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In the past, Izuku would think of the attic as a villain's lair. It was dusty, dark, and scary to him back then. Sometimes, he convinced himself he could hear weird hissing noises coming from its depths. His dad would sometimes "joke" that the attic held all of a criminal's secrets. Looking back, he had no idea how he was so dense. During that entire conversation, the man had a strange, evil glint in his eyes. Past Izuku thought it was to make the story more compelling. Now, he knew better. It was his father's villain side shining through.
The boy needed more evidence, but it looked more likely by the second. Through much reasoning and numerous other clues, Izuku had two conclusions: his dad was All for One or worked for him. He was leaning towards one of these theories being correct, but his heart desperately wanted to believe Hisashi Midoriya was innocent. It was in the boy's nature.
It was like how he still believed Kacchan had the potential to be a top pro hero. Logically, he knew heroes don't give other scars or burn desks. True heroes don't call other people extras or cuss out people they deem weak or useless. Now, notice how he didn't say pro heroes didn't do these things. Early on, from watching different hero fights and the internet, he observed how heroes like Uwabami liked the spotlight a little too much or how Wash advertised his products whenever he got the chance.
Those heroes weren't necessarily evil, like the way his father sometimes cursed under his breath (Which Izuku wanted to smack himself for not noticing as a red flag. How wasn't that on the top of the list?). They were all humans that needed money to pay bills, but some others crossed the line (Endeavor, no explanation required).
The point was the 10-year-old knew not all heroes were good, and villains aren't always monsters. Kacchan had the potential to be a pro hero like Endeavor currently. If he didn't realize what he was doing was wrong. Izuku tried to point this out once, but that ended in another burn and something about "being a sh*tty nerd who looks down on him."
The kid needed to prove his dad still had good left in him (Or not. It depended on what he found). The attic was the perfect place to find any proof. He was currently climbing up the ladder leading to it with a flashlight, a notebook, a pencil, and a camera in his signature yellow backpack. All perfect for documenting evidence, like detectives or intelligence heroes!
Before Izuku's brain could go on about how underappreciated both were, he was now staring into the darkness of the attic. He quickly grabbed his flashlight and switched it on. Honestly, he expected some terrible sight like a corpse or an evil weapon.
Instead, he saw several dusty boxes on one side and tons of filing cabinets filling the other. There was even a wall indicating each side. The boy made the wise decision to start with the innocent cardboard boxes. Izuku needed to mentally prepare before looking through the cabinets.
The contents of the boxes made him smile. A small neatly folded All Might onesie sat in it, along with all the photos that went with it. He remembered that day like it was yesterday.
"Izuku, I have a surprise for you!" Inko called. The energetic little boy barreled into the room at the speed of light.
"What is it? Is it another All Might figure? Or a new episode of All Might's Mighty Adventures?" Izuku exclaimed.
His mom grimaced at the mention of that TV show. It confused the 4-year-old back then. All the show was doing was educating people about crime scenes. Like the types of things heroes in-ves-ti-gate!
"No...it's something even better," Inko whispered.
"Tell me!" Izuku yelped.
"Don't forget your manners," his mom reminded him.
"Right! Heroes always say please!" the broccoli boy added.
With those words, she pulled out an ALL MIGHT COSTUME! (It looked like one at the time. Past Izuku couldn't tell the difference.) The boy's emerald eyes widened.
"I get to become All Might!?" Izuku exclaimed.
"Well, not exactly. You'll get to be like All Might instead!" his mom corrected. It didn't deter the toddler's excitement.
"Yay! Yay! YAY!" Izuku screamed. He pumped up his fist in excitement and wouldn't stop jumping.
"Now, Izuku, calm down, or you'll never get this on," she reminded.
"Okay!" the boy agreed as he grabbed the onesie and rushed to the bathroom. A minute later, he kicked open the door.
"HA HA HA, I AM HERE!" Izuku mimicked. Inko decided to play along with her son's antics.
"Oh, All Might! Save me from the evil blanket!" she shouted.
"DON'T WORRY, MAMA, I AM HERE!" the boy proclaimed. He raced over to his mom and pulled off the blanket.
"You're my hero, Izuku," the mother said. Shortly after, she pulled her son into a tight hug. The pair dissolved into giggles. Then, the door opens-
Huh, that's weird; he can't remember anything after that. When were these photos ever taken? Izuku must be remembering that day wrong. It was hard to remember things when he was younger, after all.
The boy quickly sifted through the other boxes, but nothing seemed out of place. He came across an old, destroyed All Might piñata. It was at his fourth birthday party, a year before his quirkless diagnosis.
"Wait up, Kacchan!" Izuku yelled. It was almost time to cut his All Might cake, and the other boy wanted the first piece.
"No way, Zuzu! I'm the best, so I need the first slice!" the explosive boy replied.
"But Kacchannnn, it's my birthday! I'll let you have it second," Izuku reasoned. Still, Katsuki crossed his arms in protest.
"I'll give you the best slice! With All Might's hair!" the greenette pleaded.
"Why would All Might's hair be the best?" Kacchan asked. They were getting closer to the glorious cake.
"Because my dad said so! He's met him before," Izuku exclaimed.
"Ha! There's no way," he scoffed.
"C'mon, my dad has a picture," the birthday boy said as he pulled his best friend along towards- what?!
The memory cuts off from there but resumes at a later time. Okay, that isn't normal.
"Kacchan, we can't hurt All Might!" Izuku cried. They were getting ready to hit the piñata. With a bat! Why doesn't he realize heroes don't hurt people?
"Nerd, it's just a piñata," Katsuki laughed, "It's not the real All Might,"
"But it would dis-re-spect him! He does so much for this country," the 4-year-old yelled.
"I'm doing it!" the blonde declared.
"Kacchan, NO!"
Any memory of that day stops there. Izuku didn't think this was some weird coincidence. Another point towards one of his theories being correct. The boy crept to the other side of the attic.
The metal filing cabinets were conveniently alphabetically arranged, so he went straight to the I section. Izuku hoped it would say something, anything about his missing memories. And, oh boy, it did. If he didn't want to investigate his father, he wouldn't want to get into this mess.
He quickly opened a metal drawer. Izuku's anticipation fizzled up in his stomach. He carefully bit his lip and opened the drawer. Multiple manilla folders were organized carefully inside.
Memory Erasure Use #1 Date: 4/24/XX
I, unfortunately, had to use this quirk on Izuku and Inko today. I became a bit out of control seeing my son in an All Might onesie. After all, he might inherit my business one day. It was my pure instinct that activated another quirk (Freeze Sneeze).
Both of their weak minds made it easy for erasure to manipulate them. Izuku's because he is a mere child, and Inko's because of her obliviousness.
Memory Erasure #2 Date 7/15/XX
I honestly didn't think I'd have to use this quirk again this soon. Izuku's friend, Bakugou, was about to explode the pinta. I bought an actual pinta, but I must've mistaken it for my highly explosive All Might punching bag. I couldn't let any of my assets die, so I stopped it with another freezing quirk (Deep Freeze).
Admittedly, Izuku had slightly more mental resistance this time around. After all, it was his 5th birthday; his quirk should be coming in any day now. I was a late bloomer, so it might even take years for his quirk to manifest. It will be worth the wait. One of these days, he might be the perfect heir to my empire or a righthand man for Tomura.
These files aren't at all what Izuku expected. Heir to his father's empire? Memory Erasure? Tomura? Who even was that? But the 10-year-old got the answer he was searching for: his dad was not in the United States; instead, he was a villain overlord.
A VILLAIN OVERLORD
He already suspected this but confirming his theory is on a whole other level of mind-boggling. While he dreamed about becoming a pro hero, a villain slipped under his radar. Sure, he didn't have proper training, but several other obvious red flags were in plain sight.
All the memories of his father acting weird came back to his mind. They have been slowly coming to mind as he looked for more evidence (especially when he found the first clue), but it was never this many at once. He finally recalled all of his dad's evil grins, weird gifts (Like Knives For Dummies from his 7th birthday. What happened to that?), and various times he used other quirks. Like what happened after the door opened.
Wait! That means the memory erasure quirk breaks after people see the memories in another way. Izuku read his 'memories' from those files, so they all came back! It's always interesting to figure out a quirk's limitations and all possible uses. Like doctors or therapists could use memory erasure to get rid of trauma! Or make villains forget their plans! The boy would give anything to have a quirk like that or one at all.
But his father chose to use this quirk for evil. He could erase people's memories of their families! Or use it to make heroes forget their training! Izuku didn't want that to continue. Sure, his father taught him how to do quirk analysis, but that won't make up for not sending money, going radio silent, being a villain, and making his mom sad.
Maybe he could be a hero early. If he could stop All for One, everyone wouldn't see him as useless, or he could at least get him to send checks again. He couldn't defeat an urban legend right away, so the least he could do was make his mom more money.
Until now, Izuku had waited to become like All Might and save people with a smile. He didn't have to wait anymore, but he couldn't be like All Might for a bit longer. Instead, he'd be more like an undercover hero who takes down bad guys from the inside. Well, not legally, at least.
Each weekend now, Izuku devoted his time to go through all his father's files. He's already filled up several corkboards about all the different sections. Some of them were about the quirks All for One has; others have a list of his contacts in the criminal underworld. Both areas were works in progress due to the sheer number of each.
He wanted to work on it after school, but all the extra homework teachers assigned him, plus hero/villain watching, took up all of his time on those days. Izuku only recently started analyzing villains along with heroes. If he can figure out a villain's quirk, fighting style, and motives, he could defeat them (if he had any training). Since he had none, all he could do was sit back and find their weaknesses. So far, Izuku was decent at finding the information, but he needed to work on figuring out strategies. His first attempt at this was All Might Detriot Smashing the villain and tying them up!
It was hard to do everything he just listed, adding Kaccahn to the mix. For some twisted reason, he insisted on "showing the useless Deku his place" every day after school. Most of the time, the green-haired boy manages to escape. Running from Kacchan and his lackeys for years does wonders for his stamina. Honestly, it was the closest to training than anything else Izuku was doing.
This weekend, he worked on the D section of the filing cabinets. He tried to go in order as much as possible, but sometimes he went through folders in other drawers for context. He mostly found stuff about someone named Daruma Ujiko. According to the files, he was a doctor working for All for One. Izuku didn't expect his father to have medical help working for him. It was strange, considering he could steal healing quirks for himself.
Just as he was about to open a drawer labeled "Doctor's Nomu Projects" (Izuku could feel the importance reeking off that drawer), there was a knock on the attic door. The boy scrambled to cover the cork boards with old blankets. He did it just in time to see his mom.
"Izuku, what are you doing up here?" his mom asked, "I just got back from my work-study at the hospital, and I couldn't find you until now!"
"Sorry, Mom! I was working on a project," Izuku responded. Technically, that was true. His project was just more..., involved. Yeah! That's one word for it.
"Is it another school project?" she questions.
"No, I'm doing one for fun about...intelligence heroes! They solve cases and gather information to defeat villains, and they rarely engage in combat." the boy smoothly lies. He already knew several things about heroes. It was to the point he could recite any of these facts on the spot.
"How long have you been working on it today?" she softly asked.
"All day! I don't have time during the week, so I'm working on it every weekend." Izuku exclaimed. Again, that wasn't a lie.
"Sweetie, you need to take a break," his mom said, "You've been doing this every weekend, right?"
"Yes, but I take care of myself up here!" Izuku claimed.
"But do you go outside?" she inquired.
"No...," Izuku admitted.
Izuku was now at the mall. His mom went to some clothing store, so he didn't go with her. After all, he has zero fashion sense. He instinctively walked towards the hero merch store but had to stop himself.
"Focus on something other than your project, Izuku. That includes all hero stores. Try something new!"
He didn't want to lie to his mom more than he already was, so he turned around. What else was there other than hero merch? Izuku desperately wanted to go back and read that file. He could've finally connected the doctor to his father's schemes. What could be more important than that?
While lost in thought, he drifted towards the game store.
And bumped into a stranger.