Chapter Text
Fog 1
–Fog is caused by tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended just above the ground. At higher altitudes, these droplets would form a stratus cloud.
The clouds were puffy, soft cotton balls. No. Like cotton candy. That was better. Izuku liked cotton candy. At the summer festival just a week ago, his mother bought him one that looked just like All Might's hair! Izuku had giggled and wrinkled his nose, saying that he couldn’t just eat All Might's hair, but then his Mama had said that she would have to eat it all by herself and she looked so sad and he was going to be a hero so he had to help, and they ended up sharing a ponytail each. Turns out All Might's hair was delicious. But right, the clouds looked more like cotton candy All Might's hair than cotton balls, and they whizzed past, or rather he whizzed past, since the train was going very fast. But then again the wind was probably blowing the clouds which meant that they were moving very fast but they were so far above that it just looked like they weren’t going as fast which must mean that both he and the clouds must be whizzing which meant….which meant that the old lady across the aisle was giving him funny looks and he must be saying this out loud. Izuku flushed bright red, mumbling out “Sorry…I…it’s very pretty outside.”
“It’s alright, sweetheart,” the old woman smiled indulgently, “is this your first time in the countryside?”
Izuku nodded, rummaging around in his bright yellow backpack for the fruit snacks his Mama packed for when he got hungry. “I’m visiting my Dad while Mama gets special training for her work. She’s a nurse, but she’s taking special classes to help people who are in hard to get to places like buildings that fall over. I’m Midorya Izuku, it’s nice to meet you Miss,” he added hastily, remembering that Mama said it was extra important to be polite to old people but extra rude to tell them that that’s why you were being polite to them. He found that one out that hard way.
The old lady looked properly impressed, which only made her nicer. Everyone should know how cool his Mama is. “It’s very nice to meet you Izuku-chan, I’m Himeko Oshita. That sounds like very important work. Do you want to be a nurse like your Mama?”
Izuku straightened up, making sure to tap his All Might sneakers just right so they light up as he declared, “No, Mama’s amazing but I’m going to be a hero like All Might! And I can save people and take them to Mama to make them better!”
“I’m sure you’re going to save lots of people! What quirk do you have Izuku-chan? There are all kinds of heroes, you know, and your quirk is going to help you decide what kind of hero you’re going to be.” Izuku bit his lip, suddenly not sure what to say. Mama hadn’t said it but there was another reason she was sending him away while she went to her special training. Quirkless . Izuku liked learning, but he didn’t like what he was learning about what quirkless meant. It meant that his teacher gave his worksheet a bad grade because it wasn’t supposed to be “pretend” when he said he wrote that he wanted to be a hero when he got big. Or how play time hurt more than it used to, and how Kacchan wouldn’t even let him be the villain anymore. And after seeing the little burns peppering Izuku’s arms the first day of summer break, Mama had called Dad that night, then the next morning suddenly he had offered to have Izuku stay with him to “get to know each other.” Somehow, quirkless meant that he didn’t get to have a long sleepover with Kacchan like they had planned. Truth be told, Izuku still hoped maybe Dr. Tsubasa was wrong, that he would still get his quirk a little later. After all, he was only five, and he was still a little short so maybe when he got bigger he’d get a quirk! With a start, Izuku realized that Himeko-san was still waiting for his answer.
“Oh! I…umm…I don’t know what I’ll get.” Izuku felt a little bad for not being totally honest, but she’d been so nice, and nobody wanted to hear about what kind of hero he was going to be once they heard that a doctor said he wasn’t going to get a quirk. The soft chime announcing their arrival at Hokishi station saved Izuku from further questioning as he stood, clutching his All-Might backpack and bowing. “This is my stop, but thank you for talking to me Himeko-san!”
The old lady chuckled, shaking her head. “Whatever quirk you get, you’ve already made one old lady’s day a little brighter, so I’ll say you’re already a hero for me young man.” Izuku blushed, managing to stutter out his thanks, but he wondered as the train doors hissed shut behind him if she would say the same thing if he had told her the truth.
Cicadas hummed in unison with Izuku’s heartbeat as he turned slowly about the empty platform to see that he was alone save for a stray cat sniffing at the feet of…of a shadow in a suit. No. A vest. A shadow in a vest that was watching him. Izuku swallowed, resisting the urge to squirm and ensure that he didn’t have mud on his shoes. This…this was a quirk, right? It wasn’t one of the Izuku-eating yokai that inhabited the woods that bordered his neighborhood at home that Kacchan liked to tell him about. But then again he didn’t think that yokai wore vests like that. Or maybe they did. He supposed he couldn’t really say what yokai would wear but then again he couldn’t exactly discount their existence because only a couple centuries ago people would have claimed modern day quirked people to be yokai taking on human appearance, but that didn’t change the fact that the Vest-Shadow tilted its head and spoke, cutting Izuku’s spinning thoughts abruptly short.
“Your train was four minutes early, Midoryia Izuku.” Vest-Shadow’s eyes were luminous yellow, pinning Izuku to the spot, again bringing up the ridiculous urge to confess that he’d taken the last of the fruit snacks at home without throwing away the box because he was trying to watch All-Might’s interview on the news.
“I’m…sorry?” he tried, scuffing his feet and clutching his All-Might backpack in front of him like a shield. Not that he believed in the Izuku-eating yokai…but it couldn’t hurt to have something between him and the stranger.
“I fail to see how you can be blamed or praised for the efficiency of public transportation. I am Kurogiri, your father’s personal assistant.”
Izuku blinked owlishly, questions beginning to trip over themselves in his mind, but the only thing he could squeak out was “Oh…what do you assist him with?”
“Personal matters.” Kurogiri turned, calmly making his way toward the edge of the platform. “Now come, your father is waiting.” Izuku chewed on his lower lip for a second before hurrying to follow. Even though Mama said not to talk to strangers, Izuku figured that since Kurogiri knew his name that technically made them not-strangers. But also not friends. But maybe he would be Izuku’s friend even though he was an adult or spirit (Izuku still wasn’t quite willing to rule that one out) and then maybe he would tell him about his quirk and save Izuku the trouble of in-ves-ti-ga-ting him and figuring it out on his own.
Izuku only realized that Kurogiri had stopped when he ran headfirst into the other’s legs, proving Izuku’s theory that he did, in fact, have a body under the purple mist. Or that the mist solidified on contact. Was it just contact with people or could Kurogiri phase through walls like a ghost? Just as he opened his mouth to ask, Kurogiri looked down at him.
“Do you need to use the restroom before we leave?”
“...What?”
“In my preparations to receive you I have read that young children often need to be given the opportunity to perform basic tasks they may not yet think to do without prompting. Do you need to use the restroom?”
Izuku wrinkled his nose. He wasn’t a baby, but still the train ride had been kinda long… “Is it a long trip to Dad’s house?” Kurogiri seemed to consider this for a moment before slowly shaking his head.
“For us, no it is not.”
“Then I’m okay, thank you Kurogiri-san.”
“Very well, we’ll be there shortly.” Izuku barely had time to nod before a swirling purple mist engulfed him, and for a second Izuku had a moment of panic in the darkness that his Izuku-eating yokai theory was about to be proven correct before he was panting in bright sunlight again and staring at an entirely different place.
The house in front of him was a massive collection of traditional sloped rooftops and cedar porches, the rich stain well-maintained and gleaming in the afternoon light. Spinning in a circle, Izuku saw a sprawling lawn of soft grasses and gardens that gave way to tangles of wildflowers and woods in the distance. There were no other houses as far as he could see, and the only noises Izuku could hear were the lively call of birds and the soft trickle of water coming from the direction of the house. Then it hit him. Spinning on his heel Izuku gaped up at Kurogiri, who was standing behind him, hands folded neatly behind his back.
“Your quirk is amazing Kurogiri-san! Can you take more than one person at a time? Do you have to be close to them? Can you go to places you’ve never been? What if you looked at a picture of a place could you go there? Is it your body that makes the portals or do you control something to make them? Like shadow manipulation? How did–”
“It’s good to see that you’ve inherited my curiosity when it comes to quirks.” Izuku whipped back around to see a tall man in black slacks and a white button down, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, standing in the doorway to the house. Izuku recognized him from the pictures on the mantle. A neatly maintained mop of curly black hair. Bright blue eyes. Freckles and a nose just like Izuku had. The wide grin he himself always tried to imitate to make Mama smile when she was feeling lonely and didn’t want to say anything. Midoryia Hisashi.This was his father. Dad knelt down and opened his arms wide, “Izuku, come and say hello to your Father.”
Izuku dropped his backpack, tripping up the steps in his haste and crashing into his father. It felt like hitting a brick wall, but Dad just laughed, sweeping Izuku into his arms and standing with one smooth motion. “Be careful, we can’t go damaging that mind of yours, son. It’s your most valuable tool, so you have to take care of it! Kurogiri, if you could ensure my room is prepared, I’ll be staying here for the time being.” Looking down at Izuku settled comfortably on his hip, Dad smiled. There were no crinkle lines around his eyes like Mama had, but his voice was warm when he added “I’ve already unpacked the bags your Mother sent ahead. I see we’ve got a future hero on our hands here.” Izuku nodded furiously as Dad carried him into the interior.
“I want to be just like All Might! He saves everyone and he never stops smiling! Just like how you told me to smile for Mama!”
Izuku’s Dad huffed out a laugh, as they arrived in front of a door which he toed open with a shiny dress shoe. “Yes, I guess I did say that. And I had gathered that you admire All Might when unpacking.” As his Father stepped through the doorway, Izuku supposed this must be his room as it has a bed covered in his All-Might blanket, his All-Might plushy sitting neatly on the pillow, and his All Might action figure collection set up beside the window. Though someone must have bumped into them because they were all lying down at funny angles so maybe he hadn’t packed them well enough but at least none of them looked broken. And was that his Endeavor figure standing on top of his Silver Age All Might? That wouldn’t do. Squirming down Izuku ran to the window to restore Silver Age All-Might to his rightful place, because while Endeavor was cool, he just wasn’t All Might.
“Do you wanna play heroes with me Dad? I could be All Might and you could be my sidekick! Or the villain but you don’t have to because Mama doesn’t like being the villain but Kacchan says we have to have a villain to play heroes because that’s the way it works but then I always have to be the villain and I don’t like that because I’m gonna be a hero and besides I think we could all be heroes and then nobody has to be the villain…” He trailed off, nibbling his lip nervously because he’d forgotten for a second that he didn’t remember if Dad liked to play heroes, and he hadn’t seen him in two whole years and lots could have changed. Dad was watching him with an expression Izuku couldn’t quite place before the man sighed, lips quirking wrly up.
“Are you sure you wouldn’t rather be another hero? Like Sir Nighteye? Or what about Present Mic? Your Mother said you listen to his radio show.”
Izuku shook his head. “Because All Might’s the best at everything Dad!” His father leaned against the doorframe, raising an eyebrow. Izuku wondered if he would be able to do that someday. He had tried but his eyebrows just refused to work separately.
“Oh? I wasn’t aware that All Might was not only the number one hero but the world’s leading tax accountant.”
Izuku giggled, carefully standing up his All Mights and re-aligning arms and legs so they looked particularly heroic. “At hero stuff. He’s the best at hero stuff.”
“Really? What about the kind of heroics that require a hero to be very quiet or risk not having anyone left to save?”
Izuku frowned. He hadn’t really considered that kind of hero, but that sounded cool. The kind of hero who could save someone who couldn’t even ask for help. That sounded nice…but they still weren’t All Might. He was just the coolest! And he made everyone feel safe with his smile and he would never leave anyone behind!
“All Might’s still my favorite! He makes people feel safe just by coming! And he saves everyone Dad!” For a long moment Izuku’s Father stared at him before the slow beginnings of a grin began to tug at his lips and he straightened, carefully rolling his neck and pushing up the cuffs of his shirt.
“Well then, All Might! Tremble, for it is I, the worst villain alive, and you’ll not escape this day!”
Squeals of laughter echoed throughout the house as All Might did battle with a nefarious villain. Izuku couldn’t even bring himself to mind that the villain won their fight as he finally surrendered, breathless with laughter from Dad’s merciless tickling when Kurogiri interrupted to inform them that a phone call was waiting for Hisashi.
“Feel free to explore the house and outside, Izuku, but stay out of my office at the end of the hall, okay? It’s where I go when I have to work so it has to stay just for adults.”
Izuku nodded vigorously. “Okay Da–I mean, I’ll get you next time, villain!”
Hisashi laughed, shaking his head before speaking in a low, steely voice. “Until next time, All Might.”
Izuku shivered. Dad sounded kinda scary when he played villain. But also so cool . And he let Izuku be All Might! Even when he and Kacchan played heroes he never got to be All Might. Maybe this summer won't be so bad.
Hisashi carefully folded his sleeves back down, buttoning them and accepting his suit jacket from Kurogiri before striding into the office with a small smirk. That was…interesting to say the least. The boy’s disposition was remarkably like Inko’s—a few kind words and affectionate gestures, and Izuku looked at him like he hung the moon. But with that sunny nature he carried a razor sharp intellect that, with careful nurturing in the right direction, could become a force to be reckoned with. And when his wife called and tearfully explained Izuku’s quirkless diagnosis and subsequent problems…Well, he was happy to have an interesting side project to divert his attention and pacify his wife in one go. Stepping through the portal Kurogiri opened and into the green glow of the warehouse, All For One smiled widely at the trembling subject strapped to the table. Such a beautiful quirk waiting to be harvested. “Thank you for having everything ready, Doctor. Let’s get to work, I have to be home in time for dinner.”
—————
Izuku was bored. The last few days hadn’t been bad, exactly. Some had been great. As it turned out Kurogiri was an excellent cook, and while his katsudon wasn’t quite as good as Mama’s, his onigiri were the best thing to pack as a lunch while he explored the woods of Dad’s estate. That’s what Kurogiri said it was. An estate, not a house. Izuku had already found the perfect cluster of bushes by the stream to house his hero agency and operations. He had already created patrol routes to keep the koi fish in the inner courtyard safe. He had gotten Kurogiri to answer some of his questions:
“Yes, I can transport multiple people.”
“No, I will not warp a cookie to your bedroom, now please go to sleep.”
“Yes, I do have a stomach.”
“I have not tried going somewhere I’ve only seen on TV.”
“No, I will not warp you to the roof when you have no rational way of getting down.”
“…I am not qualified to speak on the shape of that cloud in relation to All Might Midorya Izuku…but I believe it is a cumulonimbus cloud, not a cumulus.”
And so it went. After that first day Izuku didn’t see Dad as often. He always went straight into his office after breakfast, and sometimes before Izuku was even awake. And he only sometimes came out for snack breaks, or one time when he said one of his red pens spilled while he was on a conference call and he had to change before his next meeting. Whenever he left the office Izuku followed on his heels, cramming all of his thoughts into the space between his father’s brief journeys around the house and his inevitable return into the office. They fell into a rhythm of sorts. Izuku managing his hero agency and patrol routes, Hisashi working and tripping over Izuku whenever he left the office, and Kurogiri…well Izuku didn’t really know what Kurogiri did when he wasn’t cooking but it must be the “personal matters” that he told Izuku about when he picked him up two weeks earlier.
Which brought Izuku to today. Bored. It was pouring rain outside, and Izuku had been forced to cede his patrol routes to the elements because he wasn’t a rescue hero, and there was nobody to rescue him from Kurogiri if he tracked mud into the house. He was currently rearranging his All Might figures (again) before thinking about trying to find out where Kurogiri was (again) and then maybe asking Dad a question when he came out of the office (for the 7th time) because he was trying to think of all the possible combinations of quirks he might still get but he didn’t know much about Dad’s family so it was hard to guess. But then again Dad seemed a little unhappy today, and he was barely answering Izuku’s questions:
“Yes, my quirk is Dragon’s Breath, son, you know that.”
“Izuku does it look like my freckles are dragon scale mutations?”
“Hair color can be included in quirks but is not a quirk within itself, go eat your lunch.”
“No, I can’t burn my mouth with heat but I can still taste spicy food, what did I say about eating?”
“When you can find the word allele in the dictionary I’ll tell you about your grandmother’s quirk.”
“Yes I can hold my breath for a long time. No you can’t practice without Kurogiri watching.”
“I have not tried roasting marshmallows with my quirk.”
And so, Izuku hesitated when he heard the hall door open and his father’s steady footsteps echo through the house for a minute before the tell-tale click of the door announced his return. Mama always said that eating snacks when you’re grumpy helps, so maybe he could bring Dad a snack before he asked his next question. It was an important one, and so Izuku armed himself with some apple slices Kurogiri had left for him before slipping toward Dad’s office. To his surprise the door was cracked. Dad had said he couldn’t bother him while the door was closed but it wasn’t closed now so Izuku didn’t even have to wait in the hall for him to come back out! Inching the door open, Izuku blinked in the dim light coming from a low lamp on his father’s desk, seeing him sitting and watching a video on the computer. Izuku gulped, steeling himself against sudden nerves.
“Dad? I have a question.” Hisashi did not look at him, watching the video with narrowed eyes.
“Not now, Izuku. We’ve talked about coming into the office, please don’t do it again without permission.”
“Please? It’s important.” Dad took a deep breath before pausing the video and turning to look at Izuku seriously.
“What is it?”
“Are there any other people who are quirkless in our family?” Izuku looked away, unable to meet his father’s eyes as tears pricked at the corners of his own. Today was Kacchan’s sixth birthday party, and he had said that only future heroes could come so Izuku wasn’t invited this year and he couldn’t be a hero without a quirk. He had to know. He’d read about alleles in the dictionary like Dad said, and he had to know if he had the recessive one. If he really was quirkless like the doctor said. Hands on his shoulders startled him, and Izuku looked back up to find his father kneeling in front of him.
“Full of questions today, aren’t we? Why do you want to know if we have quirkless family members?”
Izuku felt his lips begin to tremble. “B-because I want to be a hero but ev-everyone says I can’t do it i-if I don’t have a quirk and I haven’t gotten m-mine and maybe the doctor was ri-ight and it isn’t coming.”
Dad sighed, picking Izuku up and sitting down at the desk once again. “I’ve told you before that there should be far more than brawling that makes up a hero, not that many remember that. There are many people whose quirks give them no physical benefits, and their minds are little more than glorified containers for their abilities, so no real benefit can be gained from their use of them anyway since they lack the brainpower and creativity to properly utilize them. So no, Izuku, if you were to choose to be a hero, it would not be your lack of a quirk that kept you from that path so much as the cruelty that perforates our society. Do you understand?”
Izuku nodded slowly, thinking hard to keep up with all the big words, but the message echoed around in his head: if heroes were more than their quirks, did that mean that he could become one even if his quirk never came? Or was he able to but nobody would let him even though all he wanted was to help people? But still…he wanted, no needed to know.
“But do we have any quirkless rel-a-tives?”
Dad was quiet for a few moments, looking like he was thinking about something before saying slowly, “Everyone thought your uncle was quirkless. It was not until many years later that we discovered he…” Dad trailed off, looking down at Izuku with an expression that made him feel like a bug under a microscope, hands on Izuku’s arms tightening marginally.
Izuku stared widely up, meeting his father’s icy blue eyes, suddenly a little frightened, though of what he could not name. “He what?”
Dad blinked and the expression was gone, replaced by the easy smile as he ruffled Izuku’s hair. “He developed a quirk very late, though it wasn’t much more than holding his breath longer than usual.” Izuku deflated.
“Oh…”
“However, it did develop rather late, so I wouldn’t give up on a quirk just yet.” Izuku felt his heart stutter.
“R-really? You think it could still come? Really? Do you think it’ll be Dragon’s Breath? Or Pull? Or something else? Did you have other siblings? What were their quirks? Would I have a mutation of those quirks or of yours and moms? Can quirks skip gen-er-a-tions? Do you think I could team up with All Mi–”
“How about we write all of these questions down so you don’t forget them? In fact,” Dad interrupted quickly, reaching onto the desk to grab a notebook and opening it to the front pages, handing Izuku a pen. “If you’re going to be a hero, then the best way to learn is to write down everything you can find about them. Their strengths. What makes them good heroes, how they fight, if they work with other heroes, if they like to fight battles head on or work from the shadows. And how to turn those strengths into weaknesses.” The intensity was returning, and Izuku found himself hanging onto his father’s every word.
“Write down every detail. Where they can fail and why. Think carefully about if there are ways to make them stronger, then strip those away and consider the ways a villain might try to harm them. All of these things will help you become stronger whether or not you manifest a quirk. Until then, they have their quirks, and you have your mind. Sharpen it to be just as dangerous, Izuku.”
Izuku gaped at his Dad, mouth hanging open. Of course. If he was going to get his quirk late he was going to have to work extra hard to understand quirks for when he did. Dad was so smart. “So when a hero—”
“Wait! Now when you have questions and thoughts while I’m working, I want you to write them down in this notebook, and we can talk about them a lot at dinner instead of while I’m getting a glass of water between meetings, okay?”
Izuku was practically vibrating with excitement. This was going to take his hero agency to whole new heights. And Dad was going to spend dinners talking about all of his ideas with him.
“How—how do I start?” His hand hesitated above the paper, soft round hands gripping the pen tightly. His father’s calloused hand gently covered his own, easily guiding Izuku’s own to trace the letters “Hero Analysis for the Future” across the top line.
“Like this.” Dad smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling for just a second. “Now, I just happened to have been watching a hero fight on the news before you walked in. Watch it with me. Write down what you see and we can talk about it. It’s almost dinner time after all, I can stop work a little early.” He pressed play, and Izuku found himself swept away, hands flying across the page in messy hiragana as one of Present Mic’s fights resumed, the fast-rising hero darting about the screen.
All For One watched with some amusement as Izuku devolved into mumbles, hands scribbling messy notes as his eyes remained glued to the screen. A bright intellect easily sharpened, and… something else that required further analysis before he could reach any conclusions himself. An interesting side project indeed.