#Izuku midoriya retrospective

[siflshonen]

when you say there is nothing of substance in regards to izuku, what exactly are you referring to? what would you have liked to see in the ending between bakugo and izuku?

It actually has less to do with Katsuki and more to do with Izuku and everyone else.

I would have liked to see him talk more with All Might about life after all for one and the possibility of loss. I would have liked to explore the drama of Izuku being the last wielder a little more from a personal perspective. It seems like Katsuki did most of the work exploring how Izuku returning to quirkless life would be a big adjustment.

I would have liked to see Izuku grapple more with understanding that while Shigaraki is someone he wanted to save, he also hated him. I would have liked to see him realize that besides just saving Shigaraki, he might have to spare a thought about what might happen next even if it didn’t happen. Ochako did, even in passing.

I would have liked to see more emotional impact regarding Izuku having the epiphany that he wants to save someone who has wronged him in a permanent way that matters. That wasn’t Katsuki, but Shigaraki/All for One, who have put Katsuki in jeopardy three times and Toshinori in the same position at least twice when Izuku was present. We go through this briefly, but it’s more like watching it go by as something we’re meant to expect rather than something we explore.

I would have liked to see Izuku, Ochako (with Ochako lurking on the sidelines and keeping her thoughts to herself a little, just as she was), AND Shoto discussing the very real possibility that the people they might try to save will die, and the public WILL try to martyr them a la Curious to Himiko, and they WILL have to discuss their actions. In the epilogue it seems Ochako has found a way to talk about Himiko with the public without talking about Himiko directly, which is its own thing, but I would like to see Izuku actually try to handle the consequences of his sudden fame since it is directly affected to what Heroes (career Heroes) value and strive for.

Katsuki, I think, also has an opportunity to act as a counterpoint because he killed his opponent and it was never some deep, emotional debate. I wouldn’t expect it to give Katsuki any existential angst, because I feel like it would be absurd if he OR the public gave TWO SHITS about whether All for One lived or died, but he and Izuku did enact two differing functions and methods of Pro Heroing that have to be discussed. Izuku can feel however he likes about his role in Shigaraki’s death, but he should also recognize that the people around him and that he respects and love did arrive with the intention to kill, and even that Katsuki put himself in that position SO IZUKU DID NOT HAVE TO HANDLE IT.

I would have liked to see Izuku questioning, at many points throughout the series, what it is exactly a pro Hero does and what they protect and value before he thinks about extending that nebulous definition to include trying to save Shigaraki Tomura. I don’t even necessarily want him to have to try and fix it in the story, but I would like for him to identify it beyond being “kinda weird”. From Ochako’s comments on finding Himiko a potential heroic purpose (meaning, the fact that she knows saving Himiko must be justified to the public to have some kind of purpose, or even that it COULD be) I think she understands what she is grappling with much better than Izuku does.

I don’t mind or disagree with him being a teacher, but I don’t get the sense how helping pro Hero students, who still have to be incredibly powerful to qualify for the career, apparently, makes him heroic. What the hell is he teaching them if I’m not convinced he learned much besides the taste of failure in his own heroic story?

I’d like for Izuku Midoriya to have more going for him as an individual character with a more extreme internal monologue and desires with fears, doubts, and explored resolutions to any of these things. He has them at the start, but by the end I personally don’t find them interesting or or well explored, and he does not connect with me.

And, yes, as a cherry on top, I do wish he had the balls to tell Kacchan that he has value in his life as something besides a rival. He can smile and have his shiny eyes all he likes and let it be implied or self-evident all he likes, but I would like for him to acknowledge it instead of always being a recipient. It was pretty gratifying to see him take the time to go speak with Ochako and tell her how heroic she is, finally, now at the end, but it would be nice if he did that for Toshinori, his mom, Katsuki, or a slew of other characters who have always saved him, helped him, or held their feelings inside for the sake of him or others.

While he uses stupid machismo and yelling, Katsuki has hidden his true feelings a lot not just as a shield for his fragile ego in the second half, but to keep Izuku from worrying. So nice of you to notice, Izuku.

[delawaredetroit]

I honestly forgot his face was never shown until chapter 68. Shigaraki's face is only revealed in the chapter where the other main villain foils are introduced and he meets with Izuku - his own narrative foil - to establish their respective goals as hero and villain and set the scene for their future conflict.

It's also interesting that Shigaraki first reveals his face to Izuku before any other character, while All for One's face has been continuously hidden from Izuku even when it was revealed to pretty much everyone else.

[haleigh-sloth]

I've felt for a while that Deku is like the Tohru to Shigarakis Akito lol. I feel like MHA and Fruits Basket have so much in common. I love that Deku has met all these people that need help and he is able to be there for them. But kinda like Tohru, he sacrifices his own wellbeing too much and he needs to accept help from others. I also love that characters like Todoroki are similar to Yuki. They receive help from Deku but then grow on their own as well and become a positive force to help others.

!!!!! This comparison has been in my head for a very long time, yeah.

I think that's what turns people off to Midoriya as a protag because he's far more similar to a freaking shojo female lead than a shounen male lead aks;gaskgn Personally I find that both hilarious and great but not everybody feels that way lol.

There are people who hate it because he's not their tough guy kick-ass tough exterior protag, and people who hate it because he's not as complex as the villains..or something along those lines.

Sometimes the protagonist halo of "selfless to a fault" is just who the character is. Either you like the trope or you don't, but trying to make it into some awful crime against the manga is stupid imo and it's better just to admit it's not a trope you like ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

But tbh I do find it interesting that ✨for some reason✨ it's perfectly fine for Tohru to have that protag halo and people receive it super well in Fruits Basket but god forbid Midoriya have the same type of characterization and because of this specific trope played into him he's just so god awfully written 🙄. What's the difference between the two characters and genre? Lol we'll be up all night trying to figure that out.

No but seriously. I 100% get the comparisons to Naruto and I've made them myself, but I find much more in common with a manga like Fruits Basket, as you said. Especially because much like BNHA, Fruits Basket covers dark topics that can be icky to think about, it covers different reactions and victims, it talks about forgiveness and resentfulness and family dynamics and relationships, connections, bonds, all of that stuff. BNHA covers interpersonal dynamics with much more detail like Fruits Basket. You can go back to early chapters, look at the characters that are in the forefront of the conflict of the endgame and see exactly why each pair of characters was matched up together.

Also you've completely opened my eyes to the Shouto|Yuki comparison. God you're so right. I've mentioned this being one of the things I liked about Shouto's healing so much but he's one of the few characters who has almost complete independence in his healing and his choices to move forward. I love a dynamic where someone is so damn helpless that they're depending on someone else's kind heart to survive, and I'm getting that with the villains, but Shouto himself is a breath of fresh air.

Tomura really is like Akito, where he fights his salvation over and over and over and rejects any implication that someone may want better for him and is just lost in self-hatred to the point that it's going to swallow him-----up until the very last second. Yeah, that's him, and Akito. It's also crazy comparing it because Tohru and Akito didn't interact much to each other, and all they had to go off of was the butterfly effects their actions had on each other and how everything they did eventually reached the other and that's how that connection was strong enough by the end for Akito to accept help. Sounds very familiar to me. Man, wild.

I said I wanted that scene with Rin and Tohru recreated with Tomura and Izuku and I mean that, but I do think Akito and Tohru are more similar a dynamic to the BNHA bunny and cat duo.

Also this is what I mean by BNHA has boiled down to "I can fix him" being the answer LOL

"I (Izuku, Shouto, Ochacko) can fix him (Tomura, Touya, Toga)" 💀

Fruits Basket was very much like that also with pretty much no irony at all 😂

[jello-chennie]

✧ Izuku, as quiet, bashful, and nerdy as he is, is a total closet perv.

✧ genre/tw smut ⚠︎

✧ w/c 569

When the almost unbelievably pretty foreign transfer student makes an entrance on her first day in 1A, Izuku’s stomach was set afire by the downy wings of butterflies running amok inside him.  But when you turn around to write your name on the board at Aizawa’s behest, Izuku can’t help himself when his eyes start to wonder across the shape of you—when you turn back around, Midoriya is almost hypnotised by your pretty eyes and charmingly kind smile, and those butterflies quickly turn into extra blood that sit heavy in his balls. 

Midoriya isn’t able to get up to join his friends at the lunch table that day.

He thought he already had it bad before, but discovered new parts of himself after your arrival.  

Izuku who desperately tries to eavesdrop on conversations you have with the many people who hurry to try to introduce themselves to you, totally not in an effort to overhear you giving out your instagram handle.  And Izuku definitely didn’t blow through an entire box of tissues in the one night alone.  And of course he wasn’t dying of shame while having a conversation with his mother on the phone about the sudden wave of bulk pack tissue box purchases on their Amazon account.  It’s totally just a cold he caught.

He almost feels a little pathetic at the fact that there are only sweet and appropriate photos on your social media pages, but that’s more than enough for him—for a short while.  The more time he spent around you in class, the more he craved you.  He eventually found himself on some very specific porn sites in an effort to find an actress that even remotely resembled you.  That seemed to make the issue worse, as he then started to have some very vivid dreams of you with little left to the imagination, thanks to his helpful visual aids.

He tells his friends that he’s just been adding in extra workouts in the morning when they ask why he does his laundry so frequently these days.

And when the two of you become partners for a training course one day, Midoriya is enthralled by your personality and your quirk.  He immediately starts analysing it all, but quickly needs to run to the onsite restroom when he starts trying to estimate the size of your tits. In the small port-a-potty, he imagines himself taking the measurements with his palms.  Once he finishes and takes a moment to breathe, he cringes as he thinks in retrospect of himself from a few moments earlier:  Izuku had one hand held in the air, palming around nothing, as he fucked into the other one. This time he really thinks himself pathetic.

When you become closer as friends, beginning to spend time casually together in each other’s bedrooms, he smiles innocently in your face, while a stolen pair of panties sit snug in his pocket.  He also pretends to be deeply invested in his economics textbook when he overhears you complaining about constantly needing to go underwear shopping a few months later.

Eventually, you fall for his boyish charms, and the two of you begin to spend time together as a couple.  And in the most unsmooth way possible, he acts shocked and pretends to know nothing when you find a familiar long lost pair of pink panties hidden amongst his things.

[blkluci]

𝑴𝑯𝑨 𝒃𝒐𝒚𝒔 and healer reader...

CHARACTERS )) katsuki bakugo, shoto todoroki, denki kaminari, izuku midoriya, hitoshi shinsou.

PLOT )) a headcanon of mha boys dating someone with a healing quirk.

A/N )) this is purely based off my imagination!! requests are open:)

[ 𝐊𝐀𝐓𝐒𝐔𝐊𝐈 ]

... secretly worries for you

... comes to your dorm with new bruises after training

-> "i know how to take care of myself."

... bakugo knows that your quirk isn't best for combat so he protects you while in battle

... jumps in front of attacks aimed at you

... therefore becomes your trainer and spars with you

... when you defeat deku in a close combat battle he's so proud

-> "YEAH!! you got your ass beat ya damn nerd! >:D"

[ 𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐓𝐎 ]

... he's intrigued

... often asking questions about it

... "do you have a special move?"

... he appreciates when you heal his wounds after practice

... "thank you l/n :), your quirk is very useful."

... he allows you to practice your quirk on him

... does research on your quirk secretly

[ 𝐃𝐄𝐍𝐊𝐈 ]

... your personal patient

... always asking you to heal his boo-boos as he says

... gets jealous if you use your powers on someone else

-> "i have boo-boos too babe! heal me!! :("

... you help when he short-circuits

... begs you to roleplay mercy

-> "c'monnn, it'll be fun!"

... praises your quirk to make you feel valued

[ 𝐈𝐙𝐔𝐊𝐔 ]

... has a book related to your quirk

... also does research on your quirk BUT proposes new ideas to you

-> "i think this will help you improve your quirk :D"

... gives you mini heart attacks when gets extremely hurt

... feels shy when you heal him but enjoys watching you use your powers

... another one who praises your quirk

-> "your quirk is amazing!!"

[ 𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐎 ]

... your test dummy in some retrospect

... he's constantly curious about your quirk and wants you to use it on him

... he finds comfort in the fact that your quirk reflects your nature

... enjoys when you help him to sleep with your powers

-> "so warm.. (´～`)"

... another that protects you while battles and helps you with combat

-> "can you keep up?"

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matthew 6:33)

[vanishingstarrs]

masterlist

katsuki bakugo

playing house

after getting you sick, you boyfriend makes it his personal mission to take care of you, and you can’t help picture what living together would be like due to the domesticity of it all

this is me trying

your day at work was less than ideal, your confidence took a significant blow by the end of your meeting, and yet somehow your boyfriend always has all the right words to cheer you up

try again

just because you asked for permission to use his given name didn’t mean you were quite ready to actually use it, nor were you ready to accept the implications that came with it either

midnight haze | midnight dreams | midnight rain | one more night

fear and anxiety bring on a new bout of insomnia, and you weren’t the only one, it just so happens that three nights later… baking, binging, and bakugo were the only things soothing enough to get you back into bed after midnight

twenty something

you were never too big on birthdays, it was just another day, or at least it was up until your new boyfriend entered your life, he made it his goal to show you everything you were missing, spoiling you and reminding you just how much you deserved

pancakes for dinner

coming home from a tiresome day at the hospital required an immediate nap, you weren’t expecting to wake up to get lavished in the best way by your pro hero boyfriend

sweet treat thief ( smau )

the cookie jar was empty and you were going to get to the bottom of why your boyfriend hadn’t made a replacement, those were the rules, after all, whoever had the last desert baked the next batch for the tin, you happened to be blind

taste | please please please | good graces | dumb & poetic | juno | short n’ sweet | ( idk how many chaps actually lmao )

inspiration strikes once your relationship comes to the light and your fans are upset with your taste in men, you might just have to take to music to explain why you owe no explanation

loml

eijiro kirishima

box hair dye

self doubt clouds his decision making, but your boyfriend thinks it’s time for a change of hair, and you decide dyeing yours along with him might make the transition a bit easier

decode

a secret admirer? in retrospect, romantic, but after a while it becomes frustrating when they won’t reveal their true self, so you gather your friends to plot a way to unravel the mystery

anything for you

your boyfriend was one of the most emotionally intuitive people you knew, he somehow always managed to lift your spirits and put a smile on your face when you were down

always been you

how much more obvious could you be? when your crush takes it upon himself to assume you like his best friend, you’re left with no choice but to spell it out how much you liked him

izuku midoriya

coming soon

shoto todoroki

coming soon

denki kaminari

electric touch

the boy you liked wasn’t the smartest, not for lack of trying, but he was definitely a little more gullible than the average person, luckily his lack of smarts landed you a confession

hanta sero

strange you never knew

when your date cancels on you last minute, your best friend takes it upon himself to not only be your stand in to the pumpkin patch, but to also make this your best date yet…

shota aizawa

you’re my weakness ( smau )

the legal side of things are finally taken care of, and eri is free to finally settle into your home, the adjustment period is easier than you thought it’d be because your husband can’t say no

cat distribution system ( smau )

keigo takami

wish on an eyelash | 11:11, make a wish

he’s a hopeless romantic and loves finding beauty in all of the little things, wishes made with coins tossed into fountains, on shooting stars across an inky sky, blowing the dandelions into the wind, lucky time, and eyelashes over your shoulder, their rules were sacred and so was the love granted by your wish

touya todoroki

coming soon

[mellowmin]

Addicted

+18 MDNI ~ Reader has female pronouns and is referred to as 'wife'

A little disclaimer, I wrote this at 4am, completely possessed by a horny daze and the feminine urge to get pressed into a mattress, so this might be shitty

In retrospect, he should have known things were going to end like this. Knowing the effect you have on him, he should have expected the way you clung to him as soon as his back hit the bed.

It's not like he doesn't love being doted on by his lovely wife.

"I've got such a good husband~ so big and strong and always ready to protect me from anything~" you giggle as you rub your hands all over your husband's biceps. You clearly know what you do to him, if he's to judge by the way you keep glancing up at him to gage his reaction to your words.

His brows furrow and his lips tremble at your praise and he finds it harder by the second to ignore the way his girth throbs atop his thigh where it formerly laid in peace. At this point, he's kissing his idea of a peaceful night goodbye.

His resolve crumbles with every soft caress and every sweet word that pours from your lips until you make the fatal mistake of licking your lips as you gaze up at him with hazy, lovedrunk eyes. The dam of his resolve breaks, as it was always going to.

It's like just a few seconds pass before he has you under him, still singing his praise as he takes you. He's got a fistful of your hair in his hand, keeping you arched deliciously for him while he pounds mercilessly into your abused hole.

You babble and plead for him to slow down, soon realizing that he's not planning on heeding your cries, you start squirming in an attempt to get away from the waves of pleasure he's pounding into your body, that threaten to turn your brain into mush.

He tuts, applying force by resting his free hand on the middle of your shoulders, pushing your top half even further into the bed.

He bends down to whisper in your ear, his deep, hoarse voice being interrupted by his heavy panting

"Be a good girl and stop squirming, I'm only being a good husband by showing you how much I love having a precious, prefect little wife like you to take me whenever I need her to." He chuckles when his only response is an elongated whine of his name, the sound affected by every rhythmic thrust of his hips into yours.

"You can do that right? You can take me for longer huh? Maybe cum on my cock again? C'mon, be a doll for me and let loose, give me one more" His speech starts slurring as he looses count of how many times he's asked you for 'one more', but he's wrapped so tightly in his frenzy that he couldn't talk right even if he tried to.

As much as he'd like to seem like he's unaffected by your body (and your words) he knows deeply that you own as much of him as he owns of you; and he's addicted to you just as much as you are to him.

All characters aged up!

USHIJIMA WAKATOSHI, Sawamura Daichi, Asumane Asahi, IWAIZUMI HAJIME, KIRISHIMA EIJIRO, Midoriya Izuku, Iida Tenya

03-05-23 edited to match the rest of my layout :)

[i-just-want-to-destroy]

Thank you for walking study in demonology! Reading it brought me all the way back to the 2019 bnha era. Even tho im a chronic fandom hopper, every once in a while i got pulled back to the bnha fandom like a clinging abused ex gf, cause i feel like no other fandom has given me the same feels as bnha on ao3. It's probably partly because of bnha being a perfect sandbox for ficwriters, but damn you bnha writers are really sth else.

Your work is such an exquisite, heartfelt love letter to the fanfiction medium in general, and the bnha fandom in particular. I hope your pillow is always cool and your socks always come out of the washing machine in pairs.

What's your favourite part about the fic?

hi thanks so much for this ask! super appreciate the kind words :) i agree wholeheartedly i wldnt have started writing my bnha fics if not for the amazing fics ive read from this fandom.

short answer: my favorite part is the process.

super long answer:

(spoilers below fair warning)

demonology has been a learning process for me and also a very strange experience.

ive always been more of an improv writer where i dont really know where a story is going when i write it. with demonology being the way it is, you can surmise that its been a really crazy ride.

ive mentioned this before but it started as an idea of deku being just your typical satanic style exorcist, and as it is a crack fic, i did write it — at the beginning — purposefully to be nonsensical. all the made up “significant” stuff like affinity, authority, even the importance of names and all that — i didnt know what they mean and i didnt care either, i was just making them say whatever that sounded ominous and ridiculous. (often this is for the sake of comedic timing. it is crack after all.)

some comments say the fic didnt make sense, and i agree bc it didnt to me either. but then it DID start to make sense to me. whenever i started to write a new chapter id read back to whatever bullshit i did the previous chap and only then i understood what the hell the characters r talking about. if you look back to the earlier chapters there’d be a lot of foreshadowings, but they werent written to be foreshadowings at the time. its kind of foreshadowing in reverse, bc i only knew what they meant after i wrote them. i didnt know i was writing a meta multiverse time travel fic, but since i did, i had to commit and go crazy.

(in retrospect i think it rly did begin with hitoshi and that cat in ch 3. i didnt even know hitoshi was the “main character” until that chapter. i didnt know that cat was schrodingers cat until i wrote ch 8.)

so u can see how crazy, nonsensical and haphazard the entire writing process of this fic is, which in return gives birth to a crazy, nonsensical and haphazard fic. until its not nonsensical anymore. somehow, there actually is a clear logic in the mechanics of the universe. the cats are schrodinger cats, the demons are maxwell demons, entropies are plotlines which are often riddled with plotholes, the hell is production hell, to be in heaven is to be canonized — and lorem ipsum is the empty blank slate state of the universe. authority actually is authority. the fic gave meaning to itself by the end of it all.

comments ask if i waited for bnha to end — i didnt. bnha ending actually fucked a past version of ch 8, now scrapped. but then it actually … made a better version? and made more sense? its weird.

i did know about some things that were going to happen though. since the first time i had izuku do the “you believe [object] exist,” i always knew i wanted it to be turned back to him (“midoriya izuku doesnt exist”). after i wrote ch 6 i also knew i wanted them to “go back to the beginning” with izuku’s “fall” on the rooftop. but i didnt know until i wrote it that hitoshi was going to choose to fall, too. i know im the author but him choosing that shocked me and i found it moving.

if i had written this “properly”, if i had planned it all with better structuring and better pacing and emotional beats and all that — this might have turned out to be a better written story, in another world. as it is right now there are a lot of flaws that it has. but it wldnt have been the same fic. if not for this fuckass writing process, it wld never have reached the form it takes as of now.

and although it was a very difficult road, i can say wholeheartedly that this strange process has been my favorite part. im doubtful ill ever experience a writing process like this again. the story kept surprising me. a part of why i wanted to finish it was because i wanted to know how it ended too—bc i wldnt know until i wrote it.

of course, at the end of it all, none of us know what their ending is. in the end the story still didnt share its secrets with me and i really really love it for it.

haha this is so long sorry i guess this fic really means a lot to me after all. but yes, thats my answer.

i would also like to thank every reader and commenter once again bc i can honestly say without the feedback and support, this would not have been finished either, or become the way that it is. man. fanfictions, huh?

[andypantsx3]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love ❤

Thank you to @itoshisoup @saetyrn9 and @seravphs for the tags!! I am late and so I apologize if I’ve missed any other tags while I was out!!

I want to say I think this is such a cute idea. I am very proud of how hard I’ve worked on my fics, and I am grateful for the chance to give my Andie director's cut lmfao even if I kind of wanted to curl up like a pill bug writing this.

Um, I think in no particular order, these are my top 5 recs of the moment:

Deceiving the Duke | Shouto x Reader

When Camie Utsushimi elopes on the eve of her society debut, scandal threatens to destroy the family’s prospects. It’s up to you, a lady’s maid, to impersonate Camie throughout the Season, long enough that her elder sister can make a match. The only trouble? Lord Shouto Todoroki is also intent on making a match—and that match, quite impossibly, appears to involve you.

I am a huge fan of regency romances and I have incredible respect for them as massive drivers of the romance genre as a whole. So it sort of shocked me when I was talking to Mermie and Cat and we realized we hadn't seen any x Reader regency fics (although I am certain they are out there)!! As much as I love a good pro hero AU (my bread and butter), I really appreciated the chance to try my hand at something that's a little lesser explored in this niche. It's kind of messy in retrospect but I had so much fun working on it that I'll let past Andie off the hook for that.

2. ab intra | Shinsou x Reader

When a wave of disturbing crimes sweep the city, underground hero Hitoshi Shinsou is assigned to work the case with you. What’s even more frustrating than his obnoxious personality is the fact no one will tell you why he’s involved. Things only get more suspicious from there.

This fic was the first time I really sat down and tried my hand at a case fic. I was reading a bunch of Japanese police thrillers at the time, and although my attempt does not measure up, it gave me the tools to understand how to better execute on case fics in the future. Again I really liked trying my hand at something I'm not necessarily good at, because it was fun and I learned a lot. This is probably my most distinct out of all my fics in terms of tone and subject material!!

3. unconventional | Midoriya x Reader

HeroExpo is incredible, and that’s not even counting the really cute hero fanboy you just met. Well, you think he might be cute under that Deku cosplay. It’s hard to tell because it’s really, really good. Like, too good.

I was so nervous to try my hand at Izuku that I actually thought about not publishing this one several times. But this ended up being one of my all-time favorites to write and I get really nostalgic for the time of my life I was in while I was working on this. The fic was so light and fun and such a comfort to write, and to this day I am very touched by how kind people are about Izuku's characterization. It makes me feel really good. 🥺

4. vested interest | Shouto x Reader

You’d just thought Shouto was absent minded, accidentally leaving behind a jacket or a sweater or his vest. You didn’t realize this was a thing. (In which Todoroki Shouto—despite his quirk—has zero chill, and uses his clothes to ward off other men.)

I am probably best known for my Shouto fic if i could keep cool, but vested interest is actually my favorite child!! In retrospect this one is messy too but I had the absolute time of my peddling my little shit Shouto agenda. This fic actually forms the backbone of how I characterize Shouto currently, with just a touch more of spoiled youngest child energy than I had been doing previously. :) Viva la jealous Sho.

5. incendiary | Bakugou x Reader

When you accidentally go viral in defense of quirkless people, an extremist group puts a target on your back. Pro hero Dynamight is the last person you want watching it.

This is the fic I have worked the hardest on and I am very proud of it (and excited to publish the next chapter when I get back)!! This is my only attempt to tackle an issue of real substance and I am very grateful for the perspective I have been given by my sensitivity readers @cat-slippered and @darkenedniqhts.

I also feel really protective over this one as it got plagiarized and slightly rewritten into something that exploded in popularity and massively outstripped this fic. Though handling that situation was uncomfortable, and this feels like a strange thing to say, it was a good ego check for me. It reminded me that I still have a lot of growing to do as a writer if I want my ideas to be unique and memorable enough that a situation like this won't arise again. I will work hard.

My no pressure tags (and sorry if you've already been tagged!!) @restwellsoon @bobawithpomegranate @darkenedniqhts @cat-slippered @ofmermaidstories @willowser @lorelune @petrichorium @heich0e @sipsteainanxiety @shibaraki @kedsandtubesocks @potionpeddlerpatchy @meggsngrits @coopigeoncoo @crowned-peony @stellamancer @namodawrites @streimiv @ghost-flakes @ghostbeam @kimkaelyn also @procrastination-artist @bluebird-in-the-breeze @acerathia bc I love ur stuff even if I know u have a smaller fic count.

[ao3feed-tododeku]

I Met You in the Dark (You Lit Me Up)

i met you in the dark (you lit me up) by first gravedigger

A short and sweet TodoDeku ice skating AU for TodoDeku Week 2023. Day 2: Sports AU, Theme of Vows. “No matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.”

Words: 1152, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia (Anime & Manga)

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: Todoroki Shouto, Midoriya Izuku

Relationships: Midoriya Izuku/Todoroki Shouto

Additional Tags: Ice Skating, Ice Skating AU, Retrospective, I don't actually know how ice skating works so don't come at me for inaccuracies pls, Established Relationship, TodoDeku Week, Day 2, Short & Sweet

Read Here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/48492823

[ladysunamireads]

The Tea Shoppe at the End of Time

The Tea Shoppe at the End of Time by sucrosette

Reporter Midoriya Izuku does too much and thinks too much and needs to learn how to unwind better. And then, in the wake of a crisis situation, he finds himself drawn to the quaintest little tea shoppe that he swears he's never seen before and more than that, the oddly comfortable tea host, Todoroki Shouto. Are they flirting or are they just being polite? Well, he'd just have to keep talking to know for sure.

Words: 14615, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia (Anime & Manga)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: Todoroki Shouto, Midoriya Izuku, Kaminari Denki

Relationships: Midoriya Izuku/Todoroki Shouto, Minor or Background Relationship(s)

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - No Quirks, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, how does one tag the weird cafe that lives at the end of time?, Tea Host Todoroki Shouto, Reporter Midoriya Izuku, Baker Kaminari Denki, Shinsou Exists I swear, He just hasn't appeared much, background/implied shinkami, He/Him and They/Them Pronouns for Todoroki Shouto, He/Him and They/Them Pronouns for Midoriya Izuku, Trans Female Kaminari Denki, She/Her and They/Them Pronouns for Kaminari Denki, i'm not sorry i made kaminari so bubbly, Meet-Cute, Fluff, Getting Together, Slice of Life, Supernatural Elements, Aged-Up Character(s), Dialogue driven, Endeavor's A+ parenting, mostly in retrospect he doesn't make a direct appearance, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, this is just cuteness overload though i promise

Read Here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/48210304

[delawaredetroit]

This is the moment in BNHA where Ochako determines her goal as a hero.

She had prior goals, but they were personal objectives. Her goal in Act One was to become a pro hero so she could support her poor family. It was a selfless aspiration, but it was a personal goal that had little to do with the role of a hero. Uravity decided her goal was to save others after watching someone bleed out during her first work study.

Ochako's arc is meant to parallel Toga's throughout the manga in a similar way to Izuku and Shigaraki. Izuku and Shigaraki were kids mentored by the the greatest hero and villain of the prior generation and grew into the hero and villain roles throughout the manga to attempt to overcome those roles in the end. Ochako and Toga were self-proclaimed normal girls given the roles of hero and villain by circumstance. For Ochako, she ended up following the route that would best allow her to support her parents. For Toga, villainy was the natural consequence of the unsupportive systems and people in her life in combination with the effects of her quirk. Ochako fully accepted the hero role after the Overhaul Arc, which was why Toga felt rejected by her when they met again during the First War Arc. Toga did not accept the role of villain completely until the Final War Arc, which resulted in her Sad Man's Parade.

The next step in Ochako's character arc was "who should be saved?" Act Two had her including the heroes in those who other heroes should save. Act Three had her include the villains in people who should be saved. Her confrontation with Toga then leads her down the path of "what does it actually mean to save someone?"

[miyamorana]

July Fic Recs

Here are the fics that I’ve really liked this past month. All of these are complete. Enjoy!

Fandoms: Avatar: The Last Airbender (3), Baldur's Gate 3 (1), Boku no Hero Academia (8), Harry Potter (2), Merlin (1), Percy Jackson & Related Fandoms (1)

Find June's Recs here or browse my fanfic recs tag.

Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender Title: Amateur Theatrics Author: Haicrescendo Pairing: None Rating: General Audiences Word Count: 2,540 Summary: [“Draw a portrait, Sparky,” she says, “It’ll last longer.”

Zuko does not draw a portrait. Zuko gets up and disappears to wherever he’s been sleeping (alone and far away, like he’s hiding, even though sound carries too well in this temple for him to keep his screaming nightmares to himself), and Toph thinks for a moment that she’s run him off. She hasn’t run him off.

Zuko returns in a matter of minutes, holding what’s clearly a book in his hands.

“Hasn’t…” he begins, anxious without fail every time he brings attention to himself, “Hasn’t anyone ever read to you?”]

Or,

Toph thinks books are stupid. Zuko disagrees.

Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender Title: Make No Apology Author: Haicrescendo Pairing: None Rating: Teen and Up Audiences Word Count: 6,909 Summary: [Aang’s the one who brings it to him. It’s tea, obviously, but it doesn’t smell like any tea that Zuko’s ever had. Spicy but also kind of...sour?

Zuko stares down at his cup with a sort of vague concern. He doesn’t want to drink this.

Aang’s staring up at him so earnestly, though, and Zuko’s never been able to say no to cute, googly eyes. It’s not right. He doesn’t want anything to do with Aang’s weird, spicy tea.]

Or,

In which Zuko isn’t poisoned, but in fact finds himself at the tender mercies of a truth serum. In retrospect, maybe being poisoned would have been more pleasant.

Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender Title: Foundations of Good Diplomacy  Author: Haicrescendo Pairing: Hakoda/Zuko Rating: Explicit Word Count: 15,571 Summary: [Zuko doesn’t know how he got here.

Actually, that’s a total lie—he knows perfectly well how he got here. Fire Lord Zuko hasn’t slept in anything longer than a quick catnap in three days— the first two because of a somewhat routine, but excessively bloody, botched assassination attempt and the third because of the envoy from the South Pole. Relations between the other nations have warmed drastically since the end of the war, but Zuko will be apologizing for his country until the day he dies, and matters still need to be handled delicately.

And if said matters involve his best friend’s father, well.

There are some secrets that should be kept to oneself.]

Or,

Sokka’s dad’s got Zuko down bad.

Fandom: Baldur's Gate 3 Title: Perceived Impressions Author: Acinonyx1 Pairing: Astarion/Haslin Rating: Explicit Word Count: 45,260 Summary: When Astarion awakens in the aftermath of the Nautiloid crash, it is not to a friendly face but the press of goblin steel against his cheek.

Now a captive of the Absolute, he is left starving and huddled in the corner, waiting for the beast that shares his cell to finally strike.

Bears, after all, are not known to be the most gracious killers.

Fandom: Boku no Hero Academia Title: Q. A. B. Author: jihnari Pairing: Kaminari Denki/Toga Himiko (mostly background) Rating: Teen and Up Audiences Word Count: 21,050 Series: Part 1 of how to (accidentally) start a cult (Words: 149,807 - Works: 4) Summary:

One month after @hawks_unofficial's initial viral post, the blog titled "Quirk Analysis Blog for the Future", otherwise known as "Q. A. B.", has gone from an average of 10 views per post to an average of 20,000 views per post. Midoriya Izuku does not know how to view the impressions analysis for his suddenly popular blog, and only notices that sometimes, people actually comment on his posts now. He does not google himself or his moniker and thus does not see the rise in online articles and speculation. He is unaware that the "kyuu-ei-bee" he begins to hear about in passing refers to his own blog. He does not have a Twitter account. At the time, Midoriya Izuku is 15 years old.

Izuku (accidentally) starts a cult.

Fandom: Boku no Hero Academia Title: the shadows on my wall don't sleep Authors: achievingelysium and the_crownless_queen Pairing: None Rating: Teen and Up Audiences Word Count: 2,589 Summary: “Sensei! Please don’t move!”

Shinsou’s voice snapped him back to attention, and Shouta forced his eyes open despite the pain.

“What happened?” he croaked out.

Shinsou’s face came into blurry focus. “The building came down on us,” he said matter-of-factly. “I’m beginning to think your class is cursed, sensei.”

Fandom: Boku no Hero Academia Title: class pets  Author: beeclaws Pairing: None Rating: General Audiences Word Count: 1,362 Summary: “Right now there are three cats to a ratio of four people,” Todoroki says. “Any more, and we all get less time per cat.”

“That’s not a very heroic attitude, Todoroki,” Tsuyu points out.

Todoroki continues scritching his favourite kitten’s chin: the black one with white feet, mentally dubbed ‘boots cat.’ (There had been a sub-meeting about naming the kittens, which determined it would be too heartbreaking to do this until they were reasonably sure they weren’t going to be made to give them away tomorrow). “It’s just math,” he adds softly.

Fandom: Boku no Hero Academia Title: testing, testing Author: beeclaws Pairing: None Rating: Teen and Up Audiences Word Count: 10,646 Summary: Izuku swallows. “My plans would have…gotten civilians killed?”

Aizawa stares at him for another long moment, then breaks off and rubs at his eyes. “Your plans had an excellent chance of preserving civilian lives.”

Izuku waits, uncomprehending.

“However,” Aizawa continues, “I’d say on average, there was about a 30% chance your suggested course of action would have gotten you killed.”

Izuku fails a test and Aizawa issues an ultimatum.

Fandom: Boku no Hero Academia Title: to work, to rest Author: beeclaws Pairing: None Rating: General Audiences Word Count: 2,797 Summary: Three times Eri falls asleep on Aizawa.

Fandom: Boku no Hero Academia Title: Memezawa  Author: RayShippouUchiha Pairing: Aizawa Shouta/Yamada Hizashi Rating: General Audiences Word Count: 2,177 Summary: Shōta slumps his way out of bed, the top sheet draped over his head and clutched together underneath his chin, and drags himself to the kitchen.

“Stop,” Shōta mutters as he does his best to avoid Bastard and Trash as they wind around his ankles, “I coulda dropped my croissant.”

Shōta pauses for a split second, something about that sentence not sitting right with him, before he shrugs and continues to ooze his way towards the fresh cup of coffee he knows Hizashi will have waiting for him.

Fandom: Boku no Hero Academia Title: belonging  Author: beeclaws Pairing: None Rating: General Audiences Word Count: 3,596 Summary: Izuku is hit by a quirk that temporarily erases more than two years of his memories. Aizawa helps him fill in some missing pieces.

Fandom: Boku no Hero Academia Title: The Future Forged in Our Palms  Author: nolov (louscr) Pairing: None Rating: Teen and Up Audiences Word Count: 14,725 Series: Part 1 of our trust shot full of holes (Words: 27,879 - Works: 4) Summary: The deep breath Izuku takes is steadying, a comfort. Hope newly fostered in his heart is too difficult to stifle.

mightdoriya [4:27] want to play again tomorrow?

There is so much fear in asking, shredding and heavy at his lungs, and it only grows as minutes pass. Izuku has been alone for so long and wariness, in all the forms he knows it, has been etched into his very bones and soul.

Fandom: Harry Potter Title: passageways to windows that don't close Author: basketofnovas (slashmarks) Pairing: None Rating: Mature Word Count: 11,567 Series: Part 1 of what's holding up her face (Words: 19,290 - Works: 2) Summary: After Tonks is kidnapped by Walburga as a child, certain relatives are determined not to let history repeat itself. But the aftermath doesn't end with the kidnappers' deaths. A thank you gift for a beta.

Fandom: Harry Potter Title: i won't just survive (no you will see me thrive)  Author: EclipseWing Pairing: None Rating: Teen and Up Audiences Word Count: 77,395 Summary: In which James Potter isn't as dead as everyone thought and Harry has a strong mistrust of all adults. Reconnecting with his son isn't going to be easy, not just because Harry's in Slytherin.

Fandom: Merlin Title: Empty My Heart  Author: athena_crikey Pairing: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon Rating: Teen and Up Audiences Word Count: 10,401 Summary: The dragon stares down, gaze heavy. “Understand this, Arthur. To find the strength to save you, Merlin has shaken the foundations of this world. He has drawn from nature that which does not belong to him, has filled himself to bursting with the magic of this land. That can only be put right by returning it.”

Fandom: Percy Jackson Series, The Kane Chronicles Title: Summer Heat and Gentler Love  Author: ShadeCrawler  Pairing: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson/Carter Kane Rating: General Audiences Word Count: 37,50 Summary: The time has come for Carter Kane to take on the crown of Egypt. With that and his GED looming in the background, Carter has no time for any distractions. Enter Annabeth Chase and Percy Jackson; the world's best distractions.

Or: Five times Carter Kane was asked on a date and one time he asked his partners on one.

[riahlynn101]

"Eyes Are the Reflection of the Soul" (2).

TW: Attempted murder, suicidal ideation, and blood.

Thank you, guys, for the support on the last chapter <33

Unedited, I'll go back later and edit.

Chapter 2: Full Circle - last chapter

--

It was four in the morning when Inko heard a knock at their front door. At that point in her life, she wasn’t much of a sleeper, so she’d already been up.

She expected her husband. It wouldn’t be the first time Hisashi forgot his keys. He’d lose his head if it wasn’t attached to his neck. But still, something in her said he would've called or texted if that were the case. And he never came home so late. 

So, she got on her tiptoes and looked through the peephole. 

Her suspicion had been right, because on the other side wasn’t her husband of four years. It was a man dressed in a suit and carrying a briefcase standing on their doorstep. “Mrs. Midoriya,” the man said, with an urgency in his tone. “Please, open up. It’s about your family’s safety.”

“Who are you?” She asked, hand on the doorknob. 

“I work with your husband. We don’t have much time. Let me in, and I’ll explain everything.”

Inko reached for her phone before remembering she left it to charge on the nightstand. 

Damn it!

“I’m with the commission.”

“Show me your ID,” she demanded. 

The man sighed, resigned. “Fine, fine. Here.” 

After some more back and forth, Inko allowed the man entry. In retrospect, even with an ID, she might have been inviting a serial killer into their home. But the man had been so convincing, nice too - for a commission worker (Hisashi was different from the other workers at the hero commission, she reasoned to herself.)

“You need to pack any necessities and leave tonight. There’s a car out front that’s going to take you to your new apartment.” He moved as he spoke, checking behind photos and under the coffee table. 

“What? Why? I need to call my husband.”

“No time. Trust me.”

Said the strange man in my house. 

“Please,” the man begged. “I know this is weird and a little scary.” He took Inko’s hands in his own. “I work with your husband day in and day out. And I promised him if things got too bad and he couldn’t come home, I’d be the one to escort you guys to a safer place.”

Tears sprung to Inko’s eyes. “Is…is…” she trailed off, unable to get the awful words out of her mouth. 

“We don’t know. All our agents have a tracker on their phone. And we lost the one on your husband, which means your family might be a target.”

Inko thought about Hisashi and her baby asleep in the next room. “Okay,” she said, steadfast and unwavering even while crying. “Tell me what I need to do.”

-x-x-x-

In the early days, Hisashi cried and cried. He mourned the loss of his home. Of his family. Of normalcy. Of life without fear and pain. 

He felt like the pain was a punishment for not protecting his family. Their final moments were burned into his memory, seared like the metal rod he was poked with. 

It didn’t last long, though. 

Hisashi can’t be entirely sure what happened first. If the people holding him captive grew bored of him, or he just stopped reacting to their abuse. He supposes it doesn’t matter, because either way the physical torture stopped - motivated by his waning emotions or otherwise. 

He was still trapped, however, and rarely did he see anyone else. The only upside to the physical torture was that it meant he saw other people. It meant an escape from his tiny cell with no windows and minimal light. And it meant that his screams and pleads were actually heard instead of muffled by reinforced steel. 

But it stopped, and Hisashi remained locked up in his tiny cell with minimal lighting and no visitors. 

Until he didn’t….

-x-x-x-

“Damn, nerd,” Kacchan teases him. There’s something like a fond smile on his face. It’s abnormal and strange to Izuku. It makes his heart beat faster and face grow hot. 

But considering the circumstances, Izuku is liable to chalk it up to the bizarre encounter he had not two hours earlier. He ignores the softness in Kacchan’s eyes, the concern (both things he’s imagining to make himself feel better). 

“What did Mr. Aizawa say?” 

Izuku’s eyes widened. He tenses up, hand shooting to his pocket to grab his phone. “Shoot! I forgot!”

Kacchan scoffs. “Better get on that.”

“On it! Be right back, Kacchan.”

“No you won’t. Visiting hours are over,” a nurse taking Kacchan’s vitals says. “Your mother’s been informed about the situation. She’ll be here soon. In the meantime, call your teacher and wait in the lobby.”

“Oh,” Izuku says.

“This place sucks ,” Kacchan complains, holding his (good) arm out for the nurse to draw blood. “Can’t you bend the rules just this once?”

The nurse shakes her head. “If I bend them for you-”

“You have to bend them for everyone,” the boys finish for her. 

“Okay. See you later, Kacchan.”

“Later, Izuku.”

If the fond look didn’t make Izuku blush, the use of his name definitely did. He hurries from the room before Kacchan can tease him about it. 

-x-x-x-

Hisashi’s eyes shoot open. 

This isn’t my cell. 

He reaches for his mouth, only to find the muzzle gone. The large machine next to his bed beeps loudly. He groans, holding his hands over his ears. 

He can vaguely remember how, in the first years of his captivity, the absence of noises made him go half-mad. All the things he never thought he’d miss. Cars and people talking loudly and birds singing and animals chattering and even the microwave going off. 

But that was years ago, and now…..

Now he wishes it would all stop.

He glances around the room, looking for an exit. The windows are open (likely against protocol), but Hisashi would rather not die. Not until he finds his baby. 

He grits his teeth, anger coursing through his veins, at the reminder of his son. Those bastards took his baby away from him! His anger quickly turns to ice cold fear. 

They took his son away….

Images of his own torture rings through his mind. Hisashi would like to believe that they wouldn’t subject someone so young and innocent to such barbaric practices, but he has no faith in his fellow man. 

Hisashi glances at the door, before yanking the IV out. A spurt of blood erupts from his vein. The machine next to his bedside beeps even louder. He lets out a hiss between clenched teeth, placing pressure on the crook of his elbow. 

“Damn it.”

Unhooking the heart monitor, he resumes putting pressure on his (now) sluggishly bleeding elbow. He slides off the bed and hobbles for the door. They’ll probably be here soon, so he doesn’t have long. 

-x-x-x-

Hisashi curled up on the cold floor. Since his captors have grown bored of him, he spends his days sleeping. It’s the only way to pass the time, and sometimes he gets to see his baby and wife again. 

They’re always so happy to see him, and sad when he has to leave them. But he promises them, eyes filled with tears no matter how many times he says it, that he’ll see them soon. 

He always wakes up after that. By then it’s feeding time. His muzzle is off and a tray of moldy food  and a glass of water sits near the door. Abstaining from eating isn’t allowed, so Hisashi scarves it down. 

In the early days, he would try to stay awake to see who reattaches his muzzle. But it’s a fruitless endeavor, besides the idea of staying awake has slowly lost its luster. Especially when his family is waiting for him, beckoning him to join them. 

But one day, after eating a bowl of flavorless oatmeal, something shiny under the bowl caught his eye. Carefully, he lifted the bowl up, shooting anxious glances at the door. His eyes widened looking at the image in front of him. 

This…what is this….

His mind was a whirlwind of thoughts, blending together, because in front of him was an image of his son. Not dead, like they showed him, but a few years older, alive. 

With shaking hands, Hisashi turned the photo over. 

Scribbled on the back in black ink are the words: “they lied to you.”

He feigned sleep after that, photo tucked under his shirt. The person that brings the tray isn’t usually the one that takes it (if it’s the same system from when he was first brought here), so he felt nothing when he set their hair on fire while escaping. 

The muzzle wasn’t on all the way, but it’s still more than he can figure out in his adrenaline-filled state. 

A single word replays in his head. The source of his strength and newfound determination. 

“Izuku.”

-x-x-x-

Izuku makes his way to the lobby. His mom doesn’t have her driver’s license and public transportation is limited, so he’ll be there for a while. Hopefully enough time to get his story together.

He can already hear Mr. Aizawa’s voice….

As he turns the corner, passing the floor’s nurses’ station in the process, Izuku’s met with a quiet hallway. The elevators sit at the end. One for the NICU above the floor and the other for the lobby. 

Izuku hurries along. Something about the quiet makes him uneasy. 

He’s never liked elevators, likely stemming from a brief but no less traumatic incident in his childhood where Kacchan jumped in one and got them stuck. 

He sighs, pushing the downwards arrow.

The elevator door opens. Izuku smiles, looking up. 

“My baby!”

Before Izuku can call for help, he’s pulled into the elevator. The doors slide shut behind him. 

-x-x-x-

Hisashi looks over his son, holding him by the shoulders. His eyes are shiny like he’s holding back tears. 

“Oh, it’s okay now. Daddy’s here.” He draws his son closer. Izuku tenses up. “I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you.”

“Let….let go of me!” Izuku shouts, squirming. Two hands shoot out and push at Hisashi’s chest. The impact causes him to stumble back. 

“Ow!” He frowns, rubbing his chest. “That hurt, Izuku. We don’t hit.” Hisashi reaches for his son again, but Izuku throws an arm out. 

“Stay back! I-I don’t want to hurt you, but I…”

The elevator dings and the doors slide open.

Fear settles on Hisashi, like a heavy blanket. He looks at the doctor who looks between them, and knows that these awful people are going to take him away again. They’ll hurt him until he breaks, and it will be all Hisashi’s fault….

He lunges forward, pushing the doctor out and then punches the button for floor 16.

His son gasps, standing in the corner. “Sir,” he murmurs. “I want to help you, but I can’t unless you-”

Hisashi grabs his son by the hair and knocks his head against the wall. It isn’t enough to make Izuku unconscious, but it is enough to make him woozy. His body leans against the wall, blood drips from his head wound. 

“‘M sorry, little one.” He presses a gentle kiss to the wound. “But I promise it will all be over soon. Then, we can see your mommy again.”

Izuku groans, eyes drooping but not fully closing. 

The elevator doors open to the sixteenth floor. It’s surprisingly empty. Not that Hisashi expected any less. He chose this floor for a reason. 

“Wh- where are we going?” Izuku asks. 

“You’ll see when we get there,” Hisashi responds instead. He guides his son down the hall and into the first room, taped off with a plastic tarp. 

He helps Izuku sit on the floor by the window. “This floor is under construction,” he says, looking out the window. “I saw a sign for it while I was looking for you.”

“What do you want?”

Hisashi sighs, looking down at police cars on the street. He wonders if they already know where they are. Either way, it will already be too late. 

“You,” he murmurs. He looks down at his son. “I want us to be a family again. I want to save you from ever being hurt again.”

“Life is full of hurt,” Izuku mumbles, body sagging. His words are slurred, on the edge of barely comprehensible. 

“Not this kind of hurt.” He opens the window. A slight breeze blows through Hisashi’s dark choppy hair. “I really hope that in our next life, I’ll get to be your father again.” And then, as if remembering the last decade, he adds, “I promise I’ll do better next time.”

Izuku has gone quiet. His eyes are slowly blinking, struggling to stay open. 

Hisashi sighs. “I���m sorry,” he murmurs again. “Now, c’mere. Let’s not keep Inko waiting.”

He helps Izuku to his feet. Most of his son’s body weight rests against him. Carefully, he bends Izuku halfway over the windowsill. His heart is pounding. Just a little bit more-

“Hisashi?” He pauses. “Hisashi? Is that you?”

Tears well up in his eyes. This has to be a trick of some sort. An illusion to distract Hisashi from what he has to do. 

But it sounds just like her. 

The temptation is too hard to resist. He looks back. 

She looks different now, older like their son, rounder too. But no less beautiful, and it takes all his will power to look away. “No!” He shouts, starting to push Izuku over.

“Stop!” The illusion of his wife screams. “Please, Hisashi, stop!”

She crosses the room, grabbing a hold of the back of his shirt. “Don’t do it!” He doesn’t need to look at her to know she’s crying. “I don’t know what happened to you, but whatever it is, we can get through it. Just please, please stop!”

He shakes his head. “You’re not real! Go away!”

Izuku dangles out the window, kept from falling by his legs and Hisashi’s grip on his shirt. 

Inko sniffles. “But…but I am. Ask me anything,” she says. “Anything at all.”

He doesn’t have time for this, but a softer part of him forces Hisashi to humor her. “Where did we meet?”

“Our college library. I was a receptionist there. You kept coming back day after day. It took you an entire semester to work up the nerve to ask me out.”

How would they know….

A hand grabs his chin. It’s gentle, soft in its grip. “Hisashi,” she murmurs. “Look at me.”

In a moment of weakness, he does. His eyes meet hers. Her eyes are green, similar but not quite like Izuku’s. Dark green like the foliage of a forest. He chokes on a sob. “Inko?”

“It’s me,” she says, leaning in to kiss him on the cheek. 

Hisashi turns back to his son who is a strong gust of wind away from being a smear on the pavement. Quickly, he pulls Izuku back inside. With Inko’s help, he lays him on the floor.

“I’m sorry,” he mutters. “I…I thought-”

He’s cut off by his wife’s calm voice. “Shhh…it’s okay. Everything is going to be just fine.”

Hisashi doesn’t know if he believes that, but for now he chooses to. If only to relish in his family’s presence for a moment longer. 

-x-x-x-

The sun has hardly set, the last remaining rays of soft orange light stream in through the nursery curtains. Little ducks decorate the light blue fabric - the one thing Hisashi picked out himself for the room. 

His wife had been worried, as most first time mothers are, and it showed (and continues to show now, even almost two years later). And the only thing that helped quell it was to give her free reign over their baby’s room. Aesthetics were never his strong suit nor child safety, so most of the stuff in the nursery was handpicked by Inko. 

Still, the few touches he did put in seem to blend right in. The ducky curtains, the soft bunny toy that Izuku likes to teethe on, and the baby blanket they brought their son home in. 

Hisashi sighs, preparing himself for the battle of wits that’s about to occur. His son wiggles in his arms, still so full of energy in spite of running around for hours on end. 

(“It might be a growth-spurt,” Inko said, trying to keep their son in the tub. “I heard from one of my friends that it makes the little ones antsy.”)

“Beddy-bye,” Hisashi sing-songs, twirling around. Izuku giggles, hands grabbing onto his father’s shirt. 

Hisashi continues to hum. The crib is in sight. If he can distract Izuku long enough, then it’s all downhill from there. He turns again, relishing in the happy giggles he earns for the effort. And it places him right next to Izuku’s bed. 

“And down….” He lifts Izuku up above his head. His son’s smile grows (if that’s possible) showing off all his milk teeth. “We go!” He pretends to drop Izuku, only to catch him a second later.

“Hehehe…daddy….heheh…you’re silly!” Izuku is still recovering from Hisashi’s antics that he allows his father to put him down. It doesn’t last. “Hey!” He pouts. “Daddy!”

“Time for sleepy time, baby.” He leans over the railing. “It’s already past your bedtime.”

“Momma?” Izuku asks. He tries to sit up, but Hisashi is one step ahead and uses his hand to firmly (and gently) keep him laying down. His son grunts, unwilling to give it up. 

“Mommy’s busy, Izu.” Hisashi sighs, remembering the state of their living room. Who knew having kids was akin to giving life to an F-4 tornado? 

Izuku’s lips form an ‘o’ shape. “Oh!” His eyes light up. “Momma’s sleepy, too?”

His wife is a known insomniac, and it’s only gotten worse since she had Izuku. But that’s not something Izuku will understand. 

“Yep, and daddy’s tired too. See.” Hisashi drops his head onto the railing. He closes his eyes and pretends to snore. 

Tiny hands tug on his hair. “Daddy!” Izuku squeals. 

He opens his eyes, looking around. “Wa-wait? Where am I?” He makes his voice exaggerated as if he just came from one of Izuku’s cartoons. 

His son laughs, clapping his hands. 

Hisashi waits for him to stop laughing to brush back his bangs and kiss his forehead. He feels bad that his son inherited his hair texture, but at least he inherited something of Hisashi’s. 

“Daddy?” Izuku asks, calmer now. 

“Yeah, bud?”

“I love you.” His doe eyes slide shut. 

Hisashi smiles softly. “I love you, too.” He gives his son one last kiss goodnight, covering him up with his baby blanket. 

In the hallway, his phone starts to ring. He makes a hissing noise between his teeth, glancing at the nursery’s closed door. He answers it without looking at the caller ID (not something he usually does, but he can’t afford the ringing waking Izuku up). 

“Hello?” 

“Hello, Atakani-san ,” an unfamiliar voice replies. 

“Who is this?” He moves away from the door. 

“Nevermind that. The boss has another job for you.” 

Hisashi presses the phone into his shirt, collecting himself. He inwardly curses the commission. The fuckers promised it was a one and done job. That the villains wouldn’t be able to track him down. 

Liars. 

He resigns himself to working another job. Maybe his superior will allow to reallocate after all is said and done? Inko has been wanting to move out of the suburbs and into the city. 

Hisashi holds the phone to his ear. “Are you there?” The voice asks. 

Unfortunately, he answers inwardly. “Yes, what’s the job?”

“A drug shipment at the East Harbor. Eight O’Clock.”

“But that’s…” Hisashi checks his watch. “In half-an-hour.”

“Then I guess you should hurry. Don’t be late.” The call ends, filling him with an urgent sense of foreboding. Hisashi discards any further thoughts. He sends a quick text to his manager - a formality more than anything else. Just letting him know that the villain they’ve been trying to track down somehow has Hisashi’s personal phone number. 

His mind is a whirlwind of thought, and as he stumbles to put his shoes on, Inko comes to join him at their front door. One of Izuku’s other blankets is folded neatly over her forearm. “Hisashi?” 

“Work,” he explains. “It’ll be quick.” 

“Promise?” She asks timidly. Her eyes look him over as if searching for any hint of a lie. 

“Promise.” He lifts up his pinky finger and hooks it with hers. He kisses her sweetly, hoping to convey that he really, really doesn’t want to leave. That he’d rather stay home and be with his family. 

Inko smiles softly at the ground. “Be safe. I love you.”

“I love you too,” Hisashi says. “I’ll be home before Izuku can say ‘All Might’.” Their son has certainly been trying. As of right now it sounds more like “Ah Met.”

“Hopefully sooner than that,” she mutters. “Izuku and I would miss you too much.”

“Sooner it is.” He kisses her one last time, savoring her warmth before pulling away. As much as he hates it, disobeying his so-called boss would mean possibly endangering his family. And he would rather die than let anything happen to them.