Chapter Two:
Izuku bounced from foot to foot with nervous energy. He wasn't certain how he'd convinced an older teen and a giant to go along with his schemes. But he needed to act fast. Currently his mother thought that Kurogiri was looking after him and Kurogiri thought that he was with his mother. He didn't know how long he could maintain this state of affairs.
Reaching into his backpack, Izuku unfolded a map. "A battle that took down All Might would need to be big. I've been tracking disaster reports and villain attacks around the city and the nearby forest." He pointed at red dots all over the map. "The only incident large enough was this one." He jabbed his finger at a red circle located slightly outside Musutafu. "Half a forest was destroyed. Dozens of fire trucks across the city were called in, but they only arrived after the battle was over. It's also near the airport, which might explain how my father got caught up. The area is isolated. But if Dad took a wrong turn on his way home, he could have easily ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time." Izuku's voice wobbled. His father had nearly died because he was coming home for Izuku's birthday. He dashed away the tears forming at the corners of his eyes. He couldn't think like that. A hero wouldn't waste time blaming himself. A hero would bring the culprit to justice. "Tomura, was your dad also near the airport?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah, he had a trip," Tomura said vaguely.
"FASCINATING, LITTLE LORD," Gigantomachia said. "YOU'RE A GENIUS."
Tomura rolled his eyes.
Izuku wondered if Gigantomachia had mistaken him for someone else or if the giant was living in a dream world like Tomura. Either way, he'd take advantage of it. "The official report said that All Might battled Toxic Chainsaw here. There's no mention of All Might being injured, but they wouldn't want to cause a public panic or embolden villains. But All Might's press team canceled his handshake event right afterward. Coincidence? I think not."
Tomura scratched his neck. "So this Toxic Whatever caused the incident. Case closed. Time to go back home to your mommy."
Izuku shook his head. "I'm skeptical that one villain alone could have caused so much damage. Toxic Chainsaw was sent to Tartarus around the right time, but he's not strong enough to seriously injure All Might. I suspect a coverup, but why?"
Tomura said, "Maybe All Might isn't as strong as you think. He's just a poser who bullies villains weaker than him. Throws a few people in jail to keep the public complacent, doesn't do anything about the underlying ills of society. All Might? More like All Fraud."
"All Might is not a fraud!" Izuku cried. "He's nearly wiped out organized crime in Japan. That definitely counts as doing something about the underlying ills of society. Furthermore, he donates nearly his entire salary and everything he makes off endorsements to charity—" Izuku stopped talking as he recognized a familiar glaze in Tomura's eyes. He must be rambling again. People tended to dislike him after he rambled at them.
New tactic time. Izuku's tone turned coaxing. "If you'll visit the scene of the fight with me, then we can see who's right. If we find evidence of Toxic Chainsaw's quirk, then I'll even admit All Might isn't as strong as I thought." Hell would freeze over first. "But I don't have money for train tickets…" He made pleading eyes. He wasn't sure if this would work, since he didn't even know why Tomura had decided to play along with him.
With a sigh, Tomura reached for his wallet. "I don't ride the train with minor characters. I'll call a cab."
Izuku beamed. "Thank you!" He'd picked the right person to be his wallet.
Gigantomachia said, "BUT I CAN'T FIT IN A CAB."
"Oh, that's right." Izuku tapped his chin, thinking.
Gigantomachia said, "I WILL CARRY THE LORD AND HIS WALLET THERE PERSONALLY. IT WILL BE MY HONOR." He reached down and scooped up Tomura and Izuku.
"Whoa!" Izuku gasped as the ground vanished. With one massive stride, Gigantomachia sent them flying through the air. Wind whipped at his hair. "This is so cool!"
"Let me down you goddamn glitch!" Tomura shrieked, clinging onto a thumb for dear life.
Fortunately, the hospital was located on the outskirts of town so they didn't pass any inhabited areas on their journey to the destroyed patch of forest. Izuku enjoyed talking to Gigantomachia about his ability. It turned out the giant had several quirks—how was that even possible? Gigantomachia demonstrated several of them while Tomura kept trying to decay him.
When Gigantomachia finally set them down, Tomura stood very still for a long moment. He dropped to his knees and kissed the ground. Then he howled, "I'm going level up until I can slaughter you!"
Gigantomachia muttered, "THIS INSECT THINKS HE'S A WORTHY SUCCESSOR. HEH." Coming from Gigantomachia, a whisper was loud enough to shake the few standing trees.
Izuku had already launched his investigation. He knelt down, running his finger through the ashes covering the forest floor. His hand sank in. "Nearly a foot of ash…" he mumbled. "All the surrounding trees were destroyed. It must have been quite a battle." As an All Might fan, he almost wished he could have seen it. "Toxic Chainsaw simply doesn't have powerful enough acid to do this."
"Maybe he was working with another villain." Tomura didn't even look up as he spoke. He'd started playing a phone game.
"Perhaps," Izuku said. "But why wouldn't the news mention his accomplices? If anything, in the past the media has exaggerated All Might's number of opponents to get more views."
Tomura snorted. "You've got me there." He swore under his breath and moved his fingers faster on his phone screen. "Uh. Maybe All Might himself caused all this damage and they covered it up."
Izuku laughed. "All Might doesn't have fire or acid abilities! But you're on the right track. I wonder if they were trying to cover up involvement from a particularly powerful and well-connected villain."
Tomura finally looked up from his game. "Now you sound like a conspiracy theorist." His scorn contained a note of concern.
"AHHHHHHHHH! AN ANT DARES VENTURE NEAR THE LITTLE LORD! I WILL SMITE IT!" Gigantomachia stomped down so hard that the ashes leapt of the pit. A light spray hit Izuku's pants.
"Toxic Chainsaw leaves behind a green sheen on anything that he melts." Izuku looked around. The size of the destruction was daunting. The ash was so deep that it would come up to his knees if he tried to step into it. "Gigantomachia, could you help me look?"
"ANYTHING FOR THE LITTLE LORD." Gigantomachia scratched his back with a fallen tree, then ambled off.
Tomura pointed at a tree lying sideways at the edge of the ash pit. "That looks green. It was Toxic Chainsaw, case closed."
Izuku carefully made his way around the edge of the ashes. "Nope, that's moss." He took a closer look. "Hmm. This tree was sliced, as if with a blade. But there's also this mysterious hole going right through the trunk…look at the size of this handprint here. It could practically belong to Gigantomachia's runty cousin. And all this ash…there must have been multiple villains here. Or whoever did this had more than one quirk, but that's impossible."
Tomura raised an eyebrow. "For a background character, you're pretty smart. You got all the quirks right—uh, or at least, so I'd assume."
Izuku straightened and brushed ash off his pants leg. "Thank you! I have what I came for. Gigantomachia, you can come back."
Tomura said, "Even if you suspect a coverup, it's not like you—we—can do anything about it. Maybe you should let your precious All Might handle everything."
Izuku took that as a challenge. "Even All Might can use help. Our next step is to find a witness. I looked up hospital records of everyone injured around the same time and location as my dad."
"How did you get into confidential medical information? Do you have a hacking quirk?" Tomura asked. He pocketed his phone, giving Izuku his full attention. "That's quite a useful support boost."
"No, Dr. Tsubasa has already acquired access to hospitals around the city through dubious means. I found his password on a sticky note under his desk and 'borrowed' his database." Izuku's shoulders sagged. "Actually, uh, I'm quirkless." He waited for Tomura to laugh at him and call him useless.
Instead, Tomura said, "You found a fast solution with your brains. That's even better. Maybe you're a player character, not an NPC."
Izuku beamed. "So? Have I convinced you to come with me?"
"It would be useful to know if there was a witness that saw—that no one else knows about yet." Tomura's fingers twitched. "Your side quest has been accepted."
"Great." Izuku checked his phone. "I've only found one person who meets the parameters as a possible witness: a legal secretary named Toshinori Yagi. Let's go see if he's woken up."
Tomura felt a stirring of excitement. A missed witness who might have seen something important, maybe even Sensei's face! Sensei would be so impressed if Tomura found this potential security flaw first. He'd tell that snooty giant that Tomura was his rightful successor. Maybe Kurogiri would even stop saying that Tomura was too young for villainy work.
Of course, Tomura would have to be careful that this witness didn't tell Izuku anything that might get him into trouble. In the worst case scenario, he could randomly start decaying things. That always worked in the past.
The hospital was only a few blocks from the forest—it had been the closest one to the attack, and hence the most likely place for an injured civilian caught in the crossfire to end up. However, Gigantomachia couldn't possibly fit on the streets without causing collateral damage to nearby buildings. The giant had burst into tears about being left behind, but he'd been comforted when Izuku explained that he held a critical role in the plan to sneak into the hospital.
The distance was so short that it would have taken longer to call a cab, so Tomura and Izuku walked.
Izuku's phone buzzed. He glanced down, then said, "I have to reply to this." After texting, he said, "Mom noticed that I wasn't in Dad's hospital room any longer, so I told her that a nurse took me out for lunch. We'd better hurry." He picked up his pace.
Tomura asked, "What's your dad like? Does he bring home a lot of loot?" He was trying to feel out how important Izuku's father was to the organization.
"He's rich, if that's what you mean." Izuku shrugged. "A huge workaholic. He brings me and mom a lot of gifts."
Tomura picked up on the subtle lack of enthusiasm in Izuku's voice. He knew what it was like to have a father who considered it his duty to provide money but not affection. "My first edition dad was like that. He owned his own business and Mom stayed at home, so he thought that meant he made all the decisions." An old hurt leaked into his voice.
Izuku glanced at him sideways. "Was? Did you lose your father?"
Tomura regretted bringing up the topic. "I have my sensei now. He looks after me."
"I'm so sorry for your loss."
Tomura grunted. "Not much of one." He tried not to think about his other family members. Sensei had told him that guilt was pointless and should be channeled into rage at society. "Sounds like your dad is a waste too."
"No, it's not like that. My dad loves me a lot. He's just very busy. He doesn't seem to have any friends. Sometimes I think that he married Mom and had me so that he'd have a constant source of affection on demand, but he never realized we'd expect him to adjust his work schedule to spend time with us. But he always shows up for my birthday." Izuku's voice caught. "Until today…today is my nineth birthday…" Tears trickled down his cheeks.
Normally Tomura walked away or threw a temper tantrum when faced with a situation that required emotional engagement from him. But this kid and his shitty family issues reminded Tomura so much of his younger self that he couldn't quite bring himself to be as awful as usual. Instead, he very gingerly patted Izuku on the back.
Izuku sniffled. "Thanks."
"I don't have a tissue," Tomura said gruffly.
"It's okay. I always carry them." Izuku fished around in his backpack. "I'm a crier."
"What does your father think about you fanboying over heroes?" Tomura asked. It seemed like a strange hobby for a villain's kid.
"Dad can't stand heroes. He's practically like an old man shouting at clouds." Izuku shrugged. "When I first told him that I wanted to become a hero, he had a long list of reasons why I shouldn't. We argued about it for hours. And it's not fun to argue with my dad. He's smart, and good with words, so he bludgeons you into submission. He doesn't treat a disagreement like a chance for both people to air their opinions—he treats it like battle that he wants to win. Especially when I was younger, he'd talk circles around me. Eventually I stopped talking to him about my dream. Maybe he thinks I gave up. But I didn't. I just got tired of him making me feel small."
Tomura was reminded even more strongly of his father, who'd been less charming but every bit as pushy about having his own way. He felt another wave of sympathy. Becoming a hero was a stupid dream, but he'd bet if Izuku's dad had simply explained this reasonably instead of being such a bully, Izuku would have already come to understand that. When Tomura had been young, he'd wanted to become a hero partly because he'd secretly longed for savoir to swoop in and take him away from his oppressive house. He wondered if Izuku felt the same way. Tomura renewed his resolve to ensure that whatever happened, he wouldn't let the kid get hurt.
"Dads are a pain," Tomura said, unable to think of anything better.
Izuku said, "Maybe my dad's brush with death will make him realize that his family is the most important thing to him, and he wants to spend more time with us. Then after I uncover the culprit behind the attack, he'll finally respect my dream!"
Tomura tried to think of something to say that wouldn't be too mean. Nothing came out.
"I really hope my dad gets better." Izuku hunched his shoulders over. "I know I just complained about him a lot, but I love him. I shouldn't have said anything bad about him, not when he's in so much pain."
Oh no, what if the kid was about to start crying again? Tomura had to head this off. "The doctor has the personality of a random monster spawn, but his stats are totally broken. Even if your dad died, the doctor would resurrect him." Maybe the asshole's personality would even improve as a Nomu.
This won a tiny smile from Izuku. "Thanks. I needed to hear that. I just feel so helpless. I started this whole secret mission because I wanted to feel like I could do something to help my dad. Thank you for going along with me—" Izuku screeched to a halt. "Is that a limited edition teenage All Might figurine?"
Tomura craned his neck. A crowd had gathered around a street vendor. He held up a young-looking All Might doll, apparently auctioning it off. The price had gotten as high as a dozen video games. Tomura couldn't imagine spending so much money on something so stupid-looking, not even to decay it afterward.
Izuku mumbled, "I don't have my birthday money yet and I already spent my allowance…" He turned pleading eyes on Tomura. "Can you loan me money? I'll pay you back as soon as I get my birthday money, I swear it!"
Tomura grunted. "I'm not interested in funding society's hero obsession."
"But I need that for the investigation!"
"You do?" Tomura frowned. "Does the figurine have a clue about All Might's abilities?"
The street vendor called, "Going once…"
"It's almost too late!" Izuku hopped up and down.
Tomura whipped out his credit card. "New player here!"
As Izuku walked away clutching his new figurine as if it was his own child, Tomura asked, "What lore did you get from the item drop?"
"If there's All Might lore, then I know it already." Shamelessly, Izuku grinned. "This was vital for the mission as morale booster."
"You little squirt." Tomura mussed Izuku's hair. He ought to be angry, but he was too impressed. That had been a lie worthy of a villain.
Smart and evil. Tomura had found the first player who he wanted to recruit to his party. As soon as Tomura managed to talk him around, Izuku would no doubt become a terrifying villain.
"You owe me for this," Tomura said.
"Of course, I'll pay you back like I promised," Izuku said.
Tomura shook his head. "If I have to explain to Sensei why I charged All Might merchandise to his card, then I want something extra." Seeing Izuku start to look nervous, Tomura grinned. "You, me, next Saturday, I'm going to teach you how to play all my favorite games."
"You want to hang out with me?" Izuku flushed. "I mean, yes, definitely! I'm free anytime!"
"Hmmm, what game to show you first?" Tomura tapped his chin, considering. He wanted to utilize Izuku's skills with his latest online MMORPG, but the sheer frustration of Tetris would surely bring out the younger boy's inner villain. He'd found a gaming friend and a world destruction partner. A rare loot drop!
Izuku stopped in front of the tall white hospital. He took deep breaths, composing himself. No more crybaby Deku. Game face on.
Tomura twisted a dial on a radio. He whispered, "I sent the signal to Gigantomachia. Now we just have to hope he's smart enough to pull this off."
"I'm sure he—" A loud wail cut off Izuku's words.
Gigantomachia rose out of the forest like a volcano erupting. He hopped up and down, shouting. "OW! I HURT MY FOOT! OW!" His stomping made the trees sway and shook the ground all the way to the hospital.
In Izuku's eyes, Gigantomachia's acting looked stilted, but the hospital workers bought it. An ambulance team fell into arguing about how to treat a giant. Someone brought out a roll of bandages as long as Izuku's forearm and loaded it into the back of the ambulance.
The hospital employees and visitors came out to gape at the hopping giant. One nurse shouted "Villain!" but her coworkers grabbed her before she could call the police, arguing about the Hippocratic Oath and quirkism.
While everyone was staring at Gigantomachia, Izuku and Tomura slipped into the hospital. As hoped, the receptionist desk was empty. No one stopped them.
"Come on," Izuku said, tugging Tomura toward the elevator. "Toshinori Yagi is on the fourth floor."
The two of them got on the elevator just before people starting to come back into the hospital waiting room. Izuku glanced at his phone to remind himself. "He's in Room 417. Let's hurry."
A tall, gaunt blond man lay in a hospital bed. He had almost as many bandages as Izuku's father. Even so, what little could be seen matched the picture of Toshinori Yagi. He'd been hooked up to countless monitors. A metal device was attached to his stomach. Izuku took a closer look and shuddered. It seemed like a giant chunk of this poor man's torso had been ripped away.
"He's sleeping." Izuku backed away. "We shouldn't bother him. He clearly needs the rest."
Tomura strode forward and shook the bed, growling, "Wake up! I didn't go on this long side quest for nothing!"
Izuku grabbed Tomura's arm. "Don't! He looks like he might die if you breath on him wrong!"
In the distance, a gunshot fired. A giant roared. The entire hospital swayed. Tomura stumbled backward, his back hitting the wall.
A bulky metal heart rate monitor fell toward the unconscious Toshinori.
"No!" Izuku flung himself forward. He caught the steel box before it could hit the patient. In his current delicate condition, Toshinori might die if something so heavy fell on him. If it caused harm to an innocent person, then Izuku would regret ever coming up with this plan.
Izuku barely stretch his arms wide enough to hold the box. Then the end table slid forward, bumping his legs. His muscles strained. He slipped backward, jostling Toshinori. Izuku put one arm behind him to catch himself. He twisted his wrist at such an angle that he almost dislocated it in order to avoid moving Toshinori's life support equipment.
One blue eye cracked open. Toshinori moaned.
Tomura leapt forward, yanking off one glove. The table and heart rate monitor decayed away as he touched them. With his other arm, he caught Izuku. "Hit points still intact, Player Two?"
"I'm all right. Thank you." Izuku got his feet out from under himself. "You have such a cool quirk!" He could already think of a million uses for it for rescue work. A pang of hunger twitched under his chest.
Tomura spoke into the radio. "Yes, keep running, you oversized plot device! We're both fine! But if you keep breaking the scenery, it might not stay that way." To Izuku, he said, "Some panicky glitch shot Gigantomachia."
"Oh no! Is he hurt?" Izuku gasped.
"Do you think bullets could penetrate his skin? He's fine, of course, and I told him to get out of here before he team-kills us out of stupidity."
Izuku bit his lip. "I'll have to apologize to him later. I could tell people were scared of him, but I never imagined anyone would attack him." He hung his head, ashamed.
Tomura said sagely, "Society is garbage."
Bending over, Izuku examined Toshinori to make certain that he hadn't been hurt. The life support equipment was still in place, phew. Toshinori seemed to have fallen back into a fitful slumber, muttering to himself. Izuku straightened his pillow.
As his hand brushed Toshinori's face, a jolt ran up his arm. Izuku felt hungry. It was as if he'd been starving his entire life, and suddenly a feast of all his favorite foods had been laid out before him. An itch built up under his palms and in the back of his throat.
I want this quirk. Izuku had no idea what Toshinori's quirk might be, but it was strong, and delicious, and he wanted it like he'd never wanted anything before. He reached out…
Then he stopped himself. What had he even been doing? He didn't know, but he'd been left with a vague feeling of embarrassment and shame.
In the bed, Toshinori screamed and struggled to sit up. "No! He's come back from the dead to kill me!"
Izuku held the hospital patient down before he reopened his wounds. "You're safe, sir, I promise. I'm sorry. This is all my fault."
But Toshinori was too strong. He thrashed free. His unfocused gaze swept over the destruction of the room. "I felt him trying to take One for All again. I would know that sensation anywhere!" His words slurred. "I can't fight him off in this state. You…I heard your voice. You said you wanted it."
"I'm sorry!" Izuku cried, mortified and wondering how Toshinori could have read his mind.
"Then take it! Take it and run away! Quick, drink my blood." Toshinori ripped off a bandage and shoved his bleeding wrist at Izuku's face.
"Mmph!" Izuku cried as blood slipped down his throat. He involuntarily swallowed.
"The hell kind of berserker mode is that?" Tomura dragged Izuku out of Toshinori's grip. "For a skeleton, he's strong."
Izuku gagged and spat. "We should leave." They'd agitated this poor, delirious man enough. Besides, they'd definitely tripped an alarm when they'd broken the heart rate monitor. A doctor would be coming any minute.
Before they could escape, a woman in a white coat ran in. "What happened?" Her eyes fell accusingly on Izuku and Tomura. "Did you two delinquents destroy hospital equipment?"
"Nonsense." Toshinori straightened and rubbed his hair. "These two boys are my nephews, and they protected me from the earthquake just now. After you replace the heart rate monitor, we need to talk." His eyes bore into them, forbidding running away.
After Toshinori's room had been repaired, Izuku sat down beside his bed and explained everything. Everything except Gigantomachia, since that could get him in trouble. He finished, "I'm so sorry we bothered you, sir. I just wanted to bring the villain who maimed my father to justice. Did you see anything when you were attacked?"
"I've sunk way too much gameplay into this side quest," Tomura muttered. He leaned against the wall playing a phone game.
Toshinori said, "I'm afraid I didn't see anything, young Midoriya. Just a flash of light, and then I fell unconscious. I'm so sorry that your father got hurt. The area seemed isolated—I had no idea anyone else was there. But it's far too dangerous for you two boys to be seeking out information about a villain with the power to injure All Might. You might turn yourself into a target. I must insist that you cease this investigation."
"That's what I've been telling him." Tomura sighed. "So the NPC doesn't have any plot-importance. This whole thing was a waste of time."
Izuku looked at his hands. "Okay," he whispered. Now that his investigation had nearly harmed an innocent person, he'd lost his enthusiasm for it. A hero would never risk a civilian like that.
"I'm quite confident that All Might already took care of the villain." Toshinori patted his hand. "You're such a good boy. I can see how much you love your father. You even jumped into danger to save a total stranger like me! I'm so sorry for losing my head and practically attacking you. I must have been delirious. Even so, that's no excuse for what I did to you."
"Don't worry. I'm fine," Izuku said. He'd gargled in the bathroom sink and washed the taste of blood out.
Izuku was still very confused about what had happened back there. What had he even thought he'd been trying to do? Why had he been so convinced that he'd known what Toshinori's quirk was when now he was completely drawing a blank? He tried thinking, Can you read my mind? Toshinori didn't react. Izuku didn't seriously think that was his quirk, anyway. Aargh, if he didn't figure out Toshinori's quirk then it was going to bug him all day.
Toshinori turned to look at Tomura. "Thank you for saving me as well. You leapt straight in like a hero!"
"I save your life, and you give me insults in return?" Tomura grumbled.
"You don't like heroes, my boy?" Toshinori asked.
Tomura's fingers danced across his game. "I only like corgis and video games."
Izuku said, "I love heroes, though!"
"What good luck!" A wide smile spread across Toshinori's face. "Do you want to become a hero?"
"More than anything." Izuku sighed.
"Oh, thank god. It would have been a big problem if you didn't want to become a hero—ahem." Toshinori cleared his throat. "Would you like me to train you? I've mastered many forms of martial arts, and I also know the industry very well."
"That's a tempting offer." Izuku kept getting turned away from dojos because of his quirkless status. They claimed he was an insurance liability, but he knew discrimination when he experienced it. Would this man turn out to be the same? Better to find out right away. He looked at his hands. "But I'm quirkless."
Toshinori chuckled nervously. "Somehow I don't think that will be the case much longer…I mean, don't worry about it. Please let me train you. It's very important. For…reasons."
"Then I accept!" Izuku beamed. He hadn't given up on catching the villain who'd hurt his father, All Might, and the nice Mr. Yagi. But this time, he would do it right. He would become a strong hero, then track the culprit down.
Plus, training together would give him more chances to figure out Toshinori's quirk. He could just ask, but that would be cheating. Izuku was determined to figure this out on his own.
Tomura straightened and put away his phone. "Excuse me? I'm not letting you turn my party member into some fake, glory-obsessed hero."
"I quite agree," Toshinori said. "I hate heroes like that. Too many of them only care about money and not about helping people."
Tomura blinked, caught off-guard by the agreement. "Uh…"
"Why don't you join us so that you can ensure that I'm training young Midoriya properly?" Toshinori smiled charmingly.
"That's…"
"Yes, please come!" Izuku clasped his hands together and made puppy eyes. He was already planning to use Tomura to convince his overprotective mother that he was playing heroes with an older friend rather than doing anything dangerous like hero training. Plus, Tomura seemed like a cool person who might even become his friend despite their age gap. It would be so wonderful to finally have a friend.
Tomura looked between them. "I suppose martial arts training could be useful for many professions. Player Two could use some strength in his noodle arms."
Izuku snorted. "You don't look so strong yourself."
Toshinori said, "I'd be happy to teach you both. Let me give you my contact information."
When Tomura held out his phone, Izuku knew he'd won.
Hisashi twisted and turned in his drugged semi-slumber. Quirks, quirks, quirks. He wanted them! He needed them! He'd rather be starved or denied oxygen then go a single second longer without stealing a quirk!
Yet no matter how he screamed inside, no one could hear his cries. He was trapped in a body that refused to work. His cursed doctor came to add more drugs to his IV in response to his moaning, when all he wanted was a single damn quirk!
A small hand slipped into his. A voice said, "Dad, you wouldn't believe what an exciting day I've had."
Hisashi didn't have enough mind left to listen. Quirk! His All for One pounced.
He was met by a younger yet equally vicious version of All for One. The fight was short and brutal.
Hisashi's All for One would like the record to state that it was too injured to properly fight back. That young whippersnapper certainly wasn't the stronger quirk! Nevertheless, the older All for One was left savaged and bleeding while the younger one strolled back to his owner with several new quirks.
Hisashi moaned in pain. Izuku kept talking.
When Hisashi groaned and activated his infrared vision quirk, Tomura's hazy outline loomed over him.
"Sensei! Are you finally awake?" Tomura cried.
"Quirks…" Hisashi whispered sadly. He felt so strange and empty inside. More than half his quirk hoard was gone! How could he possibly take over Japan like this?
"I'm so glad!"
"Where…are my quirks?"
Tomura blinked. "Either with you or inside a Nomu?"
"Yes, bring me a Nomu," Hisashi muttered deliriously. He wanted a quirk right now!
"Here." Tomura pointed at a Nomu dressed up like a nurse. Not a regular nurse's scrubs—a bright pink uniform with a miniskirt and fishnet stockings.
Hisashi stared. "Tomura, that had better not be your otaku fetish."
"Ew! No, Sensei!" Tomura recoiled. "I think the doctor suggested it."
"He would, he's very strange," Hisashi mumbled. His burning desire for a quirk warred with his disgust at touching that thing.
"Kurogiri found the uniforms. Most of them looked normal but he started sticking them in short-skirted ones after he ran out of hospital supplies."
"Oh my god, it's Kurogiri's fetish?" Hisashi shuddered.
"Don't falsely accuse Kurogiri!" Tomura scowled. "He's innocent. I overheard the doctor yelling at him for getting into his personal belongings."
Hisashi contemplated Dr. Garaki using that skimpy nurse costume for his private fantasies and shuddered. His disgust won. He pulled back his hand. He wasn't touching that thing now he knew where it might have been.
Tomura said, "If you've woken up, I wonder if Izuku's father is awake. Oh, Izuku Midoriya is this brilliant kid I met! He's going to be a villain who will rock Japan someday!"
"Why, thank you," Hisashi said, pleased and too drugged to question how Tomura knew his son.
"I'm planning to recruit him into my party. He could use a big brother. The kid's dad is a waste-of-pixels deadbeat."
"Hey," Hisashi said, blearily wondering when his student had gotten the nerve to roast him to his face.
"Total scum, and believe me, I know scum fathers." Tomura brightened. "Oh! I also met this cool old guy named Toshinori Yagi. He's going to teach me martial arts. He's a bit naïve, especially about the value of heroes, but he has some great ideas for improving society. We've been texting a lot. I'm starting to think he makes some good points about how using violence might dilute my message. If given some more time, I'm confident I can convince both Toshinori and Izuku that All Might is horrible. After all, it was All Might's fault that Toshinori ended up so gravely injured!"
"Who are you calling scum?" Hisashi slurred, still hung up on that part.
"Izuku's emotionally abusive father?" Tomura shrugged.
"Dad!" Izuku screamed, running to the room. "I'm so happy that you're awake!"
His son blazed so strongly that Hisashi was nearly blinded. Izuku had stolen all his quirks!
So much for Hisashi's plan to murder the culprit. (And he'd so greatly been looking forward to that murder, too.) Since when did Izuku have All for One? The quirk had developed late for Hisashi, so the same must have been true for his son.
Wait, maybe this could be an opportunity! He was currently too injured to run his business, but he could train Izuku to take over. They would rule Japan as father and son.
Tomura gasped. "Your dad is my sensei?" He glared. "Sensei, how could you have denied me such a cute little brother for so long?"
"You're going to become my big brother?" Izuku cried. "I'm so happy!"
This suited Hisashi's new plans, so he said, "I'm so glad to see you two boys already getting along." Gears turned in his mind. Since Izuku had no idea about his villainy, he would have to be brought into the family business slowly and gently.
"I've got great news, Dad," Izuku said. "I was just complaining to Toshinori about how disappointed I am that All Might's handshake event was canceled. Now he's holding a new one! I'm so happy to see All Might recovered enough to go out in public. He's a true hero. And you woke up just in time to keep your promise to go with me. I've still got your All Might costume!"
"How wonderful," Hisashi said weakly, realizing that he'd fought All Might and gotten his face ripped off for absolutely nothing.
Izuku and Tomura met Toshinori at the beach. Running forward, Izuku cried, "Did you hear about All Might's new handshake event?"
"Why, yes!" Toshinori beamed. "There will be wheelchair ramps to make it easier for your father to attend. Or so I heard."
"It's so great!" Izuku bounced up and down with excitement.
Tomura gagged. "More disgusting hero worship from NPCs."
Toshinori said, "I brought you a gift to raise your spirits, young Shigaraki." From behind his back, he revealed a carrier with a puppy. "Since I don't know anything about video games, I got you a corgi instead." He winked. "It's a present for saving my life. I kind of already gave Izuku something."
The puppy looked so much like a miniature Mon-chan. Tomura's heart flipflopped. With trembling hands, he took the carrier and unlatched it. But he didn't dare touch the puppy.
The corgi barked and licked his face. Tomura was in love.
Izuku dropped to the sand and stretched in preparation for training. As he reached for the sky, black lightning outlined with red danced down his arm. A blast shot forth into the sky. "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Izuku screamed, reeling backward in shock.
Toshinori blinked. "Whoa. One for All must have reached quirk singularity already. I wonder which past user that quirk belonged to?"
Author's Note: Toshinori got a student (two students), Izuku got One for All, Tomura got a dog, and Hisashi got de-quirked. Happy ending!
Toshinori feels terrible about forcing One for All on Izuku, since he's fully aware that an offhand statement about wanting his quirk doesn't qualify as informed consent. The painkillers Toshinori was on clouded his judgement. But Izuku will be way too thrilled about getting the Best, Most Delicious Quirk Ever and Ultimate Piece of All Might Merchandise to care.
The vestiges are all face-palming that Toshinori gave One for All to the kid who was trying to steal it, except First, who's bouncing off the walls with happiness. They'll come around. The cuteness of elementary school Izuku is hard to resist.
Hisashi doesn't know that All Might's civilian identity is Toshinori Yagi and Toshinori can't recognize Izuku's father under all the bandages. But they'll probably hate each other at first sight anyway.
No matter how many strange quirks that Izuku develops and despite his resemblance to a certain someone, Toshinori will stubbornly remain convinced that they're all coming from One for All. Maybe All for One forced more quirks on his brother than the story told, who knows?
Then Izuku starts subconsciously giving a quirk to Toshinori and then taking it back later in order to satisfy his hunger to use All for One, and Toshinori feels extremely vindicated that his theory proved to be correct. All the quirks must have come from inside One for All. Sir Nighteye only claimed that Izuku had a connection to All for One because he was bitter about not being consulted before All Might picked a successor. Toshinori will nobly try not to rub it in too much.
Also, even though Gigantomachia is hanging out with Izuku on a regular basis now, he somehow keeps just missing Toshinori whenever he visits. Based on Izuku's description of Machia, Toshinori thinks that the Midoriya family adopted a dog. Probably a Great Dane.
It's more likely that Toshinori and Izuku will influence Tomura to change than the other way around. Finding out that All for One is Izuku's "deadbeat dad" might finally make Tomura realize that his sensei isn't such a great improvement over his last father. Also, I'm not saying that Tomura will take the All Might = Toshinori Yagi revelation well, but it will still put a crimp in his murder plans. Tomura currently doesn't think of All Might as a person, just a symbol of everything that's wrong with society. It's much harder to kill someone once you see them as a person.
Although it's even more funny to imagine the Kurogiri-All Might identity reveal. The two of them were getting along so well, bonding over being Tomura's good parental figures and helping him develop as a person. Then at U.S.J. it's time for: "You're All Might?" "You're Shirakumo Oboro's resurrected corpse?" So awkward.
Trying to turn Izuku into a villain definitely won't work out so well for Hisashi. He'd better learn to love retirement. At least now he's spending more time with his family!
