Chapter 3

Why Do We Fall?

1 week later, 13th July

Izuku Midoriya (age 8)

The past week had been kind to Izuku.

Weird dreams aside, his 'best friend' kacchan left him alone for most of the time. It was probably due to 2 reasons most likely. 1 would've been the appearance of his now favorite future hero, Lady Nagant, warning kacchan to stay away.

It also came to be that his birthday was in 2 days so kacchan probably let him be for a while. Izuku himself was in an incredibly good mood, why since he'll be meeting his father for the first time since his birth tomorrow.

Of course, Izuku's happiness was also reflected on his mother, who insisted that they had to buy some groceries and items in preparation of both his birthday and his father's arrival.

His mother also told him to invite the bakugou family to his house tomorrow for the occasion, seeing as his mother and Aunt Mitsuki went way back in their college years.

So today in school, Izuku steeled himself and approached his estranged friend. "Hey Kacchan!"

Katsuki turned his attention from whatever he was doing and asked aggressively, "What!?"

Izuku fidgeted under his hostile gaze, "erm, mom told me to invite you, aunt Mitsuki and uncle Masaru to our house tomorrow."

"Huh? What the hell is the occasion?" Katsuki asked genuinely confused.

"Ah…. W-well, it's my b-birthday tomorrow you see? So we're having a party in my house! And get this! My dad's coming to my birthday this time!" Izuku exclaimed with excitement.

"Huh? Your old man? I never saw him. You said he's coming to your birthday tomorrow? Thought he was busy with whatever shit he's doing out" Katsuki asked, his interest spiking now.

"Yeah! So are you coming tomorrow?"

"Oye Deku, Bakugou won't come to a birthday of a loser like you, you know? He has better things to do! Right Bakugou?" 'fingers' asked bakugou, most like to earn some points from him.

Katsuki squashed whatever notion he had as he shouted angrily, "SHUT THE FUCK UP FINGERS!!!! I'LL DO WHATEVER THE FUCK I WANT!!! OYE DEKU! TELL AUNTIE INKO THAT WE'LL BE COMING, GOT THAT!?"

"EEEEKKK!!!" 'fingers' nearly pissed his pants right there.

"A-ah, y-yes k-kacchan" Izuku said with a sweatdrop.

same afternoon Midoriya household

"Are you ready, Izuku?" His mother called out to him from the living room.

"Yes mom, I'm coming!" Izuku replied, finishing tying his shoes up to go to the musutafu shopping mall.

After he went down, his mother gushed over how 'handsome' he looked in his All Might hoodie, black jeans and his red 'air force' shoes.

"Ah Izuku, I forgot to tell you this but Katsuki-kun and Mitsuki-chan will be joining us in the mall today."

"Huh!? Really!?" he was understandably excited as it will be after a long time that him and Katsuki would be going out together, even if it was with their mothers.

"Yep, Mitsuki-chan really insisted on coming with us once she knew we were going to shopping for your birthday…. I wonder why? Anyways, let's go, the cab is already here" his mother said as she took her purse and both left the house, sitting in the cab which then drove off.

In future, Izuku would remember this as the worst day in his life.

Musutafu shopping mall

"Oyeeee!!!!! Inkoooo! Over here!!!!" shouted a mature woman who looked exactly like what Katsuki bakugou would look like if he were an older woman.

"Ah Mitsuki-chan! You don't need to shout like that you know?" Inko said embarrassed by her best friend's actions.

"Hahahaha! C'mon Inko, you know I don't give a fu- I mean a thought over what others think of me" said Mitsuki bakugou correcting herself in front of the children.

"Hello aunt Mitsuki! Kacchan! You're looking really beautiful today Aunt Mitsuki!" Izuku greeted in excitement.

"Awwww thank you Izuchan! You're also very handsome today! OYE KATSUKI! GREET HIM BACK!" Mitsuki gushed on Izuku and then shouted at Katsuki.

"HUH!? I DON'T CARE OLD HAG!!! DON'T IRRITATE ME! I'M ONLY HERE FOR MY ALL MIGHT FIGURINE!!! Hello aunty Inko" Said Katsuki

Both Izuku and Inko chuckled at the antics of the mother-son duo.

"Hmph! Why couldn't you be an adorable kid like Izuchan? Instead you are a brat" Mitsuki said dismissively

"Tch, whatever old hag" Katsuki said walking away to a hero merchandise store.

Izuku then chuckled nervously and said, "I'll go after him aunt mitsuki, you don't worry about him, you and Mom and carry out with your business"

"Awww, thank you Izuchan, you're such a gentleman!" Mitsuki said kissing Izuku on the cheek which made the poor boy blush.

"Er-em, I'll be going now! Bye Mom! Aunt Mitsuki!" Izuku said bowing and then running away after Katsuki.

Mitsuki giggled, which made Inko stare and her and say "you really haven't changed much huh Mitsuki-chan? Teasing everyone to see their flustered reactions….."

"Awwww, I can't help it, Izuchan is just so cute! You've been blessed with such a cute kid Inko-chan!"

Inko's eyes softened, "yes, having Izuku is the best thing in my life"

"Well, off on the sappy bullshit. Now tell me, Hisashi-kun is coming back huh!? You little minx, how dare you didn't tell me!?" Mitsuki said in mock anger.

"Eh!? How do you- oh, Izuku told Katsuki huh?"

"Yeah, the brat told me about Hisashi-kun coming back. So, are you staying in Japan or leaving for the states?"

"Erm, we haven't really decided that yet, but I'll try to convince Hisashi to stay in Japan for a while, I don't want to leave all this you know?" Inko said nervously

Mitsuki scoofed, "of course I know, I bet you'd have to wear a dress and go into those high class snob parties with your husband huh? Yea you'd definitely not like that."

Inko blushed, "Is that why you insisted on coming with us? Ugh, c'mon Mitsuki-chan, we're wasting our time here, let's go" she said trying to change the topic.

"Suuurrreeee" Mitsuki said with a smirk.

With Izuku

As Izuku roamed the mall going towards the shopping center, he saw many advertisement boards showing electronic appliances, new car models and other products all from Akatani enterprises. All of those ads even had popular heroes posing for them.

'hmmmm, Akatani enterprises, the world's largest corporation, it pretty much runs a lot of different lines of businesses. It's also one of the biggest support industries for heroes in all countries…..' Izuku thought as he found Katsuki in the hero merchandise store.

"Hey kacchan!"

"Huh? What the fuck are you doing here deku? Shouldn't you be with our moms?" Katsuki asked

"Ah… I thought you'd be lonely kacchan, so I can to find you!"

"Huh!? Why the fuck would I be lonely!? Even if I was, I don't want your company deku!!!"

Izuku chuckled nervously and put his hand behind his back, "cmon kacchan, you don't mean it"

"Tch, whatever, c'mere nerd, look at this" Katsuki said motioning him to come over.

Curious, Izuku came to him after which his eyes suddenly got stars, "t-this i-is!? The ALL MIGHT LIMITED EDITION 'AIR FORCE' ERA FIGURE!!!???"

"Tch, of course you like the air Force era shit, his silver age is far better dumbass, although this looks badass too" Katsuki said with a smirk.

"C'mon kacchan, you have to-

Boom*

Both the boys fell to the ground as the entire foundation of the mall shook. All around them, people started shouting in fright and some who were able to get back up started running away towards wherever the exit was.

*Boom* *Rumble*

The store shook again as lights flickered off and cracks started appearing on the ceiling and walls.

Izuku quickly noticing this in his shocked state quickly grabbed Katsuki by his arm and shouted at him to break him off of his shock.

"KACCHAN, QUICK! WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE! IT'S ALL COMING APART!!!" Izuku shouted out loud as the frequency of the explosions and rumbling increased.

Katsuki himself snapped out of it, after which both the boys ran out of the store and into the centre.

"W-wh-WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING!? A VILLIAN ATTACK!?" Katsuki questioned in fright, looking all around him and seeing people screaming and running for their lives.

What both the boys also saw was blood coming out of some rubble with parts like hands and legs sticking out of them. A sight which scarred and scared both the 8 year olds. A sight which made Izuku queasy and hold his hands to his mouth in horror.

"Arrghffff" Izuku tried but failed to hold the contents of his stomach down.

"OYE DEKU!!! SNAP OUT OF IT!! We must leave this fucking place!! And go find our moms!!!!" Katsuki shouted, having distracted himself from the grizzly scene with tears in his eyes and started to run holding Izuku's hand.

Izuku, who at this point was openly crying just nodded to Katsuki and started running with him to the place where both their mothers could be.

As both the boys ran towards their mothers, they came across many similar horrifying scenes, with a man on his knees, crying and trying to move a huge block of stone underneath which a puddle of blood layed, people buried under the rocks, still alive but in pain and people screaming for help all over the place.

Both the boys were crying silently in horror but did not stop a single second to run to their mothers. As they were running, they also saw streams of fire, being thrown in random directions, making the surrounding catch fire and worsening the situation even more.

As they finally reached the supermarket section of the mall, both the boys took a breath to calm themselves down and the on the top of their voices, shouted,

"MOOOOOOM"

They kept moving further as the fires increased and the entire mall started to collapse, shouting on the top of their voices for their mothers.

"IZUKU!!! KATSUKI!!!!" came the loud call back from Mitsuki and Inko as the women rushed to their children and hugged them close, all of them crying.

"Oh God, thank God!!! Oh Izuku, Katsuki, Thank God both of you are alright!" Inko said hugging Izuku with Mitsuki doing the same with Katsuki who then shouted

"WE DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME!! WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!!!"

"He's right! Let's leave this fucking place! Inko, Izuku, c'mon!" Mitsuki shouted in reply to which both the Midoriyas nodded and started running towards the exit.

But it was too late, for just as they started running, tragedy struck.

A huge pillar which was used to hold the floors of the mall, suddenly cracked completely and fell on them

Time slowed down as all the 4 of them looked in horror, but never stopping running. But they knew that they cannot escape the large pillar.

Just as they were about to meet their end, Inko's eyes hardened and in her desperation to save her son, Katsuki and Mitsuki, her quirk was pushed to it's absolute limits and attraction of small objects for a split second, also gained the ability to repel small objects which when pushed to its limits was able to push Izuku, Katsuki and Mitsuki out of the pillar's reach at the cost of damning herself.

*Crash*

At this point, the fire had spread everywhere but the tremors had stopped occuring. But the damage was already done, since the main foundation of the mall was stripped, it would be in any moment that the mall would completely fall apart.

As the dust settled and all the 3 were able to get their bearings, they frantically looked back to see a horrific site.

Inko lied on the ground, wheezing in pain, still alive, her body below her waist completely crushed underneath the pillar.

"NOOOOOOOOO" came a horrified wail from Izuku as he sprinted towards his mother, both Mitsuki and Katsuki doing nothing to stop him, both too shocked from the sight.

"M-MOM! MOM!!!! PLEASE, MOOOOM"

"S-SO-SOMEBODY!!!! PLEASE!! HELP!!!" Izuku called out to help but no hero came.

"N-No, I-Inko….." Mitsuki said in a low voice

Katsuki snapped out of it and quickly ran towards Izuku and then tried to lift the pillar with all the power he had, but of course, it didn't have any affect.

As Izuku was crying for help holding his mother's hand, he heard, "I-Izuku…" he quickly snapped his gaze to his mother who appeared weak and frail, instead of the strong woman he knew her as.

"M-Mom!!! I-Its going to be o-okay!! A h-hero will c-come soon!" Izuku said trying to assure his mother but in reality, trying to assure himself.

As Katsuki kept trying to move the pillar to no avail, Inko tiredly giggle and said, "its no use, Katsuki. My legs have been completely crushed. Please, take Izuku and run away. You haven't got much time…." As if on que, they started to hear more cracks above them and to their growing horror, saw the ceiling about to fall on them.

"N-NO!!! I WON'T LEAVE YOU HERE MOM!!! THERE'S WAY I'M DOING THAT!!" Izuku shouted in denial and tears, as he tried to figure out a way to save his mother, but nothing was coming to his mind.

"Please Izuku…. Listen to you mother, I don't have much time left…. Katsuki, Mitsuki, leave with Izuku….. even if you somehow lift the pillar….. I won't be able to run…. Please…. Mitsuki…… take the boys and run away….." Inko said, smiling sadly.

"I-Inko…." Mitsuki said, here strong nature completely crushed.

The group then heard the cracking of the wall growing more louder, which made them snap out of their shock.

"MITSUKI! RUN NOW! YOU HAVEN'T GOT MUCH TIME!" Inko shouted with all her remaining energy making Mitsuki quickly grab both the boys and running away with tears in her eyes.

"NOOOO!!! MOOOMMM!!!"

"AUNTIE!!!!"

"IZUKU!!!! YOU MUST LIVE!!! YOUR FATHER WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU!!! I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU!!!!"

Inko shouted, depleting all of her energy.

As their figures disappeared in the distance, Inko finally broke down, crying as she remembered all the times she spent with Izuku. As she reached covered her mouth with her hands, crying.

"D-don't go……" she whispered as the building fell upon her, she knew darkness.

Midnight in Night City, USA.

Akatani tower

Hisashi is seen going through some paperwork, sighing in frustration.

"I must finish up with this quick, I need to reach Japan by tomorrow. Hmmm, what should I get for Inko and izuku?" as he thought out loud his phone rang making him look at it.

"Hmmm? Who's calling at this time? Is it Inko? No, it's an unknown number but looks to be from Japan" Hisashi wondered, picking up the phone.

"Hello, this is Hisashi Akatani"

"H-hello? H-hisashi? It me , M-mitsuki Bakugou……."

As the call went on, Hisashi's eyes went wide as he ended the call forcefully, by crushing his phone in his hands.

He had a far eyed stare for a moment after which he used the intercom to call his Butler, telling him, "Alfred…. Ready the jet. We're going to Japan now. Also, inform Ra's Al Ghul that I demand an audience with him." Hisashi commanded, ending the call.

He stayed silent for a few more moments after which he yelled out loud in rage, punching his table, destroying it.

Musutafu Police department, 2 hours after the incident.

"*sigh, what a mess this has been" a human figure in a black suit with the head of a dog said while massaging his forehead. This was Tsuragamae Kenji, the chief of the police force

"Sir, what are we going to do about the VIP? The hero association is on their toes because of what happened, fearing a reprisal from Akatani enterprises", a tall man with short, black hair and somewhat-rectangular black eyes said. This was detective Naomasa tsukauchi, a senior and we'll respected detective in the force rumored to have some connections with the number 1 hero, All Might.

The dog figure said nothing as he glanced at a tv, on it a news anchor explaining the events that took place.

"Our reporters are currently live, standing in front of the now devastated Musutafu shopping mall. The devastation you see in front of you was caused due to a battle between an infamous villain named Tremor and the 2nd rank hero Endeavor. This tragedy was caused due to the quirk of the villain tremor, a quirk that lets him cause and control magnitudes of earthquake on a small scale. Now this might have not been enough for him to cause such destruction, but our sources tell us that the villain was under the affect of a drug called 'trigger' which enhances the quirk upon it's consumption but also detoriates the consumer's mental faculties. Pro hero Endeavor was the one that apprehended the villain before he was under the affect of this drug but upon seeing him, quickly consumed it causing destruction as he tried to run away from the pro hero. His last location was this mall after which, a battle between the 2 parties ensued. Mr. Takeda, what's your take on this?" the female anchor asked her male co-anchor.

"Well, to put it simply, I'd put the blame on both the parties for these horrible events. The villain for obvious reasons, but also Endeavor as he could've easily taken tremor down before he could even do anything. There are also testimonies from the survivors of this tragedy that the hot fires from endeavor increased the difficulty to evacuate from the premises. If another hero like the up and coming hero Hawks or even All Might would've been present instead, they would've instantly taken down tremor."

"Thank you for your input takeda. We also have another news. The primary head of the multi billion dollar company, Akatani enterprises, Mr. Akatani Hisashi is on his way to Japan. There are some speculations, one being that his coming here so suddenly might be related to this incident. More new in 5 minutes after a short break."

"Tell me about it…." The police chief then looked at another room, where 4 individuals sat. They were the entire Bakugou family and Izuku Midoriya, now revealed to be Izuku Akatani.

The hero association and Japanese government was doing everything in it power to keep the information about Izuku Akatani and the now late Inko Midoriya nee Akatani hidden.

They cannot handle the fallout if such information of the richest man on Earth went public. Not only the public would damn the heroes and the government for not protecting the heir of such a high profile individual but the high class society of Japan would also withdraw their monetary support.

Izuku Midoriya

The moment they got out of the mall, they were swarmed by paramedics, firefighters and 'rescue' heroes. Aunt Mitsuki immediately took them to a car and started fumbling with her phone, trying to make some calls. Izuku was completely numb to all of this though. The only thing repeating in his mind like a broken record was his mother's last moments with him.

He found all of this unfair. His mother shouldn't have been taken away from him. Why was she taken away from him? Where were the heroes? Didn't they always answered a call for help? They had access quirks. They had multiple resources which directly helped them to save people. So why was no one saved?

His inner thoughts were cut off as he felt himself shaking, due to aunt Mitsuki shaking him by his shoulders, calling his name.

"Izuku! Izuku!"

"H-huh?"

"We are going to the police station. Uncle masaru will join us there…. I'm going to call your father there…."

"My….. Father?" Izuku muttered out

"Yes, your father, Hisashi Akatani"

"ah"

As soon as they reached the police station, they were hoarded by many people in suits and policemen. He came to know that some of them were representatives from the government and the hero association. He didn't care about any of that though. The only things in his mind right now were his parents.

His father was Hisashi Akatani. The head of Akatani enterprises. Possibly the richest man in the entire world. So where was he when his mother cried for help? Wasn't he also her husband? No….. it wasn't his fault.

It was the villain's fault. It was tremor's fault that mom died. But what about the heroes? Wasn't this their fault too? They were supposed to save people. But no one answered his call for help. He saw what Endeavor's flames did. He was there. He was as much as guilty in his eyes.

They killed his mother

As Izuku delved in these dark thoughts, he didn't notice that more than 8 hours passed, with a lot of development going on besides him. He heard Aunt Mitsuki and Uncle masaru talking to many people, at time yelling at them, even uncle Masaru. But he didn't pay much attention to it. Kacchan stayed completely silent through the entire ordeal too. The boys were offered food but nothing made them eat it.

"Master Izuku?" a new voice came infront of him. He looked up to see an old man dressed in a fine tailored suit. He didn't reply his enquiry.

"What is it!? Who are you even!?" aunt Mitsuki shouted defensively, standing in front of him protectively.

"Ah… you must be Mrs. Mitsuki Bakugou. It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Alfred. I'm the head Butler to the Akatani family. I'm here on behalf of master Hisashi, to pick up master Izuku and the Bakugou family to relocate them to a more secure position to him." The now named Alfred said calmly, not at all bothered by Mitsuki's headstrong nature.

Izuku suddenly perked up.

"My father?" he said in a low voice.

"Yes master Izuku, your father want you and the Bakugou family to be with him, away from these cretins" Alfred said

"W-wait a moment! We cannot just let you leave the station!" an unamed person in a suit protested. Most likely a representative from the hero association

"Silence! Your 'heroes' couldn't even save our mistress! Your incompetence disgusts us! Master Izuku is no more safe here than he was in that mall! Or do you wish to stand against the Akatani?" Alfred said, now a dangerous tone and aura leaking out of him.

"ENOUGH! Sorry Mr. Alfred. You are well within your rights to take young Izuku and the Bakugou family away. But first I must wholeheartedly apologize for what happened to young Izuku. Young man, I'm sorry that we couldn't save your mother." Kenji Tsuragamae said bowing to Izuku.

Izuku said nothing as he looked at the bowing man emotionlessly. He then got up and leaves them with Alfred and the Bakugou family taking a clue to follow him, with the rest of the crowd parting a way for them.

As Izuku got out, he was assaulted with multiple flashes of cameras which made him cover his eyes. He was assaulted with multiple questions coming from people from a distance being blocked by a policeman barricade, with a Limo and few SUVs surrounding said limo parked in front of him.

As Alfred and they rest came behind him, the flashes of the cameras became more intense along with the questions of his relation to the incident and Hisashi Akatani.

As he started to panic Alfred took out a sleek device and pressed it, switching off all the electronics around them making the reporters confused. He then ushered them into the limo and then drove off with all the cars.

A few minutes later, they came across a large compound whose gates opened up for them to which they went inside. It was a large Victorian style mansion with a beautiful garden. Many servants of the house were lined up besides the entrance as Izuku came out of the car, door held by Alfred.

There, for the first time, Izuku came face to face with his father, standing in front of the door with an unknown man beside him.

"Hello Izuku"

Notes:

So here's the third chapter. Sorry it took so long, my final year exams are going on. The next chapter will take some time as I have my exams going on but I'll post it as soon as it's over by 3rd August. Anyways, please review, is it good or bad? I appreciate it.