here, and he loved his father very much.

His entire world narrowed to his father's warm arms holding him in place. That touch felt like the only thing anchoring him to reality. It filled him with peace. He'd never before been so completely free of stress. Only joy remained.

"What have you done to me?" he asked again, even though this time the question came out curious rather than angry.

"I've bound our minds together forever. Now I'll never, ever lose you." Hisashi smiled.

That smug expression made Izuku want to just…then the floaty happiness returned, chasing all other emotions away. What had been doing? Oh, right. He'd been telling his father how much he liked his new room. "Thanks, Dad. I'm glad you did this for me."

Love flowed from his father into him. A bright, blazing emotion that overwhelmed everything else from his mind.

OMAKE TIME!

Omake: Hisashi Versus the Force (Hisashi Wins)

The Force: Gonna create a Chosen One to bring balance.

Hisashi: (Exists.)

The Force: AHHHHHHHH! Too much darkness! Okay, let's create a younger brother full of light so hopefully they'll balance each other out.

Hisashi: Cool, a free battery! I can use this to become even more powerful and rule the galaxy for all of eternity. Thanks for the gift, Dad.

The Force: (This is fine meme.)

#Kazuki has long suspected his Force abilities are so much weaker than his brother's because Hisashi permanently ate some of them during their childhood #He's right about that, by the way #Poor Kazuki never had a fair shot at being the light counterbalance to Hisashi's darkness #In some AUs, Izuku will succeed that role #But in this AU…the galaxy is screwed

#

Omake: Hisashi's First Plan

During the Clone Wars:

Hisashi: I want my younger brother to fall to the Dark Side with me, and the most effective trigger for Jedi is the death of a loved one. I've got it! I'll fake my own death!

Four months later:

Hisashi: Surprise! I'm back and still alive!

Kazuki: Yippee, I'll bid farewell to my brief period of freedom and privacy.

Hisashi: Hey. You don't look tormented by grief. Not even a little bit!

Kazuki: No, no, your strategy was working, you just didn't stay away long enough. How about you fake your death for a few years next time?

Much, much later:

Hisashi: I'm hurt that you'd turn to the Dark Side for Izuku but not me.

Kazuki: Izuku is much cuter than you.

Hisashi: I accept the veracity of your statement.

#Actually Kazuki does love his older brother #But I doubt he'd fall to the Dark Side for Hisashi, because he's had years to come to terms with their inevitable conflict and steel his resolve #Also, he totally knew all along that Hisashi was faking his death

#

Omake: Part of Kazuki's Mind is Permanently Screaming in Horror

Kazuki: Can I die? I preferred the AUs where I ended up dead.

Author: This Sith-induced Force bond also comes with total immortality. Not just the eternal youth version! The you-literally-can't-die-no-matter-how-your-body-is-destroyed version. Have fun for the rest of eternity.

Kazuki: Why do you hate me, Author-Chan?

Author: Nonsense, tormenting characters is how I express my love.

Kazuki: Sure, and you expect me to believe it had nothing to do with my brother bribing you to write this ending.

Author: How did you find out about…I mean, I don't know what you're talking about.

Kazuki: I feel like there's some favoritism going on here: the Yuuto version of the First gets happier fic endings than me. I'm just saying.

Author: Am I overdue to write a fate worse than death for him? Thanks for reminding me. I've added it to my to-do list.

#Hisashi's bribes included a truckload of chocolate and my life #We'll see how long my current truce with All for One lasts

#

Omake: All for One Versus Anakin, Round 3

Hisashi: See, it's not actually that hard to turn your son to the Dark Side. Not if you're a competent Sith, anyway. If you'd like to take notes, I can lend you a pencil.

Anakin: By the Force, you're annoying. This is probably why my son loves me so much he was willing to risk his life to save me from the Dark Side and your son just wants you dead.

Hisashi: …

Hisashi: You cut me deep there. Hit me right at my sore spot. I respect that! Maybe you're a better Sith than you first appear.

Anakin: Somehow, you got even more annoying.