Chapter 1: Chapter 1: One Year Later
Chapter Text
CHAPTER ONE: ONE YEAR LATER
Toshinori Midoriya fastens and adjusts the red tie as he stands in front of a full-length mirror in his bedroom. He smiles as he gazes at his reflection, taking in how he looks in his UA High School uniform. However, his smile saddens as the vestige image of Izuku Midoriya appears beside him in the mirror’s reflection.
“Uniform looks good on you,” Izuku says, his trademark cheerful smile on his face. He looks at his son, marveling at his perfectly tied tie. “I could never get those right.”
“Yeah, Uncle Boom spent about three days training me on the art of tying a tie,” Toshi informs him. “He said he didn’t want me looking like you.”
“I’m sure Kacchan wasn’t trying to be as mean as it sounds,” Izuku states.
“I don’t know,” Toshi shrugs. “It’s kind of hard to tell with him, sometimes.” Izuku gives a slight nod, conceding the point. “I wish you were still here with us,” Toshi says, looking at his father’s vestige. “It should be you freaking out about me going to the UA dorms and mom trying to get you to calm down, instead of both of us freaking out and Kazu trying to calm us down because we’re making Izu cry.” Father and son both go silent, emotions running high.
“I get it,” Izuku says, breaking the brief and uncomfortable silence. “It’s hard to believe you’ve all been without me for a year already.” He looks to his oldest, looking more proud than anyone. “You were thrust into a bad situation, and I am so proud of how well you’ve handled it.”
“Toshi!” A voice calls from behind. Toshi turns, seeing his mother, Ochaco, in the doorway holding Baby Izuku in her arms. Baby Izu is wearing the green onesie that once belonged to Izuku. He makes excited baby noises as he reaches out towards his big brother, wanting to be held. “What are you doing in your uniform?” continues Ochaco as Toshi takes Izu from her, to the infant’s delight.
“I just wanted to see how it looked and everything,” explains Toshi. “Got to make sure it fits and all.”
“It looks good,” Ochaco says with a smile, “Looks like the Tie tying Bootcamp was a success.” Repeated slaps rain down on Toshi’s face as Izu babbles happily. The teen lightly chuckles as he hands the baby back to their mother. “Any idea which class you’ll be in?” asks Ochaco.
“No,” Toshi replies with a shake of his head. “That letter should be coming a few days before the dorm move-in. I don’t even know who the homeroom teachers are going to be. Mrs. Todoroki stepped down after what happened to Yukiya, and Mr. Monoma was killed.”
“Well,” states Ochaco. “Whichever class you end up in, and whoever you get as a Homeroom teacher, always remember that however hard you thought you had trained before, that was the easy part. It’s going to get a lot tougher, so I hope you’re ready.”
Toshi blinks in confusion as he stares up at his mother. “That’s… not very comforting,” he finally manages to get out.
“Who said it was supposed to be?” Ochaco responds. “You’re in the hero course, now. The time for comforting is over.”
Toshi audibly gulps as Ochaco turns to leave. “Mom, wait!” he calls after her. She stops and turns back to him.
“Yes, what is it?”
“Can you… just stay there a moment?”
As Ochaco’s expression becomes confused, Izuku’s vestige makes his way around her, draping his arms over her shoulders and taking her into a mimed hug from the back. He rests his head on his arms, taking a deep breath and releasing a sigh of contentment, "I love you, 'Chaco.” Izuku says, knowing full well she’s unable to hear him. “I miss you all so much.”
Toshi smiles, looking his mother in the eye. “If you could say something – anything to dad right now, what would it be?”
“You’re kind of putting me on the spot,” Ochaco says with a slight chuckle. She takes a breath, collecting herself. “I would probably tell him how much I love him, how much I miss him, and how much I’d give for him to still be with us.” Izuku smiles sadly in response. “Anything more…” she continues. “… and I’ll run out of material for the memorial tomorrow.
She turns around and walks away -- walking right through the vestige of Izuku without even realizing it. Izuku watches her go, longing on his face, before looking back to Toshi. “Thank you,” he says before his vestige returns to the core of One For All.
-----
Alexander St. Pierre’s life has changed significantly over the past few months. He was still sullen and moody, angry at the manipulations of his father, Technocrat, and his sister, Enigma. And he was mad at himself for falling for it. For the past several months, he listened from the shadows to the reactions to his actions on that fateful day when he stole the Quirk of Yukiya Todoroi -- the man he loved.
He was deemed a monster for his role in killing the career of an up-and-coming hero. It was an act that earned him a spot on the list of the top ten wanted villains, the first Quirkless person to be granted that “honor” as the dividing line separating a criminal from a villain is Quirk use. He thought it was what he deserved, as is the scarred burn mark Yukiya’s twin brother Taiyo left upon his face.
Alexander has grown quite adept at listening from the shadows. The Quirk Memories created and gifted to him by his father contained some ideal for reconnaissance, but more often than not, he prefers to use the skills he had picked up along the way. So as Alexander makes his way through the sprawling underground labyrinth that the Order of the Stardust Crusaders calls their home, he hears the faintest of sounds and investigates.
Alexander’s investigation leads him to the personal quarters chamber, where all the rooms for each person are. Most of the rooms are empty, and the noise he heard -- now clearly identifiable as crying – comes from one of the quarters he thought was empty.
As he sneaks inside the room, he sees Virgo and Cancer sitting on the floor with a framed picture. Cancer holds a large bottle of whiskey while Virgo places three glasses down before placing a comforting hand on the shoulder of the crying crab.
“We don’t have to do this now,” Virgo says, her tone sweet. “We can always do this another time.”
“No,” Cancer replies with a shake of his head. “If we don’t do this now, I won’t be able to force myself to later.” Virgo nods in response to his resolve and removes her hand as Cancer pours the whiskey.
His arms shake at first but steady as he pours the liquid into the three cups. He slides one cup so that it rests against the picture of Sagittarius. Virgo and Cancer each grab the other two glasses and lift them up.
“Happy Birthday, Sagittarius,” Cancer manages to choke out through his now-falling tears. “You were a good friend. A bit of a gossip, but hey, we all have our flaws. I’m going to miss you.” He and Virgo clink glasses and then clink theirs with the one in front of the picture.
Cancer downs his glass, grunting through the burning of the whiskey as it makes its way down his throat. He looks to Virgo, who looks annoyed, and whose glass remains undrunk. “Virgo?” he asks, “Is something wrong?” Instead of responding, she reaches into her gown, and when he retracts her hand, she throws a knife that embeds itself into the hard rock of the wall, mere inches from Alexander’s face.
Alexander yells from the shock and comes out into plain view. “You!” Cancer yells, seething in rage. “The Observer might have said you’re not to be harmed, but just give me a reason!”
“This is a private event,” Virgo chastises, stepping in between Alexander and Cancer, creating a buffer. “You have no right to be here.”
“My apologies,” Alexander says with a slight bow. “I heard crying and decided to investigate the source.”
“Of course, there was crying!” Cancer retorts more defensively than expected. “It’s a memorial! No one else will ever view Sagittarius in fondness again, so we have to! Let us mourn our friend and brother in peace!”
“Very well,” Alexander curtly replies as he heads for the doorway. He stops at the entranceway, turning back to the pair in the room. “If there’s one thing we can all agree on, it is that Technocrat ruined all of our lives when he put out that contract.” He finally exits, nobody else saying anything.
-----
Yukiya Todoroki continues to sleep; the steady beeping of the heart monitor creates an oddly calming melody as he does so. The months he has remained in a comatose state have led to the injuries that the A-L-4-1’s clamp left on his face have all but healed.
Ryubee Ishinomori walks through the room with a small potted plant in hand as he organizes loose papers and envelopes of cards mailed that had been left in the room by visitors. After finishing that stack, he goes over to the window and opens the curtains, replacing the dead potted plant on the windowsill with the one he was carrying.
“There we are,” Mr. Ishinomori says with a small smile. “Much better, don’t you agree?” Yukiya remains asleep as Mr. Ishinomori deposits the dead plant into the trash. “Oh, I know, young one,” he continues, “It’s not much, but we do what we can with what we have available. Of course, it’s not perfect, but I think it works nicely.” The smile falters as the room’s door opens, and Momo Todoroki enters.
Momo does a brief doubletake as she stares at the stranger. “Who are you?” demands Momo, “What are you doing here?”
Mr. Ishinomori turns to her and smiles before giving a polite bow.
“Good day to you, Mrs. Todoroki,” Mr. Ishinomori says. “I am Ryubee Ishinomori; I volunteer here at this hospital. In fact, if you notice the windowsill, you’ll find I have replaced the potted plant.”
“Ishinomori?” Momo questions. “Wasn’t that the name of Deku’s…” She lets the question hang in the air. The slow, sad affirming nod that Mr. Ishinomori gives is the only confirmation. “I am so sorry for how I just treated you,” apologizes Momo.
“Oh, think nothing of it,” Mr. Ishinomori says with a smile. “I know all too well that you were only concerned about your child's safety.” Then, he turns to the comatose Yukiya. “Good-bye, for now, young one,” he says. “May your nap soon be at its end.” He once again bows to Momo before exiting.
-----
Katsuki Bakugo sits on the examination table in UA High School’s nurse’s office. He is wearing only a plain white T-Shirt as his outer shirt is in a crumpled ball in his hands. A bandage inside his left elbow indicates where blood was drawn from.
He stares at the clock on the wall. Its ticking is the only sound. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tok. He grips his shirt tighter as his anxiety explodes from the clock’s slow, methodical ticking. Then, just when he thinks he’s going to literally explode, Eri returns. Her expression is somber, though she tries to hide it.
“That doesn’t look like a good news type of face,” Katsuki says. There’s no judgment in his town. It is simply a fact.
“And you would be right about that,” Eri says, trying to manage a comforting tone. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” Katsuki replies, equally as blunt as before. “We both knew this was going to be a long shot.” He sighs before continuing. “I’m curious. What did Technocrat do to me, exactly, to stop it?”
“In your blood sample,” she explains, “there was the evidence of your damaged and slowly dying Quirk Factor. However, another substance revealed itself when I attempted to rewind the damage.” She swallows. “It was human blood. My blood.”
Katsuki blinks. “Wow,” is all he can manage. “So, your Quirk is getting nullified by… your Quirk.”
“Essentially,” admits Eri. “I thought all those were used up and destroyed fighting All For One and Shigaraki. I have no idea how Technocrat was able to find it.”
“Technocrat is slippery,” Katsuki states. “If any was floating out there, he’d find it.” He stands. “Well, it was a long shot, anyway. Thanks for trying.” He turns toward the door.
“Wait!” Eri calls after him. “One more thing!” Katsuki stops, turning back to him. “The principal wants to talk to you. He’s in his office.” Katsuki’s expression turns quizzical. What on Earth could Aizawa want?
-----
Taiyo Todoroki thinks he may as well be invisible.
The entire family dynamic has changed since Yukiya was attacked by Alexander. Dad has poured himself into his work. Being Japan’s Number One Hero has always kept him busy, but now it seems all his energy is devoted to heroics. There have been whispers around the town of dad being more focused on hero work than his grandfather had been when he was alive.
Mom left her job at UA and now spends every moment possible in Yukiya’s hospital room. He had to beg her to visit baby Izu when he was born. It’s like no one else matters to her except for Yukiya.
Even now, neither of his parents knows he is sitting at the top of the stairs, listening to their latest argument. The arguments have become more frequent since Yukiya was attacked. This argument is about the memorial for Deku happening tomorrow. It’s just a small, personal get-together with the Midoriya family, their friends, classmates, and their respective families. Mom doesn’t want to go, afraid that Yukiya would wake up without any of the family there. However, dad insists that as the Midoriya’s friends, they have an obligation to attend.
Taiyo clutches his fist as he closes his eyes. Fire emanates from the clutched fist as the arguing intensifies downstairs. Not even Taiyo himself notices when the flames surrounding his fist turn from their usual red hue to one of blue.
-----
Sitting in the middle of the massive wheel of the Western Zodiac is The Observer, the mysterious cloaked leader of the order. On their respective spots stands Virgo and Cancer as Alexander, Enigma, and Eidolon, the arms dealer with the Bat Heteromorph Quirk, stand before them, looking on in awe as this ritual continues.
“The awakening of the four has already begun,” states Observer. “Of these four, only one of them shall be our new star.” Virgo and Cancer smile excitedly with this news as the claimed spaces of Virgo, Cancer, Libra, and Taurus light up.
Enigma leans in close to Eidolon, “Four?” she asks. “I thought there were only those two left in the order.”
“Taurus and Libra are on assignments,” Eidolon explains as Observer continues.
“Only one shall join us as the newest member of our order. We all must prepare,” The cloaked man informs the room. “Everything shall be changing soon.”
-----
Kisame Kirishima had a super important job to do. So he holds onto his Mommy’s hand as they walk with a large group of people, including Daddy, Auntie ‘Chaco, Toshi, Kazu, Sae, Uncle Boom, and many other Heroes and other people he’s not sure he can remember them all. He woke up feeling all weird and tingly but thought it was because he was nervous about his job, so he tried to push those feelings down.
His job is to watch Baby Deku when Auntie ‘Chako has to talk about real Deku. He promised himself he would be the very best baby guard he could be. He hurries to the baby carriage where Baby Deku is crying and fussing.
“It’s okay!” Kisame tries to assure the infant, who continues to cry until a plume of flames erupts from his mouth, headed right toward Kisame. Kisame yells in surprise at the incoming flames and instinctively puts his hands up to block them. But instead, Kisame can hear his clothes sizzle and burn away as a viscous liquid comes out of every pore on the small boy’s body and then hardens into a protective rock-like barrier that shields him from the flames.
The adults turn to the baby carriage, with Mina scooping up Kisame into a towel that Momo created and handed to her as she ran toward the now clothesless child. He looks up at his mother with tears in his eyes.
“I didn’t mean to ruin my clothes, mommy,” he says. Mina gently pats his hair.
“I know you didn’t,” reassures Mina. “It’s okay; I know this was an accident.
Ochaco looks inside the baby carriage. More flames spill from Izu’s mouth, but they separate and swirl around the baby’s hands, not touching them but continuously orbiting them. Ochaco’s jaw drops as she watches the fire dance around her baby’s hands. Toshi and Kazu hurry to her side, also watching the fire display.
“Grandma! Come quick!” Kazu shouts into the crowd. “Grandpa’s Quirk skipped a generation!”
-----
Miles away at the hospital, Yukiya Todoroki’s is quiet and still, save for the heart monitor's beeping. Mr. Ishinomori cleans around the room when a groan catches his attention. He hurries over to the bedside as Yukiya’s eyelids flutter open.
“Ah!” Mr. Ishinomori says with a smile. “Good morning, young one.”
Yukiya is finally awake.
Chapter 2: Chapter 2: Broken
Summary:
As the Midoriya and Kirishima families deal with Baby Izuku and Kisame's Quirks, Yukiya, now awake from his coma, gets caught up to speed on everything he missed.
Notes:
I updated some tags. I am very bad at tagging, so there's a good chance that will continue to happen as the story progresses.
Just a warning now, the chapter gets rather heavy toward the end. Nothing explicit, but just wanted to give a quick heads up.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
CHAPTER TWO: BROKEN
In the Midoriya family kitchen, Inko Midoriya gently rocks her youngest grandson, now asleep after all the commotion, in her arms. “That is Hisashi’s fire breathing, without question,” Inko states.
“It looks a little like yours, too, Grandma,” Kazu adds. “Like he can control the flames from his mouth.”
“Pyrokinesis?” Toshi suggests.
“Maybe,” Kazu says.
“Regardless of what it is, we’ll deal with it,” Ochaco says as she approaches Mina, Ejiro, and Kisame on the couch in the living room. Kisame is now wearing a pair of Kazu’s old clothes. He snuggles tight to his mother, his eyes red from crying.
“You alright, Ki?” asks Ochaco as she crouches down to his height and looks directly into his eyes. He peels himself away from his mother, and tears begin to well in his eyes.
“Did – did I do something wrong to make Izu hate me?” the child asks as he begins to cry again, and Ochaco scoops him into a hug.
“Hey, Ki. Listen to me.” She says, and Kisame pulls himself back from the hug to look at her. “Izu does not hate you, all right? Remember, he’s still a baby. He can’t tell anyone when he’s feeling yucky like you, or I can.”
“I felt tingly this morning,” Kisame admits.
“Why didn’t you say anything, bud?” Eijiro asks, concerned.
“I thought I was just nervous,” Kisame replies before hugging his father. Mina stands.
“Thank you for the extra clothes, Ochaco,” Mina tells her. “I’m a little surprised you still had any that would fit him.”
“That’s the old Midoriya family sentimentality,” Inko says with a chuckle as she bounce-walks with Izu into the Living Room. “I hated throwing out anything of Izuku’s. Clothes, toys, his old drawings of All Might, didn’t really matter. I’m just glad that old habit actually came in handy.”
“I’ll be sure to wash and return them,” promises Mina.
“Oh, don’t worry about it,” Ochaco insists. “It’ll make good practice clothes for you all to practice his Quirk.”
“Thanks again,” Ejiro says as Ochaco moves back into the kitchen, where she’s approached by Katsuki.
“Guess this explains all the spicy food cravings,” he says with a chuckle.
“Don’t remind me,” Ochaco fires back with a roll of her eyes. “I guess I really should have seen this coming. There were the cravings, and Toshi got his Quirk early, too. We’re lucky Ki got the perfect combination of his parents’ Quirks to protect himself. If he got hurt, I don’t know if I would ever be able to forgive myself.
“Well, the important thing is everyone is safe,” Katsuki says. “And now we can focus on teaching them to use their Quirks correctly.”
“I guess you’re right,” Ochaco replies. “Oh!” She exclaims, perking up a little. “How was your appointment yesterday? Was Eri able to help?”
“She wasn’t,” Katsuki says.
“Oh,” says Ochacho, her excitement fading. “That’s too bad.”
“But,” Katsuki adds. “It may not have been a total waste of time.”
“Oh, really?” She inquires. “In what way?
“I don’t want to say too much before I know for sure,” he says. “Anyway, Icyhot and his had to take off. They got a call from the hospital, something to do with Yukiya. He just wanted me to tell you.”
Ochaco looks concerned. Yukiya has been in the hospital for so long; hopefully, everything is all right.
-----
Shoto and Momo walk down the hospital corridor with a purpose. Shoto looks relieved, but Momo seems angry. She tries to hide it, but after one too many glances in Shoto’s way, he abruptly stops and turns to his wife.
“What is it?” Shoto demands. “You’ve been giving me these dirty looks since we left the Midoriyas.”
“We weren’t here,” Momo says, angry. “He finally woke up, and we weren’t here.”
“Did you already forget how you helped Ki?” Shoto responds. “Before anyone even realized what had happened, you were right there with a towel for him.”
“Anyone could have done that,” Momo replies.
“Right, but you did,” retorts Shoto. “You saw a little boy in trouble, and you acted. That’s what makes you a hero. We couldn’t do anything for Yukiya. We had to let the doctors and nurses do their jobs for him. Now we can be heroes for him, again.”
The couple stares at each other, neither of them saying anything or moving. Suddenly, Taiyo speeds on through, cutting between where they are standing. He says nothing as he quickly marches down the hall and turns into the hospital room with Yukiya’s name on the door.
By the time Shoto and Momo enter the room, Taiyo has Yukiya wrapped up in a big hug, to the shock of both the doctor in the room and Yukiya himself. After a moment, Yukiya reciprocates, putting his arm around Taiyo, and rubbing his back.
“T—Taiyo. You – you’re all right,” Yukiya stutters, his voice hoarse from lack of use. He has a relieved expression on his face. “I – I was worried. Al – Alex – Alex - Ander was after you.”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Taiyo says, his expression changing from relieved to concerned as their parents join them. “Are you alright, though? You’ve never had that stutter before.”
“I was just getting to that,” The Doctor says, clearing his throat. “The device clamp caused minor damage to the areas of the brain responsible for speech and fine motor skills. Three different Doctors with diagnoses Quirks all examined you, Yukiya, and all came to similar conclusions.”
“S—so I’m going to stu – studder and be clum – clumsy?” asks Yukiya, forcing a smile.
“There’s the possibility of more issues because of the existing damage,” explains the Doctor. “But we’ll see with time and more tests how extensive they are, if there is any more.”
“Is there anything that can be done for the known issues?” Momo asks.
“Speech and physical therapy,” the Doctor responds. “I’m not going to say it’s going to completely reverse the damage caused, but perhaps we might be able to regain some of what was lost.”
Shoto bows to the Doctor. “Thank you very much,” he says, appreciative. The Doctor returns the gesture before leaving. Momo takes Yukiya’s hand, clearly ecstatic that her child is awake.
“Ca – Can you get someone to ta-take off the Quirk Sup—suppressor?” Yukiya asks as the joy in his family’s eyes turns to sorrow. “What?” he asks as Shoto approaches.
“Well, buddy,” Shoto says, looking to Momo and Taiyo before re-focusing on Yukiya. “You see, you’re not wearing a suppressor.”
Then, the rest of the Todoroki Family informs Yukiya of what had happened. Everything from the A-L-4-1 to Taiyo’s fight with Alexander to the murder of the Pro Hero Phantom Thief and how Katsuki Bakugo only has around a year left before he loses the ability to use his Quirk. Yukiya tries to fight back the tears but is unable to do so. How many awful things have happened to his family’s friends, and loved ones because he got involved with Alexander?
Yukiya Todoroki’s dream of becoming a Pro Hero is officially over.
-----
Eidolon stands in front of the workbench loaned to him by the Observer. Alexander stands next to him, the Quirk Memories and Memory Reader sprawled out on the workbench as the pair keeps stock of what they have.
“This is all Technocrat gave me,” Alexander states as Eidolon inspects the Quirk Memories. “With him in Tartarus, manufacturing more of them will be difficult.”
“Difficult,” Eidolon repeats, “But not impossible.”
Alexander eyes his suspiciously. “You mean you were involved in the process?” He asks.
“To an extent,” Eidolon replies with a shrug. “I was the one who approached Technocrat with this business proposition. I have the basic design concepts and his early notes. It should be possible to reverse engineer the final version.
The pair turn their attention to the doorway as they hear the shockingly cheerful humming sound as Enigma literally skips into the room with a massive smile on her face.
“Hey, guys!” She says, sounding cheerful enough for it to be suspicious.
“You’re in a good mood,” Alexander notes. “That rarely bodes well.”
Enigma laughs. “Funny, but you’ll want to hear about what I just found out.” Then, when she feels she’s strung them along for long enough, she finally lets the bomb drop. “Your boyfriend’s awake,” she says with a mischievous grin.
With a single fluid motion, Alexander grabs and throws the Memory Reader around his waist, with the device connecting and fastening itself when it connects. At the same time, he takes the Foul Weather Quirk Memory from the workbench, activates it, inserts it into the reader, and summons a dark thundering cloud.
“Easy!” Eidolon yells as he backs to the wall. Enigma simply laughs.
“Oh, please,” she says, not looking concerned at all. “We both know why doing this is a horrible idea.” Alexander dissipates the storm cloud, and Enigma smiles. “Good,” she continues. “I was just telling you he was up. I figured you would want to know since you put him in that coma when you stole his Quirk and killed his dreams. Okay, bye!”
Enigma hurries and leaves a steaming Alexander. He ejects the Quirk Memory and tosses it onto the table with the others before removing the Memory Reader and storming off in the opposite direction Enigma went.
-----
A mere two weeks come and go without much fanfare.
Kisame is out in the backyard with both of his parents. He finishes putting on a new T-shirt, as the remnants of his old one smoke on the ground at his feet.
“I’m really sorry, Daddy,” Kisame says apologetically. “I didn’t mean to melt so many of my clothes.”
“It’s all right, buddy,” Eijiro says. “This is why we practice, so you can learn how to control your Quirk, so you don’t end up accidentally hurting yourself or others.
“He needed a new wardrobe, anyway,” Mina says with a smile. “This just gives us the excuse.”
“Okay!” Kisame shouts, full of determination. “I’m ready!” He takes a calming breath and closes his eyes. An alarm suddenly going off causes his eyes to snap open.
“Oops! Sorry!” Mina says as she silences her phone.
“Something wrong?” Eijiro asks.
“No, no,” reassures Mina. “The UA move-in day is today, and I agreed to help Taiyo and Momo.”
“Oh, that’s nice of you,” Eijiro says.
“It’s not that wholesome,” Mina says. “Today is also the day Yukiya is getting released from the hospital, and this is just a ploy to distract Momo, so she doesn’t smother him.”
“Still being helpful,” Eijiro supplies. Then, Mina heads over to Kisame, kissing him on the forehead, and says her goodbyes to her husband and son before she heads out. “Okay, Ki,” Eijiro says after a moment of watching Mina leave. “I want you to try to focus your Quirk so that it only comes out of your left wrist and hand, okay?”
“Daddy?” Kisame asks, his voice getting quiet. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure, buddy,” Eijiro says. “What is it?”
“It’s about Nao,” Kisame says, looking down.
Eijiro takes a breath. Even all these years later, he still has difficulty approaching the topic of the son that never got a chance to live due to the actions of a villain targeting Mina because she was pregnant.
“What about him, buddy?” Eijiro asks, afraid of what question will be tossed his way.
“He doesn’t really live in the ground, does he?” Kisame looks his father in the eyes. “Did he stop? Like Deku?”
Eijiro walks over to his son, drops down to his knees, and looks him in the eyes. “Strictly speaking, buddy,” he finally gets out, “He didn’t even get a chance to start.”
“But… why?” Kisame asks. “Why did the bad man hurt Mommy? Why did the bad man make Deku stop? I don’t understand.”
“There’s no easy reason why people are bad,” Eijiro tells his son. “The ones who hurt your Mommy and Deku wanted to be bad, but sometimes, people end up being bad even if they don’t want to. Why are you asking?”
“Because Mommy and ‘ukiya got hurt, and Deku stopped, and it made everyone really sad,” Kisame explains. “But, I don’t want anyone to be sad. I want them to be happy!” Kisame takes a deep breath, his facial expression becoming pure determination. “I want to be a Hero!” He proclaims. “I want to make it so that nobody has to be sad because people get hurt! I want to protect people like I want to protect Baby Deku!”
Eijiro smiles as he stares at Kisame. “Take a look at your hand,” he says. Kisame does, and the hardened acid only covers his left hand and wrist. “It’s not going to be easy,” Eijiro says. “But this is a good first step if you want to be a hero.”
-----
At the Todoroki home, the front door opens, and Shoto enters, holding the door open for Yukiya. Yukiya has a cane with him as he walks, his right leg barely moving as he enters the house.
“Welcome home!” Shoto says as he closes the front door behind him. Yukiya doesn’t respond but looks around the house. “Did you want something to eat?”
“I ju—just want to go t—to my room,” Yukiya says.
“Right!” Shoto says as cheerfully as possible. “Your room. Which is upstairs.” He looks from Yukiya to the staircase as the realization he did not think this through dawns upon him. “I can carry you if you want?” Shoto asks, knowing all too well how it sounds.
“No,” Yukiya says bitterly as he makes his way to the stairs. “I don’t n – need another rem – reminder about how broken I am.”
“Stop that,” scolds Shoto. “You’re not broken.” Yukiya does not indicate hearing him as he slowly heads up the stairs. Shoto stays a few paces back just in case, and when Yukiya makes it to the top without incident, he calls out, “Do you need anything?”
“No,” comes Yukiya’s immediate response. Shoto internally debates going up after him before deciding to give him some space.
When Yukiya enters his bedroom, he closes the door behind him and glances around the room. It all feels familiar and yet strange to him. As he glances across the room, he stops at his bed. He remembers when he and Taiyo were five years old, playing an old Pre-Quirk era video game from which they got their planned Hero names.
He smiles at the memory before his eye catches sight of his trophy case. It is a large case from the floor to the halfway point of the wall, filled with trophies and first-place ribbons of various shapes and sizes, all protected behind a glass door. The trophies range from awards in competitions that allowed the use of Quirks to those that did not. In addition, the timeframe for the presented awards runs all across his education, from Kindergarten, elementary school, middle school, culminating with the first-place medal for winning the UA Sports Festival.
Another memory comes to his mind as he stares at the trophy case. This time, the memory is when Alexander came to dinner. He had given Alexander a tour of the house and ended up stopping in his bedroom. Alexander had marveled at the sheer number of awards Yukiya had won over the years. Yukiya tried to downplay them, but Alexander insisted they were something to be proud of. “I can’t wait to see how many more you get before you graduate,” Alexander had told him.
Yukiya shakes the memory away and holds out his arm, attempting to activate his Quirk. Nothing happens. He closes his eyes and takes a breath, trying again. Still nothing. He tries over and over, getting increasingly frustrated as he tries to make it work. Then, he finally snaps. With an enraged yell, he grips his cane like a baseball bat and smashes the trophy case with his cane.
The glass door shatters, sending glass flying. Yukiya swings the cane repeatedly, smashing the trophies as he swings. He loses his balance on a followthrough and falls to the floor, landing in some of the glass. He tries to pick himself up. There are glass cuts all along his arm and hand, but he doesn’t care. From his downed position, he continues to swing at the case, tears flowing with each yell and swing of the cane.
The bedroom door flies open, and Shoto bursts in, in a panicked rush. “Yuki!” he yells as he dives for Yukiya, knocking the cane from his grasp and lifting him up and away from the broken glass he was lying in. Shoto holds Yukiya in a tight embrace, rubbing his hair and making shushing sounds, trying to calm the teen down as he still flails, yelling and crying.
“Hey, Hey. I got you, I got you. You’re safe.” Shoto softly whispers.
“Why?” Yukiya says, the rage-filled yells transforming into sorrowful cries. “W – why didn’t h – he kill me? Why di—did he leave me lik – like this? I – I loved h –him.”
“I know, you did. I know,” Shoto says as he continues to rock Yukiya in his arms. As Yukiya continues crying in Shoto’s arms, Japan’s number one hero has never felt as powerless as he does now, unable to help his little boy.
Notes:
Next time: UA's new school year begins with some familiar faces returning the lead the UA students into the future as heroes
FornaxGreenQueen on Chapter 2 Tue 25 Apr 2023 05:01AM UTC
Last Edited Tue 25 Apr 2023 05:01AM UTC
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