From useless to expert; chapter 3
~0~
A few days passed, and Izuku quickly found his place in the Dwei's household... despite their nature.
Shuniya, being an angel, was obviously worshipping God in his home. But what had taken Izuku by surprise was how he worshiped him, and under what form.
He was worshipping the most human form of God, the form he took six hundred years ago in Mayapur, Bengal.
He was the Golden avatar of mercy; Sri-Krishna-Chaitania-Mahaprabhu, Gauranga, Gaura, Gaurahari, Gaurasundara. (Apparently, God had more then one name."
Izuku found one of His biographies online and... he had to admit, even to him the first chapter was... a Lot.
But hey, he'd apparently found an Official portrait of God online, and Shuniya had happily confirmed that, indeed, the beautiful bald man in the picture was absolutely Gauranga: The supreme personality of Godhead.
He should know, for he had been the one who painted it. And it had been a great shame that it had been after he had taken to the renounced order of life, having shaved his glorious head of long, black, curly hair.
But to return to the family.
The three spawn had their own personality and hobby linked to Hid Service, they worshipped Gaura-Nitai, Or Nityananda and Gauranga, the fused form of Radha and Krishna.
Rimura loved to clean. He would scour the ground every day to disintegrate trash and sweep the floor. Izuku loved helping her around the house since this Dark Matter made even taking out the trash fun.
Rimuro was rarely there since he had been tasked to keep an eye on Inko. She was not a terrible person, he had told his human sibling, simply misinformed and conditioned to think a certain way about quirkless... not that it was all the same in all of Japan. But apparently... Some goons were working in the dark to breed the most powerful quirk users, not caring about their health nor the dangerously diminishing gene pool.
He was an expert in the scriptures and would recite the Bhagavatam morning and evening when he could, he also knew the Gita by heart, purports and all.
Izuku loved to study with him, for he was the scholar of the group and would always push the teen to reach further and go beyond his limit... but not go crazy either.
Rimuru was sassy, sometimes bordering on Nasty when they watched the news. He would see the world in a higher perspective and, while it would sound as though he was the most cynical, he would always be the first one to sing and dance to the Lord's name. Joke around and all-around be the fun Bro.
SO yeah, Izuku had two 'brothers' and a 'sister' who didn't really have genders but chose their designation... just because. But they still wouldn't complain if Izuku got them wrong.
But to come back to Shuniya Dwei, the angel had a very... different way to Serve the Lord then most denominations Izuku had heard about.
He had an altar, but instead of holding votive candles and other objects of the Christian faith... or the Muslim faith, or a statue of Buddha (another Avatar of Krisna, apparently.) the Altar held a pair of wooden statues... of Deity form.
Those pairs of deities were painted the colour of cream tinged with the red powder Indian women would smear on their hair.
That was Shuniya's description, but to Izuku's eyes, they just appeared even more yellow then the Simpson... not to say that they were ugly, far from it.
Shuniya-san had explained that he did not worship the impersonal light, or an old man sitting on his throne giving orders to faceless cupids as he sneered at Humanity's flaws, locked in an eternal duel with the Devil.
No, the one he worshiped was the sweetest form of God, the ever-youthful and free to do as they pleased Radha-Krishna through Gaura-Nitai.
Alright... Izuku elected to leave it at that (For now), since for him, the whole concept of God being a person with an actual personality. Something that was the source of everything and all souls and yet remained an individual despite His dual form was still something a bit too esoteric for him.
Still, it did pique his interest.
Shuniya would worship his Gaura-Nitai daily about forty-five minutes before dawn, and he would do so like the shadow he was, the only reason why Izuku even knew the Angel's sadistic schedule was his insomnia.
Hard to sleep when your body still expected to get abused at a school you would never return to... but he was getting better, the Ashvaganda and other ayurvedic herbs helped... as with a whole lot of Self-acceptance exercise, neural rewiring, mind-training, swimming lessons and some Yin yoga.
Oh, and amazing sacred food, let's not forget that.
Still, even after his nerves had settled, Izuku would wake up at the time Shuniya, Rimura, Rimuro and Rimuru would worship the Two brothers; Gauranga and Nityananda. (Both were the same person but in a different mood)... He would bathe them every morning and dress them in fresh cloth and richly decorated with costly jewellery, garlands of fresh flowers and fragrant unguent.
Shuniya was not as silent as he thought, for the teen could clearly hear the conversations he had with the two deities who... had to be more than mere pieces of wood.
Once again, Shuniya had revived Izuku from the dead, and no one had this quirk... no one at all. And they way he spoke about a time long back when there were no quirks and no internet, hell, even no electricity and running water attested to his Veracity.
Actually, God, Krishna was one, but he had different moods and Form that had their own pastimes and duty, Krishna being the one who would simply enjoy with his pure devotee's in the Spiritual world, while Gauranga and Nityananda would give access to this world, Gauranga being the most merciful and Nityananda being the Drunkard who gave unlimited love-credit cards to everyone he'd met of the street because, they looked sad, he felt like it and was eternally happy...
And the Best servant of Gauranga.
It was... different then from what little Izuku knew of the Gods and Demigod, he had yet to go deeper into it, but Shuniya told him what he'd wanted to know, busting some myth either a tired patience (He was old.) or with some anger... but never aimed at Izuku.
Oh, Actually, Shuniya would purposefully trigger Izuku's unhealthy neuro-pathways to rewire them, it was not exactly pleasant, for it meant that the greenette had to face his darker side, the one he hated but... He was in a better mind space, he could smile easier, laugh with all of his belly and even ask questions with little to no stutter... and after each crash... each death, as Shuniya and Rimuro would call it, Izuku would be reborn from the smouldering ashes.
And it. Felt. Amazing.
But to return to the busted myth, quite a few went out the windows, the first one being that God was nameless and Formless...
He was not, Evidently, since Shuniya had met him personally and had even served him. Hell, the ancient being had a hand-painted portrait of the Golden Lord, and Izuku would often find himself staring at the Ageless youth of unlimited beauty.
No human could look as attractive and perfect. No human could have such flawless, golden skin, soulful eyes that held all secrets and a loving smile that destroyed all miseries. Head so perfect, a hand that was the epitome of all hands.
When Izuku got sad, his depression rearing its ugly head, the teen would drag his weary bones to the painting, take it off the altar in his safety closet where he would look, and even talk to Him.
And at those times... Izuku would feel His unlimited caring presence. And the boy felt better...
He wasn't alone anymore. God was always with him.
As to why God would willingly hang out with a useless Deku and even send an angel for him... Well, only he knew why.
The Lord was never mad, and he was not the fruit of human mind since he was the source of said mind, and Shuniya's Great-great grandfather Brahma, had been born of the lotus growing from Garbodakasayi-Vishnu's navel when there was literally nothing in the universe save for God, Ananta-deva and the Universal water, sweated out by the Lord himself.
Now, one would scoff at it... until Izuku realized that Shuniya's great-great Grandad had four heads... Since the bloody angel had taken the trouble to go to the highest material planet, snap a picture of Brahma-ji then return to earth to show him that, yes... the Vedic Scriptures were right on all accounts.
Also, I-phone 20's cameras were so bad, they could not even take a picture of Garbodakasayi Vishnu properly, an over-expansive piece of...
So, anyway, God was very real, he had more than one form, his sweetest and highest form was that of Radha-Krishna and Radha-Krishna was Gauranga.
Basically, but Izuku knew full well that there was more to it than that, it was just that Shuniya didn't want to overwhelm his son with all of it.
That's something he liked about Shuniya, he would give Izuku directions, but, unless Izuku's health, both mental and bodily, was on the line (and even financially.) then he would let Izuku do as he pleased, as long as he didn't break some ground rules.
If the greenette wanted to eat meat, it had to be outside, and Shuniya would not pay for it, same for booze, and Izuku was not permitted that until he was of age since it had been proven that underage drinking would negatively affect his brain, same with drugs.
And if Izuku wanted to have someone in his life, Shuniya wanted to meet them first and explain some things. Actually, the angel would rather Izuku come to him for a spouse, since he had experience with matchmaking.
Or he could choose his own... as long as he would let Shuniya scan them to make sure he would not get exploited again.
Izuku had quipped that he would not be able to eat anything that was not cooked by Shuniya (Best cook ever!), he hated alcohol and he felt too young to look at girls or boys like that.
Or... maybe it was all his Trauma that had blocked his hormones, he was quite short and underdeveloped for his age.
Nevertheless, those rules were easy to follow, and soon. Izuku felt more comfortable with the ancient 'villainous' angel with a moral stronger than his own mother... and the entirety of Japan, of that he was sure. And he was Comfortable enough so that his anger had blown up one day for no apparent reason.
No, wait... Shuniya had been talking on the phone with one of his friends, telling him how Great God was since He'd met Izuku, his sort-of-Son.
This had prompted Izuku to go to his designated room to play some computer game, stewing in anger until he'd almost started to chew on his thumb...
Instead, he'd thrown his controller down and stormed to Shuniya, who was bowing to his idols.
The ancient being had told the young boy that, if he felt overwhelmed by any emotions, that it was perfectly normal to speak them all out... and even to take it out of some unsuspecting sandbags.
And thus... Izuku, unable to withhold his tears, had accused God to be a cruel and hateful mother fucker... since if the Lord simply stood by as Izuku suffered from age four to now from an untold amount of abuse and neglect.
He went on and on, all of his rage, his anger at his mother, his father, Bakugou, His aunt and uncle the entire system burst forth like sewage, spilling out on the floor for all to see.
So much had happened to him... Too much for someone so young... and what had God done?
"He sent me..." Shuniya spoke quietly... loud enough to break through Izuku. "Krishna is all Good, whatever he does is for our own ultimate benefit. If my new bike chain would not have broken, I would have passed right under you and kept going… and you would be yet another ghost suffering in tokyo."
This... was the most powerful statement Izuku had the chance of hearing.
Shuniya Dwei was Zero two, and if the Last of the Kirby lore was true He was also a... Well, Kirby.
A very Cursed Kirby that felt only pain and suffering, unable to feel anything but the universes' despair.
" But... he let you suffer also," Izuku argued back, holding his elbows and hugging himself... he hated how he felt, he hated his emotions.
Emotions hurt... nobody likes to see him having emotions.
He felt the dark tendril, and Rimura had removed this connection and reworked his neural pathway.
Immediately, the greenette realized that his previous statement was a very unhealthy one. Having emotions was normal, and it was normal for him to be mad, sad, and angry... it was alright for him to feel and to express it in a healthy way!
He felt Shuniya's hands on his shoulders, grounding him further. The taller being led Izuku to the couch and gently sat him there, kneeling in front of him.
" Izuku-kun, in this material world, everyone is suffering to a certain degree, and that, without God's doing." The ancient angel explained, his deep voice like a calm babbling brook. "Our suffering and time of pleasure are made by our own actions, it's called Karma. And Karma... it's shit, I'll be honest with you." He admitted with a shrug.
As expected the cuss caused Izuku to chuckle a bit.
"it is! Like, my birth as a fallen angel, a cursed Kinnara, a birth that causes pain to others, fear and lamentation... I did something to get it. It's in my previous life... one I have no memories of, but I can still feel the effect.
"But!" he put the emphasis there. "But it's not Krishna's fault but my own."
Izuku's face fell... of course, it was his own damn fault he had suffered so much.
Shuniya squeezed his shoulder to break through another spiral. "No, my son. What do we do when we realize we messed up something?"
"We cry and hate ourselves?"
"... No. We will do something about it." The angel spoke gently. "We look at the result of our Karma, and we learn from it, grow better and stronger as persons... as souls. Sure, we acted like villains in the past, but in the future, we won't and we tolerate the result of our sin, like the Anima Sola, waiting for divine intervention to get her outta hell while patiently enduring the result of the past actions. Something a mere suicide will not erase."
"And let me guess... I need to be a Hare Krishna." Izuku spoke with a hidden smile.
Shuniya gave an elegant shrug with a chuckle. "Hey, It worked for me and unlimited souls before me... " He said as he sat beside his young charge. "But... It's up to you if you want to follow. Bhakti is a personal path, and only you can start this journey."
Izuku grunted as he curled up against Shuniya's side, Rimuro, Rimura and Rimuru all cuddling up to him, giving out soothing vibrations.
"I... Don't think I'm ready yet," Izuku admitted. "But... I think... I don't want to fall into despair either."
"Then you won't. Don't worry, Izuku, Me and your siblings will make sure your present life will be a fruitful one, and the next, even better."
Once again, Izuku Grunted as he closed his eyes, exhausted by his outburst.
Actually, looking back at what he'd said... yeah, it was way too edgy for him. He wanted to be a soft boy, not an Emo...
being an emo sucked anyway, you wouldn't feel happiness, even the small one.
"Say... Shuniya?"
"Yes, Izu?"
"What type of Hero should I be?" He asked.
He heard and felt Shuniya hum beside him as he hugged the smaller boy closer. "How about... an understated one. The Hero of the little people, one who does not have an agency, or PR... just someone who tried to do good to others that slipped through the crack."
"A small hero," Izuku murmured, gladly moving away from his shameful outburst. "But... I don't have a quirk."
"All the better." Shuniya chuckled. "They can't arrest you for being an illegal hero if you don't have a quirk... and they can't stop my spawns for enacting divine justice either, for there are no laws that prevent ghosts from hunting down criminals."
"So... are you telling me to be a vigilante?" Izuku asked dubiously.
"Oh, heaven's no!" Shuniya Dwei scoffed. " As much as they are good, Vigilantes tend to have a rather short lifespan and more mental problems than an asylum."
"Oh."
"No, I was thinking you to be... just a helpful guy, someone who's there for those who need him. The one who goes around the neighbourhood picking trash, who gives out warm meals and blankets to the homeless-"
"And how about you?" Izuku asked out of the blue. "What do you do all day?" He tilted his head like a curious puppy.
"Oh... Well, I go out and serve at the temple when I'm not here monitoring your progress... no, you don't take away my time, Izuku. It's something I've chosen to invest my time in, and something tells me that something good will come out of this venture." he smiled, making Izuku blush. "Something else I do is to give to the populace holy books like the Gita and other publications by Srila-Prabhupada and his disciples and grand-disciple."
"Oh..."
"And this, my dear Izuku, is even more important than stopping villains and saving civilians," Shuniya explained. "When a Hero saves a civilian, the only thing he saves is a coat, for we are not their transient body made of matter, but the eternal soul. And while the person is saved for an untimely death, they are not saved from their own ignorance, gathering sin like a fluffy cat, dust from under the bed. He will keep suffering due to his sin and the nature of this material world. And what to say about Villains? Those poor, tormenting souls are not even given a chance to improve, let alone a way out. The moment they commit a crime, no matter their reason... or even just based on their looks and quirks, they are labelled as something to get rid of." Shuniya huffed as his eyes began to glow and the shadows danced. "Once someone is labelled as a Villain... they can never be anything but." A deep sorrow filled Shuniya's voice.
"This... culture you have been brought up in is toxic. Nowhere else in the world would they accept such a blatant show of racism. But then again, Japan and China have accrued a ridiculous amount of sins."
"And sinning means to harm other living entities for enjoyment," Izuku spoke up remembering some classes he may have greedily overheard.
"And my accident also... but the murder of Mother cow and Father bull carries a hefty weight... it's the same as killing a bonafide Brahmana."
"Hmm." Izuku nodded as he fiddled with his bow tie. He always loved the touch but... he was crap at tying it.
Oh well, might as well start a trend over it.
"And this is another reason I chose to preach about Bhakti-Yoga. The purifying path of divine love." Shuniya spoke as he placed both hands on Izuku's shoulders. "The main reason, the main reason is that it pleases Mahaprabhu.'' He gave a bright smile.
"Mahaprabhu... that's Gauranga, right?"
"Yes! And Gauranga is like the dive tree of divine love, the gardener of this tree and the distributor... the thing is, as Mahaprabhu, He only has two arms, and thus, the Lord requested us all to take those juicy fruits and to give them to all they could, helping him in his self-given mission."
"I see, so that's why you got arrested on Monday for unlawful propaganda."
"What we were doing was legal... unless those silly politicians changed the laws again." Shuniya bitterly grumbled. "But then again, the moment you act out of the ordinary in this place, you wear a veritable bullseye on your back."
It was Izuku's turn to snort. "Yeah, tell me about it."
" In my time as a book distributor in Japan, I've been burned, exploded, manipulated, stabbed, spat upon, I had my bookbag ripped apart and other numerous horrors... and yes, I have also been shot."
Izuku stared at the being with wide eyes and mouth hanging loose.
"And no, the police will turn a blind eye since, in their imperfect eyes, we are proliferating... propagating lies about Krishna being God when, in their opinion, the advent of Quirk made His existence moot to the point." The ancient being gave an eye roll. "Ah, the more advanced a man becomes, the duller and blinder they get."
".. You know, nobody knows where Quirks came from. Just that one day, in China, a baby started glowing."
"Ah yes... I remember that." Shuniya said as he leaned back. "At that time, I'd thought that it would be better for our descendants to be born with their powers... but after a few accidents that left those babies without their parents, my kind concluded that it would be better for them to wait until there were four for them to have their powers." The Father of all quirks revealed as he rubbed the back of his head. "But... Maybe... Maybe we should have waited until they were eleven..."
Izuku just stared as his immense brainpower began making new connections with the new knowledge he had just gained.
Zero two was a Kirby... and Kirby had copy abilities meaning Shuniya also had copied abilities. Just like miracle matter.
Now, returning back to quirks, Izuku could easily see all of them in plenty of Kirby's copy abilities... and Kirby's ability was also something... it could also be counted as a quirk!
Not only that, but if Kirby was real, and from a planet trillions of light-years away, then how many more abilities were there? Were all quirks born from him? But, in the games, Kirby started...
"Quirkless..." Izuku whispered, his whole body shaking as he realized that... Shuniya Dwei, Zero two was the father of all quirks. And that, in essence, Izuku was... he was like Kirby.
Ho!
Li!
Crap!
"I wasn't alone, Kaavi... Kirby, Gooey and Miracle Matter were also part of the generations. And before you asked; no, we do not need contact with the mothers, we only needed a glance."
Izuku's mouth could not get any wider than that.
"And I believe Drawcia, my sister of sorts, also contributed."
"Ok, ok. ok." Izuku gesticulated. "So, let me get this straight; Miracle matter is the father of all elemental to emitter quirk."
"Yes."
"You must be... also emitter since you emit blood but also mutation since I've seen you change your appearance-"
"Actually, we all have this ability, but I will admit I'm the one with the most use out of it."
"Alright... And whatever is 'creation' must be from Drawicia, and emitter too but... less organic and more miscellaneous since a normal body cannot make art supplies... and heteromorphic too. Kirby's the source of all quirk that can copy or imitate other quirks and, of course, quirklnessness... Holy crap... I'm a descendant of Kirby... Sorta."
"Just so you know, Quirkless or normal means that you have more intelligence to work with then most, and are also more resilient to other quirks... as your continued survival against your bully attests."
This brought Izuku's mood down a bit until he realized that it was true, he should have died so often from Kat-Bakugou's explosion. It was nitro-glycerine for crying out loud! Not some cheap cracker they sell at the yen store.
He still had his hearing, despite the nearby explosions. And his body would heal when he had enough food.
And yet... it was only when...
No... he was not going to return to this part of his life, despite the fact that this netted him the masculine presence he'd so sorely needed when growing up.
And then... it hit him.
"Shuniya."
"Yes, Izu?"
"I need notebooks, twenty pilot fountain pens and that drink you made me last night. I need to rework everything about my quirk analysis."
This only caused Shuniya to fondly chuckle.
~0~
One week later, and plenty more quirk theory based on the newly revealed knowledge (it all made sense now.) and learning a bit more about God then expected from one of his angels. And Izuku found himself in front of Shuniya's front door.
He was dressed comfortably, but clearly for going out. The three Siblings were hovering in his shadow as Shuniya finished his call.
"Yes... Yes, I see. Thank you for your patience and understanding, detective. Yes, we'll be there soon." He ended his call and turned to Izuku. " Alright, they're waiting for us. They only know that you are a missing child who ran away from home due to a toxic environment." Shuniya explained. " Apparently, Miss Midoriya couldn't legally give you to me while you were still dead."
"Obviously." Izuku deadpanned as he clutched his yellow backpack closer. "Say, do you think... will they force me to leave?"
"No." The eldritch being shook his head. " Inko did relinquish custody of you unto my hands. We just need to... revive you legally."
"Two weeks later."
"Two weeks later... and you are not the first one," Shuniya revealed. " They know me back at the precinct..."
"Yeah, for illegal signing in the street and book giving."
"The nerve..." Shuniya gave a deadpan huff.
He smirked, chuckling at the reddish tint Izuku's cheeks had taken. "Now come, the cab should be here by now."
One taxi ride later, and they were at the Musutafu police department...
"Why not the Devaron one?" Izuku asked as they were about to enter the police station, just a way to settle his nerves.
"Because I want to bring you to the temple after that," Shuniya explained. " I want to show you what I do and... I want you to meet some of my friends."
"But... why?"
"Because I couldn't help but talk about you to them." The God of destruction admitted with a blush. " They all want to meet you. But I must warn you, Izuku, the older ladies have already planned to spoil you rotten with their cooking. And the boys want to be friends with you."
Izuku made a face as his pulse raced... he would have to face people again.
"And... If it gets too much, the Brahmacharis have set up a room for you in the ashram, away from the noise, the people and social interaction."
"Ok..."
"Izu..." Shuniya began as he held the boy's hand. " You're under my protection if anything happens... and I do mean, anything that makes you feel even a little uncomfortable, just tell me, alright? And don't suffer in silence, it never leads to anything good." then. "I will also tell the detective of the abuse you've endured at Aldera."
Izuku sighed as he hung his head. He didn't want... he didn't want to snitch on them... since his paranoia kept whispering to his ears that his bullies and teachers would know it would be him, and they would hurt him more. And that Bakugou deserved a chance to go to UA since he had an Amazing quirk...
But really, it really was because he didn't want to get exploded again by his bully.
But... As Shuniya had told him after that particular breakdown, What was the worst those goons could do?
"Izuku turned his head toward the hidden eldritch being and smirked. "Alright, dad. Just don't kill anyone."
"As long as they don't try to kill you." Shuniya retired as his cheeks flushed with bliss.
The stop at the precinct was... not as expected.
Shuniya, being well known and a trusted informant for the Police (of course.) only had to drop his evidence report and his report. So that part went rather well, and soon, Izuku was once again legally alive but under witness protection since... you know...
he'd been dead for two weeks and no one wanted to face this particular mediatic shitstorm.
And after that, they had to meet Inko. Shuniya had told Izuku that his... mother was misguided but... that there may be some underlying issues. And that she, being Izuku's biological parent, a single woman raising a child with a handicap (since in this society, being Normal was seen a a handicap) she would have more chance to win back Izuku's guardianship
Joy...
But the way Shuniya spoke of it, it was clear he was quite bitter about it, yet detached. For as he said, 'God be willing.'
Still, Izuku had to face his mother again, and that didn't give him mixed feelings.
He remembered the good about her. The movies she would get him. The hero merch, the food... (even if it wasn't all that nutritious, it was still tasty.) she never struck him, never said she downright hated him. She never yielded, never got mad...
But... There was also the other side of her, the one that didn't really hold him when he was sad, the one who told him to just go to sleep when he had nightmares about his mistreatment, the one who would dote on Katsuki as if he had been born of her. And when she did it for her own son, she was so careful even Izuku began to believe he was made out of glass. There was the disappointing sigh she gave when she saw him return bloodied, Izuku had once believed it was because he had again riled up his bullies but...
Maybe it was because he was still alive despite the harsh treatment.
Actually, now that the greenette thought about it, his mom's smile was less... genuine, and the bitterness of her words.
Inko... Had feelings about her useless son. But, maybe it was just Izuku imagining the whole thing.
No... she was not supposed to be here, but apparently, a well-meaning clerk with an annoying hearing quirk had thought it wise to notify the eldest Midoriya.
The family had just learned of this fact. And instead of having Shuniya use his powers to get out of this situation unscathed, he elected to face the music to see if maybe they could make the whole situation work.
They walked through the station to a small room that was an uncomfortable mix between too empty and sterile to attempt at something cozy and homey. Giving the room a liminal space vibe.
Izuku froze as he saw his mother... How should he react? What would she do? Would he have to follow her home? Would she make a scene? Would she guilt-trip him?
To his great shock and discomfort, his material mother took one glance and fell to her knees, touching her head to the ground.
One part of Izuku was screaming at him to grab his mother from the cold ground. She didn't have to do that especially to such an unworthy son... he made her suffer so much.
But before she could spiral further down, he felt Rimuro enter his body. " ๒г๏Շђєг, ๒є ςคɭ๓. เ'๓ ђєгє ภ๏ฬ."
'Murochan... what should I do?' Izuku frantically asked as the whole world seemed frozen. 'It's my mama... I'm a bad son, I shouldn't have jumped, I shouldn't have... I should have called her, look at Her Muro, she's crying... I made her cry-'
"เŦ ץ๏ย ฬคภՇ ๓ץ ђย๓๒ɭє ๏קเภเ๏ภ, ɭเՇՇɭє ๒г๏. ץ๏ยг '๓๏๓''ร Շђє ๏ภє ฬђ๏'ร ๓คкเภﻮ ђєгรєɭŦ ςгץ... ๔คภﻮ, รђє'ร ﻮ๏๏๔ คՇ เՇ" Rimuro whispered in Izuku's internal ear."เ ςคภ Ŧєєɭ ђєг гє๓๏гรє ๒ยՇ... ђ๓๓, เ ๔๏ภ'Շ кภ๏ฬ ђ๏ฬ Շ๏ єאקɭคเภ เՇ, ๒г๏. เ ןยรՇ ςคภ'Շ ՇгยรՇ ђєг, Շђєгє'ร ร๏๓є ђคՇгє๔ Շђєгє Շ๏๏."
'Hatred? Oh, she must hate Shuniya since, you know, he stole me from her so...'
Rimuro remained silent after he'd made a doubtful sound from the back of his proverbial throat, and Izuku listen with half an ear as his mother practically promised to be a better mother and give him the moon, maybe even her quirk if he would return to her since he was so fragile and there was no way an angel would know how to properly take care of him.
"ฬђคՇ ๔๏ ץ๏ย ฬคภՇ Շ๏ ๔๏, เչย?" Rimuro a shot back.
"I... I want to leave... I..." Izuku spoke aloud. Something about this woman, about his mother, had triggered some negative reaction in him.
"Izuku... I'm so sorry." His mother sobbed. " I'm... I'm so happy you're alive, I'm sorry I was a terrible mother... please, please forgive me!" She begged again and again from the room, making Izuku more and more uncomfortable by the minutes.
"เչย, гє๓є๓๒єг ՇђคՇ Ŧ๏гﻮเשєภєรร เร ค ﻮгєคՇ ๒คɭ๓ Ŧ๏г ץ๏ยг ђєคгՇ. ๒ยՇ เՇ ๔๏รєภ'Շ ๓єคภ ՇђคՇ ץ๏ย ђคשє Շ๏ Ŧ๏гﻮเשє ฬђคՇ รђє ๔เ๔."
Izuku turned his attention back to his mother... Inko saw her chance and grabbed his hands.
"Izuku... my Baby."
"Hands off the child, woman." Shuniya drawled, but the glint in his eyes spoke of anger, he looked unimpressed at the display. "You could at least show some genuine remorse."
"But... I am remorseful..."
" For your own sake? Or for the child you killed." Shuniya pointedly asked as the temperature dropped.
"But! Izuku's Alive! And I didn't kill him!" Inko's tears turned bitter. "I know I was a terrible mother, but my Baby... he needs me, I can... I will take better care of him, I swear!"
Shuniya didn't look impressed at all by Inko's display. "Madam. While you have plenty of good qualities, and I am sure you are... sincere. It is not my choice, but Izuku's."
For his part, the greenette was busy looking at anywhere but his... Inko and Shuniya Dwei. He could feel Rimuro giving him comfort from the inside of his lungs... and quite a few officers and inspectors keeping an eye on the proceeding.
Izuku was idly wondering why none of them were acting. Maybe it was because Izuku was the quirkless kid who's killed himself, (He'd seen the pictures, no one could survive without all that blood and no brain, it seemed that the whole thing had slid out of his skull when his d... Shuniya had picked him up... huh.) and who had been brought back to life by a man with an angel mutation and the ability to revive the dead.
Once again, the only reason why Shuniya was not swamped and pursued by the HCSP for his ability must be his true nature as a super ancient god of destruction, a being of untold power. That or some of his more 'independent' spawns were actively diverting the Commission's prying eyes from his...
From Shuniya.
"Izuku?" Shuniya prompted, and Izuku blinked at the scene.
"เչย... ฬє ภєє๔ Շ๏ кภ๏ฬ ฬђ๏๓ ץ๏ย ฬคภՇ Շ๏ ๒є ץ๏ยг ﻮยคг๔เєภ." His hitchhiker clarified, his presence soothing despite the absolute lack of privacy. "คɭร๏, ๔ค๔ ђคร ђเร ฬคץร. ๔๏ภ'Շ ฬ๏ггץ ץ๏ยг קгєՇՇץ ﻮгєєภ ђєค๔ ค๒๏ยՇ เՇ."
Izuku gave a grunt as he returned his attention to the scene playing in front of him. His m... his mother's face was covered in tears and she sniffled and hiccuped, her bottom lips wobbling in the most piteous sight in the world.
"I... Izu..." She reached for him...
It took everything for Izuku not to cry at the sight, once again, he could feel his dark mind whispering to him how it was his fault for his mother's tears. She was willing to change, things would change and everything would be better once he stopped being such a bad son and returned to her arms and did everything she told him. Since being the obedient and not quite perfect son, what was she wanted...
"๒г๏, ภ๏Շ Շ๏ รฬคץ ץ๏ยг ๔єรเรเ๏ภ ๒ยՇ... ՇђคՇ'ร ภ๏Շ ค שєгץ ђєคɭՇђץ ฬคץ Շ๏ Շђเภк."
And Izuku knew Rimuro was right, this was something toxic... emotional manipulation.
He knew that now...
He turned to Shuniya, who, like the sacred being he was, remained as if floating in the side of the room. His soft and safe presence self-effacing as he waited for Izuku to make the most important choice in his life.
Ever since he'd woke up after his suicide attempt, Shuniya Dwei, Zero two had been nothing but loving and accommodating.
He'd never made Izuku feel like a burden, and if he ever was, then Shuniya would assure him that He will gladly take and bear this burden for as long as it was needed. If Izuku ever so hinted that he'd wanted something, Shuniya would get him what he needed.
When Izuku's nightmare woke him up screaming, he was not met with indifference and his moms' desire for him to be gone already, but for Shuniya's arms and wings around him... and the three dark Siblings huddling all around him as they cooed gently, practically singing ancient lullabies as their father rocked him back to sleep.
Sure, he was treated like a child... a well loved child. And Child that knew his Papa and sibs were looking over him with love.
He would eat a plethora of food cooked with love, not whatever was quick and easy but also healthy... and something trashy.
Like Samosas and potato wada. Homemade fries and fried pancakes.
Fried pancake... with sweet yogurt sauce.
He would let Izuku be himself, but without letting him do things that would be dangerous or detrimental (Ok, so Izuku felt a bit resentful that Shuniya had ignored his wish and began an active pursuit of Aldera for the damage done to him. One part of him, the one that saw everything bad as a worthy punishment for being less than perfect was affronted, while the healthier part of him, the one who had sneaked in a glance at Zero's Gita had understood that it was indeed his karma, and bad decisions toward his aggressors and that it was perfectly fine to escape from this situation since his mental health was more precious than his bullies false records.)
And while this whole mental manipulation thing could be is seen as creepy and intrusive, it truly was not. considering that Izuku did commit suicide and had been suffering from severe depression most of his life, knowing that Shuniya could get in his mind to right it up and save Izuku from his own self-destructive thought was comforting beyond words.
Izuku could remember all the times he'd awoken from a nightmare, drenched in cold sweat and shaking like a leaf, all alone only for as long as it took Shuniya to figure out the door, and even less for his ghost-like sibling to dog-pile him.
His mother... would sometimes tell him to go back to sleep, it was just a nightmare... but before that, she would hold him tight and coo over her poor, fragile, quirkless baby.
Well, that was at the beginning. After that, he was left alone to deal with his night terror.
His mother never bothered asking him about his wounds and burns, she never pried. Sure the Privacy was nice... but how much was too much privacy? And when was respect for privacy considered neglect?
Shuniya, on the other hand, would shamelessly pry and dig for answers overall wounds and scars...
Sure, it may seem intrusive but... Shuniya would only act like that when a suspicious wound or some unexplained blood smell would be there. otherwise, he let Izuku be.
Maybe it was because he was from outer space, or maybe it was because his religion was based on the concept of love and care. But one thing was for sure, the interstellar angel managed to strike a comfortable balance between privacy and... the opposite.
Izuku would have his own room with a door. But if something fishy happened that would put him in immediate danger, either physical or mental, Shuniya would intervene. But otherwise...
otherwise he was as trusted as someone who did a suicide attempt. Even more, maybe.
Inko... Izuku doubted it would be as accommodating or balanced. She just let him be. She simply washed his bloodied sheet and replaced his cloth with second-hand stuff.
That's it.
...
"Dad... can we go?"
One could have heard a pin drop at this moment.
Inko stared at Izuku, her mouth slightly open as she worked out the implication, Shuniya was not different.
But unlike the mounting fury in his mother's eyes, Shuniya's eyes held wonder, surprise and... Affection.
Shuniya Dwei loved Izuku despite his flaws, despite his mental health issues, and despite his lack of a quirk, Shuniya Dwei loved him like a son... His Master's precious soul.
Even if Izuku was still more human than Matter, and even if Shuniya was others and an angel of God.
The god of destruction saw him as family.
Izuku has a real Family now.
He smiled at his chosen father, who returned it with a teary grin himself.
"I should have killed you the moment you were born." Inko hissed, breaking the moment. "The moment I saw your toes... I should Have known there would have been nothing I could-" But before Inko could continue to destroy whatever image of a good mother she had left. The Police officers and social workers were already moving in...
And Shuniya didn't let Izuku witness what happened next, unwilling to have his new charge, his new son got more traumatized.
~0~
They were back in a taxi, this time, Izuku did not hesitate to curl up to Shun... to his Dad's side. Practically burying himself in his side as he tried to digest what his... what Inko...
'I should have killed you the moment you were born.'
Shuniya held the traumatized boy closer as tears fell from his eyes, thankfully, Rimura had taken over the driver, and thus, he would not ask any weird questions. Izuku was among the family.
"Mom... She called me Deku... not Izuku..." Izuku... Deku mumbled.
He should have known, he really should have known...
What type of parents would not look at their babies' toes? Who would not play with those adorable unused beans, wishing to hear a pure baby belly laugh?
"I'm sorry ma'am, your son has the extra pinkie joint, he's quirkless."
"O-Oh no... Izuku, I'm so sorry."
Now that he'd thought about it more, his mom hadn't sounded all that surprised at the news.
He flexed his toes, idly wondering how many quirkless babies had been disposed of when their parents had played with their pinky toes? How many had been sold, abandoned and downright killed?
'`twenty percent and falling... practically no birth of quirkless babies in the current generations...'
you didn't need an X-ray to see the second toe joint.
He... he felt hot, he felt cold... and sick...
Oh so sick.
"My son." Shuniya mercifully began as he felt Rimuro, his favourite, gently soothe his stomach. " You are neither useless nor living on borrowed time. Of this, I promise you."
Izuku remained silent, for some reason, he felt numb, despite the tears falling from his eyes.
His mom knew... Katsuki had been... he was just repeating what he'd heard... Inko and aunty Mitsu's words.
Ah... now he felt something...
anger...and sorrow.
"Keep it in, for now, son. Now is not the time to unload it. Rimura?"
"Yes, dad?" Rimura spoke through the mouth of the cab driver.
"Can you please take us to Dagoba beach?"
Izuku felt the three dark matter perk up.
"Sure, want us to Stop at Govinda and grab some prashadam for the after-party?
"Yes, that would be wonderful... I'm sorry, Kids, but I don't think we'll be able to make it to the temple today." Shuniya regretfully addressed his spawn.
"เՇ'ร คɭгเﻮђՇ, ๔ค๔. ฬє ฬ๏ยɭ๔ гคՇђєг ђคשє ค ђคקקץ չยкย Շђєภ ค ๒г๏๏๔เภﻮ ๏ภє." Rimuro spoke from Izuku's arms.
"Yυρ! Iƚ'ʂ ιɳαυʂριƈισυʂ ƚσ αɳƚҽɾ α ɳҽɯ ρʅαƈҽ αɳɠɾყ αɳԃ ʂαԃ, ʅҽƚ αʅσɳҽ α ƚҽɱρʅҽ." Rimuru piped up, his voice even clearer then the two. "ɯҽ ƈαɳ αʅɯαყʂ ʋιʂιƚ ƚσɱσɾɾσɯ, ιƚ;ʂ ɳσƚ ʅιƙҽ ɯҽ ԋαʋҽ αɳყƚԋιɳɠ αϝƚҽɾ ƚԋαƚ."
"Guys... you don't have to." Izuku whispered, he was causing trouble again, taking their precious time.
'you useless child... why won't you die?'
"We may not have to, Izuku. But we want to... you are a burden of love we all desire to carry."
This broke something in Izuku's heart, a dam that had been holding back plenty of emotions.
And those emotions now poured from his eyes like the Ganga and the Yamuna.
~0~
Dagoba beach was... Izuku would say that it was as bad as what people make it up to be but in his honest opinion...
Wow... There was a whole lot of Trash there.
'Maybe that's why Shuniya brought me there.' The young boy thought glumly.
He felt as if all his progress had been washed away to the sea of agony, and he was left with self-loathing again.
Well... at least he got to see the Govinda restaurant and a glimpse into Shuniya's life.
" Izuku," Shuniya called out to the youth. He was holding a bundle of clothes and a pair of heavy boots that would probably fit the greenette's feet. "I got you some armoured clothing and weapons." He spoke with a genuine smile, his wings and one true eye proudly on display.
For having a single eye, the Ancient demon was exceptionally expressive. It was amazing to see how many nuances of emotions could dance in there.
Most of the time, Shuniya was grave like the ocean, seeing the world like a man watching a boring play, and yet, he was not without joy. Oh No! The Ancient being would break out in ancient tunes, laugh without any prompting and always carry about his life with satisfaction and detachment...
Well, the only thing he was not satisfied with was the Political state of Japan (no sane person would think it was right, but it seems Japan's systematic stigmatization of all things broken and abnormal... like mental illness, handicap and gender identity... and quirk status, had finally come back to bite them in the ass.) and his level of Service for God.
Shuniya Dwei always wanted to do more, to give more...
To love more.
It was quite ironic since Izuku had witnessed the angel weeping at the feet of God, Gauranga, crying about the state of the world and how all were suffering immensely yet not looking for a way out. He had also seen him stay up all night as Izuku practically puked his guts out, having gotten a secondary infection... or was it the stress?
He had listened to Izuku, and while he had taken the whole Aldera debacle and Izuku's bullying situation out of the greenette's hands, saying how not doing anything would only make things worse, and that those pathetic Mortals could do nothing against him and his son.
His son...
"Izu?"
"S-Sorry... got stuck in my head again." He answered sheepishly.
Shuniya's eyes soften. "Yes... you had...quite the day." He admitted. "But... I have something that may make you feel better."
"Like... what? Are we supposed to clean up the beach?" Izuku wearily asked. Dagoba was seven kilometres in length and a variety of sides in breadth. It was... completely covered in garbage, raising it well above sea level.
"While the idea would be lovely, my Son. I was thinking of letting you unleash Chaos and your boiling anger on unsuspecting trash piles." The 'fallen' angel 'grinned
"I don't... I'm not angry." Izuku hurriedly denied, shaking his head.
Being Angry meant he would get hurt worst, and his mother-
"Izuku, we both know that this statement is as real as a Ka-Puspa, a flower in the sky."
"There is no such thing as a sky flower," Izuku mumbled and approached the pile of protective clothes and boots. "I just... you won't get mad if I get mad? Will that make me bad?" He asked, warily, his shoulders hunching forward.
"After the hell, you've been through? No, that just makes you human. Being human means experiencing emotions, some subtle, some strong, some pleasant, some unpleasant." Shuniya spoke as he helped Izuku put on the protective gears. "You... have bottled up your emotions. Now it's time to let them all out... Cry, wail, scream, hit, destroy... to whatever you need to get them out of you. And once that will be done, never bottle them up again."
"But... I thought this was normal."
"It's not... you need to find an outlet, a coping mechanism that does not involve a blade to your skin nor the booze cabinet."
Izuku's cheek burned scarlet... yeah, no, he would never do that again, it had just made the problem way worse.
He sighed as he put on the steel-capped boots and armoured one piece and gloves. Then came the safety glasses.
Then he took a rebar and...
Looked back to Shuniya for some more confirmation.
"Go on." His... heavenly father made some encouraging gesture. "Vent out, scream, cry, kick, punch... destroy the piles of trash you see. Just let it all out."
"I..." Izuku's glove-covered hands tightened on the re-bar. Its weight is now a sinful call for revelry. "I don't... I'm..."
"ฬคเՇ, ɭєՇ ๓є ђєɭק ץ๏ย, ɭเՇՇɭє ๒г๏." Izuku heard from inside of himself, and the next thing he knew...
The next thing he knew, Rimuro had opened up the super secure, bog-filled casket overflowing with bottled-up emotion and began smashing them on the ground.
Filled with a decade worth of rage, frustration, sorrow and anguish, Deku attacked a fple of refuse and discarded appliances with abandon, seeing his teacher as he threw chalk at his head for doing the work he was supposed to do. seeing Bakougo and feeling the burns on his skin, seeing tsubasa and…
He let it all out.
~0~
Sometime later.
Izuku looked at the dusk sky going from blue, yellow and finally red. His whole body was lax and sore. He was laying on a blanket, the soft sand of the beach was... perfect and soft.
He'd never... been so active in his life (save from when he had to outrun his bullies, which rarely happened since his... since Inko never fed him right.) and he was now paying the price.
Not that Izuku minded since this pain... was a good pain. Just like the pain, he got when he managed to train for his dream... or, old dream.
In the week he stayed with the Dwei Family (His Family now.) Izuku had a lot to think about.
Shuniya was not against Heroes... just the hero culture in general. How it breeds contempt and hatred, complacency and quirkism.
More Skin disease to bog the soul down, preventing them from seeking the Absolute truth, Sri-Krishna.
...
And yeah, Izuku could now see it... but he also knew that he was not in the mood for destroying society.
Krishna was already doing this and... even if Izuku managed to destroy society and rebuild it, the old problems would not go away, since the source of the infection was not dealt with.
But, as Shuniya had told him, the International Society of KC was already destroying the demoniac society with the torchlight of Vedic knowledge through education and Harinama-Sankirtana, so Izuku had nothing to worry about.
The greenette closed his eyes and let the evening breeze blow over his overheated body, enjoying the clean feeling in his heart.
After exorcising his bottled-up rage, grief and internalized pain by annihilating a whole mountain of trash, Izuku was pooped... and lighter.
He had revealed his anger, the feral beast that lurked in his heart and Shuniya... Shuniya had not been scared.
Instead, he let Izuku scream, rage, vent and cry as much as he wanted.
His... His father was not here now, but he had promised his new wards that he would come back with the food.
'Ah... Right... he saw the ugly me, the villain me...' Izuku shuddered, now that the sun was down, there was nothing to keep him warm. 'I wouldn't be surprised if he just left me here, in this trash.'
"And the next thing he did, Izuku changed his name to Quatro, bought goth boots and dyed his hair purple..." Shuniya spoke loudly as he flew down beside Izuku. " But in all seriousness, Izu. The last thing I want to do is to leave you here, shady people use this place as a dumping ground."
"So... you want to keep me?" Izuku asked, dared he hope?
Shuniya's eye softened. "Of course I do."
"Mama... she wanted me dead." The greenette spoke after some time, feeling oddly detached from his body. "I... I shouldn't be alive."
"Well... that would be a tragedy." The Angel admitted with all sincerity. " Since... I would not have made your acquaintance."
"I'm sure you would like Kacchan... Katsuki more."
"No... I prefer Izuku." The next thing the young boy knee, he was engulfed in a pair of arms and wings. "And... I will admit, your mother had hidden her hate deep in her heart... I had to influence her to have this truth brought to life."
Izuku froze. "But... why?"
Shuniya released Izuku momentarily, looking at the green-haired boy with his one, blood-red eye. "Because I already see you as my son... and I want you to grow surrounded with love and no hidden resentment." His pale face turned a blushing red. "I... I'm sorry. I... you don't have to... I won't force you to love me. It's still up to you."
Once again, Izuku teared up...
But this time... this time, it was out of joy.
He was loved... he was cared for.
He didn't mind Shuniya's trick. Not at all. because in Izuku's traumatized mind… it could pass off all love
" Of course I love you, Son. " Shuniya assured him as he ruffle his hair. "Now come, the Pizzas and fried are about to get cold."
Izuku was on his feet in second. letting those awesome pizzas go cold would be the greatest blasphemy he could commit.