A/N
Writing is so annoying sometimes. I can go a month without coming up with a single good idea to write down. Then I can just be sitting, minding my own business, then suddenly feel the urge to write the whole chapter in a couple of hours. And I don't even write long chapters. Props to the authors who can whip up better written, longer chapters than I can do, more often. Hopefully with summer quickly approaching, I can come up with a better schedule. As always, until next time!
…
Hisashi's eyes fluttered open as his body and brain slowly awakened from slumber. He released his wife from his hold and grabbed his phone with his right hand, using his left to shield his eyes from the brightness. At the sight of the phone screen reading "three forty-two", the grown man let out a sigh. If he wanted to make it to the bar by five, he'd have to get in his morning stretches, eat, shower, and brush his teeth in the span of about an hour. As he began pulling himself out of bed, his wife stirred from her sleep.
"Hisashi?" Inko groaned, rubbing the tiredness from her eyes. "What are you doing up at this hour? What time is it anyway?"
"Don't worry about it, honey," the husband responded. "A little work problem occurred that needs fixing. Sorry for waking you."
The green-haired man is a man of many talents. A long decade of crime gave him the golden opportunity to practice and perfect the ability to lie through his teeth. So there was no surprise when his wife simply yawned, rolled over, and went back to sleep.
Hisashi breathed a sigh of relief, grabbed his phone, then made his way to the kitchen, eager to satisfy the hunger he was feeling. After gathering the needed ingredients to prepare his breakfast, the husband quickly went to work, steaming rice and grilling fish. Twenty minutes later, he was sitting down at the dinner table to feast, but not before placing his wife's plate and covering it. While he dug into his meal, he pulled up the security feed from the bar, rewinding the video to the previous day.
Tomura, Himiko, and Izuku emerged from the portal. The pale villain had his hand tightly around Izuku's neck and the blonde villain sheathed her knife with a smile on her face. "You think you're so cool, huh? Showing up last second to save the day. I should turn you into dust right now!" Kurogiri tried to intervene, but he was quickly silenced by an enraged Tomura. There was more conversation, then Izuku was dragged out of view by Tomura, Mustard not far behind.
The father of the boy powered his phone down then placed his plate in the sink, seemingly lost in thought.
'Well there's no doubt about it now. Shigaraki is pissed. He's not dumb enough to kill Izuku, but he won't refrain from drawing blood.' Hisashi exhaled an annoyed sigh, releasing a light amount of smoke, then made his way to the bathroom, intent on completing his morning routine.
He spent around ten minutes brushing his teeth and taking a shower, and he took even less time getting dressed. He gave his sleeping wife a kiss on the forehead then departed from the apartment, quickly making his way to the bar.
He opened the door, and, like usual, he was greeted by Kurogiri, who was busy cleaning various dirty glasses. "Good morning, Hisashi. You're here early. I can't make you a meal as I am quite busy at the moment."
"I already ate, so it's fine." The green-haired man leaned on the bar counter and glanced around, amazed at the amount of glasses that needed cleaning.
"This isn't even all of what he left. I started cleaning an hour ago. I'm thankful for his usefulness to the League, but this could become a problem."
"By 'he', you mean Muscular, right?"
"How'd you guess?"
"I read his file. Anytime he was done tormenting and killing his victims, he would celebrate by going to the nearest bar and drinking until he passed out."
"Wow. Quite the researcher, aren't you?"
"You already know. Besides…even if I hadn't read his file, he strikes me as a drunk. Moonfish's preferred drink is blood, Dabi is the only member who looks like he takes a drink every now and then, and every other member probably hasn't even touched alcohol."
"Very observant, Hisashi," complimented the bartender. "It's good to know that your perception skills are as sharp as ever."
"Of course they are," responded the fire-breather. "If I stopped being useful for even a second, I wouldn't be standing here right now." The man let out an awkward chuckle and returned his hands to his jacket pockets. "Well, you know why I'm here. Where's Izuku?"
"Young Izuku is in his room."
"Thanks." Hisashi turned and started making his way up the steps. He stopped halfway and continued speaking to Kurogiri. "You know, despite having a face composed entirely of mist and a voice devoid of any and all emotion if needed, I can still read you, Kurogiri. I am well aware that your allegiance is to All For One, but remember that a lie of omission is still a lie. And it's not smart to lie to me." Finishing his sentence, he continued up the stairs, rounding the corner and reaching Izuku's room.
He raised his fist to knock on the door but stopped when he picked up a sound. He pressed his ear against the door, making out quiet mumbles that seemed to be pieces of a conversation. Curious about what was happening on the opposite side of the door, Hisashi pulled a small tool out of his pocket and slid it halfway under the door. He plugged his phone into the device and used his ear buds to listen to the conversation.
"I have absolutely no idea what's going on," Izuku spoke, supposedly discussing with himself. There was a short pause before he began talking again. "I've tried that, but it's not working. Usually I can do it as easy as breathing." Another pause. "You can see what he's thinking, so why don't you…hold on."
Footsteps slowly approached the door, alerting Hisashi to his discovery. He quickly pulled the device back and returned it to his pocket right before the door swung open, an angry Izuku glaring at his father.
"Did a man as smart as you suddenly lose the ability to knock?" The teen questioned. "How long have you been standing there eavesdropping anyway?"
"Long enough," the father stated, inviting himself in the room. He grabbed the chair available at Izuku's desk, spun it around, and sat down. "So…how long have you been talking to yourself? Word on the street is that it's not normal."
"You've got some nerve. Using your son as a god damn bargaining chip while working together with the Symbol of Evil. Then you have the gall to look me in my eyes and laugh about it. Does Mom even know?!"
"Of course not. And it's going to stay that way as long as I can help it."
"So that's where you draw the line, huh? Your wife is off-limits, but your son is up for grabs. You disgust me."
"It's easy for you to say that when you don't know the full story."
"Then enlighten me, father. Tell the tale that's somehow going to justify your actions."
The fire-breather leaned back in the chair, then let out a heavy sigh. "I guess it all started about a decade ago. The day you were diagnosed as quirkless…"
…
Hisashi sat on the couch, twiddling his thumbs. His wife and son would be home at any minute with Izuku's test results. He had been the only kid in his class to not develop a quirk yet, so the parents agreed on taking him to a doctor. At the sound of keys jingling in the lock, the husband shot up from the couch and sprinted to the front door. After opening the door, he was expecting his son to be jumping up and down at the discovery of his quirk. Instead, all he saw was his tearful wife holding on to the green-haired child's hand.
"Izuku?" the father called to his son. The man had expected a response, but his son simply walked by him in a robotic way and immediately headed towards his room. Hisashi then turned to his wife, a look of confusion crossing his face. "What happened, honey?"
The housewife wiped away a stray tear and walked over to the couch. Hisashi closed and locked the door then followed behind, sitting down next to her.
"It's not fair, Hisashi." the wife stated, further confusing the husband. "Our little Izuku doesn't deserve this!"
"Honey, tell me what's wrong. What happened at the doctor's?"
The wife leaned on her husband as tears spilled out of her eyes. "They did a full physical on Izuku, including x-rays. As they examined it, they noticed and called out the missing joint in his pinky toe."
Hisashi's eyes widened as he processed every word. Being in quirk study gave him a greater knowledge of quirks or lack thereof. So Inko didn't even need to explain it. "So he's…quirkless?"
Inko nodded into his chest, confirming his thoughts. She pulled back and wiped away the tears from her eyes. "I'm going to check up on Izuku. Hopefully there's something I can do to cheer him up."
"Good luck with that." The man stood up, grabbed his jacket, and headed towards the door. "I'm going out for a while to get some fresh air. I'll be back soon."
The husband closed the door behind him and began walking a very familiar path that he had taken many times before. It wasn't long before he arrived at the bar where he would drink his problems for the day away.
He opened the door and breathed in the atmosphere. Not too empty and not too crowded, just the way he liked it. He took his usual place at the bar counter and the bartender placed his usual drink down in front of him, a glass of artisanal cold sake. The green-haired man quickly swallowed the drink then placed the glass back down on the counter, signaling for a refill. This continued for ten minutes. He would swivel the glass around, seemingly examining the drink, then down it in one gulp. It would have continued if it weren't for the stranger who sat down next to him looking to strike up a conversation.
"You've been downing drinks like that for a while," the stranger spoke. "I wonder what events have transpired recently to make you feel like this is necessary."
Hisashi simply scoffed before responding. "Look, pal, I don't know if this is your first time in a bar, but people aren't looking to talk about their day. There's a reason we're drinking, you know?"
The stranger let out a very low chuckle. "Trust me, I'm very familiar with the crowd that a bar attracts. I own the place after all."
Hisashi looked over at the stranger and was completely taken aback by what he saw. A very tall, dangerous looking man with an industrial life-mask was seated next to him. Not to mention the strange pressure that he was now feeling after looking at the man's face, or lack thereof. Before he could apologize for staring, the stranger spoke.
"Don't worry about it. If I got offended every time someone gazed at me, I wouldn't survive this world." Hisashi simply nodded before downing another drink. A short, awkward silence fell between the two before the stranger broke it. "So tell me, Hisashi, what's going on with you."
The quirk studier coughed up part of his drink. He slammed his glass down on the counter and glared at the taller man. "How the hell do you know my name?!"
The stranger let out another low chuckle before raising his hands in the air. "Now, now, I assure you there is no reason to get aggressive. Please, let me explain myself." Hisashi slightly relaxed but didn't drop his guard. "You see, being a bar owner is just a side job. I actually work for the Japanese government on a very high level of quirk study. It mainly involves experimenting with the transferral of quirks."
"Not only does that sound confidential, but it still doesn't explain how you know my name."
"It's quite simple. Your reputation as a dedicated, hard worker actually precedes you. The reason why I know your name is because I'm looking to hire you to work under me. I could use a scientist looking to move up in the world to further my studies."
"Wow…I…don't know what to say. I've been searching for an opportunity like this for a while. I've always felt that I'm not truly appreciated at my current place of employment."
"It's good to know that you're showing interest. Here." The unknown person pulled a business card out of their pocket and handed it to Hisashi. It had two numbers and the name of a company. "Think more about this when you're sober, but don't take too long." With that, the man stood up from the stool and exited from the room.
Hisashi stared at the card in his hand. He finished one last drink then shoved the card in his right pocket. He slapped down a sufficient amount of money on the bar counter, bid the bartender farewell, then departed from the bar.
He quickly arrived back home after a short trip. His wife greeted him at the door as he removed his coat.
"I did my best trying to calm down Izuku," Inko spoke. "He eventually stopped crying, so I was able to put him to sleep. How was your walk?"
"It's given me a lot to think about," Hisashi responded. "Right now, I need a good night's sleep before putting anymore thought into it."
"Into what?"
"I'll tell you in the morning. Goodnight." After leaving a quick peck on his wife's forehead, the husband made his way to the bedroom and found his way in the bed. It wasn't long until slumber took over.
…
Hisashi's eyelids slowly opened as the sunlight from the open blinds shined through. He sat up and checked the clock on his nightstand, the device reading 'nine forty-two'. He had slept in later than usual, but it was acceptable on the weekend. The light drinking certainly didn't help either.
The man lifted himself out of bed and walked to the bathroom, brushing his teeth and washing his face. After that, he made his way to the living room, spotting his wife and son on the couch, the latter watching early morning cartoons and the former sipping on coffee.
"Mornin', you two," the husband and father called out. The two turned to look in his direction and greeted him the way they usually do. They both got off the couch and came over to hug the man. Inko gave him a quick kiss and Izuku hugged his leg.
"Your breakfast is on the table, honey," Inko told her husband, pointing to his spot at the table. "It hasn't been long since Izuku and I finished, so yours should still be warm."
"Thanks." The husband sat down and quickly finished his breakfast. He heated up his cup of coffee and gulped it down as well. He then took his place at the couch next to his son.
"Wow. I've never seen you gobble down your breakfast like that. You weren't called in for work, were you?"
"No, I don't have to go in today. But I wanted to talk to you about something, and it has something to do with my work."
"Oh, ok. I hope it's nothing bad." She didn't want to risk her son hearing anything that could further upset him, so she increased the TV volume to keep his attention. She then shifted her body so that she was fully facing her husband. "What's going on?"
"Don't worry, it's nothing bad." Hisashi excitedly pulled a card out of his pocket and handed it to his wife. "When I was, err, walking last night, I ran into someone who was looking for me. It turns out that my hard work ethic caused me to stand out among my peers."
"Meaning?"
"The opportunity that I've been looking for has finally shown itself! I was offered another job by a government worker that involves a higher level of quirk study! I plan on calling later today to get the specifics of the job!"
"Hisashi, this is amazing!" The husband and wife embraced each other out of joy. "This is what we've always talked about! You moving up in the world!"
"I know, right? At one time, I was more than content with staying where I'm at now. Now that the chance of advancing is right in my palms, I can't help but get excited!"
The happy couple was getting louder than they meant to. So it wasn't a surprise when they picked up the attention of little Izuku, who had tilted his head in curiosity.
"Mommy, Daddy?" The child called to his parents. "What's going on?"
The mother scooped her child off the ground and spun with him in the air. "Everything's ok, Izuku. Your papa and I just had a very exciting conversation." Hisashi grabbed the card off the couch, took his phone out his pocket, and left the room with a wide smile on his face.
"An exciting conversation? About what?!"
The housewife chuckled in amusement at the curiosity of her child. "Nothing you need to worry your adorable, little head about. Now finish watching your show before it ends."
The young Izuku spun around in his mother's lap and his attention instantly returned to his show. The two sat and watched the cartoon until the ending theme began playing and the credits started rolling. Right as the pair stood up, Hisashi walked back into the room, his head hanging low with a despondent look on his face. Before the wife could begin to question him, the man spoke.
"The job," he started, "is almost too good to be true. Not only would I be getting paid four times as much as I am now, I would also have the freedom to experiment with whatever they have available when I want to. The only requirements would be staying in the company building and completing whatever they assign me before doing so."
"So why the long face, honey?" The wife questioned, eager to find the reasoning behind her husband's depressed attitude.
"Given the nature of the job, mainly the freedom of experimentation and high pay…it would require an overseas move to North America, The United States to be more specific."
There was a pause in the conversation as Inko slowly absorbed and contemplated the information she had received. She then met her husband's eyes with a look of disbelief.
"Hisashi, that's a big step. I mean, if we were to just pack up now, we'd have to pull Izuku out of school. I don't think he or I am ready to leave everything behind!"
"I understand what you're saying, but isn't that for the best? We'd be getting a nice change of scene with an improved income at the same time. The pros far outweigh the cons!"
"What about the Bakugo's? We're such great friends with them. Not only that, but Izuku and Katsuki play together all the time. We wouldn't be able to visit them whenever we want to like we can now. I don't want that for Izuku!"
Hisashi pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a sigh of annoyance. "If we move, it's not like we'll never see them again. Besides, it not like we're leaving much behind. We don't get visits from our family anyway, and we can always come back and spend the holidays with the Bakugo's. Please try to see this from my side. I've always wanted this!"
Inko scoffed in disgust. Something the nice housewife never did. "That's what this is about? Something YOU'VE always wanted! Well you can have it." Inko walked over to Izuku, picked him up, and began walking his room. "Izuku and I aren't leaving!"
…
"Things only went downhill from there," Hisashi narrated to his son. "I was too stubborn to cave in and your mother was dead set on you two staying put. So instead of enjoying each other's company before I had to leave, we barely spoke to one another. Hell, I didn't even get so much as a goodbye kiss."
"I remember the days following your departure," Izuku commented, leaning up against the wall. "Mom tried so hard to be strong and hide her pain, but she was falling apart inside. You two had always had a strong relationship that was built on trust and communication, so she wasn't used to having you absent in the house. It didn't exactly help that I started getting bullied soon after."
"I know that. And I'm sorry."
"You're sorry?!" Something clicked inside Izuku and he momentarily gained control. "Sorry doesn't do a lot of good, father! I dealt with the nonstop bullying and harassment from my so-called 'classmates'! I needed you more than ever and you weren't even here! Mom needed you more than ever! Could you not hear the pain in her voice every time you two talked?! Why couldn't you put your family first and just come back home?!"
"BECAUSE I COULDN'T!" Hisashi shot up from his seat, staring his son straight in the eyes. "Do you actually think I was always like this?! It took me less than a week to find out the company I was working for wasn't legitimate! The first thing I did after that was call All For One and set up a meeting to confront him!"
"And?! What did he do to make sure you kept working for him?! Sweeten the deal?!"
"No, God almighty!" The man clenched his fists in anger. "It was a masked threat. He told me that I was more than welcome to stop working for him. He would even fly me back home and my life would return back to normal. An obvious lie. Anyone with an above double-digit IQ could tell he was intimidating me."
"So what did you do then? It's obvious that All For One doesn't forgive or forget."
"I told him that I didn't mind working for him, despite the fact that my work was being used for evil. I just asked for transparency in the future so that I could work my best with no surprises. And to answer your earlier question. Yes. He did sweeten the deal."
"Great. Just when I thought you had noble intentions, you proved me wrong. So tell me. What did the Mad-Titan offer you?"
"The opportunity to change your quirkless state." Izuku's eyes widened at the sentence as Hisashi continued. "It wasn't hard for him to find out about it. I later learned that he does a full background check on everyone employed by him. The more bargaining chips for him to use, the better. The fact that my work related directly to the transferral of quirks made it even easier for him to use you as bait."
"I don't understand," Izuku muttered. "If you were able to invent a way to transfer quirks, why did he use his quirk to do it? It shouldn't be necessary."
"It's pretty straightforward," responded the grown man. "Not only is it more convenient for him, there can be side effects for using it on quirkless people. Because your bodies aren't built to handle quirks, using my method of quirk transferral can cause a loss in sanity, similar to the effects of receiving too many quirks from the traditional way from All For One. And the last thing any of us want is for you to turn into a Nomu."
"Pfft. Yeah right. If you actually gave a damn about me, you would've gotten out the moment you had a chance. Newsflash! All For One is in jail. You can do the right thing and get both of us out of here."
"I wish it were that easy. His influence goes a long way, you know." Hisashi walked towards the door, signaling the end of the conversation. "I've done a lot of despicable things in my life, you of all people should know that. But I've only had the best intentions for my family. And that will never change."
"ARE YOU…" Izuku tried to speak but was interrupted by a piercing pain. He leaned forward and held his head.
"Is everything ok?" The father questioned his son.
"I'm...fine."
"Ok then. Come downstairs. I've got an announcement for the League, and that includes you."
"Yeah, yeah, I'll be down in a minute." The father left, shutting the door behind him. Izuku was once again 'alone' with his thoughts. "What in the world was that? How were you able to gain control?"
'I don't exactly know,' Izuku responded to himself. 'One minute you were in control, the next minute, I was.'
"Strange. Do you remember any specific feelings before or during the shift?"
'Kind of. When he mentioned how sorry he was, all I could feel was intense anger and hatred towards him. That's when I regained control.'
"Interesting. So it's like when we first met but reversing our roles. I now have primary control, and the only way I can give it up to you is by losing consciousness or feeling strong emotions. At least that's what I think."
'Sounds right to me. As of now, that's all we have to go off. We can brainstorm later. Right now, we need to get downstairs.'
"Uh, don't remind me. Let's get this over with."
The teen made his way downstairs, joining the rest of the League in the main room. Noticing the presence of the last member, Hisashi addressed the room.
"Good, you're all here," the fire-breather addressed the room. "Let's get down to business."
"You better have a damn good reason for waking me up so early," Tomura snarled. "If you don't, I'll turn you to dust."
"Oh, I assure you this is a damn good reason. With All For One currently incapacitated in Tartarus, I have taken over as temporary leader of the League. Originally he wanted the League to expand its horizons."
"So?"
"He wanted us to become even bigger, better even! So I've figured out how we're going to do that. I planned a meeting later today with another organized group. One that has evaded the law for years and has plans of expansion."
"You're starting to piss me off. Cut to the chase already."
Hisashi breathed a sigh of annoyance. "Fine, ruin the suspense, why don't ya'? Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a meeting with the Yakuza."