OKAY SO, this is one of the big ones, both figuratively and literally. A HUGE chapter but one with a big, big pay off.
Without further adooo, let's finally see what happens when father meets son.
Enjoy everyone!
"Alright, young heroes and heroines!" All Might stood, fists on his hips, grinning out at all of them, "I understand you've all picked your hero names, is that correct?"
There was a general, "yes, sir", from the class.
"Excellent! I'm sure all your names are absolutely wonderful, and I look forward to learning them all! From this point on, once you step out of that locker room, I want you to only refer to one another with your hero names, and that includes me. No more 'All Might-Sensei' out here, just All Might. This is common practice in the field, and you should start to learn that habit now."
There was a general buzz of excitement from the class, though once again Izuku found himself keeping his mouth shut. What did he have to be excited about? He had no hero name, after all.
He wasn't even sure if he should ever get one, and even if he did try and pick a real hero name, what would it be? The Adversary? Destroyer of Kings? Angel of the Bottomless Pit? Spawn of Lucifer? Those were all names casually suggested by Nemesis, except the last one, which Izuku had thought up himself though Nemesis had riled against it.
They were their own being, after all, and their father was nothing but a worthless worm. Izuku had reminded it that it wasn't their father, but his father, to which Nemesis simply scoffed and reminded him of their usual 'fire and shadow' line.
His father. It had been seven days since he had learned about him, and he still had no idea how to deal with it all. It had at least become part of the garbage fire that was his life, though he was finding that he was slowly starting to function a little more normally around his friends.
They had noticed his shift in mood, of course. Glumly picking his own name for his hero moniker had been what had really set their notice off. Still, he had managed to cover it saying that he was just stressed about internships. Izuku was pretty sure they weren't buying it, but considering Hitoshi now seemed equally stressed did help sell the idea.
Dark Shadow hadn't been convinced either.
The demon-quirk had immediately noticed something was different with both of them the moment Fumikage had brought him out that Monday lunchtime. First, it had accused Izuku of hiding something, which he denied until it had given up, deciding that it wouldn't believe anything Nemesis said anyway, then it had turned its eyes to Hitoshi.
For several moments it had simply stared at him before moving back and keeping quiet, eating at its apples and occasionally glancing at the purple-haired teen.
Izuku had to wonder why the demon was acting so strangely, though Hitoshi had managed to hide the sigh of relief by biting into his cheeseburger and joining in a conversation about where they were going for the internships, though he had kept his true pick a secret from all but Izuku.
Apparently, according to Hitoshi, All Might had promised him some help in finding a worthy teacher for his internship. He had been warned off using All Might's power, the name of which was also a guarded secret, until he was in a safe enough environment to test it.
All Might had said his body wasn't 'completely ready' for it just yet, and it might take the better half of a few months training his form up to be strong enough to test drive it.
Izuku had morbidly joked about just doing it anyway, after all, it had worked out great for him.
A day had passed, and now their first hero lesson of the week was about to kick into full swing.
The day was a bright one, with a few clouds in the sky, and the class was gathered outside a large warehouse in training ground Alpha. As the class began to be organized into small teams to run through the exercise All Might had set up, which was a timed hostage rescue situation in which the teams had to either rescue the two hostages or diffuse and-or secure a bomb, Izuku found his mind continuing to wonder about the largest of his worries.
His father.
And if he should agree to meet him.
Inko had brought it up very lightly with him yesterday, wondering if he had any thoughts of the matter.
Truthfully Izuku still didn't know and found himself opening up, then closing down the still empty text chat with Lucifer's name over it.
It was weird. He had met the man, he had talked with him, and yet those times no longer felt real. They were more like… practice runs. After all, in those times he had been talking to Hizashi Hokori, not Lucifer, Lord of the Fallen.
The true 'first' time they would meet would be something else entirely.
"Izuku?" Izuku snapped out of his thoughts like someone had hit him in the cheek with a rubber band.
"Whu-"
Standing before him was Shoto. He had changed his uniform, being an all blue jumpsuit with white boots ensemble now. His expression was a dull, stoic blank as usual, though there did seem to be a slight irritation in his heterochromatic gaze.
"We're paired for the exercise. We should come up with a strategy."
"Oh, right, yeah," Though in truth Izuku already knew his strategy. Go in there, grab as many hostages as he could fit in his arms, and leave. The hostages were represented by some of the smaller robots and had been programmed to say things like 'help me' and 'get me out of here' and 'All Might, more like Filthy Meat Bag Might'. Apparently, they hadn't found way to get that one removed.
Or so Power Loader-sensei had claimed.
He was confident enough at least with using Nemesis to boost his speed, and Nemesis it seemed, was in no mood to play around and would rather get this over with. It always preferred the combat-oriented exercises anyway.
And yet a sudden thought hit Izuku. Maybe a little good could come out of this week. He was paired with Shoto. Shoto who Hitoshi suspected to be the third cursed child in the class.
Shoto who only had to use his fire once for Izuku to be sure.
This could be his golden opportunity! He could get Shoto to use his flame and see for himself, up close, if his soul was scarred.
"So, erm, any ideas?" Izuku braved as he fiddled with the end of his tail, carefully trying to seem like the cautious teammate.
"He's a strange creature," Nemesis whispered through his mind as Shoto looked away and towards the building their exercise was taking place in, "A soul so caged in ice, and yet, we sense his loneliness, his eagerness to have someone reach out to him. He is so powerfully gifted, yet he has nothing."
Izuku noted Nemesis's cold, but interesting assessment. Though it wasn't exactly a hard conclusion to come to. Anyone who talked to Shoto long enough got that impression from the boy.
"You move in and secure the hostages, I'll stop the bomb," He paused for a moment, "Can you use your wings yet?"
"Oh, erm, no, not really."
"By my assessment of the parameters, I don't think you'll be able to rescue all the hostages, not unless you use your power, which is risky."
Ouch, but fair.
"Can't you, I dunno," Izuku pretended to idly state, "Burn down the bomb with your fire?"
"It's a bomb. It would explode." Shoto locked him with a narrow stare, "I thought that was obvious."
"Yeah, right, dumb idea, sorry," He shrugged and gave a quick smile, "Got a lot on my mind lately so…"
"Hm," Shoto didn't press any further, "I could freeze the bomb."
The exact opposite of what Izuku was trying to get him to do, but he supposed it would give them a pass for the round. An easy pass. One that Izuku knew he wouldn't feel as though he had earned, but at this point, in this particular week, he was willing to just take what he could.
"… sure," He sighed slightly, "I guess."
"You guess?" Shoto looked back to him, again locking him with that ice-cold gaze, "Do you have a better plan?"
"No! No, I just-" Izuku paused and shook his head again, "Sorry- sorry- I- We can do your plan. You freeze the bomb and I'll secure the hostages."
Shoto nodded once, and that was it. He folded his arms and turned back to the building, watching it as if any moment something about it would change. Izuku knew their conversation was over, and that he had probably blown his chance of seeing Shoto's fire. If he asked him directly, he doubted the boy would just show him. If anything, he would probably seem suspicious, and that was the last thing he needed.
"I'm sorry, by the way."
The sentence was so out of left field that Izuku didn't actually believe he had heard him. "Did you- did you say something?"
"I said I'm sorry," Shoto replied, without any hint of hesitation or, really, any actual emotion at all, "For what I said at the festival. It was wrong of me to challenge you like that."
"Oh," Izuku blinked at this, then nodded once, "Erm, it's fine, honestly it, erm," He smiled slightly, "It actually kind of boosted me on. I wouldn't have fought so hard if you hadn't said anything."
"His challenge was accepted, and we rose to face it," Nemesis growled its boast through his brain, "Though we were cheated from our victory against him. Next time, we shall succeed, and we shall do it standing over his defeated body."
Izuku paused for a moment, before realizing that he had a chance here. Not to bring out Shoto's fire, but perhaps create something of an opening for a future advantage. "I think you got to Hitoshi the most, though." He added a small, fanged smiled, "He really went after you, made you use your fire and everything."
This was met with the tiniest flicker of emotion from Shoto, one that was barely reflected in the twitching of his cheek and the way his eyes seemed to soften for just a second.
Izuku feigned a moment of thought before adding, "I'm kind of jealous of you, actually."
Shoto turned his head back towards Izuku at this.
"Your fire seems like, you know, normal fire." He shrugged and twitched a self-pitying smile at one corner of his lips, "Mine's just… horrible." He paused for another second, weighing his options in a half-second of judgment before taking the plunge. He sighed heavily and looked away from Shoto, "I get my quirk from my father, but I hate it. I hate his stupid power." His voice dipped and he knew he was maybe going too far, being too obvious, but his bitterness was carrying him away. "I wish I could trade it away for, I dunno, something, anything else. Even being quirkless." He sighed and rubbed his tired eyes, "Sorry, didn't mean to spill all that out I've just- I've had a long week. Family stuff, you know?"
It was a huge gamble, and all it would take was for Shoto to ask if Hitoshi had passed any information on, information he no doubt swore he would keep quiet about, for it all to come crashing down. True, Hitoshi hadn't told them much, but Izuku remembered his words on the beach, how he had briefly mentioned telling Shoto the same advice he gave to Izuku.
He remembered it being about fathers. Which, when combined with Shoto's possibly broken soul, implied something about Endeavor that Izuku wasn't sure he wanted to know.
Shoto was being quiet, and Izuku wasn't meeting his gaze. Any second now his teammate would begin with the angry accusations and-
"You hate your father?"
The voice was… not harsh. It was cold, but that was just Shoto being Shoto. Izuku felt flame lick along his scars as he forced his anxiety down. He couldn't be so obvious, and he had risked too much already.
"Yeah, I do." Izuku shrugged and looked back to Shoto, then he suddenly shook his head and went to look away, "Sorry, you don't want to hear this, we should-"
"I hate my father too," His answer honestly surprised Izuku, even if he already suspected it based on Hitoshi's words. Still, the measure of his voice was… chilling. It was said with such a cool, calm sureness that Izuku felt it almost stab through his skin.
"Oh," Izuku blinked, "I'm… sorry, to hear that, I mean." God, he knew he was doing a far worse job than Hitoshi would do. He'd know exactly what to say to lift people's spirits. All Izuku could do was act dumb and awkward. He let out a single, joyless laugh, "Heh, look at us. The two fire users in the class and we both have crap fathers, what are the odds, right?"
"I would say the odds are pretty far-fetched," Shoto replied as if the question had been a serious one, yet before Izuku could follow it up, he continued, "Do you talk to him?"
"Who?"
"Your father."
Izuku blinked at this and glanced around. The other students were starting to get ready, and he knew their prep time had to be running out soon. Still, he had started something with Shoto, something he didn't want to finish just yet. "N-no, I've- erm- I've actually never met him, kinda. I mean-" He wondered if he should continue. This was information not even his own friends had yet, but he was close to something here, he was sure of it. "He and my mom aren't together and he's been out of my life for, well, all my life."
Shoto seemed to wait, impassively listening, and yet, his gaze was a focused intensity that told Izuku every word was being quietly absorbed. Hitoshi was right, he was the type to be quiet and listen.
"But lately he's been wanting to get back in contact, it's why I'm a bit scatterbrained," He chuckled nervously at the end of his statement and scratched at his pointed ear, looking away, "I dunno what to do."
Shoto hm'd for a moment, though he didn't take his eyes from Izuku, and the teenager was feeling increasingly like the boy would never look away again. Finally, however, he simply stated, "Meet him."
Izuku felt fire wash through his scars as he looked wide-eyed to his teammate, and he couldn't stop the sliver of anger in his tone as he said, "What? Why?"
"Your quirk is volatile and dangerous," Shoto pointed out with all the subtlety of a bulldozer, "But you said you get it from him. He might have answers to help you control it." He took another second before stating, "I'm going to intern at my father's agency, even though I hate him. Since the festival, I've decided I want to use my fire to help others, but until I know how to use it, all I'll do it hurt myself and those around me. That won't do."
Izuku found himself absorbing everything Shoto was saying with a silent, eager fascination.
"Just because I share his blood, doesn't mean I'm anything like him. Just because I have his power, doesn't mean it's his power. I'll take what he has given me and make it mine." He paused, then looked back over to All Might, who was starting to gather students to his side. "Hitoshi taught me that. I'm surprised he didn't teach you either."
"You know, maybe he just did," Izuku smiled. It was a small, genuine smile, but one that was backed up by the candle-fire that flickered through his scars.
"No, he's not here, he's with Koda," Shoto quickly, and bluntly, replied.
Izuku went to argue it was a figure of speech but decided it would be a losing contest and just nodded, "Yeah, yeah, right. Obviously."
For a moment Izuku truly, truly wondered what Hitoshi saw in this guy. Sure, he was handsome, but he had all the tact and humor of a brick being thrown through a window.
If Shoto caught the smile, he didn't show it, and Izuku had the distinct impression that he didn't. Instead, as if they had just finished talking about the weather, he turned and began walking towards the gathering crowd, with a, "Come on, class is starting."
As Izuku followed behind him, fire ghosted across Izuku's scars, and the grating blood-growl of Nemesis whispered into his brain, "Take what he has given us, and make it ours… yes, we can do that."
Two days passed like a hazy dream.
Two days since the night Izuku had finally texted his father.
He had almost been overcome with nerves as he had sat at the kitchen table with his mother hovering over his shoulder.
And yet the responses had been… odd, at least from what Izuku had expected. Lucifer had replied to his original message of greeting with joy, or at least he said he did. Then, between the two of them, they had quickly arranged a meeting.
Friday, after school, in his office.
And he wanted to meet him alone.
Inko had quickly gone to argue that she should be there, that it was unfair to let Izuku walk into the demon's den without someone looking out for him. Izuku, however, had insisted it would be okay. That he could handle Lucifer alone, that surely the father would not do anything to hurt his son, right?
It took a little convincing, but eventually, Inko had agreed. Though she had insisted that she come by and pick him up, just so that she was close by if anything did go south.
Friday came before Izuku was even aware of it.
The day passed in a blur, with Izuku taking in absolutely nothing around him other than his placement. His third choice had picked him, which was to be expected after he got no picks at all. No doubt people saw his performance in the festival and had very solidly thought 'no thanks'.
The hero who had picked him, someone called Caped Baldy, didn't exactly shout to him as someone who could help him control the fire he used, or even remotely control the monster within his soul. He was probably just some weak nobody who wanted some unpaid labor to file papers and make coffee runs. At this point, Izuku was expecting literally nothing less.
His friends had noticed his behavior, but Izuku had simply brushed it off as anxiety at… well, life in general, really. Which they had agreed to with shocking swiftness. Only Hitoshi knew of course, and he continued to pressure Izuku to finally tell the others what was going on, reminding him of the previous cost of keeping his secrets.
Yet even Hitoshi didn't know Izuku was meeting with Lucifer. It had come on so quickly that he had barely processed it all himself and found that falling back into his old bad habits of keeping things close to his chest was the only thing in his life he felt he could control.
He would tell them after he was done, he promised himself that at least. For now, it wasn't worth them worrying about, they had bigger things to think about, after all.
The final bell rung, and to Izuku, it sounded like a death knoll.
"Are you coming?" Ochaco's soft voice drifted into his brain like a breeze through a window, and Izuku found himself blinking and looking up from his desk, which still had all his stuff on it.
"Huh?"
"You know, to the station? To go home? Because it's home time?" Ochaco gave him a slightly concerned smile and rolled her fists towards him, "Eh? Eeeeeh?"
"Oh. Right. Yes. I mean- no," Izuku blinked and shook his head, trying to get himself back under control and trying not to seem like an absolute wreck of a person.
"No?" Fumikage asked as he approached Izuku, his backpack, black with plenty of little gothic trinkets hanging from it, already around his shoulders, "Do you have some other event planned?"
"Kinda," Izuku hurried as he simply began shoving things into his own backpack. It was All Might themed, because he was a giant fanboy, but he was starting to decorate it with similar little gothic trinkets, most of which he had bought on their shopping trip the previous weekend. Hitoshi had even gotten him a Dethklok patch which his mother had helpfully sewed onto it.
As his other friends gathered to his side, he missed the look of concern that passed amongst them.
"Hey, Izuku," Ochaco started again softly as he hauled his backpack onto his shoulders, "Is everything okay?"
"No," Izuku replied with a painfully honest tone, "But that's just my general existence."
"Be serious for a moment," Tenya's stern tone instantly robbed Izuku of any glib, "Please, Izuku, we're worried about you."
"You have not been yourself this entire week," Fumikage added, his eyes narrowing, "Secrets weight on the spirit like the anchors of darkness itself, you would do well to unburden yourself."
"He would do well to mind his own damned business," Nemesis snapped from within Izuku's brain.
"I'm fine, guys, really. I'm just," His mind raced for a sudden explanation, then his eyes landed on Hitoshi, "I'm meeting with All Might for something, I might be doing, erm, extra training. You know, to get Nemesis under better control."
"Extra training," Ochaco replied.
"Yep."
"Right before we start our internships."
"Yep."
"Where we won't be at school at all."
"… yep."
They didn't buy it for a second, and Izuku caught the look of irritation that Hitoshi shot at him. The one that said, 'stop lying and be honest'.
But Izuku wasn't lying. Well, yes, he was, but all he had to do was get through this one thing, and then he would tell them. Of course, he remembered what happened last time he had thought he just had to get through one thing. He had almost killed his entire class in a hate-fueled rage of flame and shadow.
His heart tightened, and fire danced through his scars. His tail flicked, betraying his nervousness, but his friends did not press him.
Instead, Hitoshi broke the sudden silence by shrugging and announcing, "Well, whatever, we'll just head out without you. See you Monday, dude."
"Hitoshi-"
"You heard him, he has to meet with All Might, I'm sure he'll be fine," Hitoshi shot Ochaco a quick smile. One that was about as plastic as a smile could get, "Come on, I wanna make sure my position in the going-home club isn't in jeopardy."
"You know we really should join some after-school clubs," Tenya brought a hand down as his friends collectively began moving from him, "They're good for your resumes!"
"If you say so," Hitoshi grumbled out, shoving his hands in his pockets as they moved towards the door.
They left one by one, with Fumikage lingering for just a moment by the door, giving Izuku one last look with his sharp, crimson gaze. Izuku only smiled and gave him a thumbs-up, to which he glowered even more and shut the door behind him.
Izuku was alone in the classroom.
His eyes lingered on the door for a moment longer. They were pissed at him. Hitoshi especially was mad, but it was for the best, he knew it was. He just… he just had to get through this, alone, to prove to the others he wasn't so utterly fragile, to prove to himself he could face his father.
And then they could know. All of them. They could be mad at him later but for now, he just had to get this done.
Just this one hurdle.
His hands were shaking. The silence in the room was heavy and uncomfortable and somehow tight around his throat. He gathered his heavy backpack and moved out, though as he slid the door open, he had to admit he was a little shocked that his friends hadn't waited by the door to demand answers. It seemed like the kind of thing they'd do.
No, he was truly alone in this task.
Lucifer had sent him the room number in the very last text he'd sent to him, one to which Izuku had not replied to. It took him going to one of the other buildings entirely, and the walk through the empty corridors felt eerie and strange.
An empty school was an odd place, too silent and too big. Every now and then Izuku would hear a voice bounce down a corridor, or the sounds of footsteps hurrying, but he never saw or met anyone on his journey to his father's office.
Not a single soul.
He tried not to take it as a bad omen.
Nemesis stalked through his blood like a guardian wolf, hellfire moving across his scars, especially his hands, causing his fingers to twitch and curl into fists on more than one occasion. He knew his monster was prepping to press fire and unlight into his palm, to fight the second their father tried to do… something, anything, nothing even.
But it was ready.
Izuku was glad at least one of them was.
It could have taken Izuku a lifetime to get to the office door. It could have taken a handful of seconds. The space between seemed momentary, yet vast and infinite, and he was there far before he preferred to be.
He felt his stomach twist, and he swallowed thickly.
The door to the office had a simple plaque written upon it. 'U.A. Legal Office: Hizashi Hokori'.
Lucifer waited beyond the door. He could turn and walk away now, he could text his father and arrange a different time, or no time at all. With a simple word he could cut all contact off with him forever and never have to face him.
"We must confront them," Nemesis whispered, its voice honed and focused, "Take what we can, give nothing in return. Show them we are not weak."
If Izuku didn't know any better, it was almost prepping itself up.
His tail flicked, then curled tight as Izuku gathered his strength and knocked on the door.
There was half a second pause before, from somewhere in the office, came a voice calling, "Come in."
This was it. Oh God, this was it.
A shaking hand reached for the door, he hesitated for just a moment, then frowned, grit his teeth, and opened it.
Izuku stepped into a room that was striped by rays of brilliant late afternoon sun and the darkened shadows cast by blinders over several huge windows. They opened out onto an impressive view of the entire U.A. grounds, then the descending hills and trees, and onward to the homes and buildings of beyond.
There was a small, antique-looking coffee table with two opposing couches in the center of the room, and to the furthest wall was set a dark wood executive desk, on which rested an expensive-looking computer, an old lamp, several neatly stacked papers and other office décor. Behind that was a large, and again, expensive-looking, chair with high wings and a high back, and behind that was a wall covered in books with very complex looking names.
The walls were decorated with what looked to be ancient or antique objects, all of which were kept in glass cases. The entire room was centered by an ornate Persian rug that swallowed most of the floor.
But that wasn't what Izuku focused on.
What he focused on was the man standing by the window, looking out onto the world. His pants were a dark blue that bordered on black, though he was not wearing a jacket and instead wore a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up.
The door shut behind Izuku, and the teenager paced slowly into the room, coming to a stop behind one of the couches and refusing to move any further. Nemesis was within him, back raised and teeth bared as it growled at the other man. Though Izuku could feel that it wasn't reacting in the same way it had done with Dark Shadow, or Legion and Tomura at the USJ, or even with Ibara at the festival.
It was on guard against a threat that held no image of being a threat.
The man seemed to wait a moment longer, then turned his head to look at Izuku, and the boy's eyes widened as he took in the sudden and, quite frankly shocking, changes in the man.
His hair was now peppered with streaks of grey, his eyes aged with crow's feet and there was a hollowness to him that made him look as though time itself and come and mugged him with a baseball bat. He looked… aged, he looked tired, and perhaps worse of all was that he looked… he looked human. He wasn't some great winged monster, some red-skinned devil or even any kind of unlight-clad demon that Izuku somehow built in his head.
He looked like a man. A tired, worn-out man.
All except for his eyes. His eyes which kept their terrible Hellfire blue and crushing oblivion-black. Eyes that spoke of something awful just waiting behind the veil.
And yet even they somehow seemed… less than. As if the power he had once held had fallen through his fingers like sand.
Lucifer smiled and somehow some of the tiredness was lifted from him. A tiny spark of light entered that accursed gaze, one which Izuku again didn't expect. His knowledge told him this was an inhuman monster, yet his instincts whispered that something wasn't quite right.
Nemesis growled louder.
"Hello, Izuku. I've been waiting a long time for this."
Even his voice seemed different. It still held the confidence of a man who had weapons hidden up his sleeves, yet it too somehow seemed more… real than before. Before it held all the silent threat of a snake about to strike, now however it seemed more mortal, as if the threat was there but was only tenuous, only a whisper of what it should have been.
It was not as absolute, not as overtly terrible.
Izuku stood his ground, his black fingernails digging into the arch of the couch. This was… this was not going how he thought it would. He was confused, he was anxious, he was angry.
And his scars flickered with fire from a monster that was caught just as off guard as Izuku himself.
"Do you want to sit? That backpack must be heavy," Lucifer offered with a slight wave of his hand as he turned fully towards the boy. He wasn't wearing any tie, and the top button of his shirt was undone. Izuku noted with a curious flicker of his eyes that his fingernails were black.
Something was wrong with him.
"I'm fine," He found his own words were choppy and harsh in his mouth, almost as if Nemesis was speaking for him, though the lack of any echo was evidence it was all his own bitterness.
"At least put the backpack down," Lucifer offered again with a slightly amused eyebrow, "If we're going to talk, I want you to be comfortable."
"I'm fine," Izuku insisted, his eyes never leaving his father.
His father. This man was his father. It was hard to consider, even with the man standing before him.
Lucifer let out a slight, joyless chuckle and nodded, "Alright, alright, whatever you wish, son."
"Don't call me that," Izuku snapped suddenly, his fire spiking through his blood and his scars flickering blue, "You don't have the right."
Lucifer did not jump back in fear, or even react much at all. Instead, he paused, then nodded slowly, "Yes, you're right. I apologize."
Again, Izuku felt as though his legs had been swept from under him. Goddamnit, this was not what he thought, this was nothing like he thought. And yet it wasn't as though he wasn't in control of the situation. If anything, he was in total control. Lucifer hadn't locked him in, or threatened him, or done anything to him at all.
He was just so sickeningly… calm about everything. Just placidly happy for Izuku to even be there, and that pissed Izuku off as much as it set him on edge.
"I don't exactly have the best impressions of father figures, so if I act untoward, you can understand why," Lucifer added as he took a few quick strides forward, coming to stand, as Izuku stood, behind one of the couches.
"You know you really should sit down," Lucifer insisted again. "Please. I'm not going to bite." He paused for a moment, and then suddenly clicked his fingers, "Perhaps it would put you at ease if I was truly myself to you."
"What?" Whatever control Izuku believed he had was quickly being robbed from him, and he realized, quite suddenly, that he never had any control at all. Or rather, if he did, it was never his to own.
Before Izuku could say or do any more, Lucifer stretched out his hands with his palms up. Then the veil fell away. Every shadow in the room darkened within an instant and hellfire bright blue and terrible suddenly sparked from Lucifer's brow.
Izuku stumbled back against the wall just as Nemesis rushed into his arms, coating them with unlight and causing his fingers to crack and change into taloned claws that he barely felt shifting.
Horns grew from Lucifer's head, a pair that curled around his suddenly pointing ears, and a pair that rose up, tall and great. From behind him came a long, unlight-black tail that ended in a spear tip that held multiple barbs. The skin along his hands and vanishing up under his sleeves became coated in unlight black, and his fingernails grew becoming almost talon-like.
Then, from behind his back, grew a pair of terrible wings. Huge and bat-like and stretching out as if uncurling from being folded for too long.
But they were shredded. They were the torn wings of useless splendor, a ruined sight that brought great, weeping sorrow to the heart, despite the terror they sowed within the mind.
Izuku was frozen his eyes wide, his mouth open and panting from the fear that gripped him. His scars flashed with hellfire blue and power, tempting and evil pumped through his blood as Nemesis went immediately on the defense.
And yet… and yet something was missing.
The creature before him, this King of Hell, was cursed, and there was no blunter nor more elegant way to put it. He knew, when Nemesis took him, that he became something cursed, something God wept to see upon the earth.
But Lucifer. Lucifer was more than the mourning of God, he was the Adversary. And that alone set off screaming, instinctual alarms through his very soul. This was the enemy of the Almighty, the anathema to all that was right and and good upon the earth.
The feeling of unholy blasphemy was almost overwhelming… but only almost.
It was as if he was looking at a murder scene with no body. The hilt of a great sword without its blade. A great King without their crown.
Indeed, Izuku's eyes flickered for a moment as some great, dark, terrible halo carved out from the world around him began to circle Lucifer from shoulder to shoulder. And yet it was indeed cracked and broken. Parts of the black-hole like halo seemed riddled with hairlines that shone with the light he knew had to be coming in from the window behind them.
Lucifer, Lord of the Fallen, King of Hell, He Who Fell First and Furthest… was a broken thing.
"What… what happened to them?"
Lucifer opened his eyes, which were possibly the only things which hadn't changed, and then cricked his neck from one side to the other. He rolled a shoulder, stretched out his arms with linked fingers, before yawning, and moving to sit down on the couch with a slight, middle-aged groan.
"There, now we can truly be ourselves," When he spoke, his mouth flashed with newly formed fangs and his voice held the very light echo of a thousand more souls, though they did not scream and cry and shout as it was with Nemesis.
They spoke in perfect unity with his own. A thousand tones, all in perfect, whispering synchronicity with the Lord of the Fallen.
He smiled, "It feels good to let loose, like stretching a cramped limb."
Izuku was still backed against the wall, still with unlight coating his arms and still with his eyes wide and staring at the Fallen Angel before him. His own talons had dug into the wall itself and threatened to tear it out.
Lucifer only blinked at Izuku, then frowned slightly, "I did say you should sit down."
"You're… you're…" Izuku stammered the words out, even as his own monster threatened and tore at his heart for more control, more defense. "You're- you're the devil. The actual devil."
"Yes, well, one of them." Lucifer replied simply as he linked his fingers over one folded knee. He sighed and looked aside for a moment, "The Eternal Serpent, First of the Fallen, Master of Demons, The Great Accuser and about a thousand other worthless titles I care little for." There was a pause and a curious frown as he looked back to Izuku, "What's wrong?"
"You're- you're the devil," The thought wouldn't stop hammering within Izuku's own head, like a mallet driving in a post. His eyes were wide, and he began slowly edging towards the door, "You're- you're evil."
Lucifer didn't respond to this, instead he seemed to note how Izuku was slowly edging away and he sighed softly. He held up his hands, as if in surrender, and Izuku stopped in his tracks. "I'm not going to harm you, Izuku. I would never harm you."
"Liar," The word cut itself out of his throat and came with the echoes of his inner monster. The next however were Izuku's alone, "You left me and mom! You left us and let me suffer all my life."
Lucifer took this with an infuriating calmness, "Yes, I did."
"Why?" Izuku snapped with growling teeth, "Why did you leave us?"
The King of Hell only smiled at this, and it was a sad smile. "Even being here with you right now fills you with fear and dread and hatred. My very presence unmasked is like being drowned in darkness. Do you think you would still be the person you are now if I had stayed?"
Izuku's mouth hung open in shock.
"We would have been stronger! Better! We would not be so divided as we are!"
"We- I would be-" Izuku began stammering out, trying to form some defense, "I wouldn't be so-"
"We," Lucifer cut in suddenly, his eyes narrowing, "You and Nemesis."
Izuku felt his heart almost freeze within his chest. Nemesis. Lucifer knew about Nemesis. He felt his own monster suddenly stop its constant clawing at his own soul and seemed to hesitate at the words as if it too was paying sudden, sharp attention.
And then Izuku asked a question he had, one way or another, been asking all his life.
"What is Nemesis?"
Lucifer's eyes shone suddenly with a light that was utterly inhuman. A dark joy, one of his own happiness, not of his son's, took over him. "Have you not already figured that out, Izuku?" At the boy's silence, he leaned forward slightly, "The voice in your mind, the one that echoes from your soul. The fact that when Aizawa looked upon you with his power, you almost died, as if being torn asunder from the inside. The fact that you have always been warring within yourself for mastery of your own being."
Izuku felt a horrific chill crawling over every inch of his skin. A horrible truth was pouring into his heart like lead, hot and burning. Nemesis was gathering within him like a growing thunderstorm.
"Nemesis, is you."
The world fell away. Every sense Izuku had other than his sight and his hearing seemed to become blanketed with choking smoke.
"And you are Nemesis."
He was falling forward, and only by grabbing the couch could he keep himself upright.
"You are one and the same."
"We are… Izuku Midoriya. We are Nemesis. We are-"
"You are shadow and flame, as I am shadow and flame. Yet while I am whole, you are divided between the dark and the light."
Izuku couldn't form words into his own dry mouth. He found his speech robbed from him as the final truth of things, the horribly, stupidly, obvious truth of things hit him full force. His chest felt crushingly tight and his nerves standing on end.
And he was somehow not surprised. Of all the emotions he felt in that moment, the anger, the bitterness, the sorrow, the mourning of his own soul, he wasn't surprised.
"You- that can't be-"
"True? Of course, it's true. You're the product of a Fallen and a human," Lucfier's word were like daggers stabbing into his already torn heart. He was so… disgustingly casual about it all, as if he had no idea just how much pain his words were inflicting. "I admit, I did not predict this would happen though. This division of your human and Fallen self within your own soul, like yin and yang, eternally battling for dominance."
Nemesis was caught within him, a sudden firestorm that turned his scars a flickering blue, even as the unlight across his arms faded, only to become splotches that dotted his entire body. He could feel the monster struggling with this information or was it now more accurate to say his other half struggling with the information.
It was so… obvious. So horribly obvious. Dark Shadow's comments on his confusing soul, his own ability to feel the touch of faith, the way Nemesis had slowly blended with his body the more he has used it. Kodai's comments about him being 'off balance' and the way Nemesis had screamed about Aizawa dividing their soul with his power.
It made sense why he had felt so at peace in Hell, yet so feared to go back there. It was his birthright, his second home, but so was earth. He was eternally caught and trapped within the middle, never belonging to one or the other.
Human and monster, good and evil, earth-born and hell-born, caught and unsuccessfully melded into one mortal form. The fact that even Nemesis's own chosen title, shadow and flame, was a contradiction within itself.
"I know how much you have suffered because you never knew this," Lucifer's voice again pierced the darkness that was swamping Izuku's confused, chaotic mind, and he looked up to see Lucifer had moved closer to him.
The King of Hell stood, his hands in his pockets, as he looked down upon his divided son. Sunlight shone in beams through the horrific tears in his wings, and his terrible halo faded somewhat as the look in his blasphemous gaze softened to an almost human degree. "And I blame myself for not revealing this to you sooner, but I think I've found a way to help you."
"What- how?" His voice was a dangerous wobble between his own and Nemesis.
He did not argue, he did not struggle. He was too… lost within himself to even begin putting up a fight. Nemesis wanted to tear through Lucifer for all the sins he had inflicted upon them both and yet it couldn't gather the control enough to do even that.
In the face of the truth, even monsters collapse.
"I have something for you. A gift," He even braved a smile, "Consider it the first of many, I hope."
"I'm not accepting anything from you," Izuku spat out quickly, taking a stumbling step back from his father, "We've never needed you before and-"
"But you have, and I haven't been there," Lucifer again cut in, and again his tone utterly silenced Izuku.
It silenced them both.
The sudden quiet stretched long and thin and heavy, holding up all the weight of the past, threatened to collapse into the room all at once and like a tidal wave, wash them both away forever.
"There is so much I want to tell you, Izuku, but I can see how the truth about your own power has… hurt you," Lucifer finally added, his voice old, and worn. Suddenly, through the terrifying presence and the aura of absolute darkness that surrounded the Lord of the Fallen, there was a flicker of something.
Something that caused the bitterness and anger to finally take back control of Izuku's emotions and coldly plant itself within his heart. He was a divided being, a being of contradictions wired into his very soul, but he could pull himself together long enough to glare bitter, hateful daggers at the monster that had caused all of it.
Izuku and Nemesis both, two halves of one being, hated their father. And in that, the unlight faded from his skin and the fire burned low to a smoldering coal-flicker within his scars.
"But for now," Lucifer continued, "I have this." He put his long-nailed hand into his pocket, and with a dexterity that quietly astounded Izuku, he drew out a piece of paper without ripping either his pants or the paper itself.
No, not a piece of paper, but a folded post-it note.
And the First of The Fallen, the Great Accuser, the King of Hell, held it out to Izuku with a smile that looked for all the world like it would fall to pieces if Izuku rejected it.
It had to be a lie. It had to be some kind of trick.
His eyes hardened as he looked to the Fallen Angel. "We're- I'm- I'm not evil," He spat suddenly at the man, "I don't care what you say! I'm not evil! I don't-"
"I don't believe you are evil, any more than any other human on earth is good or evil." Lucifer suddenly replied before again offering the note, "But you are divided, your soul is in constant struggle and if you don't find some measure of peace it will kill you again. Hopefully, this will help calm that storm and bring balance to you and your Fallen half."
Izuku again eyed the folded post-it note. "What is it?"
"An internship with a person who owes me a great debt, therefore, someone you can trust. Someone who knows about us, about who we are, about you and what you are. Someone who I believe can help." Lucifer replied with a smile that became more genuine, "As I said, I would never intentionally hurt you, Izuku, even if I have indirectly. My very blood has cursed you, has torn you apart all your life, but you are old enough now to start taking control of your power, and I want to help. Let me start to make it up to you now, please."
Izuku hesitated. He didn't want to accept anything this thing had to offer him, and yet, Lucifer's tone seemed earnest.
"What is… what is Father's price?"
"What's the price?" He suddenly asked, "Everything has a price, right?"
"The price is not yours to pay, it's theirs," Lucifer's smile almost broke into a grin, "But well thought. You're a smart boy, you take after your mother."
Again, the teenager hesitated and found that at some point he had edged back to behind the couch, "Why don't- why don't you train me," Izuku asked sharply.
"Because you don't want that, and you don't trust me," Lucifer's smile fell again, "I hope this will go some way to help building that trust."
Izuku again looked to the note, his heart pounding and his mind racing. His fire danced through his scars, cautious and distrustful and sour.
"If you wish, you can reject it at any time. I am not my father. I will not try and force you into anything that makes you unhappy." The line about his own father piqued Izuku's interest, especially as it seemed to speak it with a venom around Lucifer that flared a strange, bitter darkness that hinted at a far older, and far deeper hatred.
Izuku slowly moved further around the couch, Nemesis practically snarling in defensive anger the entire time, before he suddenly reached forward and snatched the paper out of Lucifer's hand, shoving it into his pocket. He retreated back immediately, his eyes always on the Lord of the Fallen.
"I'm leaving, I'm- I'm leaving."
"Alright," Lucifer nodded once, his eyes so terrible and blasphemous and… sad, never left the teenager, "I hope we talk again, Izuku. Soon."
Izuku didn't reply. Instead he turned, opened the door, and before his father could see the tears lining his eyes, he left.
And with his lungs threatening to seize in his chest, he ran.
Izuku ran without stopping. Without pausing. His feet, fueled by the power of his blasphemous other side, pushed him on and on. Nemesis was a firestorm within his blood, his scars lighting with streaks of blue fire that threatened to burn through his uniform.
He ran through the corridors of the school and out into the burning late afternoon sun, the panic attack building and building within his chest.
He didn't feel the exhaustion in his lungs or the battery acid pumping into his legs. He felt only the chaos of his heart, the spinning nightmare of his own existence. He felt Nemesis roaring and screaming within his blood, his other half, his Fallen self, a monster that was always him, always.
All the bloodshed, all the horror, all the pain and hatred.
It had always been him. Another part of him, but him.
Izuku had always been evil, from the very beginning.
"Izuku!"
He was running through the courtyard now, heading towards… anywhere, nowhere, he wasn't even sure.
"IZUKU!"
Something grabbed him, someone grabbed him, with arms huge and strong and at a speed he could only outpace if he lost himself to Nemesis. Maybe he should. It was the stronger half of his being after all, his true self, the one he hid from the world.
And yet within seconds of this thought, more arms were grabbing onto him, even as he kicked and struggled out of the grip of the familiar arms holding him.
"STOP! STOP!" He was screaming without knowing it. "PLEASE"!
There were no other words, just more arms grabbing him and surrounding him in one gigantic embrace.
And Izuku fell into it. His breath heaving and ragged and tears lining his eyes.
He fell into the warm embrace of his friends.
Tenya had caught him as he had been running, then soon after Ochaco, Hitoshi, even Fumikage.
And lastly, his own mother.
The others let go to allow her to grab onto Izuku with all the strength she could muster, all the while muttering how she should have never let him go alone.
He felt like at any moment his bones would fall apart within him. That he would melt into the floor, a puddle of burned flesh and clothes, and vanish entirely from the world. He felt that only his mother's arms were keeping him upright, and despite all the anger he felt towards her for her actions, right now he was just that lost, lonely child in pain all over again.
It took a few minutes of this for Izuku and Nemesis to calm down. Izuku to gather his strength, and Nemesis to stop the firestorm of anger and bitter, sour hatred at their fate that riled against the cage of his heart. He looked though blurry eyes to those around him, and, in a voice still half-choking, asked, "What are you-"
"Your friends were waiting for you," Inko announced softly, drawing his gaze to her. She smiled, and within her smile, shining to her eyes, he could see all the love she held for him. Again, despite his own bitterness towards her, he allowed himself, in that moment, to accept it all. "We chatted and… well, I think we should go get something to eat. My treat, alright?"
She stoked a hand through his hair, and Izuku slowly began to nod, "C-Can we eat at home? Please?"
"Anything you want, sweetheart."
And so, they left, Izuku being half-hugged by his mother, with his friends surrounding him protectively. They chatted and talked and made all the distracting humor they could for him, doing all they could to lift his spirits and remind him that he was not alone, that he would never be alone, not as long as those that loved him drew breath.
SO THERE IT IS. Secrets revealed, fathers met, PLOT EVOLVING.
Firstly, the most obvious twist ever. Nemesis IS Izuku. It (he?) is the Fallen half of his being, both spiritually and increasingly physically. Now the words about 'balance' are all the more important, and why Aizawa's power was so damn strong on Izuku. Aizawa LITERALLY tore Izuku's soul in two, which may prompt a few of you to consider just how quirks work in this fic...
And of course, finally, Izuku is not going to go to Saitama's place to intern with him and Genos. No sir, he has an internship with someone else, someone with a debt to Lucifer. I'm super excited to hear people's theories on that one, PLACE YOUR BETS NOW EVERYONE!
Now, since it's the holidays and I'm literally going to be out of the country, next update won't be arriving for a while. So, I'll be seeing you guys on the 17th of January.
Happy Holidays everyone, have a great new year, and I'll see you then! Thank you for reading y'all, PEACE!
