Chapter Ten:

The atmosphere in Class 1-A was horrible.

Aizawa stood before the blackboard, desperately trying to carry on as if everything was normal. "Historians debate the identity of the first vigilante in Japan. This is complicated by the fact that not all early vigilantes had quirks. Although we in modern times define a vigilante by illegal use of a quirk, in the past a vigilante was anyone who intervened to carry out justice—or what they believed to be justice—outside of the law."

Normally, a lecture on such an interesting topic would have already produced several questions. But the class sat in silence. Many of the students looked all around the room—anywhere except at Katsuki Bakugo, who sat in the corner and stared out the window as if shunning the class.

It might be more accurate to say the class was shunning him. Or was split on the topic, at least. In the hallway earlier that day, Izuku had overheard a loud argument between Tenya, Ochaco, Denki, and Hanta.

First Denki had claimed that since Izuku and Katsuki were friends now, everyone needed to put the past behind them. Ochaco had screamed that the TV interview had obviously been a lie and accused him of trying to brush all the bullying under the rug. Then Hanta had retorted that Izuku had clearly posted that video himself and then pretended to be a good guy jumping in to rescue Katsuki afterward like a total slimeball.

Izuku was just relieved that someone had finally said out loud what half the school was thinking. Shinsou had come up to him after the Sports Festival to apologize for making assumptions about him, and it had been obvious that A) He thought Izuku had arranged the broadcast; and B) He thought it was awesome. Izuku had tried to stay away from the news lately but he kept receiving unsolicited emails from strangers congratulating him and apparently he'd won an online award for best revenge.

Both Ochaco and Tenya had reacted to the accusation by jumping on Hanta and trying to use his own tape to seal his mouth shut. Denki had leapt to his friend's defense and it had nearly turned into a schoolwide brawl before Izuku had begged everyone to stop. Tenya had called Katsuki several bad words, then afterward gone to Aizawa to try to resign as class president because he claimed he could no longer treat all his classmates impartially.

Fortunately, Aizawa had turned down his resignation. Izuku had tried to repair the class atmosphere by asking Tenya and Ochaco to let it go, but this only seemed to make both of them even angrier on his behalf. In all honesty, he felt gratified that they cared so much. A part of him had expected all his fellow students to treat the bullying with indifference like back in middle school. But now, he had true friends.

The classroom desks had been reordered without the teacher's permission. Denki and Hanta sat next to Katsuki now, casting glares at Tenya and Ochaco, who both glared back.

Notably, Kirishima sat on the opposite side of the room from Katsuki. Since the video at the Sports Festival, Kirishima hadn't spoken to Katsuki even once. He'd treated his one-time rival and buddy like empty air. At lunch, Mina had flitted between the table with Katsuki and the table with Kirishima with an increasingly anxious expression on her face.

Aizawa cleared his throat. "I'd like have a debate. Who believes that vigilantes can be people who don't use quirks?"

Izuku raised his hand. No one else did.

With a hint of desperation, Aizawa asked. "Who believes that someone must use a quirk to qualify as a vigilante?"

No one raised their hand, because no one was listening. Ochaco was building what looked suspiciously like a catapult on her desk. It was aimed at Katsuki.

"Maybe you shouldn't kick him while he's down," Mina hissed, flicking acid at the catapult made of pens and rubber bands.

"As if he suffered any consequences at all for what he did?" Ochaco snarled. "Because Izuku is too kind, he got off—"

Denki leapt to his feet. "Now you're the one acting like a bully!"

Tsuyu said, "Hey, you have no right to say that! None at all! Your boy can set Izuku on fire, but he can't handle having a rubber band thrown at him?"

"Class?" Aizawa raised his voice.

Izuku opened his mouth to say something to calm the situation. Then he caught Katsuki glaring at him. The burning resentment in Kacchan's eyes made him recoil.

Tears stung Izuku's eyes, but more from anger than hurt. He'd done everything the teachers had told him to do, and he still got bitterness in return from the person whose ass he'd saved. Probably because Katsuki couldn't stand to be beholden to anyone else, and especially not Izuku. It wasn't fair! There had never been a way Izuku could win in this situation to begin with.

Shouto poked Izuku in the back with a pencil. "It appears that a large-scale war between you and Katsuki will shortly commence. I would like to join your side."

Izuku cleared his throat. "Uh, I appreciate the sentiment, but we're not going to fight."

"Are you sure?" Shouto asked.

A sour smile crossed Izuku's lips. "Maybe you're right. I don't know." At this rate, he wished he had dragged Katsuki behind the school and got in a pummeling match with him. It would have certainly been a lot better than this.

Aizawa shouted, "Class! It's time to pick your hero names."

The distraction worked. The class settled down. Everyone started writing a name, except Katsuki, who kept staring out the window.

When it was his turn, Izuku held up this paper. "I'd like to be Deku, the Can-do Hero."

Katsuki leapt to his feet and screamed, "You're mocking me! I knew you hated me!"

"Not everything is about you!" Izuku screamed back. "For me, Deku means I can do it! I'm reclaiming the name!"

"Do you think I want to hear everyone calling you that?"

"Fine, have it your way! I'll pick a different hero name! I guess I have to do whatever you want because you're so delicate!"

"Who are you calling delicate?" Katsuki screamed.

"You! Your precious ego can't stand anyone helping you. Or is it just me, because you think I'm inferior to you? I'm sorry you got humiliated at the Sports Festival! There, I said it! But I bet you can't bring yourself to apologize to me in return. I don't even know why I care! Maybe I shouldn't!"

Tears streamed down Izuku's cheeks. He could no longer talk because he was sobbing too hard. He turned and fled the classroom.

Behind him came a spray of ice so large the spikes shot out the door. Aizawa shouted, "No, Todoroki, no freezing Bakugo!"

Izuku took off his shoes at the doorway. It still gave him a thrill of excitement to be allowed to visit Might Tower anytime. In his wildest dreams, his fanboy childhood self could have never imagined this honor.

Yoichi ran forward and hugged him. "Izuku! I'm so happy to see you. You'll play with me, right? Toshinori and Hisashi are all caught up in their stupid game."

"Sure. Maybe you can help me think of a new hero name."

"I'd be honored." Yoichi beamed.

"What is All Might doing with Hisashi?" Izuku belatedly asked. "Did I come at a bad time?"

Yoichi sighed. "You could hardly have picked a better time since they've been at it all day. Here, I'll show you."

Tugging on his arm, Yoichi led Izuku to the dining room. Both All Might and Hisashi sat at the table. A notebook was propped up on the stand in front of them.

All Might flipped the page. He read, "Scenario ten: imagine that you're trapped in a burning building with a baby and the Mona Lisa. You only have time to carry one of them to safety. Which do you pick?"

Hisashi bounced in his seat. "Easy! The Mona Lisa was last valued at a hundred million dollars. Humans aren't worth anything since it's not legal to buy or sell them."

Patiently, All Might said, "Stop and think about your answer carefully. Is money the most important consideration here?"

Hisashi tapped his chin. "I think…what you're saying…is that I wouldn't get to own the Mona Lisa even if I saved it. But baby's parents might give me a reward. I pick the baby!"

"That's the correct choice." All Might handed him a miniature candy bar. "Good job."

"Yes!" Hisashi pocked the candy bar. He already had several wrappers sitting on the table. "Eight for ten now!"

"Hey! Why did he get rewarded for that answer?" Yoichi shrieked. "He still picked the option that would make him the most money! It's clearly the right choice for the wrong reasons!"

All Might frowned. "Yoichi, I already told you, this is a no-criticism zone so your brother feels safe revealing true feelings. If you can't keep silent, then you need to leave."

Yoichi pouted. "Fine. I'm going to help Izuku come up with his hero name. We'll have loads of fun without you two."

Hisashi pushed back his chair and stood up. "Wait, I need to talk to Izuku."

All Might scratched his neck. "Actually, I also wanted a word with young Midoriya alone."

Izuku flushed and chuckled awkwardly. "Uh, I guess I'm popular today?"

Hisashi waved his hand in the air. "How many more questions do I need to answer to get a white tiger?"

All Might fixed him with a stern look. "I already told you, no tigers. They're an endangered species and you'd get yourself eaten. But I'm open to a pet after another test." He handed Hisashi a potted germanium. "If you can keep this alive for a month, then I'll take you to the shelter to pick out a regular cat."

Hisashi eyed the pot. "But I don't want this thing."

"There will be times when you get tired of looking after a pet too, so you need to prove that you're responsible enough to carry out your chores anyway."

"I suppose I can handle such a plebian task." Hisashi sighed.

All Might stood up. "Let me speak to young Midoriya first, then I'll leave you kids to play together."

Izuku followed All Might into his office. Another cool place to visit! His eyes darted around, cataloguing the pictures on the wall and the merchandise for the hero Float, who All Might must be a big fan of. From the papers spread across All Might's desk and poking from drawers, he was also messy.

Curious, Izuku asked, "It seems like you're trying to handle Hisashi's therapy yourself?" He wanted to ask if it wouldn't be better for a professional to step in, but criticizing All Might was unthinkable.

All Might answered the unspoken question. "I sent him to a child psychologist who came highly recommended. After a few sessions, she took me aside and said she believed that Hisashi must have lied about arranging the video incident because he was far too kind-hearted a child to do such a thing. She didn't see the point in any further sessions since he was a perfectly normal and healthy child, but she felt grateful that he'd helped her with her marital problems."

Izuku winced. "I've doubt how good her credentials were if she couldn't tell he's showing early signs of an antisocial personality disorder."

"Ah. You've noticed?"

"It's pretty obvious."

"It's obvious if Hisashi trusts you enough to reveal his real thoughts. He's good at hiding it when he wants to." All Might rubbed his neck. "Please keep it a secret. There's a lot of stigma around the term 'sociopath' and I don't want Hisashi to face that."

But there was no judgement in All Might's tone. Nothing but concern for Hisashi. Not for the first time, Izuku knew he'd picked the right person as his favorite hero.

All Might continued, "Therapy can't help Hisashi unless he's willing to be open and honest. But he'll only show his real self to people he trusts. So I realized I would need to take over myself. I've been reading a lot of books about how to teach empathy."

"That's how you came up with those exercises?"

"Yes. I'm starting out by guiding him towards the correct choice, no matter what reason he picks. We'll work on teaching him why to make the ethical choice later. The books recommended loads of rewards and positive reinforcement."

Izuku hesitated, then admitted, "I read that it's impossible to teach empathy to a sociopath."

"Some sources say that. Others say that with good parenting, those born on the antisocial personality disorder spectrum are indistinguishable from everyone else so we don't even notice them. It's an area with a critical lack of good research. Psychologists can't even agree if sociopaths are born or made. But I firmly believe that no one is ever born evil. Hisashi is a boy with many good points, and it's my responsibility as his parent to help him flourish and become the best version of himself."

Izuku smiled. "You're amazing, All Might. I think you're the perfect person to help out Hisashi. No wonder he respects you enough to be truthful with you."

All Might flushed. "Oh, ah, thank you!"

"What did you want to talk to me about? I assume it wasn't Hisashi's therapy."

"I wanted to run a hypothetical dilemma by you."

"Like the exercises you did with Hisashi?"

"Something like that." An odd intensity filled All Might's blue eyes. "If you had to choose between giving up One for All or the life of an innocent child, which would you pick?"

"I'd save the child," Izuku said without hesitation.

"Are you sure? Couldn't you save many more lives than one as long as you had your quirk?"

"As soon as I decided to sacrifice an innocent for myself, I'd stop being a hero."

"What if a villain got his hands on One for All? That would be a disaster."

"Then I'd fight to take the quirk back. But I could never just let a child die." Izuku started to feel nervous. "Was that the right answer?"

"I didn't intend the question as a test. I was trying to figure something out." All Might smiled. "Yes, that was the right answer. I'm glad I picked you as my successor."

Izuku's eyes narrowed. "You asked me that for a reason. Why?"

"I suppose you have the right to know. This concerns you, as well." All Might mopped a hand down his face. "My former sidekick, Sir Nighteye, saw a prophecy of the future."

He started telling his story.

FLASHBACK TIME:

As soon as he was inside the privacy and security of his office, Toshinori dialed Sir Nighteye.

His former sidekick answered on the first ring. "You saw my message?"

"Yes." Toshinori closed, then opened his eyes. As a matter of professional courtesy, he'd informed Sir Nighteye back when he'd first learned All for One was still alive and also mentioned the boys the villain had been interested in, so there was no need to rehash old details. "What exactly did you see? Wait, how did you have a vision at all? You haven't touched me recently and I don't know when you'd have touched Hisashi."

"This is an extremely unusual situation. I didn't see a new vision—I saw my old vision of your future change."

"That…can happen?"

"It's never happened before. I would have believed it to be impossible." An uncharacteristic tremble entered Sir Nighteye's voice. "In a dream, I saw not just one vision, but two of them. A divergence into two possible futures for you. In the first dream, shortly after the end of U.A.'s first semester, you gave Hisashi up into the care of the Hero Public Safety Commission."

"I what? That doesn't sound like me. Even if I couldn't take care of him myself for some reason, surely I could find a better guardian." Very few people had the power to protect someone from All for One, hence why Toshinori had taken over custody of the brothers himself. But he wouldn't have handed Hisashi over to the Commission even as a last resort. He wouldn't have given them a stray dog he found on the streets, much less a child he loved. "Don't you mean I gave up both Hisashi and Yoichi?"

"The younger boy stayed with you."

"I separated the brothers? That definitely doesn't sound like me." Toshinori could never imagine doing something so cruel to the brothers, who were so deeply attached to each other. "I can't imagine that Yoichi would agree either. He'd probably run away from home to find his big brother. Are you sure this wasn't just a nightmare after you ate some bad fish, Mirai?"

"I'm positive." The tension and even fear in Sir Nighteye's voice forbade any more joking. "I don't know how to explain it to you, but in my dream, I instinctively knew that I was watching the future diverge into two possibilities. After Hisashi left, you lived, Toshinori. I passed the point where I foresaw your death and nothing happened to you. You were safe! I was so relieved." His voice shook so badly he could barely speak. "Then I watched time rewind. A second possible future."

"Not a good one, I take it."

"This time, I saw you raising Hisashi and Yoichi together as your sons. Then the vision showed Hisashi and All for One standing in your dining room over the fallen body of Izuku Midoriya. There was a lump of shadows on the floor as well. An ugly mass of darkness moving as if it was alive. Hisashi took One for All from your successor. Then he gave your quirk to All for One."

Toshinori's head spun. He couldn't imagine being the one who failed the legacy of One for All. He'd never be able to face Nana's grave. Then his confusion caught up with him. "How would Hisashi have gotten One for All from Izuku to begin with since the quirk can only be transferred willingly? Wait, don't you get visions from the eyes of the person whose future you're seeing? How would you have seen this unless I was there?"

"You were there. I think perhaps All for One had attacked you, because you were barely conscious. Hisashi whispered something to Izuku, but of course I couldn't hear what he said."

"I'm certain All for One must have forced Hisashi." Toshinori's voice became stronger. "Probably by threatening a hostage. Maybe he used the same means to force Izuku to cooperate."

"I don't think so," Sir Nighteye said flatly. "When Hisashi stood up, I had a chance to read his lips. Hisashi thanked All for One before giving him One for All. He thanked the villain for the privilege of betraying you. I saw the green light crackling around All for One and his triumphant smile. His face had been healed, somehow. With One for All, he would become invincible. The power radiating off him gave me chills. It threw me forward in time. Then the future got even worse."

"Worse?" Toshinori shouted.

"Just days afterward, you died. I couldn't tell how. Your whole world went abruptly dark—I think you died in your sleep, though I have serious doubts about it being natural causes."

Toshinori slumped down in his chair. It took him a moment to speak. "Please don't blame Hisashi for any of this. All for One is a master manipulator. I have no idea why All for One is currently hunting Hisashi or what happened in your dream, but none if it is the poor child's fault."

"I'm more than happy to blame everything on the decrepit old bastard," Sir Nighteye said. "However, I'm absolutely certain that the difference between those two futures was whether you adopted Hisashi or not. My quirk told me so."

"Why did All for One need Hisashi to get One for All?" Toshinori muttered. "Is it connected to why he's chasing after the poor boy? But no, All for One wants to kill Hisashi—he would be trying to take him alive if he knew about this."

"Perhaps your successor gave up One for All willingly. You picked the wrong person." Sir Nighteye's voice regained a bit of strength. "If you'd look at Mirio—"

"Stop it, or I'm ending this conversation," Toshinori warned. He mustered the patience to add, "Young Midoriya has done nothing to deserve this criticism. You said yourself that your vision hinges on whether I give up custody of Hisashi, so whatever happens to One for All, I'll be the one responsible."

"Or I'll be responsible for not giving you better information," Sir Nighteye said. "I've never had a vision so unclear, with chunks clearly missing. Nor have I been able to get a more detailed vision of the events surrounding the two possible futures, no matter how many times I tried."

Toshinori closed his eyes and tried to think. His own death barely factored into his calculations. Dying didn't scare him. He'd had years to come to terms with his predicted death. He was more afraid of causing someone close to him to be in danger. He was much more scared of failing the legacy of One for All.

If Sir Nighteye's vision could be believed, then as long as Hisashi stayed with Toshinori, he would later fall prey to All for One's manipulations. Yoichi might be at risk as well, because what if All for One had controlled Hisashi by taking his younger brother hostage?

It broke Toshinori's heart to think of losing his two boys, but if it was the only way to keep them safe, then he'd do whatever he had to. The future where Toshinori gave up Hisashi was clearly the happy ending, with everyone alive and One for All safe.

Toshinori said, "I can't allow an innocent child to become involved in my battle with All for One. I'll find another guardian for the Shigaraki brothers. Both of them together, of course, I'm certainly not separating them. And I'd never send them to the Hero Public Safety Commission. I'll ask David Shield if he can look after them. I-Island is one of the safest places in the world."

Sir Nighteye's voice was so soft as to be almost indecipherable. "There was one more aspect to my vision. In the timeline where you give Hisashi up, All for One murdered the boy."

"Oh," Toshinori said faintly. This changed everything. "But he's alive in the timeline where I adopt him?"

"Yes. He lived at least longer than you did."

"Thank you for telling me, Mirai. I never would have forgiven you if you hadn't." Toshinori's calculations shifted rapidly. He would be willing to die to keep One for All out of All for One's hands, but he wasn't willing to have his own child pay that price instead. Nor would any of the previous One for All holders ever want him to. "What happened to Yoichi and young Midoriya?"

"I didn't see anything concerning their fates in either vision. I can't say if means they're safe or not."

Toshinori squeezed his eyes shut. He was embarrassingly close to tears. He hadn't cried since his last battle with All for One, when he'd believed he'd avenged his master and laid his burden to rest. To lose One for All remained unthinkable. Yet he could make no other choice except to save Hisashi. "If it's the only way to save Hisashi's life, then I must keep him by my side."

"I thought that was what you'd say."

Quietly, Toshinori said, "Thank you for not trying to talk me out of it."

"I don't want to sacrifice the life of an innocent child either," Sir Nighteye said. "But you're my friend, so I want you to stay alive. As you should know, since we fell out over it."

Toshinori cleared his throat. "Thank you for giving me the full truth. I'm going to try to change that future. With your warning, I'll keep All for One far away from Hisashi."

Sir Nighteye growled, "You're always such an optimist! I've explained to you that my visions of the future can't be changed. You realized that if you send Hisashi to a different guardian, All for One will still kill him in a different way. Then you should also know that if you keep him from meeting All for One once, they'll still encounter each other another time. It's predestined."

"Please, Mirai, I don't want to restart that old argument. I'm sorry I brought it up." Toshinori released a small sigh. "But you've never had a vision of the future change before. Since your original prediction of my death in battle transformed into me dying in my sleep, surely the future can change again."

"At this point…I can't say it's impossible."

Toshinori said, "I've missed you. Would you like to come over for dinner? You could meet Hisashi, so he'd be more than a statistic to you. Then you'd understand why I want to save him so much. I'll introduce you to Yoichi, too."

Slowly, Sir Nighteye said, "I'd like to use my quirk on Hisashi in case I can learn anything more."

"That's the spirit! We'd be happy to host you."

As soon as he'd finished making arrangements with Sir Nighteye, Toshinori headed inside.

Hisashi sat on the couch, reading a book.

A wave of protectiveness swamped Toshinori. He knelt down and hugged the boy. "You're going to be okay. I won't let anything happen to you. I promise. I swear it on my name as a hero." Tears streamed down his cheeks.

"Hey! What's going on?" Hisashi poked him.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have hugged you out of nowhere." Toshinori started to pull back.

"It's okay. If you're so upset, I can comfort you," Hisashi said magnanimously. He patted the hero's scrawny back. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

The young boy must already be under so much stress from having a villain trying to kill him. Toshinori didn't want to add to his anxieties. It wasn't as if he could explain One for All either—the quirk was supposed to be on a need to know basis. "It's nothing. I just suddenly felt worried."

"You're a very immature adult." Hisashi rolled his eyes. "You're lucky that you have me around to look after you."

Toshinori chuckled and mopped away his tears. "Yes, you're such a good kid."

"You're lucky to have me, Toshi." Hisashi agreed. To Toshinori's surprise, the boy kissed his cheek. It was the first such gesture and the first time he'd used the affectionate nickname.

Toshinori wondered if someday he might hope to be called "Dad." They were probably still a long ways off from that, but it would make him the happiest man alive.

PRESENT DAY:

Izuku cleared his throat. "Excuse me? Sir Nighteye predicted that you'd die? You've known this for years?"

All Might chuckled ruefully. "Oh, yes, I never told you about that, did I?"

"You certainly didn't!" A mixture of fear and anxiety filled Izuku. "I-I don't think I'm ready to become the Symbol of Peace, but I'll try, so you could retire."

All Might patted him on the shoulder. "Don't place that burden on yourself. As long as I have the slightest strength to help people, I will keep being a hero. I've already made up my mind. Besides, uh, Sir Nighteye's vision of my death changed, so I'm sure I'll be fine."

Izuku didn't like the way All Might's eyes turned shifty as he said this. He had a strong feeling he was being lied to. "To be clear: you're saying that Sir Nighteye predicted you'd live now? In both visions?"

"He didn't see anything about my death," All Might claimed.

Izuku wasn't buying it. All Might probably just didn't want to worry him. Izuku gnawed on his lip. "If I gave up One for All in the vision, then I failed you. I'm so sorry!"

"No. It's not like that." All Might knelt down to meet his eyes. "We have no idea what happened in the vision. According to the records left by past users, All for One has tried various tricks to circumvent the conditions of taking One for All."

"Oh, dear, that would be even worse."

"Even if you had to give up One for All to because of a threat to hostages, then I would never blame you. I'd only blame myself for failing to protect you. Don't beat yourself up when you may have had a perfectly good reason—and when those events may never come to pass."

Izuku shook his head. "Visions of the future seem rather useless."

All Might laughed. "I won't tell Sir Nighteye that you said that, he already disapproves—never mind. That's not your problem. None of this should be your problem. Maybe I shouldn't have told you."

"I like to have full information," Izuku said. Vision or not, he had no intention of giving up One for All, the quirk he'd been longing for all his life. He also had no intention of letting his mentor die. The supposedly unchangeable future had yet to meet the will and determination of a hero fanboy. "I'm going to make you proud."

"I already am." All Might clapped him on the back. "You should go speak to Hisashi. He's been working up his nerve to say what he needs to say to you."

Once they were alone in the living room, Hisashi bit his lip, put his hands behind his back, met Izuku's eyes, and said, "I'm sorry."

There was no trace of reluctance or attempt to make excuses. It was a sincere apology. Izuku said, "Thank you." He was still too upset to say that all was forgiven, but he did appreciate it.

Hisashi said, "Yoichi said I should try to make up for what I did to you. What can I do to make this right?"

Izuku winced. "Unless you have a time machine or a device that erases memories, I don't think you can do anything about the bad atmosphere in my class."

"Let me take a shot. As you've seen, I'm pretty skilled at manipulation." Hisashi's tone was rueful. "What's your goal here? Do you want everything to go back to normal? Do you want your class to forgive your old bully? Do you want to become friends with him? Do you want him slavishly grateful and kissing your ass? Give me something to work with here."

Izuku admitted, "I don't know." He thought for a moment. Making the entire class normal again felt like sweeping everything under the rug. He could ask Hisashi to help repair Katsuki and Kirishima's friendship, but that would feel like trying to manipulate Kirishima. Izuku felt uncertain about many things, including if he wanted to be friends with Katsuki again.

After a moment, Izuku said, "I'd like the infighting among Class 1-A to stop. We don't all have to be friends, but the constant conflict is interfering with our studies."

Hisashi nodded. "I can give you some tips. It will all become much easier once you become class leader. Then you'll be able to control the situation."

Izuku said, "I'd like to become friends with Katsuki again if he apologizes. But it needs to be a real apology. It wouldn't count if you manipulated it out of him. It's probably a whole lot less likely that he'll ever apologize now that you've stung his pride—but that's his problem. Just leave him alone."

Hisashi raised an eyebrow. "I thought you'd ask me to turn the gloomy boy back to his usual explosive self."

"Sorry, but I'm not quite that nice." Izuku shrugged. "I didn't want Katsuki's hero career to be destroyed or for him to be trashed on the internet. So I did what I had to do in order to make that stop. Whenever Katsuki needs me, I'll never stop helping him. But he needs to face the reality of his bullying on his own. If he wants to be a hero, then it may be good for him to take a hard look at his past actions."

Hisashi snorted. "I'm relieved to see that you're not completely without a backbone. I'll stay far away from your bully. If he got a papercut, I'm afraid everyone would blame me. Now, I'm going to advise you on how to take control of your class."

Izuku wondered if he should feel afraid.

The next day, Izuku asked Principal Nezu for a meeting over lunch.

Izuku had no intention of blaming Hisashi for a supposed betrayal he had yet to carry out—he considered prophecies questionable anyway. Given how his own future had changed in giant ways from his small encounter with All Might, he had trouble believing in predestination. He'd already overturned his own destiny, after all.

But Izuku also didn't completely agree with All Might's strategy of ignoring the prophecy and hoping for the best. Or perhaps that wasn't fair—perhaps as Hisashi's guardian, All Might needed to be the person to believe in him unconditionally. Izuku himself was in a better position to take some precautions.

Standing before Nezu's desk, Izuku said, "I'm calling in my favor. I've heard that you run a mentorship program for certain gifted U.A. students. I'd like to ask you to make an exception to the age limit and add Hisashi Shigaraki to your program."

Nezu laughed. "Don't waste your favor on that!" Before Izuku could protest, Nezu continued, "Because I'll do it for free. It would be my pleasure to take a hand in guiding such a gifted mind."

Izuku smiled. If anyone could keep All for One from manipulating Hisashi, then he felt confident Nezu could.

In a smokey bar room, Tomura Shigaraki sat next to Stain.

With a gloved hand, Tomura raised his glass and swirled it. "After your complete disinterest in joining me, here you are."

"I'm still not interested in your senseless bloodshed." Stain's eyes narrowed behind his bandages. "But matters have changed regarding the second job you offered me."

Tomura's tone became mocking. "You said that you weren't an assassin."

"I now have reasons of my own to pursue the target. I don't take money to kill. But I'll accept your information on the target's location." Stain shrugged. "Mutual benefit."

Tomura leaned forward threateningly. "Remember the deal. You can't lay a finger on Izuku Midoriya or Yoichi Shigaraki. If you spill one drop of their blood, you'll be the next to die."

"They're not my targets. Your aid would be helpful in keeping them away while I finish the job."

"Deal." Tomura's smile looked like a skull's leer. He raised his glass. "A toast to our success—unless you're too good to drink with me?"

"I don't drink, period," Stain said coldly.

"Won't you tell me why you changed your mind about taking the assassination job?"

"No." Instinctively, Stain's hand twitched for the phone in his pocket. It held a recording of the conversation between All Might and Sir Nighteye.

Stain had bugged the telephone lines of numerous hero agencies. It was how he knew when his targets were alone. He'd canceled his plans to hunt Tensei Iida after overhearing a conversation that the hero would be at the Sports Festival. He was still looking for another shot at Ingenium, but a more urgent target had arisen.

Although Stain had never managed to get close to penetrating the security on Might Tower, he had a tap on Sir Nighteye's office phone. He'd already listened to his recording of the phone call a dozen times, just for the pleasure of hearing his idol All Might's voice. He remembered the exact words of the original text message quite clearly: "The older boy you adopted will betray you and steal One for All in order to give it to All for One. I foresaw it. Hisashi Shigaraki is destined to be the downfall of All Might and the legacy of One for All."

Stain did not know anything about One for All. The discussion of All Might having a successor had excited him. That legacy must be protected. He couldn't possibly allow the future where All Might died come to pass. Of course, it was only natural that All Might was too noble to cause a child's death. For the greater good, Stain was more than willing to kill a young boy and dirty his hands so that All Might didn't need to.

Hisashi Shigaraki was destined to be the downfall of All Might.

Therefore, Hisashi Shigaraki must die.

OMAKE TIME!

Omake: Hisashi's Failed Therapy

Child Psychiatrist: You've helped me so much! I feel like I have a new lease on life. I finally know how to tackle my problems and find happiness. Thank you! I feel like I should be the one paying you.

Hisashi: No payment is necessary. Though if you wanted, you could give me your wedding ring since you're kicking that deadbeat bastard to the curb.

#

Omake: Helping Izuku Find a New Hero Name

Izuku: Do you have any ideas for my hero name?

Yoichi: I like One for All.

Izuku: Uh, that's the name of my quirk. Besides, I think that one was already taken by the First user.

Yoichi: I don't like the stupid adult who used it. I'd rather let you use it instead.

Hisashi: If we're reusing old names, then he could be All for One. Similar, but so much cooler sounding.

Izuku: Uh…you want me to name myself after my archnemesis?

Hisashi: You'll carry the name so much better than him.

Izuku: I'm going to ask Shouto for help.

Shouto: You could call yourself Izuku.

Izuku: I'm going to go ask Tenya for help.

Tenya: You could give yourself a name as a tribute to your family legacy.

Izuku: I already eliminated that, my family has weird taste in names. Thanks anyway. I'm going to go ask Ochaco for help.

Ochaco: The Hero Fury, the Foot Up Katsuki's Ass. Oh wait, no, that's my hero name.

Izuku: Is it too late to pick Izuku?

#

Omake: Izuku's Costume Skips a Few Arcs

Hisashi: I'd like to give Izuku a present as reparations. I've designed a new and improved costume for him.

Toshinori: What a lovely idea!

Hisashi: But I don't have any money to create the costume. I'm so sad. Look at my teary eyes.

Toshinori: I'll give you as much money as you need. In addition, I'll put you in touch with Mei Hatsume, who can help develop your design.

Yoichi: Big brother, did you just turn your punishment into a chance to obtain more money for a project you were already working on? For shame!

Toshinori: I would have given him all the money he needed without the excuse. Also, you're going to need to switch the costume color to green not black.

Hisashi: Aw! Black is so cool!

Toshinori: I know it's cool, but Izuku likes green.

#

Omake: All for One and Favors

Hisashi: In exchange for my advice, will you do me a favor?

Izuku: Why does that phrase send chills down my spine?

Hisashi: Nothing major. Just let me know if there's anyone in your class who might be romantically interested in Ochaco. I'm scoping out the competition. Don't worry, I already promised my little brother I wouldn't hurt anyone. Not physically, anyway.

Izuku: You're a very creepy little boy.

#Good thing Ochaco has a canon crush on Izuku #Because he's the only one who can survive it

#

Omake: Hero Killer Arc Time

Author: So, Hisashi, how would you react if Stain tried to kill Tenya Iida?

Hisashi: Izuku's friend with the glasses? Expendable.

Author: Charming. Look, I need to you to fight Stain for plot reasons. What would it take to make you fight Stain?

Hisashi: I don't see myself facing off against a murderous lunatic unless my own life was at stake.

Author: Okay, I can arrange that.

Hisashi: Wait, what?

Author's Note: Happy Halloween, dear readers!

Eri's Rewind seemed to interfere with Sir Nighteye's visions, so a time-travel quirk could also have unusual (and plot-convenient) effects on his power.

For this story, I researched if empathy could be taught to sociopaths, and got a resounding answer of "we don't know." Science is very unclear on to what extent sociopathy is nature versus nurture and if it can be erased by a good upbringing. We don't even have a good definition of a sociopath to begin with! This allowed me to make stuff up as suited the needs of my story. Please don't take this fanfiction as any kind of scientifically accurate dissertation.