Izuku's going through a lot - I don't blame him for his hot temper right now.
This is your first major trigger warning for Yoichi's trauma - he goes into depth about it and you may connect some uncomfortable dots. Please skip if allusions to incest and assault is triggering.
The next morning, Hinato walked with Izuku back to the spot they met, telling him to be careful going home. Izuku watched him leave solemnly before wandering around, trying to remember his way.
Somehow he found it, and as the building came into view, relief flooded him. He went to the side entrance and knocked on the door.
The few seconds of silence with his heart in his throat and thoughts muddled seemed to stretch on as he stood there, eyes downcast and fists clenched.
What would All Might do? He asked himself, and his fists squeezed tighter. What would he have done if this was his reality?
The day of the mall flashed through his brain again, and he grit his teeth. Shigaraki's hand tight around his throat, one shaky pinky mere inches away deciding his life and death. Uraraka's trembling voice and her shocked face, wide brown eyes staring confusedly into his.
What would All Might do?
Kirishima's yelling, the wind howling in his ears, Kacchan's triumphant, manic grin…
The door opened, revealing a haggard woman with bloodshot eyes.
"Izuku," she whispered in relief, stumbling forward and hugging him to her chest.
The feeling of his mother's arms tight around him, making him feel so big yet so small in her hold, the lingering scent of her perfume, her soft seaweed-green hair brushing against his cheek made his throat tighten.
As he rested his chin against the crown of her head, Shigaraki sauntered into the doorway, narrowed red eyes scanning.
"Well," he huffed in annoyance. "Guess who came back after all."
"Tomura," a deep, chastising voice made his skin prickle, and he looked up to see All For One come into view, his large hand clamping down on Shigaraki's shoulder. The boy flinched for the slightest of seconds before his scowl twisted.
"Welcome home, Izuku." The older man smiled charmingly at the boy, identical vermillion eyes seeming to twinkle with mirth.
The boy could hardly repress the sinking feeling of dread in the pit of his gut.
Inko tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, shifting her head with her eyes narrowed behind her glasses at the screen.
"How about Tokyo?" She asked. "They have good reviews from alumni."
Izuku set the spoon down, clinking against the bowl. Taking a breath, he replied, "I want to choose Besupin Heroes Alliance Academy."
The two adults paused. Shigaraki's grip on the fork tightened.
Hisashi raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you sure?"
The boy leveled him with a stare.
"W- well, um," Inko spoke up, nervously adjusting the glasses, "certainly a good choice. But… a private school for heroes?"
"I said I'd given up on Yuuei. I never said I gave up on heroes."
The mother's eyes softened and her lips parted to answer, but the sudden screeching of a chair caught their attention.
Dust flaked from Shigaraki's shaking fingers as the other half of the fork clanged to the concrete floor. His eyes were shadowed behind his hair but his teeth were grit as he whirled around and stalked off.
The tension in his shoulders returned as he watched the dust fall. Not even his mother's soothing hand on his could make him relax, especially as Hisashi said, "Never mind him. He's still a little… testy about this new arrangement."
"What made you decide on Besupin Academy?" Inko asked again, softly.
"I met some boys who go there," he answered just as quietly, giving her a half-smile. "They were so kind… that I thought maybe things would be different this time."
Her viridian eyes softened at her son, and she leaned to the side to hug him.
Meanwhile, Hisashi was watching silently, bright ruby eyes scanning his son's face up and down. He repeated, "Are you sure, son?"
"Don't," Izuku immediately replied, staring him in the face with what he was sure was a stern expression. "Don't… don't call me that."
"Izuku…" his mother pleaded.
"If our reunion is going to work, we need to work together, Izuku," Hisashi explained slowly, expectantly, as if speaking to a young child. "I am only trying to help you. I've even allowed All Might to continue to train you on your quirk, and I can help you sharpen that mind of yours-"
"You never even asked me if I wanted your help, did you?" He retorted, folding his arms.
"Does it matter?"
"If you're going to play the part of the forlorn father who came back because he missed more than a decade of his child's life and wants to make up for it now, then yeah, I guess it matters." His eyes were cold, his tone biting. He noticed his mother's brow furrow in disapproval, gaze bewildered at this new emotional outburst, yet she remained quiet.
"I only want what's best for my son."
"Does disappearing for ten years after it comes out that your son is Quirkless count as 'wanting the best'?" He snapped. "Because to me, that sounds like the opposite."
"Are you ever going to let go of that childish belief?" Hisashi sighed wearily.
"Are you going to give me anything that will convince me that I shouldn't?"
Hisashi paused. "Do you want my help?"
Why, thanks for asking, Dad," the boy said in a mocking tone, "but no. I don't. And I never did."
The white-haired man rubbed his forehead. "Look, Izuku. I understand your anger, I really do. My father wasn't the best either. But you need to work past it. We need to work past it."
The teenager's hands slamming down in the breakfast table cut him off. Inko flinched back into her chair as the entire structure shook violently, the laptop rattling and milk sloshing out of the cereal bowl.
"After everything you've done, why on earth should I 'work past it' with YOU?" He snapped, his voice reverberating angrily around the empty kitchen. He pointed an accusing finger at him and continued, "Your plans to kidnap my childhood friend and attempt to make a villain out of him when you knew how badly he wants to become a Pro Hero, your plans to kill an innocent child who just lost his parents to a villain attack and barely had a chance to grieve them, your plans to kill my mentor RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME…" He took a shaking breath and focused all of the rage spilling from his chest onto the man sitting before him, his own face blank. "Even after all of that, you decide the best thing to do is to come back into my life, after you sent your own student to KILL ME. Did you even tell him? Did you even tell him that I was your son?"
Hisashi's mouth opened, but he didn't let him speak. "No, don't answer that. I know it wouldn't have made a difference either way. He still wants to kill me, and honestly out of you and him I think I trust him more because he's honest about it."
"Why on earth should I ever trust what you say?" He demanded, leaning forward with electricity crackling in his eyes. "Because when I look at you, all I see is the one who hunted me down and tried to kill me with his bare hands. To me, the only thing you'll ever be is Shigaraki."
Everything was silent for several moments. Izuku's chest heaved with the effort of keeping calm and Inko was staring at her lap with an unreadable face, her hands folded together and shaking.
"Out of everyone, I was hoping you would understand," he heaved another longsuffering sigh, shaking his head. "Now that All For One and One For All are reunited, everything is as it should be. We are always destined to be together, Izuku."
He didn't back down. His words only made Izuku's fingers clench, and he spat, "Is that all I'm worth to you? Am I just another stupid Quirk?"
"Izuku, that's enough," Inko's trembling voice broke the silence, sharp and tired.
Izuku turned to his mother, gaze meeting hers, and the weariness in her face made his mouth shut.
"What's done is done," she continued, shooting a sharp look towards both of them. "I can't change it. You can't change it. We have all been hurt by your actions, Hisashi, but I do agree that we need to work past it. Izuku needs more than me. He needs a father."
Izuku pushed back on his chair. It screeched loudly in the kitchen, making her wince.
"I don't need a father," he seethed, shooting daggers at the man across from him. "I already have one."
Boxes were strewn around the room haphazardly, their contents cluttering every available surface including the futon in the corner of the room. It was small enough to be comfortable, yet big enough to not feel suffocating. One lonely window was against the far wall, gray gloomy skies dimly illuminating the space.
A lonely box only labeled 'Izuku's Room - Books' sat against the opposite wall, its flaps open and revealing it to be full of notebooks.
Izuku sat with his legs crossed and arms folded on his bed, eyes shut and mind concentrating on meditation.
Here he was again, in a vast expanse of nothingness with only hard ground denoting he was standing and not floating.
He looked around the monochromatic space and sighed heavily before slumping his shoulders. "I really messed that up, didn't I?" He asked out loud.
"Perhaps you did," a voice answered.
He startled, whirling around to try and locate whomever had just spoken. "Who- who said that? Where are you?"
The voice paused, and then in a state of surprise, questioned, "You can hear me?"
"Shouldn't I?" His nose wrinkled in confusion.
There came a gentle chuckle, and the voice continued, "I suppose so. I wasn't aware that you would be able to sense me quite yet. You're still so inexperienced."
"I've been making leaps and bounds with my training of my Quirk," Izuku defended. After a pause, he added, "I don't want to be rude, but I feel a little stupid just talking to thin air. Do you have a name or something?"
"Perhaps it will be easier to explain if I just show myself."
In the blink of an eye, Izuku was face-to-face with a vaguely familiar-looking man - shoulder-length, stringy silver hair parted to one side, one part of his bangs covering one eye, faced him, and a single green eye so much like that of his mother's stared right back at him.
He took a stunned step back, stammering, "Sh- Shigaraki?"
The man frowned, looking away. "I am not him - but I was a Shigaraki."
"I don't understand…"
"It's difficult to explain to those not in the know." He sighed, before attempting to smile and held out his hand. "Allow me to properly introduce myself: I am Shigaraki Yoichi, the younger brother of All For One and the very first holder of One For All."
At the look on Izuku's face, the man's smile grew into one of amusement. "I presume my relation to him is surprising?"
"No, no, it's just-" the green-haired boy let out a long breath, holding the sides of his head in his hands. "This explains a lot."
"I regret that we couldn't have met earlier, but I wanted to see if you would be receptive to the finer points of the Quirk." Yoichi's face was kind as he took Izuku's hand and began to walk with him. "You see, this Quirk that you were given - it's not like most of the ones you may be familiar with. It's nothing like Explosions, or Float, or even Persuasion… rather, this Quirk is alive."
"You mean you're not the only one inside it?" He guessed.
"Smart boy." He nodded, gesturing to the empty landscape. "When one is given this Quirk, there's a short period of time while user and Quirk have to form a bond together. Once that link is established, they'll be able to tap into the powers contained within. Did Toshinori tell you of any of this?"
"He wasn't even aware that there were other Quirks within this one," he breathed an incredulous laugh. "The first time I used Blackwhip was… an experience."
"There are eight of us in all - well, technically seven. Your mentor hasn't passed on yet, but his soul is still tethered to One For All."
"So you mean… when I die…"
"Your soul will also inhabit the Quirk, unless it dies with you." Yoichi gave him an apologetic smile. "This power is not to be given lightly. You will need to choose carefully when you're ready to pass it on."
"Who would be able to contain such power, though?" He questioned, looking around at the grays and whites that melded together like one big watercolor. Fragments of buildings unknown littered the skies around them. "How would I ever be able to explain all of this?"
"I would say you'll know when the time comes, but unfortunately, I don't know if that will ever come." Yoichi's visible eye grew hard and he sighed. "Of all the ways to meet my brother again, I regret that this had to be how it is."
"Did… did All Might know?" He was scared to ask. "Did he know and not tell me?"
"I don't think any of us did. Not until we felt a link with your soul. The others were… surprised, to say the least."
Izuku stopped walking, causing the gentle grip Yoichi's hand had on him to pull slightly. The man turned in question.
"Do you hate me?" His voice was quiet.
"Why would I hate you?"
"Because… because I'm…" he gestured lamely to himself.
Yoichi looked him up and down for a moment before his gaze softened and he rested his free hand on his shoulder. "Izuku, listen to me. No matter what may have happened in the past, no matter what horrible things my brother has done to humanity, none of that matters. You are not tethered by his mistakes. You are not tainted by your heritage."
Izuku felt his throat close up with emotion as the taller man squeezed his hand encouragingly. "Izuku, you may be my nephew, but you are not my brother. You never will be my brother. Out of anyone in the world… you are the most worthy of the legacy of One For All."
He wiped the tears that welled up in his eyes, trying not to weep in front of the First. It was difficult to keep his emotions from spilling over, but he barely managed to keep them in check as they kept walking.
"Despite our destined hatred for one another, at one point in time I truly did love Hisashi." His gaze was far away as he led the younger along. "He was my brother, after all. But over time, he began to change. The world was warring with itself, and that manifested something evil inside him. Something even I could not drive out."
He turned to Izuku. "You are wholly correct to be suspicious of him. All For One at its core is a horribly selfish Quirk. It's driven not by love, but by selfishness and greed - and that is a power that would corrupt anyone with its influence. I don't hate my brother, but I don't love him either - and it's only by passing on my own that I hope to save him."
"But how?" The boy's voice was breathy and desperate. "How can you save someone like that? How can you even begin to try?"
There was a moment of silence before Yoichi slowly shook his head. "That, I don't know. For a century I've tried - my successors have tried - to eradicate the evil that is All For One. But now, I fear that there's nothing left of Shigaraki Hisashi to save."
"I could not save him, but you can." His green gaze turned to him, determined. "You can still save Tomura; All For One's influence hasn't consumed him yet. I have sensed a tiny seed of good still inside, waiting to germinate."
"How can I if he hates me this much? He tried to kill my friends, my family, me - sometimes I worry that maybe I'm trying to make the impossible possible."
"If not for you…" he hesitated, "then do it for Nana. Do it for Toshinori. Do it for us. Do it for the Hisashi that I used to know."
"You are One For All's last hope, Izuku - but we will guide you at every step of the way."
The boy nodded resolutely, wiping his eye. "I will. I swear, I'll try to find a way to get through to him."
The older man looked into his face for several moments, before he smiled kindly. "That's all I can ask of you now."
Placing a hand on the other's shoulder, he gestured around the space. "All of this - this has been my home for over a hundred years now. One by one, my successors have joined me, and I have been able to feel this Quirk grow in power and scale, user by user. You… you will be the one to finish the fight. I can feel it."
"How?" A chill went down Izuku's spine at the declaration, and he stared at the silver-haired spirit in silent surprise. "Why are you so sure it'll be me? Why not someone more… capable?"
Yoichi chuckled in amusement, as if he were privy to an inside joke. "Izuku… you are so much more capable than you believe."
"But before this, I didn't have any backup," the teenager protested, flexing his free hand. "I didn't have a regeneration Quirk, or an intelligence Quirk, or even a defensive Quirk like Kirishima-kun's. I was just…"
"Quirkless?" Yoichi's visible eye crinkled.
For some reason, his words resonated with the boy. As he looked at the spirit further, he noticed just how emaciated he appeared. His bony frame was lithe and pale underneath the baggy shirt and pants he presently wore, his cheeks sunken and his eyes eternally tired and sunken. His hair wasn't lush and soft, but rather, it looked stringy and greasy… almost as if he had died starving.
Yoichi quietly admitted, "When I first got this Quirk, I was functionally Quirkless too. In fact, I was so sure of it - but when my soul first became fused with it, I realized the horrible truth - and knew that my destiny had shifted to passing on my unwanted gift to someone whom I could trust to keep it safe, and ultimately destroy All For One for good."
"Yagi-san once made the analogy that passing on a Quirk without the other person's consent was like having a gift forcibly shoved into your hands without giving you the option to decline," Izuku said slowly, turning to look at the older man. "What… what was it like?"
Yoichi stopped for a minute, his gaze growing pained and his hands shaking a bit as he crossed his arms across his chest. His mouth opened several times, but he never said a word.
Finally, he said, "You will never know how much I envy your naivete."
Izuku tilted his head in a silent encouragement to continue.
The spirit let out a trembling sigh before turning his body fully to face the ninth user. "Yagi-san was mostly correct; forcing a Quirk onto someone is a trauma that I am so glad will never have to exist in a normal world of Quirks - something that nobody, especially not the Quirkless - should experience. It's traumatizing, it's painful, it's an ugly demonstration of the other party's power over you… it's, to put it simply, reprehensible."
He tugged up one of his sleeves, showing the scars on his wrist. It looked sickeningly like he'd spent years with a cuff on his arm. "When my brother first locked me away, he claimed it was for my own good. He was just beginning to become a beacon of the pro-Quirk movement, claiming that those with unnatural power needed to use it to protect the weak - the Quirkless. In an era where being Quirked was so uncommon, those with Quirks weren't at all interested in using their gifts to help. Rather, they wanted to use them to get back at those who hurt them for it. My brother latched onto that mindset, and eventually decided that my being powerless would have to change."
His eyes took on a faraway light, his lips pressed together for a second before he continued in a shaky voice, "The night he passed on what would become One For All… I still continue to be tortured with its memory. He… he came to visit me and give me food, just like he always did in the evenings. But this night in particular, he told me he had a gift for me. I was suspicious, but I was so desperate to patch things up with him, to get him to see how wrong he was, that I decided to hear him out just in case I'd finally gotten through to him."
He blinked, and Izuku noticed wetness growing in his eyes. "He… he grabbed me… and he put his hand over my face. All I could think at that moment was, 'Dear Gods, if he's about to kill me, make it quick.' But instead of being merciful, all I could feel was this burning sensation through my body and mind, as if he were incinerating me from the inside out."
Tightening his grip on himself, tears began to dribble down his cheeks. "He told me then, that since I was born to be so weak… he would make me strong. He told me that because of his generosity, that I should be grateful. He forced me to take a power I didn't want, all because he wanted me to be indebted to him for it. He wanted to control me."
Izuku felt his heart clench in his chest at his predecessor's tears, and he moved to embrace him.
Yoichi didn't resist, instead heaving a shaky sigh. "The night he gave me One For All is one I had nightmares of for months. I wished he would just forget about me and let me starve so that I wouldn't have to live with such a burden on my soul. For months my hatred of him grew, so much so that when he came to visit me, all I could feel was my heart pounding in my chest and that fear came back - that primal fear that he would tire of my existence and decide to make an example out of me, his poor, weakling little brother."
Then he looked into Izuku's face, and the heartbroken expression made tears bubble up in the younger's own eyes. "I pray that you never have to experience what I had. I pray every day that you go out that my brother won't do to you what he did to me. That's all I've ever asked for, Izuku - for my nephew to retain his innocence - to not be tainted by the immeasurable hatred that is All For One."
"I'm… I'm so sorry," Izuku choked, wiping his eyes. "I never thought…"
"This is why humans should not be blessed with such power," the First continued, wiping his own tears away. "Because the ability to give and take - that is only for the gods themselves to decide. To give and take life, to give and take power - that is not to be placed into mortal hands, for mortals are so easily persuaded to give in to it. Mortals will never choose benevolence in that instance, only malevolence. On the night my soul was linked with One For All, it was as if my brother had desecrated some part of me that I hadn't known existed. I had never been anti-Quirk, but I had never been pro-Quirk either… but taking away my choice to decide, taking away my ability to choose… that I can never forgive. He took away a part of me that night that I can never regain. All For One has irrevocably ruined me."
"When you were given this Quirk, you were given the rest of me - the rest of us. We have all been given a choice in this life, Izuku - a choice of whether to fight or to stand down. One For All has never been given lightly, and I will always be grateful to the other seven for respecting that. The Quirk itself has always felt… alive, in ways I can never explain, but a part of it is me - the part of me that's still fighting back, the part of me that can still fight back, fight for what was lost. Until All For One is defeated, I doubt I will ever rest in peace."
"And if this Quirk dies…"
"Then all of our efforts will have been for nothing at all." He finished, bowing his head. "While I regret to have saddled a child with such a burden, Yagi-san chose well in the end. You had the chance that I didn't. Now all I can do is help you." He tried to smile. "Do the things I couldn't, Midoriya Izuku. While you still have the freedom to do so, I beg you to choose. Choose what you want. Choose where to go. Don't ever let my brother take it away from you."
"Even if it means I die?"
"While I pray fervently that it never comes to that point," his identical jade eyes flashed as he leaned in. "If you need to fight, then fight. Fight like hell itself is coming to swallow you whole. Give him the battle that he deserves, and avenge each and every one of us that his greed has struck down. Make that bastard pay."
I wonder... how much of Izuku's newfound anger is him, and how much of it is him...? Perhaps we shall never know.