"Whether you win or lose... You can always come out ahead by learning from the experience."
There were several— extremely legitimate— reasons for me to be completely befuddled by the presence of All Might in my kitchen.
First of all, All Might was the number one Pro Hero in the nation— maybe even in the world. Despite his teaching position at UA bringing a more casual feel to our relationship, I feel that I may be in danger of beating a dead horse if I were to go into detail about why this factored into my confusion.
Second of all, All Might and my father— Eraserhead— did not get along. To be fair, my father, being a notorious curmudgeon, was notorious for not getting along with most people. All of that aside, being the person who knew my father the best out of anyone else, I was extremely privy to his feelings and private thoughts at any given moment, even if he did not choose to explicitly share them with me. I could tell that he harbored feelings of disdain towards All Might; I would even go so far as to say the mere presence of the Number One hero made my father very uncomfortable.
Taking all of this into account, the sight of my father cooking amidst a steamy kitchen filled with various fragrances of beef and mirin was most certainly not what I had expected to come home to. My blue eyes darted around the small kitchen, passing over my father's gaze to come to rest on All Might, whose enormous chest seemed to take about about three quarters of our kitchen space.
"Mom, dad, I'm home," I said sarcastically, doing my best to shirk my discomfort about the situation in favor of taunting humor.
My father did not look the least bit amused; contrastingly, All Might let out a booming laugh, one which shook the broth in the sukiyaki hot pot that sat in the middle of the kitchen table.
"Don't worry, Eraserhead," he chortled, clapping my father on the back; a noticeable wince escaped my father, and yet somehow All Might remained completely oblivious. "I will be the mother!"
"Please," my father mumbled darkly as he placed a small dish of scallions on the table. "Don't do that."
"Ah, I apologize," All Might said, gazing at his palms. "I forget myself sometimes- you're injured, of course…"
"No," my father replied darkly, shooting a glower in All Might's direction. "I meant please don't even joke about being my spouse."
My eyes widened, and I choked slightly on my own breath as I fought back laughter. These two men could not be anymore opposite from each other. My father, in response to my choking laughter, stopped glaring at All Might and instead aimed an angry look in my direction; I ignored this, instead choosing to fill a bowl with the sukiyaki that sat steaming in the middle of the table. I picked out a spoon, dropping it unceremoniously into my bowl before moving towards the living room.
"Ah, young Aizawa," All Might boomed after me from the kitchen. Out of the corner of my eye I saw him reach for a bowl, which my father deftly swiped from the table just before he could grab it. "I had come here in the hopes of talking to you."
I paused, setting down my bowl on the coffee table before turning around to look at the Pro hero standing in my kitchen. My father, who was now gingerly slurping sukiyaki near the counter, did not meet my eyes as I gazed in his direction for further clarification.
"What about?" I murmured, my dinner steaming quietly behind me, forgotten on the tabletop. All Might moved through the kitchen, coming to a stop just in front of me.
"How about we go for a short walk?" he said. I arched an eyebrow, again looking to my father, who did nothing. "I'll have you back here before your dinner is cold!"
"Alright…" I murmured, stepping out of the living room.
All Might beamed, patting me heavily on the back as he escorted me down the hall towards the front door. I peered nervously over my shoulder, my blue eyes seeking out my father in the now dim light of the kitchen. He was not looking at me, but was instead gazing at something that he was holding in his hand, which I could not see from my position in the hallway. The door shut behind us with a slam that was probably louder than necessary.
The cool evening breeze washed over me, which was a welcomed relief in comparison to the humid heat of the kitchen, courtesy of the sukiyaki hot pot. All Might continued to walk down the sidewalk which passed by several other small houses, which belonged to other UA staff members. I found myself wondering if All Might, too, lived on campus. I glanced up at him, but his expression quickly silenced my curiosity; he did not look happy.
"Um… All Mi-"
"Young Aizawa," All Might boomed, cutting me off mid sentence. I pressed my lips together, a ball of nervousness rising in my throat while my stomach churned unhappily in my belly. "I have been talking to your father, recently…"
"O-oh…" I whispered, still not quite sure where he was going with this. "Sorry, I'm not sure-"
"He told me that the true nature of your Quirk has been revealed." he said, again cutting me off while I was speaking.
I flushed, a panicked fluttering attacking my heart when I heard his words. I could not quite pinpoint the exact reason that I was nervous- I couldn't get in trouble for my Quirk, could I? The thought suddenly began to run rampant in my mind. What if they decided that I was too dangerous to continue educating?
"Worry not, Young Aizawa." All Might said finally, his voice now much softer than it had been before. I stopped walking, gazing up at him with confusion. He smiled, lowering himself in order to talk to me; I felt like a five year old. "I do not come here tonight on official business- rather, I come here to extend support to you!"
"Oh… Okay…" I muttered, still feeling very confused.
All Might and I, as per he and my father's relationship, had barely exchanged words before now. Thus, his sudden offer to be a 'shoulder to lean on', so to speak, came as quite a surprise. I knew that I was being rude, even though I was trying my best not to show my immense confusion on my face, I knew that I was failing miserably.
All Might seemed to notice this, and with a knowing sigh he straightened himself and marched over to a bench that stood just beside the sidewalk. He sat down heavily, patting the small empty space next to him, signaling that he wanted me to sit with him. I held back an annoyed expression. He's trying to be nice, I told myself.
"I know that it must be scary, to learn that your Quirk is not what you first thought." he began again, his tone of voice still very serious. I said nothing, suddenly becoming very interested in my fingernails. "Perhaps your father isn't my biggest fan-" I snorted; All Might shot me a look. "Perhaps we do not get along so well, but when he told me what had happened I felt that as your teacher, and your peer, it would not be right for me to sit idly by without coming to show you my support, and offer my help."
I nodded dumbly, still not really understanding the point of this talk, or what I should say in reply. Glancing up from my place next to him, my face slightly hidden by my unruly cream-colored hair, I still could not guess his motives based on the expression he now wore. It seemed as though he was wearing an expression that looked almost nostalgic, and I found myself suddenly very curious to know what it was that he was remembering.
"I'm sure that you're worried…" he began again, turning his head to look down at me. "I cannot blame you for being so. But please do not fret about becoming like your mother— you two are not the same people."
My eyes widened, and I felt for just a moment that my heart had stopped. All Might was still gazing down at me intently, his eyes fixated on me from high above; he was about to talk to me about my mother. I breathed in deeply, trying my best to stay calm. Obviously All Might was unaware that my father rarely spoke about my mother. I didn't even know her name. If All Might were to discover this, he would surely stop talking about it. I knew that I had to act as though what he was saying was no great shock to me. Finally, just as I could feel All Might begin to grow concerned, I nodded.
"Yes…" I whispered, struggling to keep my voice steady. "I'm worried… About becoming like her…"
All Might nodded knowingly, patting me on the back in an attempt to comfort me. I stared down at the ground, my eyes wide, as I waited for the next piece of information.
"Your mother was an amazing hero, Young Aizawa!" he declared as he ruffled my hair.
I glared at the ground, not quite appreciating the gesture but tolerating it for the sake of gaining information. The more time I spent with him, the more certain I grew that the number one Pro Hero All Might may also be one of the cheesiest people that I had ever met.
"But, you know, she was also a very sad person, your mother." he continued solemnly. I stayed silent beside him, my eyes trained on the ground as I focussed on his words, and keeping my heartbeat steady. "Your Quirks may be similar, but I know that you would not use it the way she did. That's why I say not to worry. Even though your mother eventually became the very thing that she had been fighting, you should not worry that sharing her Quirk will somehow lead you to the same fate."
My breath caught in my throat. My mother… She had been a villain…? I could hardly believe what All Might was saying- and yet, in the back of my mind, I felt a faint affirmation stir. I knew something… Something that, if All Might could confirm it, would get me one step closer to accepting his words, and finding out the truth. The newspaper clipping that I had discovered weeks ago flashed across my mind:
VILLAIN DA-TENSHI DEFEATED BY NO. 1 HERO ALL MIGHT! PRO HERO SHIGARAKI IZANAMI STILL M.I.A.
Exerting every effort that I had to remain calm, I sat up a little straighter, and turned to look at All Might. I hoped that the expression that I had chosen conveyed some sort of confidence, something that would convince him that I was not shocked beyond all belief right in that moment. The Pro Hero gazed down at me, nodding.
"That's right…" I murmured, my voice shaking despite my efforts. "My mother… She was Shigaraki Izanami, right?"
"Your mother was many things." he assured me. "None of us who know the truth will ever remember her as a villain… No…" His voice was soft, a little sad, and I saw him glance over at my house, where my father was waiting for us, still. "We all choose to remember her as who she truly was: the hero Heaven's Gate."
This time, I was sure that my heart really did stop. I let out a puff of air, an exasperated sigh. Who would have thought that the truth that I had craved for fourteen years, the questions that my father had constantly refused me, would be handed over on a silver platter to me by All Might?
The two of us parted ways after that. I waved to All Might numbly from the stoop of my house as he shuffled back towards the UA school buildings, seeming content in his effort to comfort me in my time of need. I watched his figure as it faded into the darkness, before lowering my arm. A thousand questions raced through my mind as I watched All Might walk away. He said that my Quirk and my mother's were similar… But my father had told me that she had had a Warp Quirk — what did that mean? More importantly, what was her connection to Da-Tenshi? And, if there was one, was Da-Tenshi still alive?
It had been All Might who had been responsible for my mother's disappearance: I knew that much to be true, now. I wondered vaguely if that bit of information had anything to do with my father's obvious contempt for the man. I quelled the feelings of anger that I felt rising within me: All Might was a hero, and my mother had been a villain. He was only doing his job.
I turned around, away from the vanishing All Might in the distance, and reached for the doorknob behind me. Suddenly, something rushed into the forefront of my mind, something that I had forgotten until that moment- something that made a cold sweat break out across my entire body. My blue eyes moved down, gazing at my outstretched hand; it was shaking.
The name of the villain who I had wounded was Shigaraki Tomura. He had my mother's surname… And he had known me. The villains first words to me replayed in my mind's eye: "I thought you looked familiar…"
And then I was running. I was running away from my father, away from my problems, away from my mother. The evening air moved past me quickly, ruffling my hair as I ran. It was chilly, and the cool air stung my eyes. Tears began to spill down my cheeks, which I blamed on the cold, but it was a sorry cover story if I had ever heard one.
I had no idea who I was anymore. My mother had died a villain- a villain who had a Quirk similar to mine. My father, a washed up Pro Hero, had hidden this important detail from me for years— in fact, when I had questioned him about her, he had even lied to me about the nature of her Quirk. And then there was Shigaraki Tomura, the leader of the League of Villains that somehow seemed to know who I was- who seemed to have met me before.
I had no idea what I was supposed to do about the multitude of problems- of truths- that had decided to come crashing down on me all at once. And then, suddenly, by some miracle, the only voice I had been wanting to hear broke through my panicked thoughts.
"Daichi?"
I stopped running immediately, turning around slowly in the direction from which the voice had come. Standing on the sidewalk, near a street crossing, was none other than Todoroki Shouto. His hands were dug deep into his pockets- I blushed slightly, realizing that I had never seen him out of his school uniform. His mismatched eyes regarded me in a manner that suggested he was both confused and concerned. When I did not start running again, Shouto walked toward me, ignoring the crosswalk sign as it changed from STOP to GO.
"What are you doing?" he asked softly, stopping when he was only a few inches away from me. I was still breathing heavily, and I felt the sweat drip down my spine. When I didn't answer, I felt his palm press against my back, and he leaned in closer. "Hey… Hey, are you listening?"
"I…" I choked out.
My voice was little more than a whisper. Shouto arched an eyebrow, searching my eyes for some kind of explanation for my behavior. I swallowed thickly, suddenly feeling very thirsty. My eyes seemed to be darting all over the place; I could not focus on anything for very long. My heart beat loudly in my ears, and I felt as though I were swimming in sweat.
"Shouto… Shouto someth-something… Is wr-wrong…"
"Daichi, I think you're having a panic attack." Shouto said sternly.
I let out a whimper, which I had meant to be a response of some kind, but instead I was stuck only being able to emit pathetic little half-noises as a means of communication. Without warning I felt my legs swing out from under me, and I realized that Shouto had scooped me into his arms.
"You and your old man live on campus, right?" He spoke calmly, but in the depths of his eyes I could see concern. "Let's get you home-"
"No!" I squeaked, abandoning my embarrassment.
I knew I was being childish, and pathetic. Shouto gazed down at me, his eyes searching mine for some kind of explanation. When I was unable to oblige, he sighed lightly, nodding in understanding.
"Alright…" he said at last, turning and walking in the direction opposite of the UA campus. "Let's go home, then."
The Todoroki family estate was certainly something to be marveled at. I, however, was not given much time to do so. No sooner had we crossed the threshold of the front door, Shouto shoved me up the stairs, pushing against my back roughly with his palms as we walked. I stumbled, tripping up the unfamiliar stairs, my legs still feeling slightly gelatinous from my earlier emotional breakdown.
"Shouto!"
A booming voice broke out across the empty room that lay beyond the front door. I paused momentarily, glancing at Shouto, who had also stopped moving. His expression was something of a mystery- falling, perhaps, somewhere between the realm of annoyance and exasperation. His eyes slid forward as heavy steps inched closer, but darted back towards the front hallway once he realized that I was staring at him.
"Shouto, is that you?" the booming voice repeated, sounding closer this time.
I could not help but think that voice was somehow reminiscent of All Might, though it was strangely lacking a certain intangible quality that, however unnamable, All Might certainly possessed. Shouto, spurred by the advancing voice, once again began to push me up the stairs, glowering heavily as we rounded the corner just in time to hear the footsteps stop at the base of the stairs.
"Who-?" I whispered as Shouto opened a door, to what I could only guess was his room. Shouto rolled his eyes, and shook his head.
"My old man, obviously," he muttered.
The door shut behind him with a click. I glanced around briefly, not shocked that his room was fairly bare of decoration- I very much doubted that this place felt like home to Shouto, and thus his room curiously lacked the typical 'lived in' feel of a young teen's childhood bedroom. I flushed; I was alone with him in his bedroom. This, I had not expected.
"You can have the bed." he said softly, pulling a comforter and some pillows out of a closet and laying them on the floor. "It's late…"
"Your dad won't come up here?" I asked softly, still not wanting to raise my voice too much. Shouto shook his head, though I caught him glancing nervously at his door as he did so.
"No." he said stiffly.
I nodded, giving the room another once-over from my place on the edge of Shouto's bed. My eyes finally came to rest on a desk in the far corner, upon which rested a computer; my heart leapt. My eyes darted from the computer, to Shouto, and then back to the computer again, until—
"Do you need to look something up?" Shouto blurted, his eyebrows raised curiously at my odd behavior. I blushed, again.
"S-sorry…" I murmured, biting the inside of my cheek anxiously. "Do you mind?"
"If I minded you being here, or using my things, you would not be here at all." he assured.
I held in a soft chuckle, watching fondly as a light blush came to Shouto's cheeks out of the corners of my eyes. Like me, Shouto seemed to lack the delicate charm required for comforting, or perhaps I would go so far as to say for social interaction in general. Although many of our classmates were quirky, too be sure, Shouto and I likely experienced the most difficulty with communicating well with our peers; our social skills seemed a little worse for lack of use.
The bottoms of my feet padded softly across the hardwood floor of Shouto's bedroom as I made my way toward the computer desk. Shouto kept his spot on the floor, peeling open a graphic novel that I did not recognize as I sat down at the desk. I shook the mouse, and the screen brightened.
I bit my lip nervously; what was I looking for? I stared blankly at the search engine home page, fingertips shaking nervously as they hovered just above the keyboard. How silly of me, to have thought that this would be so simple.
"Do you need help?"
Despite myself, I jumped. As quietly as could be humanly possible, Shouto had made his way from his makeshift bed at the floor, to a spot directly behind me. He leaned down, replacing my hand on the mouse with his own and clicking within the box on the search engine; I turned to look at him, our eyes meeting. I could feel his breath on my face.
"What did you want to search?" he asked. I breathed in sharply. A light tapping met my ears as Shouto readied himself to type. I breathed in one long, shaking breath before replying.
"Shigaraki… Izanami…"
Shouto paused, his eyes falling on my face briefly. Then, he hit enter.
So sorry for the long absence! been very busy with school and work commitments. I'm hoping to get to do some more work on this story over the summer, so hang tight! this chapter is really a jumping off point before I dive into the next arc of the series, so bare with me~ as usual, reviews are always appreciated and thanks a million for all of you who have followed this story!
