Chapter 1
As the final bell rang, Aizawa stood at the front of the class. "Don't forget that your genealogy project is due at the end of the week. For those of you who opted for the DNA test, Recovery Girl has your results. You can stop by her office before you head home. Any questions?"
"No, Sensei," all but one student answers.
When the teacher calls on him, Denki asks, "What was this assignment for again? It doesn't seem very heroic."
"As you all know, quirks are usually passed down through bloodlines. Sometimes, they mutate but that's relatively rare. Most modern quirks are combinations and evolutions of past quirks," Aizawa explains. "This project is supposed to show you how your quirks have evolved from generation to generation. Anything else?" Receiving another choir of no's, he dismisses his students for the day.
Izuku's practically bouncing as he and a few of his classmates make their way through the school to the nurse's office to retrieve their results. He and Todoroki have similar reasons for getting the DNA test instead of just talking to their parents like many others in their class. Todoroki doesn't know much about his mother's side of the family. Izuku doesn't even know his father, let alone his side of the family. He almost cried in class when Aizawa announced that students would be provided DNA tests upon request to assist in their project.
He didn't care that he'd only get a list of names. That's more than he's had in his entire life. He knows that his mother's husband isn't his real father. He knows that's why he took a job overseas. His mother always got really quiet when he would ask who his real dad was when he was younger. By the time he started middle school, he stopped asking.
He also knew next to nothing of his mother's biological family. She was adopted when she was a toddler by a very nice couple. They never had any other children and doted on Izuku until they passed away when he was little. All he knows about her biological family is that he had an uncle who also passed away when he was little. He has vague memories of two cousins, a girl a few years older than him and a boy about his age, but he hasn't heard from either of them since his uncle died.
"Alright, alright," the elderly hero calls as she returns to the waiting room from her office. The students crowded in the small space slowly silence themselves, shooshing their noisier classmates. Since Nezu had given the entire first year this assignment, the small room is filled to capacity. There are even a few latecomers waiting in the hallway for their results. "Please come retrieve your file when your name is called in a timely manner. There are quite a few of you and we all want to go home."
After a nerve rackingly long wait, Izuku finally gets his file and excitedly waits for his friends outside the building. As they walk home, they talk about homework for other classes and the upcoming sports festival. Tokoyami seems more interested in reading through his list of relatives and absentmindedly petting Dark Shadow. Todoroki seems content with remaining silent as they listen to Momo try to explain their math homework to Denki and Ashido.
When their group of seven is finally down to just Bakugo and Izuku, Bakugo finally speaks up. "Hey, nerd. Who's on your list?"
"Huh?" the green haired teen had been so distracted with texting his mother that he barely caught his friend's question. "Oh. I don't actually know. I haven't even opened it yet. I wanted to wait and go through it with my mom."
Stopping outside Bakugo's house, he puts Izuku in a headlock and ruffles his hair. "Of course you were." As Izuku starts towards his apartment a short walk away, Bakugo shouts, "If you don't text me when you get home, I'm sending a search party!"
"I won't forget," he calls over his shoulder, "I promise."
"That's what you said last time, ya' damn nerd!"
"I got distracted," Izuku responds before turning the corner and continuing towards his home. He tries to just walk, but he's too excited. When he's within a block of the building he starts running. By the time he reaches his apartment, he's out of breath. "Mom," he calls from the door as he takes off his shoes. "I'm home."
"Welcome home, honey," Inko responds from the kitchen. "How was school?"
"It was great. I got my results!" the boy excitedly exclaims as he runs to show his mother the envelope. When his excitement is met with a worried glance, he states, "I haven't opened it yet. I wanted to wait and go through the results with you since your biological relatives will be on the list."
Forcing a smile, Inko turns her attention back to the vegetables sautéing in the pan. "That's very sweet of you, Izuku."
A bright smile returns to his face as he explains, "The list has names and hero identities if anyone we're related to was a hero. Wouldn't that be so cool, mom?! Oh! I almost forgot to text Kacchan. I should probably text him."
The young hero-to-be's attention shifts to his phone as he texts his friend. Receiving a thumbs up emoji and an explosion emoji in response, he leaves his phone on the table with his bag as he goes about his usual after school routine. A quick shower and internal debate between which All Might t-shirt to wear later and he's ready to join his mother for dinner.
They discuss how her shift at the restaurant went. Despite her husband's insistence that Inko just stay home, she enjoys her job. She loves cooking and being a line cook in a popular restaurant had been a dream of hers for a long time. Izuku loves hearing his mother talk about her job because it always makes her happy. When she finishes regaling him with her story of that day's barely controlled chaos, he shares some of the highlights of that day's lessons.
They were learning about Shakespeare in Present Mic's class and how to calculate surface area and volume in Midnight's. He told her about the ways to talk down an armed assailant that he learned in All Might's class. He can't help but mention how uncomfortable with lectures his mentor is. The Symbol of Peace gets stage fright in front of twenty teenagers. Then the discussion circles back to the genealogy assignment.
Inko's worried look returns as she asks, "Are you sure you want to know this, Izuku? I could always call your teacher and explain the situation. I'm sure he'll understand."
"Of course, I want to know, mom," he replies as he excitedly opens the envelope. Pulling the small stack of papers from their yellowish-orange package, he assures, "I won't be upset if there aren't any heroes in our ancestry. It would be cool, though."
"What about if, uh," the woman fiddles with the hem of the tablecloth as she tries to find the words. Her nervousness captures her son's attention. "What about if you were related to someone who maybe wasn't so – how do I put this?"
"Mom, is there something I should know about?"
Sighing, Inko finally asks, "How would you feel if you were related to someone who wasn't one of the good guys?"
Not one of the good guys? It takes Izuku a moment to process that possibility. He's never considered the possibility that he could be the descendant of someone who wasn't a good guy. Not a hero, he could accept. Not everyone can be a hero. But not a good guy is how his mother would describe legitimate villains when he was younger. If she was explaining something on the news, she wouldn't sugar coat when a normal criminal did something wrong. If there was a villain attack, she'd do her best to lessen the sting of explaining the news. She still does even though he gets the same news, in greater detail, from his teachers in the form of an incident debrief.
"Not everybody can be a hero," he states in a neutral tone before he starts reading through the list. A few names stick out like sore thumbs.
Yoichi Shigaraki, deceased.
Nana Shimura, the floating hero: Nana, deceased.
Tenko Shimura, the decay villain: Tomura Shigaraki, active.
Unknown first name Shigaraki, number one villain: All for One, deceased. Father.
"Tomura…Shigaraki," Izuku read aloud, voice shaking with hatred and disgust. Flashes of the USJ incident pass through his mind. "And the number one villain?"
"Izuku, I can explain."
Before she gets the chance, Izuku, blinded by a cyclone of confusing emotions, storms off to his room. A small part of him wants to hear his mother out. Too small of a part. He shoots Bakugo a text asking if he can come over before he sets to packing a bag. As he grabs a spare school uniform, his phone dings with his friend's confirmative response. Slinging the overnight bag over his shoulder, he makes his way back to the kitchen where he left his school bag. He ignores his mother as he collects the DNA results before stuffing them in his bag and storming out the door.