'I accepted exile to spare the people of Europe, my people, the destruction that would occur if I chose to resist. I could defeat Master Railroad, but he would not be the only challenger. There would be dozens more after him, challenger after challenger for decades, and Europe would be an eternal battlefield. I would not subject them to that, not after I freed them from the grips of madness and chaos. I would not see my loved ones suffer the consequences of my power.'
—Excerpt from 'My Thoughts and My Failings' by Luciana Cisneros, the Stormwind.
Fumikage Tokoyami stares blankly at his laptop. He's supposed to be reading a pile of documents during his flight but he can't focus on anything but his last meeting with his fellow kings. He can't remember Izuku being so naïve. That, at the very least, isn't as bad as his feelings on Shouto.
It feels like compromising his principles to let Shouto act as he pleases. There are so many lives on his hands, lives that Shouto wiling took. It isn't even in the same realm as Izuku's idiocy leading to the casualties from All For One.
They're both idiots of the worst sort, he realises.
"What's bothering you?" Maya sitting across him asks. She's dressed in practical clothes with only a tiny Chrysanthemum denoting her affiliation.
"Two dumb teenagers in love."
Her lips curl in disgust. "Keep that to yourself. At least you're not as bad as some of the others."
"Really?"
"I don't see you fucking people in dirty bathrooms and public showers. I hate teenagers. You're filthy hormonal messes." There's a level of venom he doesn't associate with her.
"When was the last time you slept?"
Maya shrugs. "I sleep when we travel."
Fumikage checks his watch. They still have twelve hours before they land. "You should sleep."
She sleeps the full twelve hours, not stirring once. Fumikage busies himself by watching her, not caring when Dark Shadow calls him a creep. She is his and he is hers. They established that a long time ago.
When they arrive, they're greeted by the head Interpol's quirk division and the current Military Staff Director of the External Action Service. He lets Maya deal with the situation, indifferent to the politicking going on. Thankfully, the formation of the abyssal taskforces was agreed in the very highest levels of government.
Fumikage is assigned a team ten strong. They're a mixed bunch from across Europe but they have all dealt with some form of the abyss.
They travel through Europe, searching for evidence and clues. His team investigates a string of serial killings, following the trail of blood from Prague all the way to Madrid. It is a staggering number of victims, all of them sacrificed in summoning circles. Sometimes, he can hear chanting when he is near the corpses, the unholy words from the language of dead gods.
His team manages to power through the blood and gore, never once hesitating. They collect data and evidence efficiently, sending it up the chain to Intelligence who analyse the data and give them orders. Fumikage finds it tedious but he takes the opportunity to learn. One day he won't have to rely on inept humans.
Their next stop is Hungary and that is where Fumikage learns something new. Stormwind's is omnipresent. Like a human god, her presence is felt everywhere he goes.
Dead though she is, and deposed in the zenith of her governance, her influence is everywhere to be seen. It isn't simply the comics and shows and documentaries about her nor is it the structures built in her honour: Toledo Research Institute proudly flies the flag of Stormwind's first army, or the statues and memorials to her which can be found everywhere, old and weathered by time. It is something far more subtle.
Maybe it is that the people of Europe are proud of their quirks and do not impose laws to control them unlike the rest of the world as he finds out when they're investigating the French catacombs once more. Perhaps it has to do with Europe being one country under a single government. Everyone he has spoken to calls themselves European first and sometimes they list the 'country' they were born in. Could it possibly be that the national language is Stormwind's Spanish which even their Polish member speaks?
Whatever the case, she is a haunting spectre during his time in Europe. Her legacy might not be respected in Japan but the people of Europe adore her.
Right now, he is in Romania chasing rumours of vampires.
If not for the red-eyed corpse with a disgustingly heavy jaw and protruding fangs he would have laughed off the entire situation. Instead, he's staring at the corpse of the creature that killed members of his local support team.
"Have you seen something like this before?" his liaison, a woman of middling years, asks apprehensively.
She has bandages on her arm from the creature—and he refuses to call it a vampire—attacking her. Still, she had been the one to unload her gun into the creature and kill it whilst Fumikage was busy cleansing a ritual ground.
"Much worse," he says, setting his hands on the creature's chest.
Physical contact allows him to learn more about the creature. It was only changed a few days ago if the fragments of its human soul are anything to go by. He plucks at those fragments, trying to recall a memory from when it was alive.
A child? No, that's him as a child. Where are we? Give me something good.
"Doesn't get much worse than this."
He removes his hands. "I assure you it does. Unguraș, does that mean anything to you?"
"It's a… village, maybe?" She checks her phone. "Yeah, it's a collection of villages."
"Florin Balan was his name." From her wince, he's horribly butchered the pronunciation. "Check the records."
His guess proves true and soon they're on a helicopter to the area. Fumikage doesn't know exactly what they're facing and neither does Dark Shadow. Worrying because Dark Shadow is a repository of knowledge that Fumikage leans on.
"Our goal is to find the ritual site or spawning ground. Assume they're as smart as any pack predator," he says during the briefing. "If the rest are like the first victim then a bullet to the head will shut them down. If we need to retreat, we set the entire area on fire."
There are grim nods. All of them have taken part in at least one operation like this. As the most experienced, he is the one leading things. He's thankful that he had his growth spurt and that they are professional. They don't ask questions such as why he can summon a murder of glass crows.
He assigns two crows per agent and they enter the village. The first is quiet and filled with the smell of rot. They check each building slowly, finding signs of a struggle and blood splatters everywhere. The second and third villages are the same, but both the footprints and blood point to one direction.
Fumikage feels disgusted by the largest of the five villages. Not because of the edifice to Stormwind that has been torn down or the circle of dead horses lining the courtyard. No, it has to do entirely with the desecration done to the church.
Glowing vines have grown on the brickwork of the church. Brickwork that fades in and out of reality. The bell is some sort of incubating sack that throbs disgustingly. The air is acrid and filled with abyssal mist, the kind that would kill people without breathing masks. The stained glass now serves as portals to parts of the abyss, and from them the vampires exit and enter.
You know what must be done. The infection must be burnt away.
He raises his fist, halting the squad. "Fall back and call HQ. Policy One is in effect for the region, Yellow Priority."
His liaison grimaces but nods. Policy One is to scorch the affected region with copious amounts of napalm and incendiary devices from any number of jets on standby just for this eventuality. A yellow priority gives the team ten minutes to make their escape. Red would have scrambled the jets immediately. Black or white would have been the worst. White would have authorised a complete carpet bombing of a city. Black would have authorised tactical nuclear weapons.
Thankfully, they're not at that point yet.
"You?"
Fumikage stares at the church. "I'm going to seal the portals first."
When they are gone, he summons his crows and serpents and sets them loose. The vampires put up a valiant effort, but they will not survive. Fumikage moves quickly to annihilate the most critical sites: the giant sack in the bell tower which reveals an entire nest of the things when he enters; the portals to ensure nothing is coming back in; and the spawning pit at the base of the Church.
The spawning pit is vast when he enters the basement. Space has been distorted by it because a church basement should not be the size of a town. The litanies of dead gods on the walls aren't natural. Someone had intentionally turned this village into a spawning ground.
There, he also finds most of the vampires.
Fumikage summons his sword and funnels energy. With one sweep, a beam of power annihilates them and the portal. Still, Fumikage takes his time to make sure the infection hasn't spread underground to other areas.
The bombs fall only a minute after he is satisfied that only the surface is contaminated. He is outside when it happens.
One minute, things are fine. The next, everything around him is on fire. Fumikage sighs because now his clothes are on fire.
Only your dignity will be injured, Dark Shadow says once the barrage has ended.
"You could make yourself useful."
The demon wraps around Fumikage's skin. He looks down. At least he is covered even if his body is pitch black.
That is how he returns to his team who fire on him on principle.
"Are you done?" he asks once the bullets have stopped. "I need some pants."
There aren't any missions waiting for them which finally means Fumikage has some downtime. He takes a map and marks the last location his allies reported from. The locations are varied and widespread enough that there are lots of rumours on the internet.
The lines don't intersect perfectly but they form a rough region he can investigate. Greece. It isn't a perfect analysis and hopefully, he is completely wrong, but he's come to learn that coincidences don't exist.
"Continue monitoring the region," he orders. "I do not want to be blindsided if anything happens."
With that, he takes a step and finds himself in Japan once more. He heads to his room and falls asleep immediately.
-TDB-
"The age of heroes is dead and you killed it."
Izuku Midoriya can't forget those words no matter how hard he tries. He tries his hardest to drive those words from his mind. He pens letters to humanitarian organisations and attends conferences whenever possible just so people hear his words. He urges unity and support for those who need it. His words and influence are such that support always comes through.
It unfortunately happens to be support that comes from Sensei's organisations. Whilst the government's databases of villains and their associates have been destroyed, Sensei had gifted Izuku with that knowledge. When a construction company does free work to rebuild infrastructure in Southern Okinawa, he knows the owner is a villain. When he calls for aid to deal with the fires in the Amazon, the nations that first answer the call are those that swore fealty to Sensei.
Terror grips his heart when he considers the level of influence he now wields. His words are strong enough to cause change and he knows he will have to deal with the disparate groups that support him.
Why destroy everything he built when you can repurpose it to better ends? Mikumo asks one morning whilst Izuku marks geopolitical relationships on a world map.
"Because I don't want to be him."
That's not the real reason. You respected him even if you can never forgive him.
Lying to Mikumo has always been a fruitless endeavour. His brother was with him when Izuku felt like he was losing his mind. They experienced the absolute worst times together.
"Fine, it's because I feel like I'm betraying All Might. The more lessons I take from All For One, the more of his resources and methods I use, the more I feel like I betray Toshinori."
Is it truly a betrayal? All Might asked you to choose your own future. The future you want is one where a girl in a sunflower dress isn't called a villain. One where people can trust the government. You want a future without villains. All For One wanted the same. It is futile to fight it.
"I know but…"
A world without villains is a world without heroes.
"Yeah. I want to be a hero with all my heart. But I'm terrified because I can't be a hero and change things."
Hero changed things.
Izuku snorts. "Comparing yourself to Hero is stupid. She was better than all of us combined. I'll never be her."
Just as All Might wasn't her nor was he Nana. All For One is called a Great Tyrant now, but he is neither Stormwind nor Titan. Brother, you will never be Toshinori. You will never be All For One. You won't ever be someone who came before. They laid the road, now you must walk it.
"If we take things one step at a time then we will meet the rising sun," Izuku says, remembering Toshinori's words.
That sun will illuminate the roads not taken. It will be up to you to lay down the road for those to come after. It will be hard and difficult, but one day you'll look around and see the fruits of your labour. Now get out and be better.
Izuku smiles and forces himself out of the house. He drags Kouta along with him just for the sake of it. There's been an issue with a sinkhole in the school's main building so it been cancelled until it can be repaired. Izuku listens to him make very unsubtle suggestions for his birthday. Izuku has already bought Kouta a present, but he puts up a show of considering the gaming console. Then Izuku decides he might as well get it just to distract Kouta.
Kouta slows down when they turn the corner and he realises where they are. "Oh, come on, I just went the other day."
"And I'm bored so deal with it."
"I hate you."
Jin Mo-Ri's dojo is quiet right now, though Izuku has seen what has become of it. Everyone knows Izuku goes to it and that he was trained by the man. On the busiest days training was taken to the nearby park. The building beside it is being remodelled and will serve as an expansion to the current dojo.
It doesn't take Izuku long to find Ojiro. His friend nods once and steps away from the desk, flagging someone down to replace him. Kouta puts up enough of a fuss that Izuku lets him sit to the side as he and Ojiro fight. He is surprised that Ojiro and Kouta speak with a lever of familiarity borne from proximity and mutual respect.
Each punch he barely blocks and kick he struggles to evade reminds Izuku that, in terms of raw skill, Ojiro will never lose a fight. If this had been a fight without quirks, Izuku would have lost in about three engagements.
One For All is the greatest equaliser. He activates a minuscule portion of it to stay a tad faster than Ojiro. Anything more would be unfair but, it has the added benefit of helping Ojiro deal with people whose physical capabilities outstrip him.
Izuku slides around a punch and sees an opening. He elbows Ojiro in the side, ready to follow through with a punch.
Except, his arm is trapped. He has a split second to understand before Ojiro's tail is around his neck.
Ojiro pivots and bucks his hip, pulling Izuku as well. In one graceful motion, Izuku finds himself on his back, staring at the ceiling.
That was embarrassing, Mikumo says. Even Kouta's laughing at you.
"If you don't shut up you aren't getting a present.
Kouta's laughter immediately ceases. Ojiro helps Izuku to his feet, polite as always.
"You're getting sloppy," Ojiro says. "You're gonna have to use more power to put up a challenge."
Izuku sticks out his tongue. "Not like I had a whole bunch of people to choose from."
"That's what you get for being arrested." Ojiro glances at Kouta who is talking to someone near his age. "I knew you were going to do something stupid, but I didn't think it would be that stupid."
"I aim to please." His pride might be bruised, but it's impossible to stay angry at Ojiro. "I had to do it, you know."
Ojiro shoves him aside to reach for a towel. They went at it for close to an hour. Whilst Izuku might not have physically exerted himself much, Ojiro is human.
Humans sweat.
A lot.
He finds it disgusting.
"You don't have to do anything. I'm glad you did. But I swear, if you ever ditch that kid again and I have to deal with him, I'll break your nose."
"Hm?"
"Angry kids like punching things. I got saddled with being his punching bag each time he came here."
Izuku winces. He knows that Kouta goes for the crotch when he's frustrated. By Ojiro's pained expression, it probably happened more than once.
"How's the tournament going?" he asks, changing the subject.
"Good. I placed into the group stages. It's going to pick up again next month. You going to come?"
"Maybe but first…" He tilts his head, wondering why the shadows of the people outside feel like they're in a fight. "I'll catch up with you later. Kouta, I'll be back in a bit."
Kouta waves him off.
"Don't do anything stupid," Ojiro warns.
"No promises."
The fighting happens to be Shuichi against a group of four. They're in an alleyway, covered by a construction tarp. He's already subdued three of them and is just about to slam the fourth's head into a wall when he sees Izuku.
Izuku blinks.
Shuichi blinks back.
The person Shuichi has ln a stranglehold doesn't blink. He's too busy gasping for breath.
"This isn't what it looks like," Shuichi says.
"Right, so you haven't just beaten the shit out of three people? And you're not currently choking the fourth?" Shuichi winces. "Let him go."
Shuichi obeys, letting go. The man collapses to the ground, wheezing and gasping. Izuku sympathises. He knows exactly how annoying being choked can be.
He crouches beside the man. "Hey. You wanna tell me why you're here?" The man only coughs violently. "Shuichi, I think you overdid it."
"They've been following Kouta for a few days."
"And you didn't do anything earlier, why?"
Shuichi shrugs. "Not the first group. These guys haven't tried anything yet. I wanted a bit more information. Then they decided to try something today."
Izuku nods and grips the man's shoulder. The man looks up and yelps when he sees Izuku's cold indifference.
"I don't take kindly to people following my brother." He punctuates this by activating One For All, pleased when the sudden green lightning startles the man. "So, unless you want to find yourself in a dark hole for the rest of your life, I hope you have a very good reason."
The man scrambles back. He tries to at least. But Izuku's grip on his shoulder is iron-clad. It would be easier to destroy a building than to break Izuku's grip.
He squeezes just hard enough to bruise badly.
"You wouldn't," the man says fearfully.
Izuku smiles cruelly. "I stood against the Strongest Man Alive for that little brat. Don't test me."
The man looks ready to soil himself. "We were looking for you."
"Why? If you want revenge, I hope you've seen how futile that is."
"Not revenge." The man hesitantly reaches into his pocket and removes a folded paper. "To give you this."
Izuku takes it and unfolds it with one hand. The first thing he notices is the green lightning bolt serving as a watermark across the entire page. The letter is short and to the point.
You are cordially invited to attend the monthly meeting of the Lightning Bolt Network.
-Crawler.
Beneath that are a set of coordinates. Izuku scoffs, annoyed that they dare to do this in his favourite café.
"There were easier ways to contact me," Izuku says, letting go of the man. "Don't make the mistake of following my brother again."
Izuku returns home with Kouta, the letter burning a hole in his pocket. This is his first chance to meet the people who have turned him into a symbol. He's met Crawler a few times but those had been a friendly meeting, nothing formal about it.
His mother is waiting for them at home. She scolds Izuku for taking Kouta without even a simple message and he bears it with dignity.
"Don't leave the house today," he tells her just before leaving again. "Just in case."
She glares. He wilts beneath her gaze. Despite his strength, he can't stand up to his mother.
"Don't do anything stupid."
"I think we both know that's a fool's bet."
She ruffles his hair and he leans into it. On a whim, he gives her a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
"Just get out already."
He leaves with a laugh in his throat and a skip in his step. He cloaks his negative feelings with the simple memory of his mother being a mother. Maybe it will temper his anger. Maybe Shouto's words will stop ringing in his head if he focuses on anything else.
With a gesture, Shuichi breaks off from his customary perch from which he observes their home. Izuku's orders had been to protect Kouta and Shuichi has followed them perfectly. Kouta hasn't come to harm even once.
Shuichi doesn't walk with Izuku. There is still a bounty on his head and it will likely never go away. The villains loathe him for betraying the Vanguard and the play that came out of Vancouver has only made it worse. The movie adaptation would have made it even worse but thankfully it was terrible and not too many people watched it.
Izuku had just to laugh at the inaccuracies. Shuichi had been none too pleased after Izuku forced him to watch it.
As he gets closer to his destination, he sees more people with a green lightning bolt on their person, sometimes on a shirt and sometimes on an armband. A few are startled when they see him. Some salute, but those are all uniformly horrendous. He signs an autograph for a little boy but that's as far as his interactions with them go.
He's a block away from his destination when he sees a group of them waiting for him.
One of them walks forward, a young adult with messy hair. He wears an All Might hoodie, but instead of the great hero's classic poses, All Might grips a green lightning bolt.
"Izuku Midoriya, it's good to see you again." The man grins. "I hope you haven't forgotten me.
"Koichi Haimawari, Crawler," he says in surprise, seeing the lightning bolt on his All Might hoodie. "It's been a while."
"A year isn't that long these days. We've been waiting to see you." Crawler gestures to the café. "The others want to meet you."
"Why here?"
Here happens to be the café he met Shinsou. It is the same café that he and his friends used weekly before his imprisonment. The last time he came here was a month ago where they had all celebrated together.
It seems irreverent to use this place for something as crass as business and politicking.
"I thought you might enjoy a familiar sight." Koichi frowns. "Maybe I should have chosen somewhere with fewer memories for you."
"Maybe," Izuku agrees.
Still, he enters the café. It's filled in a strange way. The servers and owner are present, bringing coffee, food and other drinks to the people in the room. In the centre, three tables have been brought together and there sit six people Izuku doesn't know. They are seated on the long ends of the table, no one given more importance than the others.
Others wear lightning bolts sitting at various tables but they have the air of security. One of them even happens to be a minor hero.
There's a seat with his name on it. One set away from the others. Am observer's seat at best. Izuku scoffs and walks past it to sit at the head of the makeshift table.
A murmur of unease breaks out from those on the side-lines but Izuku ignores it. He waits till Crawler takes his seat before he begins.
"So, you're the ones who took my name and turned it into a symbol." His smile is bland and unimpressed. "I've read your manifesto. I find myself unimpressed."
A woman in a blue dress frowns. "It was based on your words and common ideals we could all agree on."
"An interpretation of my words, certainly. I never said the heroics system should be destroyed. I want reform. I never said the government officials should be universally arrested. I want changes made to the electoral process. I never suggested dismantling the judicial system. I want the emergency laws passed during the Dark Ages to be repealed." He gestures at them. "Your manifesto is nothing short of insulting."
When the shouts break out, Izuku isn't surprised. With a thought, he activates his wind quirk and silences them.
"I think you misunderstand something crucial," he says, leaning forward. "The Strongest Man Alive couldn't make me bow. You chose my symbol and I will not let it be corrupted. You get with the program or you leave. There's no middle ground."
He lets his control of the wind fade and they can speak once more. No one does. Perhaps it is fear of his wind quirk. Perhaps it is awe of the green lightning dancing along his arms and fingers. Perhaps it is a form of existential dread they can't pinpoint—the shadows are darker than usual, threatening to drown anyone within them.
"What do you people want from me?"
He's staring straight at Crawler.
"We need your help," Crawler says, assessing Izuku with wariness. "New accords are being signed and we want a place at the table."
Izuku doesn't react. He knows what the accords are, agreements between the most powerful groups in Japan. All For One, UA and the Imperial Family all were part of the accords.
"And that has what to do with me?"
"If we go by ourselves, we're not going to be equals. We're gonna be begging for scraps. But you, you're powerful. If you go as our representative—"
"No," Izuku interrupts. "I'm not going to be anyone's puppet."
"You can't go there thinking you can force them to listen," an older man says. "They'll want concessions and—"
"I've already made an enemy of the army," he interrupts. "Let me explain to you what it means to wear that lightning bolt which I notice you've casually chosen not to. It means fighting to see Shikoku without a military presence. That's over one hundred and fifty thousand soldiers with a vested interest in keeping power. There won't be any concessions."
"You're talking war."
Izuku shakes his head. "There won't be a war. No one wants another war. They'll probably try to arrest you and your families in the dead of night. They might skip that step and just assassinate you."
From their grim expressions, they all know that. Izuku approves. It means he isn't leading fools.
"You're not doing much to inspire confidence."
"Confidence will get people killed." He nods to them. "I see six people who want to better Japan. I see six people who believe that we haven't reached our pinnacle as a nation. To remove the army, we must erode the base of their power. Their power isn't purely in numbers or guns. It's a nation that sees them as necessary for stability in Shikoku. They are supported by an indifferent government. A government that is indifferent because the people don't care."
"Then what's your plan?"
"To ignore Shikoku entirely and go to Hokkaido." He enjoys their surprise. "We avoid the military entirely for now. If we can improve Hokkaido, then we can improve Shikoku. But first, we need to deal with these Accords. We're not signing them."
The stunned silence is completely expected. They look amongst each other, trying to verify if they heard him right.
"Are you fucking insane?"
Izuku nods. It's technically true.
"The last Accords were signed because All For One defeated Japan alone. He did so again. I will not have a repeat of history. The Accords are a relic of an older era. They'll try to chain me down but there are no chains that can hold me."
"They won't like that."
"I don't care. I'm not changing my mind on the matter."
They discuss the matter further. Izuku offers concessions to them where appropriate. Some of their actions are more extreme than he would like but that is the cost of support. He needs these six. Together, they run a network of hundreds with quirks, with thousands more civilians that support them.
Izuku lets the older gentleman chair the discussion. When they get rowdy and start shouting, he silences them with his wind. Then the discussions continue again. They touch everything from civilian support to businesses to bases all while Izuku listens, absorbing the information. He comes to learn about their power structure and means for communications, offering minor suggestions here and there.
They do this for hours. Izuku passes the time by eating the café's stock of pastries before going on to their sandwiches. He doesn't feel bad given that he knows they've been paid for their time and he leaves a cheque with a rather generous sum. So even though everyone stares in awe at his steadily growing stack of plates, Izuku eats unashamed.
"We still need to deal with the safe zones," Crawler says as they are winding down. "Ever since the villains went to ground, they aren't being enforced as well."
"It's a waste of resources we can't afford," one of them says. Izuku suspects he was former military by his bearing.
For the first time in half an hour, Izuku speaks. "I have a brother. He's turning eight tomorrow. I like knowing he can play in a park and be safe. I like knowing he can go to school without a fight breaking out. There's a lot I'd do to ensure that. I would also be grateful to any group that did so for free."
The former soldier grimaces. "It will disperse our forces. Should an attack happen—"
"Then we've done a bad job," Izuku says. "Trust me on this."
"We need the money from their other activities. If they're doing this, then everything will fall apart because we can't keep their families fed."
"Money won't be an issue."
Izuku has seen his father's finances and knows the man has a modest supply of wealth. Not enough to fund things indefinitely, but certainly enough to last a few weeks whilst Izuku finds different sources of wealth. Momo might be willing to provide funds, but Izuku isn't certain of her ability to get her parents to agree.
The other option is to work with the League or what has become of them.
Use their ill-gotten gains to do some good, Mikumo says. Like that, it doesn't sound too terrible.
"Three weeks is as long as I will support this decision without proof of additional funds."
Izuku nods. "I'll see it done before then."
The meeting winds down quickly after that. Izuku is given access to their information network and promises to get some specialists to provide better network security. Finally, Izuku suggests a small taskforce to provide internal oversight for the Lightning Bolts.
"A disciplinary commission?" Crawler asks. "I think it's a good idea."
"Whatever you want to call it. We can't know anything and everything about those working with us. We'll all be bogged down with the big picture. But if someone claims a Lightning Bolt hurt them, then they need to know it will be investigated and dealt with. If we don't have that, then the people won't be able to trust us."
"I have no objections to this," the lady in blue says.
No one else provides objections.
Izuku stands. He bows to the table. This is the first sign of respect he's given them and it may very well be the last.
"Thank you for your support. It is an honour knowing I can place my faith in you."
Crawler huffs. "You make a big show of being hard and unreasonable."
Izuku scratches the back of his head awkwardly, knowing this is an opportunity to recontextualise their meeting. Whether Crawler did it intentionally or not is immaterial. Izuku learnt the power of appearances from All For One.
Right now, he can make a show of being an awkward teenager. One with power and charisma, but one willing to rely on those around him.
"I didn't know you," he says, letting his voice crack a bit. "None of you would have treated me as an equal if I didn't start like that. You would have used me as a puppet and relegated me to obscurity."
It is a rebuke, an unsubtle one at that. From the winces around the table, more than one person had that idea.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, my brother is probably worried."
As he walks home, he realises he is being followed. With a subtle gesture, he forces Shuichi to back-off. He also uses the Lightning Bolt's hand sign to indicate the same. He walks quickly to the first empty building he can find, one of many destroyed during the Kamino Ward War.
They jump in through the windows. Ten people armed with weapons and quirks and hostile intent.
He wonders who these fools are. Then he realises it doesn't matter. He can feel people watching from the shadows and senses the distinct profile of drones in the air.
Izuku snaps his fingers.
Sound is nothing more than the vibration of the air. With his wind quirk, he is sovereign of the skies. With his quirk, it is simple enough to amplify the power of those waves a thousand-fold.
A wave of raw sound and force emanates from his fingers. It tears up tracts of concrete and slams into the idiots surrounding him.
He finds one who is still lucid. It takes a few minutes and going through five others.
"Hey, you know that assassinating law-abiding citizens is illegal, right?"
The man moans in pain. From his wheezing, he probably has a few broken ribs.
"I'm going to let you go. But I want you to tell your bosses that doing this won't work." He makes sure the man is looking before he continues. "If you ever come after my family, I will make it my life's purpose to end you."
That threat will have to be enough. If it isn't, and they go after people Izuku loves, then there will be no mercy, no kindness or compromise.
As he gets closer to home, the people following him break off until it is only his loyal disciple.
"Shuichi," he says to the silence.
The former villain lands silently next to Izuku. His stealth skills have increased greatly and he's filled out, packing on more muscle than before. He probably could have dealt with the group alone.
"I need you to investigate the Lightning Bolts. Start with Crawler."
Shuichi hesitates for a moment before nodding. "Understood. And Kouta?"
"I'll watch over him." He retrieves a drive from his pocket and hands it to Shuichi. "I don't know them and I don't know their affiliations. I need to know who I can trust, who I can use, and who is an enemy."
Kouta isn't waiting for Izuku when he returns. Izuku's hearts skip a beat as he is gripped by worry. Then he hears laughter from the lounge.
His brother watches cartoons with his mother. Izuku joins them, his heart joyous. Right now, he has all his favourite people in the world. Maybe, just maybe, they'll be able to distract him from his thoughts.
The age of heroes is dead and you killed it.
Those words swirl in his head as Kouta tells Izuku all about the characters. They ring in his ears when his mother sends Kouta to bed. They follow him all the way to his room as he switches on his computer and opens All For One's data drives.
-TDB-
Inko Midoriya wakes up bright and early, stretching languidly before realising there is someone in her bed. Her heart races and she nearly summons her power until she sees the greying hair and scars on his slumbering face.
Hisashi.
She lets out a breath, remembering the night before. It hadn't been something planned but seeing Hisashi once more had unfurled something deep in her chest. No matter how hard she has tried, she can never stop loving Hisashi. Being cold and distant is easy enough, but even that has its limits. Hisashi being gone had reminded her just how much she cherished him and how much it hurt the first time he went missing.
Saying all that had been impossible. She's spent too long not saying it. But a kiss says each word she can't. Dragging him to their bedroom had reminded her of their first time together, awkward and bumbling with no idea what to do with their hands. This time had been awkward, but it had been emotional and spiritual. Two lovers unsure of how to cross the distance between them.
They had tried to cross that distance till Hisashi was exhausted and half-asleep. And then they'd spoken of their favourite stories from early in their marriage.
"Do you remember the train to Okinawa?" he asked the night before.
Inko remembers laughing. "You couldn't keep your hands off me. All the looks we got."
"You were getting looks. Do you even remember what you were wearing? I do because you were barely wearing anything."
Later, he said, "I'm sorry for not telling you the truth from the beginning."
"I know."
"I should have told you when Shikoku burnt."
"You know how to ruin the mood." She had stared at the ceiling, at the odd mark from one of Izuku's early inventions. "I should have asked. But I think I knew I wouldn't have been able to love you if you told me, even back then."
"And now?"
"Now I've seen too much to care. So long as you keep our sons safe."
Hisashi's smile had been a picture of brilliance, unguarded and vulnerable. "Always."
They had fallen asleep soon after that and now Inko is awake, watching Hisashi as he sleeps. His chest rises and falls slowly, deep in slumber and peaceful. He isn't the handsome man she remembers from her youth. Age and scars will do that. But she will never tire of looking at him.
She readies herself for the day. The first order of business is checking up on Kouta. The boy is asleep this early in the morning. Izuku comes next. He's going through the motions of taekwondo slowly, each movement so slow it takes Inko a moment to realise he isn't a statue and is moving.
"I cleaned up last night," he says without looking at her. "I saw Hisashi."
Izuku has cleaned the house to an extent Inko finds mesmerising. Everything is spotless and glittering, a bright sheen to every surface and so many reflections of herself in odd objects. It's gratifying and worrying. He only ever cleans like this on his worst days.
She settles for cooking breakfast. Soon enough, the smell of food has woken Kouta who ambles into the kitchen rubbing his eyes.
"Food?" he asks with a massive yawn.
Inko smiles, ruffling his hair. "Happy birthday. Go clean up first."
"I don't think that's how it works."
"Do you want your presents?"
"Fine."
He rushes back upstairs, nearly knocking Izuku over. Izuku wishes him a happy birthday as best he can but Kouta has no interest right now. Izuku takes up a spot in the kitchen, setting the table and cleaning the dishes as Inko cleans. They work quietly but comfortably.
She is so engrossed in her work that she almost misses Hisashi bearing a cup of coffee in his hands. The words on the cup are Grecian. She raises a brow but accepts it.
The first drop hits her tongue and she falls in love with Hisashi all over again. "Thanks."
"You're welcome," he murmurs, invading her personal space. "I can get you another."
She leans into him. "I think I'd like that."
"You two are disgusting," Izuku says at the same time that Kouta says, "Ew."
They eat breakfast like a normal family. Izuku indulges Kouta's fevered explanation about some movie—or maybe it's a game?—with so much patience it makes Inko's heart swell. Hisashi chips in by suggesting they… go play the movie?
"It's an interactive movie," Izuku explains, pushing some of his rice to the other side of the plate. He hasn't eaten more than a few bites.
"You choose where the story goes," Kouta says excitedly. "There's like thirty-seven endings."
"I take it you're old enough to watch this movie."
Kouta nervously glances at Hisashi who suddenly has nothing to do with this conversation and Izuku who is messaging someone on his phone.
"Yes," Kouta offers weakly.
"I suppose you can be naughty on your birthday."
They open presents before lunch. Kouta is restless, discreetly looking for any sign of them. It doesn't work too well when they've been hidden on the other side of the world.
Kouta is happy with each new present he opens. Clothes, knick-knacks and electronics making up most of them. Izuku gifts him with a signed picture of his parents in their hero costumes. Kouta stares at it, wiping his eyes constantly.
The hug he gives Izuku would break a lesser man's ribs.
Inko's present is opened last. Kouta removes the wrapping recklessly but his breath falls short when he sees the white box with intricate designs. He lifts the lid, a huge smile forming on his face. He lifts it for them to see. A silver medallion from some game Kouta's been talking about for months graces them.
"They only made seven of these," he whispers.
Inko is aware of that. The price tag had been exorbitant, but they have the money and Kouta deserves something to make up for the mess of his seventh birthday, hardly celebrated with Izuku in prison and Hisashi gone.
"You boys go enjoy your movie," Inko says when they are done.
Kouta gives her a quick hug. Screams, "Bye." Runs out the door.
Inko watches this fondly, especially when Izuku sighs and chases after the boy. Hisashi kisses her on the cheek, his hand lingering on her waist.
"It's not your birthday." She pokes him in the chest.
He raises his hands in surrender. "Fine."
Seeing all three of them happy and at peace is wonderful. Sometimes she still wishes she was working but she did that when her family is broken. Now it is whole and healthy. She doesn't want to miss a single moment with her husband and sons.
There are adoption papers hidden in a safe under the floorboards. She retrieves them, going over the paperwork once more. Her signatures are already in place as are Hisashi's. All that's left if to file the claim. One day, she hopes Kouta will be a part of their small family. She wants to call him son and have it be true in the eyes of the law, not just in her heart.
She puts them back in the safe just in time for the universe to shatter.