Izuku sat on the edge of his now barren bed.
Kacchan had been amicable enough to stay quiet and help him pack up all of his stuff while auntie Mitsuki bawled her eyes out over the loss of her best friend, but there was a lingering feeling that he wasn't doing this out of the kindness of his heart.
Everything felt just a bit… colder without his mother. The sharp fragrance of fresh homemade cooking was missing, the soft humming and sounds of busywork were muted, and the sense of safety and security that only a parent could bring was gone.
The skeletal form of Yagi Toshinori stood in the doorway, solemnly looking down at the boy as he covered up the nasty wound. There was no reason to withhold the information about All for One anymore, and the boy was taking the information as one would expect.
Izuku looked at his hands, memorizing every little detail.
These were the hands of someone capable of crippling All Might.
While Izuku himself wasn't the one to do the deed, the truth still terrifies him. All for One, who could only take quirks via touch, had managed to go two hundred years causing devastation without the public even knowing his name. What was Izuku capable of with a maximum range of 1 kilometer?
As Izuku thought about it, Transfer was truly a terrifying power. Too much power. The only real downside he could even think of was how he'd lose control of his quirks when he got sick, took heavy medication, or had to sneeze.
Yes, he was somewhat limited to how many he could use, but with training, he could handle using five different types of quirks and stack up to fifty of the same type of quirks on top of each other. Anything beyond those limits just gave him a headache and he didn't want to find out what would happen if he pushed too far.
Izuku honestly couldn't blame All Might for being so cautious. With how badly All Might described All for One's state during their last brawl, it would be no surprise if he felt the need to find a successor of his own. But most of all, Izuku was afraid.
He was capable of committing the same atrocities as that man.
He was capable of bringing the apocalypse.
He was capable of shuffling the balance of power however he saw fit.
He was capable of becoming a demon.
Izuku silently thanked the gods for his discovery of destroying quirks. Once he'd get his hands on AfO's quirks, he'd destroy every single quirk that let the bastard survive for so long. Nobody with the kind of power he has, no matter how steadfast their morals may be, can withstand the test of time unchanged.
It would be for the best that Izuku remained mortal. That way he'd be able to sleep soundly at night knowing he'd never live long enough to become a villain.
Izuku didn't process the ride All Might gave him to whoever was gonna be taking care of him. It didn't matter. Not much mattered anymore. All that did matter was that Izuku did everything he could to bring hell to All for One.
He was overdue for an appointment there anyway.
Izuku guessed he was going to stay with his sperm donor. His mother kept up the lie that Hisashi was working abroad until about a year ago when the truth finally came out. He was just a one-night stand that Inko couldn't bare to spend more time with. All looks, no charm.
At least he had the courtesy of paying his child support bills.
In all honesty, Izuku wanted to stay an orphan. He was old enough to take care of himself now, he could definitely defend himself in a pinch, and he knew how to pay his bills and taxes. However, All Might wasn't having it. As much as he wanted to take care of Izuku himself, the two alone were already massive targets and neither could afford to make themselves easier to hit. If any form of familial bond was made, then villains could exploit it.
The real problem All Might had was figuring out who to adopt Young Midoriya. A part of him found it funny how he was looking for a possible parent with the same discrepancy as how he searched for a successor, but it wasn't important.
Aizawa definitely needed an anchor in his life, but with Izuku's current situation he figured the man didn't deserve extra insomnia;
Nemuri was written off right off the bat;
Putting Izuku in the hands of Nezu would be akin to sentencing the entire human race to death;
Gran Torino and Sir Nighteye would kill Izuku well before he got to fully explain the situation…
The more options he went through, the worse things seemed. The only two All Might could think of would be Endeavour, who seemed to have a sketchy relationship with his preexisting family, and Thirteen; She had always expressed a desire for kids, but unfortunately an accident involving her quirk rendered her infertile.
Ultimately, All Might chose Endeavor, as much as his gut wanted to say no. Thirteen's quirk was too much like Ms. Midoriya's, and All Might feared what kind of mental unease that would put the boy through. He hoped desperately that his gut was wrong.
On paper, Endeavour was the best option. He's capable of making sure Young Midoriya was safe, being number 2 and all, and he already had a family of his own. However, during the brief moments All Might got to see Endeavour's family, something just felt off.
The smiles were too strained, the politeness was too rehearsed, and the occasional twitch or flinch when he made a move just screamed that something was wrong. Before All Might made the call, he made sure to preemptively arrange emergency papers to transfer Young Midoriya into Thirteen's care should anything happen, and something told him to prepare a few extra blank copies as well.
{XXX}
Shouto couldn't help but stare at the newcomer from the upper balcony. He was accompanied by All Might, of all people, which was more than enough to warrant interest, but what was truly interesting were the small snippets of conversation he picked out.
Something about adoption. Shouto narrowed his view on the boy. Curly green hair, glistening emerald eyes, freckles, and a plain-looking face. He didn't look anything like the man accompanying him, but that didn't stop the gears in his brain from turning.
The first thing that came to mind was 'secret lovechild?' But then, the boy demonstrated a variety of powers for a brief moment. Fire, lightning, telekinesis, crystal skin, and lasers, being the most notable and flashy. He listened closer, hearing them mention something about a quirk called Transfer… Shouto's eyes went wide. This was his chance to finally be rid of that monster's fire!
Who cares if he was All Might's secret lovechild or not? He was his ticket out of this hell! Shouto smiled, the sensation of his lips curving upward feeling so alien, but also necessary given the moment.
{XXX}
Despite Shouto's best attempts, his father kept finding increasingly new and creative ways to keep the green-haired boy, Izuku as he'd learned a month later, away from him as much as possible. While training already took up most of the day, he had somehow managed to shove a few more hours of activities that barely even classified as training.
During the few times, Shouto got to eat at the dinner table, something would miraculously run out and Izuku would be sent to restock. Shouto even found out the hard way that Izuku was at Dagobah Beach during the night, cleaning up the trash for "bodybuilding and community service."
Finding out about that last one had earned him a beating, but it was worth it. Every failed attempt revealed yet another detail about this Izuku. Fuyumi described him as a "cheerful ball of sunshine hiding behind a few storm clouds." Many a fist he would have dodged found its way to his face as he pondered just what the hell that even meant.
{XXX}
Okay, this is getting ridiculous. Izuku thought to himself as he walked out the door to fetch some paprika of a brand he barely even knew from a market on the other side of town. 'Why the hell is Endeavour trying to keep Shouto away from me? Three months of living in the same apartment and never getting more than a glance at their face IS NOT NORMAL!'
Izuku groaned as he briefly contemplated using a teleportation quirk to cut the two-hour-long trip down to five minutes. Ultimately, he decided against revealing that particular trick. No need to reveal that ace when he could get his answers directly from Shouto when the two got into U.A... Hopefully...
As he strolled through the city, he noticed a young girl wearing a raggedy tan sweater with blonde hair tied into messy buns speedily walking away from a group of men waving cash at her and making snide remarks he couldn't hear over the hustle and bustle of traffic.
He planned on simply hitting the men with a disorientation quirk as he passed so the girl could gain some distance, but she took a turn into the alley before they could cross paths. Izuku followed the men as they filed in, slotting in a hearing quirk to better make out what they were saying. "C'mon, girlie~," said one of the thugs, "you said you were hungry~ Why don't you just get down on your knees and-"
And that was where Izuku turned off the hearing quirk and activated seven speed quirks, dashing towards the group. Izuku felt Conduit surge through him with every step, his body converting into living electricity as the quirk activated.
He slotted in Emerald Ignition as he charged his fist with electricity from Conduit, golden sparks dancing with green flames as he sent a warning shot past one of the thug's heads and onto a dumpster a few meters away, the resulting blast sending it back a meter or two. "Back off or I won't miss the next shot." Izuku declared hand outstretched.
He slotted in Subtle Telekinesis, preparing to yank the thug's legs out from under them if they made another move. "What's it to you? This yer shitty girlfriend or something?" The thug on the right yelled, raising his middle finger in pathetic defiance.
Izuku just rolled his eyes as he sent an electric wave at the man, causing him to violently spasm on the ground. The other two ran at him, one turning each finger into individual crab claws and the other brandishing a gun. He pulled at their legs with telekinesis, causing them to trip and fall onto the rough concrete, tiny flecks of stone giving them pretty nasty scrapes.
From there, Izuku pelted them with tiny green fireballs. While the thugs' clothes were singed, they didn't suffer any permanent burns. Emerald Ignition was never about the heat, but rather the shockwaves it could produce. Gave his elemental attacks a much-needed "unf!"
Izuku stepped over the unconscious bodies of the thugs and towards the girl, ignoring their groans of pain that probably came from a broken rib or two. "Hey, hope they weren't your friends or something. They seemed to be giving you a hard time so I figured I'd lend a hand."
The girl smirked, her hands fiddling with something behind her back before coming out and into the open and smiling. "Thank you so much! You're my hero! And that quirk is so cool! I bet you'd be a great hero with it!" Izuku nodded, a determined smile finding its way to his lips.
"Well, that's the plan! I'm gonna get into U.A. and become the greatest hero ever!" The girl's smile softened, and for the briefest moment, Izuku could've sworn she was biting her lip. "Well, I hope you succeed, but I gotta get goin' before these guys wake up. Oh? Would you mind telling me your name?" Izuku nodded. "Midoriya Izuku."
"Toga Himiko." She responded before skipping off.
If Izuku had remembered to keep Danger Sense active, he might've noticed the disturbingly high quantity of knives she had hidden under her skirt.
{XXX}
Ever since Stainy ditched her, things have gotten pretty rocky for Himiko. Well, rockier than usual. She honestly should've known better than to go begging for money so close to where the prostitutes tended to operate, but it wasn't too big of an issue.
The common thug looking for cheap pussy was pretty easy to take down once you've shoved a knife into their abdomen.
Who knew?
Occasionally, some brave soul would notice and help her. Sometimes they'd win. Most of the time she'd use the distraction to take down the annoyance. In both endings, she'd always take the naive hero wannabe to wherever she was shacked up and have some "fun."
After all… Hero's blood tasted the best.
But this one... Izuku… something was off about him. His blood smelt just so… pungent; the aroma of heroism seeping through the pesky skin that normally sealed the glorious red liquid off from the rest of the world. Of course, this wasn't a new sensation.
In the brief instances Himiko got close to All Might, she could catch a whiff of the glorious scent of a true hero, and the naive boys who so often tried to save her shared that trait too. But Izuku's scent was just so… what was the word? Focused. Izuku was a true hero, but there was a deeper purpose behind why that fueled the scent.
Of all the people Himiko could catch a whiff of, only All Might had that trait. That's why, as she skipped over to her cardboard box hidden underneath a bridge, she lifted her skirt to unveil her unprotected womanhood to the air, a skirt of knives framing it in the dusk sky.
Reaching down to begin a lonely night of debauchery, she began to think of the boy's cute freckles, curly green hair, and emerald eyes. It was like he was hand-crafted to be her perfect lover. How did God know her favorite color was green? Oh, right. He's God.