"Remember, Children. With a lot of a hard work and dedication, there's nothing you can't put your minds too!" All Might boldly and proudly told the tiny children that clung to his very form. These children were dressed in white hospital gowns and some even hooked to machines were sick. Mainly with cancer.
It was a little boy's wish to see All Might and to have the rest of the children in the cancer ward to see him too. So, here he was. They were so tiny, frail, and fragile. It broke Toshinori's heart knowing the suffering these children were currently going through.
A little girl, no older than five, swayed to her feet and started to walk towards him. She stumbled and nearly fell- making All Might reach out towards her to stop her from falling. He planted his hand against her back. His hand was larger than her back which made it easy for the little girl to get her footing.
"C-Can I…" She breathed out softly through her oxygen tube. "Can I be a hero too?" She whispered softly to him. He took his hand off of her back and took her teeny tiny hand into his overly large one. "Even though I'm…quirkless?"
All Might softened his face. "I had a boy ask me that same question and you know what I told him?"
"Wh-What?"
"That he could do anything he put his mind too as long as he was willing to put the work in. Tell me, my girl, when you get better are you willing to put the work in?"
She wiped her nose with her arm and gave his vigorous nod. "I will- I have to!"
"Then, you too can be a hero." He smiled a gentle smile at her. Which made her smile.
"I can't wait to tell-tell mo-mommy…" The girl then turned her head away from him to cough.
"All Might?" The door to the ward opened and a nurse with bright blue hair stepped into the room. She held a clipboard next to her chest while she gave him a kind smile. "Your time is up." She informed him and all the boys and girls whined.
"No worries, children!" All Might groaned as he slowly started to get up, grunting as his knees protested this movement. "I'll be sure to return in the future! And I want all of you-" He pointed at the kids. "-To do everything you can to get better, you hear me?"
The children smiled at him and it warmed his heart. "Yes, All Might!" They all cheered and All Might nodded. satisfied.
"Good, I must be off, boys and girls!" With a mighty leap he was out the door. One last trick for the kids. They clapped happily as the door shut behind him.
"Thank you again, All Might." The nurse gave him another warm smile. "You're just what these children need to help get their hopes back up."
"Of course, children need hope these days." He and the nurse started to walk.
"You have a nice day, Mr. All Might. I hope to see you again in the future." With those last words the nurse turned down the hallway and walked away from him. All Might watched her go for a second before he started for the elevator. Stepping inside of the lonely compartment, He went down to the first floor.
The ride was quiet and left him with his thoughts. He lowered out of his massive form for the elevator ride to give his body a quick break. Coughing heavily, Toshinori grabbed a napkin from his pocket. The napkin itself was a silk napkin and colored red so to hide the blood stains as he coughed blood into it.
His whole thin sickly frame shook as a particularly hard cough left his mouth. Along with a gob of bloody mucus. Wincing at what he coughed up, he wrapped it in the red handkerchief and shoved that into his pocket as he was coming up to the first floor. Sucking a deep breath, he braced himself and buffed right back up into All Might.
Right on time as the door opened an a family got on as All Might got off. He gave them a nod when they gushed at his presence. He gave them a simple thumbs up and they giggled happily right as the elevator doors closed.
All Might walked over to the reception desk. "Leaving so soon?" The receptionist asked.
"Yeah. Other things to attend to and what not- huh?" Something purple caught the corner of his eyes and All Might turned his head.
There sitting in the waiting room, Hitoshi Aizawa sat. He had his elbows on his legs and his fingers were intlocked tightly. So tightly that even from where All Might stood he could see Hitoshi's white knuckles. His leg was jiggling up and down in a fast-rate.
'...Young Aizawa is getting healed by Recovery Girl today, then…why is he here?'
The receptionist followed All Might's gaze and gave a weak laugh. "That one…"
"Hm? What about him?"
"Came in not that long ago." The receptionist looked at a paper in front of her and put it into a bin before reaching over and grabbing a pen so she could write down on a form. She paused and looked over at Hitoshi then to All Might. "Maybe I shouldn't tell you this, but…rumors of abuse are already circulating around that one and his brother." She mumbled softly.
"What do you mean- where's his brother?" All Might instantly noted that Izuku was not with Hitoshi.
"Burn ward. Poor kid looked a wreck when that one brought him in." The woman gnawed on the end of her pen as she continued. "Severe burns all up and down his body. The purple one stated that their cat had jumped on the handle of a pot that had hot oil in it and it splashed all over his brother…"
"..." All Might leaned in. "But?" He whispered.
"...The kid's clothes…they were oil stained, but it looked…staged. Not only that but, the burns don't add up. His hands were absolutely covered in burns, but there's no way oil did that unless he dunked his hands in the oil. And the kid had a massive bruise forming from…here to here." The nurse pointed at her temple and went up with her other hand ending at the crown of her head.
"He was slammed into something, or hit with something, it doesn't end there. He had scratches along his face and another bruise on his right cheek. It just screams abuse… but that one isn't talking…" She looked back at Hitoshi then down at her form. "And the other one has a fever and can barely respond when we ask him a question."
"A fever?" All Might asked in a soft voice as his eyes went wide. 'Didn't he have a fever after the USJ attack?'
"Yeah, real bad one."
"I see…" All Might turned towards Hitoshi. "Can I see him?" He knew the answer before the nurse responded.
"Kid is currently being seen, unfortunately. Nobody can see him until the doctor says so."
"Thank you."
This put a damper on his current plans of going home and relaxing for the rest of the day, but Toshinori had questions. Questions for Hitoshi Aizawa and what better time than now?
"Listen… I know I'm not alone, a few others in 1A have noticed how…weird their relationship is." Bakugo huffed as his teethed gnashed together in anger. "But he said something to me during our fight-"
"The river comment?"
"Yes, the river comment. All Might- That did happen. I pushed Izuku into the river when we were four!" Bakugo exploded. "But the Panda shouldn't know that. How come He knows more than Izuku?"
"Young Bakugo, what exactly are you saying here?"
"Please…Listen to me…" Bakugo looked away from All might for a moment as his face turned red with a genuine blush skirting across his cheeks. A blush one would give of nervousness.
"Nobody ever listens when I tell this story…I had a childhood friend by the name of Izuku who was quirkless. We were friends for as long as I could remember, then when I was four I was playing with Izuku and some of the other kids in the neighborhood. We were just goofing around, as little kids do. When out of nowhere this blackhole came and swallowed Izuku up. It grabbed him by his midsection and started to suck him in-"
"-That sounds like-"
"The portal guy from the USJ, yes, I already made the connection. I was just so stunned that I couldn't do anything. He cried and wailed as he reached to me and I did nothing. Eventually, I got my shit together and ran to my mom. We called the cops and the cops got some new up and coming hero to check out the scene, I can't remember who exactly."
"What happened, Young Bakugo?"
Bakugo's glare didn't give All Might any hope for the outcome. He kicked the dirt beneath him. "The hero didn't even fucking bother. The moment it came out that Deku was quirkless, the hero shrugged and just said "Welp. There's nothing here I can do. The kid is probably dead."." Tears, actual tears sprung in Bakugo's eyes and aggressively he wiped them away with his arm. "And the cops just went along with it. They never bothered to look for him, All Might. I know that Izuku Tora is the same Izuku from my childhood. He looks exactly like him, talks like him, and acts like him. But nobody will listen to me!"
"Young Bakugo…"
"What makes it worse, even though the only proof I have is what I just told you about Eyebags. I think he's the one messing with Deku's memories."
"Whoa there, Young Bakugo, that's a big claim."
"I know it is. But you have to put Eyebag's quirk into play here. He can make people do anything. Well, maybe not anything. I think there are some limitations. But isn't it convenient that during the whole USJ attack these villains are claiming to know Deku and Eyebags, one of which was probably the one that kidnapped Deku all those years ago? Then after the fact, after he's been left alone with Eyebags, Deku doesn't remember a single thing about the attack and he's clinging to Eyebags like a damn lifeline?"
"..."
"It's sketchy."
"...Young Bakugo, I… have your brought these concerns to Aizawa?"
"...I couldn't… I know he tries to pass it off the best he can but he's close to them. Too close. I see it, the little things he does for them that he won't with others. Like pat them on the shoulder or the back, or even after the fight I had with Eyebags, Mr. Aizawa had gone down to Recovery Girl's office to check on him. I didn't see him do that for the others that got injured."
"Well, you were wise to come to me. I'll look into it…let's keep this between us for the time being." All Might put his finger to his lips as he spoke.
"So…Mr. Aizawa is close to them then?"
"I can't say that, unfortunately."
"Right."
"Young Hitoshi-"
"-Oh fuck!" Hitoshi whipped his head at the sound of All Might's voice as he looked ready to bolt from his seat. He actually managed to jump up a bit, but All Might grabbed on to Hitoshi's sleeve and pulled him back down to his seat gently. "Sit. What are you doing here? And where is your father or brother?" He'd start small, act like he didn't know why Hitoshi was here in the first place, get the boy to open up to him.
Hitoshi swallowed hard as he turned his head away from All Might abruptly. "Dad is at UA…" Hitoshi whispered nervously.
"I see…then where is Young Izuku?"
"There was an incident."
"Incident?"
"Yes, Izuku was frying something when one of our cats jumped on the handle of the pot…he got burnt real bad by the oil." Hitoshi wrung his hands tight against his chest.
'Izuku. Not Zuchan.' Toshinori thought weakly as he looked at Hitoshi up and down. "Is your father coming?"
"..." Hitoshi's mouth twisted a little as he continued to wring his hands tightly together. "Dad has been through so much." He whispered. "I don't want to worry him. Not only that but he's finally getting his bandages off. He wants to run around like he did before. No doubt growing restless."
"I see…" All Might sat back in his chair. The chair squeaked at this jostle of movement and the two sat in relative silence. Hitoshi kept looking at All Might out of the corner of his eyes before he stiffened and lowered his hands.
"...What are you doing, All Might?" Hitoshi finally whispered there was a bite in his voice. A bite All Might was far too familiar with when it came to Hitoshi Aizawa. "Don't you have somewhere to be? So big interview or sales pitch? Why are you here?" Hitoshi clutched at his pants as he said this.
"Well, I guess I could ask you the same thing, young Hitoshi. Why are you here?"
"I told you why."
"Yes, yes you did. Didn't you? But…why not go to UA? Call your father have Recovery Girl handle this? I feel like Shouta should have been notified of this if you had to take Izuku to the hospital- wait… You live…what five? Six miles away from here? Did you walk?!"
"No!" Hitoshi scoffed at the idea. "I got an uber!... I'm not dumb…"
"Oh an uber, of course, silly me. I would have figured …you know…an ambulance if the burns were that bad."
Hitoshi's face flushed red as he turned away from All Might. A small pout threatening to play on Hitoshi's lips as his nose scrunched up. It would have been rather cute if not for the situation. A sentence then left Hitoshi's mouth. Just two words, two words that made All Might look at him with a raised eyebrow. "I'm trying!"
"Yeah, you're trying all right. Trying to exclude others from this mishap."
"I-" Hitoshi tensed up and honestly Toshinori feared that Hitoshi might start swinging in a moment. He didn't. Well, he physically didn't. No, Hitoshi verbally threw the first punch. "I don't have to explain anything to a fake!"
'It's just disrespect after disrespect with this boy.'
"Young Hitoshi-" But it was too late. Hitoshi had abruptly stood.
"No, we're done. Leave me alone if all you're going to do is accuse me!" He snapped right back at Toshinori before storming off.
"We're the angriest when we've been caught in a lie." That's something I heard once and I believe it's true here.' Toshinori thought as he watched Hitoshi storm up to the desk clerk and speak with the lady behind the desk. No doubt asking about Izuku's condition. 'Very well, Young Hitoshi. If you want to play like that. Then I'll play.' All Might stood from his seat and started for the hospital doors.
He knew Hitoshi was watching him.
Hitoshi will no doubt think that he had won.
Little did Hitoshi actually know that Toshinori was just stepping out to make a couple of phone calls. The first one to Aizawa, because dammit, if one of his kids was in the hospital, Aizawa needed to know. The second to Recovery Girl, because if anybody can heal Izuku, it's her. Nobody comes close. The third to Tsukauchi for obvious reasons…
And the last to Higashi Suzuki.
"Shhh…" Hitoshi whispered as he quickly brought the cup of water to Izuku's lips. His brother panted through his killer fever. This fever no doubt worse than the last. He held Izuku up with one arm so he wouldn't choke on the liquid. The moment the cool water touched Izuku's lips he guzzled it down.
"What- what-" Izuku whimpered out once he pulled away from the water in question.
"You got burnt by oil. Don't worry, okay?" Hitoshi continued to whisper.
Izuku's clothes had to be removed for this as the burns took up a good part of his body. Of course, as Hitoshi witnessed earlier the majority of his burns were on his hands and chest from the unknown fire quirk he had obtained. Those were all slowly healing, but because of the slowness, as in it'd probably take a whole day if not a little more, the wounds needed to be cleaned and bandaged.
"I- I don't remember-"
"Of course you do." Hitoshi continued to whisper while he ran his fingers through Izuku's curls. 'I wish I could instill memories in you. But I can't put in what's not there. My quirk can take but can't give.' If he had that power it would make his life so much easier. Trust him, he tried. God, how he tried to give Izuku false memories. "Your fever is messing with your brain. But you were frying some prawns for lunch. For the two of us. When Tora jumped on the pot handle and splashed you. Remember now?"
Izuku groaned as his stomach took a sour turn. He then put his face into the crook of his elbow while he continued to pant. "I…I guess…" He weakly swallowed. "Dad's going to be pissed…" A small cry left his mouth.
"He won't be happy, but he can't blame you."
There was yelling outside of their room. Yelling that put Hitoshi on edge. Yelling that made Hitoshi's stomach churn. Because, despite the fact that it was muffled, Hitoshi recognized his father's voice anywhere. "Toshi…" Izuku continued to whimper. "I'm hot. I feel like I'm on fire." He then lowered his arm and looked at Hitoshi.
"It's the burns, Zuchan." Hitoshi whispered weakly as he continued to run his fingers through Izuku's curls.
The yelling was getting louder and Hitoshi fought the urge to block the door as his father was approaching and fast. 'Of course All Might informed him…' Hitoshi gave a bitter snort at All Might.
'We were fine before he came along with that quirk… which has been making me wonder… is that quirk…One for All is it effecting All for One inside of Zuchan? I may not be as smart as Zuchan, but the names are not a coincidence! They can't be… Could One for All be what awoken the monster inside of Izuku?"
Of course this wasn't the first time the monster has been awoken, there has been the time when Izuku came to him about the object attraction quirk he had…but still, that didn't fully awaken the beast inside of Izuku. Only a lock of Izuku's hair had turned white during that fight. No, this morning was the first time in eight years did Izuku's hair fully turn white and his eyes turn red. It was the first time that Izuku had called him by that dreaded nickname…Toshichan.
Hitoshi couldn't explain it because he didn't understand it. He didn't want to call it DID or a split personality because he wasn't sure it was one. The best explanation he had when it came to the two Izuku's the green haired one and the white haired one was that the white haired one was a quirk personified. It almost felt like a sentient quirk. A part of Izuku that lived and breathed but had it's own thoughts and ideas.
Violent and horrific thoughts and ideas that Hitoshi had bore witness to more than once.
They were right outside the door now. Many voices, not just his father's were joining in on the yelling. So many voices that Hitoshi couldn't make out just what was being said.
Hitoshi's heart pounded heavily in his chest as he prepared himself for the lie. 'What's one more? You're already sitting on a mountain top of lies, aren't you? Shame on you, Hitoshi. Can't ever bring yourself to tell your father the truth.'
'I can't. I can't drag him in this mess too. He can't know, if he knows then… then…'
The image of Shouta Aizawa being brutally impaled by All for One's red and black rivets. His quirk forcibly removed from his body while the life drains from his eyes-
It broke Hitoshi's heart and made him shake. He had to lie. He had to protect his dad.
Finally, the door to the hospital room opened and Hitoshi braced himself for more yelling. Yes, there was yelling, and when he cracked an eye open he saw Recovery Girl standing there in the door.
His father was there, yes, but he was too busy yelling at All Might to notice Hitoshi. "-You had no right! You arrogant dickweed!"
"I have every right when I feel that a student of mine is being-"
"-say that word and you will die here and now!" Hitoshi watched as his father lunged, but was held back by Hizashi.
"Shou, Stop it!"
Recovery Girl promptly shut the door after that. "Hello there, dearies." She greeted the two of them.
"R-Recovery Girl…" Izuku whispered as he continued to pant through his fever. Honestly, Hitoshi thought he had passed out a while ago. Hitoshi quietly placed his hand on top of Izuku's head and Izuku leaned against his touch. "Co-cold…" was all he had to say relieved.
"Oh my." Recovery Girl was quick as she washed her hands and put on a pair of gloves. "I wasn't told that you were suffering from a fever, just some burns. This may change things." She acted like she owned the place as she went through the drawers and eventually pulled out an unopened thermometer. She opened it and walked over to Izuku. "Ah~" She cooed.
Izuku opened his mouth on command and Recovery Girl put the device under his tongue and in between his lips. "Now, dear, why don't you tell me what happened."
Hitoshi opened his mouth. She raised a hand. "Izuku, please." Her voice was firm, but not unkind.
"Mmm…" Izuku whimpered a little finding it a little hard to speak with the thermometer in his mouth. So, they waited until the thermometer beeped. Recovery Girl removed the thermometer and looked at it. She winced at the temperature that was revealed to her. "Oh dear, have you been given any tylenol or advil yet?" She asked.
Izuku shivered against Hitoshi and weakly shook his head. "No m-ma'am."
Recovery Girl hummed and walked towards the medicine cabinet. "Why don't you tell me what happened then? The burns?"
Izuku looked at Hitoshi before focusing on Recovery Girl. "I-I was frying pr-prawns for lunch when Miso jumped on the pot handle. The oil splashed all over me." He whimpered while resting his head against Hitoshi's chest.
'Tora, Izuku! Not Miso!'
Hitoshi touched Izuku's forehead. Sweat was clinging to his face which in turned caused some of his hair to stick to him.
Recovery Girl came back to Izuku and Hitoshi already had the water at the ready. Because of the bandages, Hitoshi had to help put the pills in Izuku's mouth. Izuku shook but managed to put the pills in his mouth and swallowed it down with the help of Hitoshi giving him some water.
"I see, that's unfortunate. May I see your hands?"
Izuku reached both of his hands up and gently Recovery Girl unwrapped the bandages.
"Oh-" She swallowed a little hard as she inspected the burns across Izuku's hands. It was mainly his palms and fingers that took the brunt of it all. They were discolored and the flesh twisted into what it used to be. It made Hitoshi's stomach churn looking at those burns. She inspected them for a moment.
"Good…can you undo the bandage on your chest for me? I just need to see how bad that one is as well."
Izuku did so and Hitoshi swallowed hard. The thing about the burn on his chest; if one were to look hard enough they could see a hand print. Izuku's hand print, to be exact. But they wouldn't know that. He only hoped that with Recovery Girl's age she wouldn't be able to see it perfectly.
"Under normal circumstances, I'd heal you up with the best of my abilities, but…" She looked at Izuku's sweaty form. "I can tell you don't have much stamina. This fever is something out of a nightmare." She whispered to him.
"That's okay. Thank you for-for coming regardless…" Izuku shut his eyes and only mere seconds later he passed out with his head on Hitoshi's chest.
Hitoshi ran his fingers through Izuku's damp hair and looked at Recovery Girl.
"Now, where were you when all of this happened?" Recovery Girl inquired as she looked back at Hitoshi.
"Room. As you can see-" He gestured to his outfit, that was still his gym uniform from the following day. "I was actually asleep when it happened. I woke up to his screams-" he winced. "-it terrified me…"
The door to the room opened again. Again, Hitoshi could hear yelling, the same mash of loud voices that was almost impossible to make out. "If you're here to scream at these boys- oh."
Hitoshi uncomfortably shifted as Higashi looked at him. "Don't worry, I have no intentions of doing such." Higashi gave Recovery Girl a sweet smile as he took several steps forward.
"Oh, he has a fever," Higashi whispered as he placed one of his four hands on Izuku's forehead. "Poor thing gets so sick so easily."
"Yes, he has a 104 fever. I gave him some tylenol, and Hitoshi I understand that you and him are close, but you shouldn't be holding him. Keep him covered with a thin sheet so he doesn't overheat."
Hitoshi blinked at Recovery Girl's words and, rather painstakingly, he pried Izuku off of him and laid him down on the pillows. Izuku didn't even so much as stir.
"Now, Hitoshi, why don't you tell me what happened? Yeah?" Higashi softly asked as he walked up to Hitoshi.
"Well…I was asleep. I woke to Izuku screaming and I scrambled out of bed. I rush into the kitchen and Izuku's on the ground, his hands are blistered and I can see that his shirt was sticking to him in some places and that he's got these blisters in certain places. Mainly his hands." Hitoshi explained to Higashi in the most sincere 'scared brother' voice he could possibly muster.
"... you say his shirt stuck to him?" Recovery Girl inquired as she looked at Izuku's chart.
"Yeah. It was bad." He winced a little for good measure.
"Zuchan, he explained it to me as I called for an uber. One of the cats jumped on the pot he was using to fry prawns… I hope he's going to be okay."
"You called an uber?" Higashi's eyebrows rose to meet his hairline as did Recovery Girl's.
Hitoshi twisted the hem of his shirt. "I understand it wasn't the best decision, I was panicked and…I didn't want to worry dad. You have to understand all he's been through… he was finally getting his bandages taken off today. He seemed so happy and I thought that maybe… maybe this could be resolved quickly and quietly." Hitoshi whispered to Higashi. Out of everything, that wasn't a lie.
Higashi sighed and put a hand on Hitoshi's cheek. "I won't sugarcoat it for you, Hitoshi. Your father is facing some trouble because of your actions-" There was a crash outside and more yelling. "-As I'm sure you can hear. You should have alerted your father the moment this whole situation happened."
"I agree." Recovery Girl chimed in as she put Izuku's chart back into the little pocket by the foot of the bed.
"... How bad is it?" Hitoshi whispered
"Well, I'll have to do a welfare check after all of this done to make sure everything is okay at home. And I'll have to ask some standard questions-" The door opened and Higashi looked over his shoulder.
A man stepped in. He stood as tall as Hitoshi. He had black hair tucked into a beige fedora and a beige trench coat to match. He took his hat off and before he could speak Higashi scoffed. "Of this is ridiculous. No!" Higashi marched up to the man.
"I understand you're concerns, Mr. Suzuki, but I've been personally asked to question Hitoshi-"
"-No." Higashi snarled at the man in question. "This is my territory and there is no need for you to be here. I'm sorry, but I'm the social worker. I'll ask the questions, you can return back to…wherever you came from!" Higashi gave a dismissive wave with one of his hands.
"I'm sorry but All Might asked me-"
"I don't care if the president of Japan asked you to question this child. This is my case."
The man sighed. He then licked his lips and shook his head. "I see this isn't going to be easy."
"Is there a problem?"
"There is actually. But, I shouldn't bring it up in front of the children-"
The man's shoulder was harshly grabbed and he was pulled by an enraged Shouta. "That's enough. Out. All of you." Aizawa huffed as he opened the door for Recovery Girl and Higashi a like. "I'd like to talk to my sons."
Shouta was out of his bandages. As far as Hitoshi could see the only thing remaining from USJ was the scar under his father's left eye. Hitoshi had a feeling that wasn't his father's only reminder of the attack.
Still Hitoshi wanted to die. His father's eyes were red and his hair was threatening to rise any second now. He was livid.
"Aizawa, I hate to inform you this, but I can't leave you alone with the boys. It's my duty as a social worker to make sure they're safe-"
"Excuse me?" Shouta huffed at Higashi.
"You're clearly high strung and angry. I mean, I just witnessed you try and punch All Might. I can't with a good conscious leave you guys alone."
"My anger towards All Might has nothing to do with my boys."
"Aizawa. I'm not leaving." To prove this, Higashi sat down in a nearby chair and patiently crossed all four arms across his chest and stomach to prove this point.
"Fine." Shouta huffed, "Everybody else leave." He gestured out the door.
It then became just the four of them. Izuku was out cold, so Shouta's gaze was on Hitoshi. He pointed at Hitoshi. "How dare you try and keep me out of the loop!" He hissed accusingly at Hitoshi.
"Dad-"
"-No. No. Let me speak and you're going to look at me. When I do so." Shouta's used his finger to push Hitoshi's chin up so Hitoshi was looking at him and only him. Hitoshi looked at his father's nose. A trick he learned if you wanted someone to believe you were making eye contact.
"I don't know what's gotten into you lately, but it's stopping. And it's stopping now. You love and want to protect Izuku, I get it, we all get it, but's gone far beyond that. It's getting to the point that not just classmates are speculating some sort of gross behavior behind closed doors, but other teachers as well. I just had a physical altercation with All Might over all of this. Enough is enough, Hitoshi. You're shutting people out of your life again and I don't like it."
"What are you going to do?" Hitoshi almost wanted to whimper. The thought of separation…it scared him. A deep fear that he didn't know if he could handle.
Shouta sighed. "Therapy is clearly in order. Family therapy between all of us so we can all get a clear picture of the problem. Along with stricter boundaries between you and your brother. For starters: No more sleeping in the same bed together. You aren't children any more. Honestly…I should have put my foot down on that long ago. So, I will take some responsibility in that regard. The next thing? I don't care that you guys are physically affectionate, but you have to stop holding hands in class." Shouta rubbed between this temples while he shut his eyes.
Honestly, Hitoshi could manage with the hand holding…but the bed thing…that was a old habit that was hard to break.
"That's all I can think of on the top of my head for the time being. I'm sure there will be more." Shouta finally lowered his finger from under Hitoshi's chin and looked at Izuku. "So…what the hell happened?"
Shouta was thankful for Hizashi in many ways. If not for him, Shouta probably would have killed All Might in the hospital. All Might has been overstepping as of late but the accusation of abuse? It sent Shouta over the edge.
Right now he was just thankful for Hizashi keeping him grounded for the time being.
He and Hitoshi had returned home not too long ago. Izuku couldn't come back with how high his fever currently was. Hitoshi wanted to stay, but Shouta wasn't having it. Hitoshi locked himself away in his room after that.
Hizashi had come in not too long after they had and met with Shouta in his bedroom. Now, here they sat. Hizashi having his head on Shouta's back, his arms and legs wrapped around him like a plant of sorts as he held on tight. Not willing to let go. Shouta really hasn't spoken in the last ten minutes. His mind abuzz.
"Did you see the kitchen?" Shouta finally asked after the prolonged silence. He hadn't.
"I did." Hizashi's voice was muffled but loud enough to where Shouta could hear him. "I was curious."
"And?"
"Well, it's like Hitoshi said. There was a pot of oil on the floor where Tora had jumped. There was also oil all over the floor. However, your cats, Tora included, kind of tampered with the scene of the crime. They were licking the oil up off the floor. Don't worry, I cleaned it up."
Shouta went quiet again. This time for just a little while longer than he had before. He let his hair hang in front of his face as he thought again. Hizashi was gentle as he rubbed soothing circles around Shouta's shoulders and biceps. "...I kind of wish you hadn't have."
"Hm?"
"Cleaned up the oil…I should have seen it for myself."
"You don't believe Hitoshi's story?"
"... No. I don't. It just doesn't make sense how Izuku's hands got that badly burnt. Not only that, but I read the file. Izuku had bits of fabric stuck to his skin that they had to peel off with tweezers. They describe the fabric as blue and burnt. Izuku wasn't wearing a blue shirt. He was wearing a red collared shirt that, yes, had oil stains where Izuku got burnt the worst but… it just doesn't feel right and I don't know why. It feels… faked. Mainly because of the blue fabric."
Hizashi rested his head up top Shouta's shoulder and gave yet another hum. "Did you look at the fabric they collected off of Izuku?"
"I did. Hizashi…I know for a fact that like Hitoshi, Izuku went to bed in his gym uniform which is blue…"
"But when Izuku woke up, didn't you ask him about what happened? Surely he would have known what clothes he was wearing."
"I did, and thanks for getting Hitoshi out of the room for that by the way… Still, Izuku has a killer fever so I can't take his words seriously right now, but, he followed Hitoshi's story to a T…except for one detail."
"Oh?"
"He didn't say Tora did it. He said Miso did it. Again, he has a fever, so he could just be mixing cats up. After all, both are orange… still, it's not sitting right with me, none of it is."
"...What are you going to do?"
"I want to see Izuku's gym clothes. Yet, I have a feeling that if I go into Izuku's room they won't be in his hamper."
Hizashi shifted, finally releasing Shouta from his grip. It made Shouta miss the heat that Hizashi was providing. The blonde sat next to Shouta and looked at him. "If not there, then where?"
"...Let's start with the garbage cans out by the road. If not there… then we'll try a neighbors trash can."
"Oh boy. You're going to get some stares for this, you know that don't you? But what if you're wrong about this and it really was oil?"
Shouta gave a scoff. "I'll eat my scarf."
"Daddy…"
"Oh dear, again? It's late, Izuku."
Four-year-old Izuku cried softly. His face was hot, his whole body was hot for that matter. The remnants of vomit clung to his chin. "I threw up!"
"Uh-oh." His dad came over and picked him up with ease. Holding Izuku on his hip as he walked, his father eventually sat down on his couch and held Izuku close to his chest. Izuku softly weeped against his father's chest.
"I hate this quirk!" Izuku continued to weep helplessly. "It makes me sick every time I use it."
"I know." His father's words were soft as he rubbed comforting circles against his son's back. "Such is a price, but soon you'll be able to use it with ease. I know it."
Izuku whimpered and rubbed both of his hands against his face sloppily. Accidently smearing some of the remaining vomit against other parts of his face by doing so. "I don't like white-haired me. They're mean."
His father grabbed his handkerchief from his pocket and lightly licked it. There he lifted Izuku's face up and gently wiped the vomit away. "All for one is a super powerful quirk, yes, and yes, the 'white-haired you' as you put it is most definitely abrasive. It's nothing we can't tame. I just wish you wouldn't fight it. That's your quirk, you know. Soon, when we manage to merge both of our quirks together, you won't be able to fight it off. You should just let the quirk take over fully. Eventually, it'll exhaust itself."
"They were going to hurt Tomachan! I couldn't let it do that!"
"Hm. You get that from your mother, that's for sure. I often wonder how she's doing."
Izuku rested his head against his father's chest. His face was burning. It was hot, too hot. "Mommy…" He tried to think of his mother. But he couldn't remember her face or anything about her. Or maybe that was just the fever talking.
He looked up at his father and his father gave him a loving smile- before wildly shifting appearances right before Izuku's eyes. Instead of white hair and red eyes, his father now had black hair and onyx colored eyes. Eyes that were only red when angry or activating his quirk.
"Do you feel better?" Shouta asked Izuku as he ran his fingers through the mop of curls on Izuku's head. Izuku smiled and leaned into his father's touch. He wrapped his arms around his father's chest and kept that smile on his face.
"I do now that you're here, dad."
So…like…anybody else get Munchausen by proxy vibes from Hitoshi during this chapter. I know it's a weird thing to ask, but as I writing it I just kept feeling that vibe and i'm the AUTHOR! It's not my intention…
