Author's Note: This fic is a standalone prequel to gentrychild's Foxfire. The story takes place in Izuku's first lifetime, when he was born as the kitsune son of All Spirits In One (aka All for One). Thank you to gentrychild for the backstory and brainstorming ideas/funny lines with me. I had loads of fun playing around in your yokai AU. Foxfire can be found at:
archiveofourown.
org/
works/37532725/chapters/93678403

Kaiji = the Second One for All user and Sanzou = the Third One for All user. All for One's deadbeat wife is an OC, not Inko.


Kaiji carried a bucket of water and a leather-wrapped bundle down the dirt road, toward the cottage where he lived with his husbands. He halted at the porch, because the front door had been completely blocked by two massive piles of fur.

Sanzou, a Nekomata, was so large that his head brushed the porch roof. With the build of a housecat and a size an order of magnitude larger than a tiger, he looked like a miniature mountain of calico fur. If he'd stood up, he would have punched a hole through the tin canopy. The cat yokai dozed in the sun with his head resting on his paws. Yoichi was double the size of a regular fox, but the pure white kitsune still looked small curled up against Sanzou's side. Sanzou's two cat tails blended together with Yoichi's eight fox tails in a massive fluffy pile.

Kaiji cleared his throat. "Move, you two."

Sanzou cracked one yellow-green eye open. "Not unless you pet me first."

Snorting, Kaiji set down his bucket and package. He stood on his tiptoes to rub behind Sanzou's ears.

"Me, too." Yoichi stood up and nudged Kaiji's side.

Kaiji scratched the kitsune's head, then petted his back. Yoichi yipped happily.

"More," Yoichi demanded, rolling over onto his stomach.

Rubbing fox yokai's belly, Kaiji asked, "Did you propose to me because you wanted to live the rest of your life with me or because you wanted daily pets?"

"Yes," Yoichi said.

"My turn." Sanzou hooked a claw in the back of Kaiji's shirt and yanked him over.

Kaiji kept petting them until, exhausted, he fell backward into the pile of fur. His objective had been completely forgotten. Both Yoichi and Sanzou had a softness that no bed could ever match. For all that Kaiji would never admit it, he enjoyed being the only human and designated petter. Kaiji lay back and luxuriated in the fluffiness all around him.

Just before Kaiji drifted off to sleep, he remembered, "Your brother sent a package for you."

"It must be more pictures of my nephew!" Yoichi squirmed out from under him and transformed into a tall, thin man wearing a navy blue yukata. Fox ears peaked out of his straight white hair. He ripped open the leather wrappings with clawed fingers. "Aw! Look, isn't he the most precious kit?" Yoichi held up a watercolor portrait of a round white fuzzball with closed eyes, tiny pink paws, and two nubs for ears. So far the newborn only had one stubby tail. The kitsune kit had been painted yawning, revealing a very small white tooth.

Yoichi gasped. "His first milk tooth! That means his eyes will be opening any day now! I wonder what color they will be. Do you think big brother has any names in mind? It's bad luck for a kitsune to be formally named before their fifth birthday, but he at least needs a nickname."

Kaiji knew that this picture would end up hanging on the wall of their cottage, along with two dozen others. All Spirits In One had been sending his little brother pictures of his baby son twice daily since birth. They were running out of wall space.

Yoichi opened a letter from his brother. He mumbled, "Yet another invitation to visit. Hmm. I know I promised you two no more visits after last time, but that was before I had an adorable nephew."

Sanzou stretched, shifting into a human man with a spiky ponytail. "You do realize that's the entire purpose of this psychological warfare campaign. All Spirits In One plans to lure you to his home, then he'll persuade you to stay permanently."

Yoichi snorted. "Please. I'm immune to my brother's mind games. There's no way—" His fingers trembled on the paper. "Oh, no."

"What's wrong?" Kaiji asked, coming over and putting an arm around his husband's shoulders.

Yoichi shook. His voice choked with tears. "Big brother's wife abandoned him and their child. She said that a princess would be ashamed to show a fox kit to her family, and she'd come back when he was old enough to turn into a human. Then she vanished. How could she be so cruel? She knew that big brother was a yokai when she married him."

Privately, Kaiji thought that All Spirits In One should have expected this from a human woman who'd married him for his money. He'd only met Princess Suke once, but that had been enough to identify her as a vapid snob. Of course Kaiji did not say such a tactless thing. He patted Yoichi's back. "I'm sorry."

Yoichi mopped his eyes. "Big brother is having trouble looking after the kit by himself. He needs me."

Kaiji and Sanzou exchanged glances. Sanzou said, "More like he needs you back under his claw."

All Spirits In One had mastered the guilt trip. Whenever Yoichi visited, All Spirits In One tried to convince his little brother that he'd stop grooming his tails or take over the nearest human city if someone didn't watch over him. Yoichi returned from family visits subdued or angry, hence why Kaiji worried. Kaiji said, "Your brother could hire nannies. He has plenty of resources. Are you sure you want to step right into his trap?"

Yoichi winced. "Look, you know my brother."

Kaiji said, "I don't. He keeps trying to kill me whenever I go near him."

Sanzou nodded. "That makes it hard to get to know him."

Yoichi continued, "He'll mess his kit up if he raises him alone. He won't mean to, but he'll be way too controlling and overprotective. Someone needs to teach my nephew how to rebel. Besides, could you say no to this cuteness?" He held up the baby fox portrait.

Sanzou said, "That is a cute kit."

Kaiji tsked his tongue. "You should do whatever you want to do."

"Thank you." Yoichi beamed. He kissed Kaiji, then Sanzou. "I'll only be gone a decade or two. You'll barely notice. I'll go pack."

As soon as the door closed, Kaiji raised an eyebrow at Sanzou. "All Spirits In One's wife disappeared right after rejecting their child? He definitely did it."

Sanzou shrugged. "Do we care?"

"No," Kaiji said.


All Spirits In One smelled the familiar scent of his younger brother long before he opened the door to his son's bedroom. Sure enough, Yoichi sat in a chair next to the crib, holding his baby nephew against his shoulder and feeding him from a bottle of milk. The tiny kitsune kit nearly fit into the palm of Yoichi's hand. "Aren't you the cutest little fuzzball?" Yoichi cooed, a finger petting between the pointy ears.

Like all newborns, the kit was blind and deaf, but he could smell his father. His head shot up and he made a high-pitched ack-ack-ack sound.

All Spirits In One rumbled a greeting in return low from the back of his throat. He walked over and petting his precious kit. "Welcome home, little brother. How did you get in here without the guards alerting me?" Not that he minded the intrusion, but he'd like to know the flaw in his security.

"I've broken out of this place enough times that I know how to break into it," Yoichi said acerbically.

All Spirits In One sniffed the air. "Do I smell burning?"

"I'm sure your people have it under control," Yoichi said. He set aside the bottle.

All Spirits In One resolved to investigate that later. Naturally his little brother would have announced his return with some trick. Like all foxes, Yoichi loved his pranks. As his masterpiece, Yoichi had allowed his older brother full control over preparing his wedding to Kaiji and Sanzou. Then Yoichi had eloped with his lovers the day before, leaving All Spirits In One with an elaborate ceremony missing the grooms, several thousand guests, tons of uneaten food, and no less than fourteen undetectable murder plans to turn his little brother into an early widower, all rendered useless.

Yoichi pretended not to notice his big brother's outstretched hands asking for a turn with the baby. Shifting the kit in his hands, Yoichi wiped his mouth of milk. The kit mewled and licked his finger. Yoichi cooed.

Smugly confident that his plan to bring his little brother back home had worked, All Spirits In One said, "I'll order you new clothes, suitable for company." Yoichi wore only a blue cotton yukata, in contrast to All Spirits In One's silk red nagagi covered with a black haori decorated by stars and moons. "You need a bath. You smell like cat and human."

Yoichi raised his eyes to the ceiling. "You're already starting harping on my husbands?"

"Merely an observation," All Spirits In One said coolly. He had not originally intended to pick a fight this early, but he couldn't resist adding, "What if the smell disturbs the kit?"

All Spirits In One longed for the day his little brother would tire of rebelling and set aside his unsuitable romantic partners. The Nekomata was bad enough, not even a born yokai but a turned one. The human man of no particular rank or bloodline had deliberately crude manners designed to set All Spirits In One's teeth on edge. Worse, the fool human had gotten himself cursed with immortality and thus would not even have the courtesy to die of old age before embarrassing the family too much.

"As if a baby cares." The kit nuzzled Yoichi's cheek. He smiled in response. "Big brother, have you completely forgotten that we were born at the bottom of society? Other yokai hunted us for sport as children. Ugh. No one acts snobbier than new money pretending to be old money."

With a low growl, All Spirits In One said, "I fought my way to the top so that you could have a better life. Because of me, you would have been sought after in the highest places of society. I've become a prince." He'd paid a large enough sum to convince Princess Suke to marry him that he deserved to use the title.

Yoichi sneered. "I could have married a princess who didn't love me and abandoned me and our adorable child shortly after marriage? What an opportunity I missed out on!"

All Spirits In One recoiled. He let hurt show on his face. In reality, he didn't care—his marriage had been political on both sides. He'd provided the money in exchange for a royal birthright for his future child. Princess Suke had been nothing to him except an extra monthly cost on his budget. But he knew guilt was the most effective lever to use against his little brother. His shoulders sagged and he even forced a tear from the corner of one eye.

Sure enough, Yoichi paled. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I went too far. I shouldn't have gone there, especially not so soon. How are you holding up? Do you want to talk about it?"

"It's still hard to speak about her." All Spirits In One wiped away his minuscule tear. "I'm focused on doing my best for my son."

"Of course. I'll be here to help you." Unfortunately, Yoichi ruined this by adding, "And so will his other two uncles. I invited them over to dinner tonight. I've already instructed your chef. My nephew's cuteness must be shared with the world." He kissed the kit's nose.

All Spirits In One was of the opinion that treasures were better kept locked up and safe. "Absolutely not."

Yoichi sniffed. "If you want my free childcare, then you'll have to put up with my husbands. Count yourself lucky that I didn't ask them to move in here, since I knew they would enjoy it as little as you."

All Spirits In One realized that this dinner would be the ideal chance to recycle a few of his unused murder plans from the canceled wedding. "Very well."

The kit twisted in Yoichi's hands, tiny pink paws waving, yipping to express his enjoyment of the petting. When the kit climbed his arm, Yoichi allowed it, even nudging him to encourage him. With a pained smile, he tolerated the kit attempting to make bedding from his hair. Any other being who'd laid a paw on the hair would have gone through life being called three legs. Yoichi did not even seem to mind the tiny claws whacking at his ear. He cooed, "What itsy bitsy toe beans!"

"I'm glad you two are getting along." All Spirits In One had an urge to summon his painter, but first he had a poisoned meal to prepare.

Humming, All Spirits In One went to his closet to select an outfit with hidden pockets for dinner. The burning smell downstairs had intensified. He opened his closet door. All of his clothing had vanished.

Running back to the nursery, All Spirits In One screamed, "Where are my clothes?"

Yoichi was rocking the kit on his shoulder. The kit moaned and kicked his little legs. "Hush, you're shouting so loudly the vibrations woke him up. Your clothes are unharmed, and you'll get them back in perfect condition as long as my husbands leave the dinner without any damage to them."

An explosion from below rocked the floor. Shouts rose up.

"What did you do?" All Spirits in One growled.

"Me?" With mock surprise, Yoichi pointed at himself. "Not this time. It was your son."

"Don't frame a newborn kit for your crimes! He can't even see or hear."

Yoichi said, "That's probably why he accidentally knocked the incense sticks into the fireworks. Or maybe it was a natural family gift for pranks. I did notice one of the sticks was lit, but I couldn't possibly interfere with my nephew's very first time setting fire to your house. What a precocious little kitsune! I'm proud of him."

Bright light streaked by the window, followed by another explosion. A flower of purple sparks rained down from the sky. The kit yipped and wagged his head to the vibrations, seeming to enjoy them.

Yoichi smiled serenely. "You'd better handle that. I'll put my nephew back to sleep."

All Spirits In One had spent years plotting his little brother's return home, but it had lasted only five minutes before he'd started wondering why he'd wanted the whelp back.


Author's Note: I spent way too much time and research trying to guess the Second and Third One for All users' names.

Based on the naming pattern for One for All holders, Second's name should have the character for two. Unfortunately, so do a lot of Japanese first names. I picked Kaiji because the name can mean either boss or assistance. Horikoshi likes names with meanings, and both of those fit the Leader who first reached out his hand to help Yoichi. (It's also very similar to the name Kaji that I've used for Second in the past, but I've switched to Kaiji for a cooler name meaning.)

Sanzou means the third to join a group, aka the most literal possible name for Third. From the mangaka who gave Izuku the surname green, that seems like a solid guess. I'll be curious to see if I came close. (Please, Horikoshi, give me their names already. It will make writing fanfiction so much easier.)

Yoichi would like the readers to know that he didn't want a big wedding. All Spirits in One browbeat him into it, and Yoichi agreed under the condition that his older brother would refrain from trying to murder the grooms for just one day. Unfortunately All Spirits in One only heard that he needed to be more subtle about the murder attempts. So Yoichi eloped like he'd always wanted to.

Contrary to Kaiji and Sanzou's paranoid assumptions, All Spirits In One didn't murder his wife (an OC) after she rejected their son. According to gentrychild, he locked her up in a completely empty castle so that she would grow so desperate for contact with other people that she'd be motivated to become a good mother. Not death, just a little torture—really, he let her off easy.

Finally: Izuku broke a family record by starting his first fire just shy of two weeks of age.