FULL SUMMARY:
All For One breaking free from Tartarus sets in motion a series of unfortunate events that culminates in him pulling his son Izuku from Yuuei by force. Now starting over in a new city, Izuku hasn't yet given up his dream of being a hero and following in Toshinori's mighty footsteps. But how can a teenage hero-hopeful balance his dreams along with having to get used to new - and mostly unwanted - additions to his cozy little family of two?
Welcome to the prequel to Did My Time! I finally got this finished, and I figured I'd crosspost so that more people could read it. While I didn't originally have a cohesive timeline for DMT, I worked everything out and hoo boy is it a doozy to read through. If you have questions about when a specific event took place, I'm fairly confident I can answer by now. I'm still not finished mapping out The Greatest Loss (the fic taking place at the same time as this one, timeline-wise), so I can't answer everything, but don't be afraid to ask. I have a Twitter by now and it's linked in my bio, so if you want to interact with me there, go ahead.
Just warning you now: This fic will deal very heavily with Izuku's point of view during the two months he was gone from Yuuei. A lot of that is dealing with his thoughts and anxieties about his family. I can't promise this will be a very happy fic for the most part, but you were already anticipating something like that with Suspected Traitor in the tags, weren't you?
There will also be OCs! If you have issues with them written into fics, then please leave now! This is your only warning, and I do not want to waste my time reading complaints later on when certain characters become more prevalent. They won't take the places of any canon characters, but some of them will have a direct effect on the plot.
Last, but certainly not least: this will have disturbing plot elements, such as implied mindrape, as well as other dead dove elements that will hit close to home for those of you, like myself, who have experienced sexual assault. No incest or actual sexual assault has taken place to a certain character, but the events that happened to him will feel awfully familiar. If this triggers you, or makes you otherwise uncomfortable to read about, I will warn you in the event that it's discussed so that you can skip. Please heed this warning.
The evening wind was cold and unforgiving as he stood out on his balcony, staring emptily at the horizon.
The room behind him lay silent, with a single suitcase lying in the middle of the room, stuffed full.
Flashes of the day kept flashing through his mind, try as he did to forget. He had to forget.
Izuku clenched his eyes shut and balled his fists, a single tear slipping down his face.
"You think... I'm the traitor," he breathed in disbelief.
Stop it. He stubbornly clenched his jaw.
"I swear, I don't know how he got out!"
"That's not what I asked! WHY did you break him out?!"
Please, please stop. He squeezed his eyelids even tighter shut, trying to block out the shouts.
"I didn't- this was just to-"
"I don't want excuses, I want answers!"
"STOP IT!" He suddenly shouted, eyes flying wide open as he stared at the darkening sky. Tears dribbled down his cheeks as he hiccupped, and as he gripped his balcony, he weakly whispered, "I… I didn't…"
"Izuku," a voice whispered.
He startled, whirling around as a heretofore unknown swirl in the air began to grow and warp, twisting itself into a portal that filled his stomach with dread.
He pressed his back against the balcony as a familiar vantablack mist appeared, glowing yellow eyes staring back at him from the darkness.
What should I do?! He thought desperately, eyes darting back and forth between the warper and the other doors. Should I scream? Should I fight? Should I run?
"Don't be afraid, Midoriya Izuku." Kurogiri's deep voice sent a shiver down his back as he bowed at the waist. "I'm merely here to escort you to your father."
"M- my father?!" He exclaimed. "But- Dad's in America right now- isn't he?"
The warper merely closed his eyes. "That is incorrect."
The boy sputtered for several seconds before his eyes grew wide and he knew. " No… you're lying. You're lying to me to get me to let my guard down."
"Believe what you wish, but if the master wanted me to kill you, he would have struck when you weren't aware."
Before Izuku could say anything else, he felt the floor beneath him disappear, and he was falling through pitch blackness.
"Izuku!" His mother's voice filled his ears and her warm arms wrapped around him, grounding him to reality and soothing his frayed nerves. "Oh, my baby… my baby," she was softly saying, pulling back enough to look into his face sadly. "What did they do to you?"
Izuku's lips trembled, and he tried to smile down at her.
It must not have been very convincing, because Inko swiped her thumb across the bottom crease of his eyelid and pulled him back in for a hug, tighter this time, as she sighed shakily into his shirt.
For a precious few moments, he hugged back, his own emotions threatening to break through the numbness that had fogged over his mind, threatening to make themselves known through his eyes. Only when he felt something hot trickle down his cheek did he realize he was crying too.
"Since Izuku got my text, he should be all packed up and ready to go," Inko spoke up, and it took him a moment to realize she was speaking to someone else. "Would you mind getting his things, Kurogiri?"
"Of course, Mistress Inko." The shadowy man bowed to her and slowly, his own shadows enveloped him and he disappeared into the night.
Then she squeezed his shoulders, and he could practically feel the smile in her voice as she spoke quietly, "Izuku, we managed to bring someone special to say goodbye."
He looked up, only to see a tall man with a muscular build standing with a hand atop the head of a little girl, matching silver hair standing out in his vision.
"Eri?" He choked, eyes widening when she turned around.
She smiled brightly, chirping "Deku-nii!" When she reached out for him, Inko let go and moved away so that he could kneel before the little girl, letting her wrap her tiny, fragile arms around his neck. The apple shampoo she loved so much touched his senses for a brief moment as he hugged back.
"Eri, what are you doing here?" He questioned, patting her hair down. "I thought you were…"
"Your daddy asked me to!" She replied. "He asked me to help him get better, and he said that if I did, I could see you."
Izuku looked up to the handsome man, eyes narrowing slightly as he tried to recognize him. The curly silver hair framing his angled jaw and the freckles dancing about his cheeks was vaguely familiar in his memories, yet he just couldn't…
"Daddy?" He asked her, and as she pulled away, her bright red eyes shined up at him. "I don't know my dad, Eri. I haven't since I was a baby."
A frown creased her brow, and she turned to point behind her. "But… but he said that he was Deku-nii's daddy."
Something in her eyes seemed familiar as he looked from her to the man, and when he smiled at the two, it finally clicked.
Shigaraki's red eyes, mixed with the freckles he vaguely recalled seeing on his own father's cheeks as a young child…
… However, it was not his voice that spoke, but rather, someone else. A name coldly escaped his throat, and his eyes narrowed of their own accord. "Hisashi."
Hisashi's eyes went wide at the name, and he raised a hand. "Izuku?"
"Deku-nii?" Eri's scared voice made him snap out of it, and he blinked rapidly before turning to her.
"I'm sorry about that, Eri," he said gently, raising a hand to brush her cheek. "I'm not mad, I promise. I'm just surprised."
"Izuku," Hisashi tried again, a placating expression on his face. "I know it's been a while, but I want to be back in your life again. Eri has helped me do that."
"Is it true? Are you really leaving for good?" She questioned sadly, turning her wide-eyed stare onto him. She looked like a kicked puppy, and it really made the guilt churn in his stomach.
"Yes, it's true, I have to go somewhere else." He tried to give her a comforting smile when her eyes began to tear up. "But I'm not leaving for good, I promise. I'll see you again, but right now I need to heal myself, okay?"
"Deku-nii is hurt?" She looked him over, lifting a hand in concern. "Do you need my help to get better?"
"No," he carefully took her hand and lowered it. "I'm not... hurt, Eri. I'm not hurt somewhere you can heal."
She still looked upset, and that's when Inko stepped in, placing her hands on the girl's shoulders.
"Eri, Izuku needs to go away from Yuuei for a while," she explained quietly. "He needs to be somewhere else to help people."
"But… but you help me!" She desperately countered. "And Aizawa-san! And Mirio-nii! And… and…"
"They don't need my help anymore," he choked. With every word, his heart was breaking. "So… so I need to go find other people to help, just like you."
Eri's eyes were full of tears, yet she didn't shed them. "You promise you'll come back?" Her tiny voice trembled.
He nodded. "I promise."
"Then I'll…" she sniffled, raising her chin. "I'll be a good girl! I'll be brave, and I'll help Mirio-nii and Aizawa-san while you're gone! And when you come back… I'll help you too!"
The sincerity in her voice made the lump in his throat grow, and he blinked rapidly and nodded. "Be a brave girl for me while I'm gone, okay?"
"Izuku, we have to leave," Inko murmured, resting a hand on his upper back.
"Let's go, while the security system is still offline," Hisashi added, glancing back at the campus with a disdainful sneer. "I have a place where we can stay the night."
Izuku hugged her one last time before getting back to his feet. "Tell Aizawa that…" he trailed off before shaking his head and smiling solemnly. "Tell him that I'm sorry, Eri. I'm sorry I failed."
The little girl blinked, tilting her head.
"I'll take you back, miss Eri," Kurogiri spoke up, bringing the group's attention his way.
"Thank you for helping me get better, little one," Hisashi said pleasantly, patting her on the head as she walked past him to where Kurogiri stood.
"You're welcome, Mister Deku's Dad!" She brightened some at the praise, waving to them. "Bye-bye!"
As Kurogiri put a hand on her shoulder, his mist hid her from sight and she disappeared.
As the last spots of silver left his sight, Izuku felt the hopelessness creep in again, just as the mist.
