Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

“Mama?”

Don’t call me that.

“Mom?”

Please, don’t.

“Ma?”

Because I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to act.

The three were met with steeled silence.

Izuku spoke, his voice quivering as he choked down escaping hiccups. “M-Mama, w-wh-where a-are we g-going?”

“Don’t call me that,” Nana forced out a sneer, a scowl on her lips as she blinked back the upcoming tears crawling their way up to her eyes. Thank god the rear-view mirror was faced away from her. She faced ahead, hands tightly gripping on the steering wheel as her knuckles turned white.

“B-But M-Mama-”

“DON’T!” She strangled out, a stray tear falling down her cheek though her kids could not see. Her voice cracked, but Nana was sure the kids took it as anger. She was hurt beyond repair - her husband died because of the power she inherited and now she’d have to leave her kids behind knowing the danger she would put them through if she kept them. “Don’t.”

The rest of the drive was shrouded with a thick silence, the only exception being the soft words Tenko and Hana whispered to a crying Izuku.

Nana wished she could comfort her son.

But this was for the sake of their safety.

Make them hate you before you leave, it’ll lessen their pain. Make them hate you before you leave, it’ll lessen their pain. Make them hate you before you leave, it’ll lessen yo ur pain-

Nana pulled the car to a jerky stop, yanking her car door open as a few more tears fell down her cheeks.

She wiped them off before anyone could notice.

Nana stepped out, controlling her emotions and ignoring the watery glares that Tenko sent her way. She walked over to the backseat doors, pulling it open. “Out.”

Hana went first, her hand in Izuku’s tight. A crying Izuku followed next, accompanied by Tenko who was holding his brother’s other hand in tense silence.

Then Izuku let go of his sister’s hand, taking to grabbing Nana’s instead. “M-Mama-?”

“LET GO!” She screamed, shaking the boy off violently as water freely cascaded down her face.

Izuku flinched back, but continued on. “W-Why a-are y-y-you c-crying, M-Mama? Pa-Papa’s alr-right, so s-stop it, h-hm?”

The woman howled in pain, Tenko grabbing the boy back and pushing him behind his figure. “KOTARO IS DEAD, IZUKU. HE’S DEAD AND WHO’S FAULT IS THAT?” She landed a pointed glare at the three kids, suggesting it was theirs. But...

It was mine.

And Nana was crying because she knew that it was all her fault, and she knew that that was the reason she was crying.

But the kids didn’t know that.

Tenko didn’t know that.

Hana didn’t know that.

Izuku didn’t know that.

...Right?

“He’s not dead , Mama!” Izuku screamed, loud cries echoing through the building’s parking lot as he pushed past Tenko, a watery smile on his face. It was a smile that was filled with disbelief, like Izuku was trying to convince himself. “H-He’s not dead… He’s not! HE SAID THAT HE WOULDN’T LEAVE! HE WOULDN’T LEAVE ME BEHIND, HE SAID HE WOULDN’T, HE’S ALIVE, MAMA-”

She slapped him.

“WHAT THE HELL, MA!?” Tenko screamed, grabbing the boy and pushing him behind him once again. Izuku’s hand caressed his cheek, eyes wide and wet as he stared up at his mother. “What’s your problem, woman?! Stop spouting your damn lies, you know full well whose fault it is that Pa died ,” the boy spat, glaring bullets into the woman who had shown him undeniable love mere hours before. No one messes with his brother - not even his own mother.

It was mine.

My fault, it was mine - I know.

She steeled her look, ignoring his comment as she pushed past them and made her way over to the trunk. With a click of a button, the door opened and she dragged three small luggages out, each prepared hastily because she was afraid that they were coming - All For One, that he was coming to kill them.

Nana grabbed the luggages, two handles in one hand, one in the other. “Come.”

“Are you fucking crazy?!” The blue haired ten year old cursed, glaring at the woman’s back. “Why the heck are we here, Ma ? Where are we? Why would you think we’d follow you AFTER WHAT YOU DID TO-”

“Stop it, Tenko,” Hana spoke for the first time, sparing a pleading look at her brother. Her eyes were rimmed red from the sudden loss of her father, pink and swollen - all of theirs was, actually. “Just stop…”

Tenko opened his mouth to protest but was stopped from a tug on his shirt. “N-No, Tecchan-nii. J-Just f-f-follow M-Mama. W-We’re g-g-going t-t-to s-see Pa-Papa, ri-ght?”

I’m sorry, bean.

My Izuku.

____________________

Tenko huffed but allowed himself to be pulled forward by Izuku, Hana in the lead right behind Nana. The rest of the walk was in silence, only Hana taking into account the luggages in their mother’s arms.

Only she understood where they were.

Out of the three, she understood that they were being left in the place where they were - an orphanage.

She didn’t understand why it led to this, though. 

But she did understand that it was for their own good.

She saw the note. She was twelve, not stupid. For the sake of her younger brothers, she’d stay silent. In a way, Hana knew her mother’s way of thinking. Make them hate her so that they wouldn’t dwell on her absence.

What she didn’t get was why her Mom would need to go out of her way to make the three okay with her absence.

Either way, she stayed silent.

____________________

Izuku believed that his Papa was still alive despite seeing that horrid sight on the TV.

Papa said that he’d never leave his side, that he’d always be there for him. He wouldn’t break that promise. He wouldn’t allow himself to get killed.

Right?

Mama said it, too. Mama said that she’d never leave him.

Auntie Chiyo said it.

Uncle Torino said it.

Uncle Haru said it.

Toshicchan said it.

Naomasa said it.

Tecchan-nii said it.

Hana-nee said it.

They all said it.

So they wouldn’t leave him, just as Momma and Kacchan didn’t (technically anyway).

Izuku believed his family, so blindly, he followed Hana who followed Mama. Tecchan was at his side, the boys hand in hand with each other. Tecchan wouldn’t leave Izuku - the warm, kind and brotherly hand in his own said so.

Maybe he shouldn’t have been so trusting.

The family of four - no, five (it’s always been five, it still is five, Papa’s here) - reached the doors of the building. Mama pulled it open, dragging the three luggages (he still didn’t get why they were on vacation when Papa wasn’t there yet ) over the bump as the three followed behind.

“Hey, Ma ,” Tecchan said the last word in a mocking tone, albeit shaky. “Why’re we here?”

Mama only ignored the boy.

Izuku let go of his older brother’s hand, passing Hana in favor of reaching his Mama, who had walked over to the reception desk. The seven year old tugged on his Mama’s pants, looking up at her with big, teary eyes. “M-Mam-a, w-w-why a-are we h-here? W-We,” he sniffed, wiping at his nose as he wondered why his voice was so shaky. Nothing was wrong. “W-We n-need to w-w-wait for P-Papa.”

Nana ignored the boy, letting go of the luggages in favor of leaning onto the desk. She didn’t look down at him, though she shook - it wasn’t visibly noticeable, but Izuku felt it. He knows he did.

He thinks he did…

He wonders if he imagined the small whimper that escaped from the taller’s lips.

Hana-nee stayed silent behind him, while Tecchan was gradually becoming quieter.

Mama was saying big words to the receptionist - big words that Izuku couldn’t yet piece together. Izuku looked back at his brother for help because may be Mama can’t hear me? Izuku was met with a paling Tenko.

He reached over to his older brother, one hand still firmly grasping his mother’s pants as the other grabbed his brother gently. “W-What’s wrong, Te-nii?”

Tecchan only continued staring up at their mother with a glint of realization and betrayal in his eyes. “Are you fucking serious, Ma ?”

Izuku gasped at the bad word, the seven year old still as pure as he was before.

Mama, on the other hand, remained neutral - though Izuku swore he felt the slightest bit of stiffness from the woman.

Mama turned around, looking down at her three children with a cold stare. 

Izuku thought it looked strained.

She grabbed each of the three luggages and shoved it towards its owner, dusting the boy’s hand off of her pants nonchalantly. Izuku frowned. 

Mama cleared her throat, opening her mouth to speak.

But Izuku beat her to it, looking up at his Mama with big doey eyes.

“M-Mama, w-where’s your su-suitcase? ‘N P-Papa’s?”

This place was a hotel, Izuku concluded. It looked very rundown compared to where the Shimuras’ normally went for family vacation, but it was a hotel nonetheless.

Right?

Mama made a quiet choked sound that went unnoticed by the Izuku’s siblings. But Izuku heard it… at least he thinks he did. The flash of pain on the woman’s face was gone before the boy could even blink.

The woman let out a deep sigh, seemingly trying to avoid Izuku’s eyes. “Don’t give the workers a hard time,” the woman whispered almost inaudibly, pinching at the bridge of her nose. She looked towards Izuku. “This is an orphanage, boy . I’m done with you three. I’m,” she paused briefly, a cloudy look in her eyes. If Izuku had anything to say, he’d say that he saw a hint of fury and grief behind it, pain. “I’m done .”

Tecchan let out a hysterical laugh, lightly scratching on his neck - well that was new . “ Really ? Now that Pa’s dead , you’ve decided to trash us, too?” Izuku flinched at the word ‘dead,’ but stayed silent as Tecchan shakily continued. “Y-You’re leaving us too, Ma? Even Izu? YOU SAID YOU’D NEVER LEAVE, WHAT ARE YOU DOING NOW ?”

Silence rang throughout the empty room, small heads peeking out from cracked doors.

Mama looked down at the boy, her gaze cold and calculated - so different from the loving eyes that Izuku was so used to. She walked past the three and towards the door, placing her hand on the handle as she paused. 

She craned her head slightly to the left, half of her face showing to those who turned around. 

Tecchan was frozen in his spot - from shock or rage, he couldn’t tell.

Hana was silent, looking down at the ground with a faraway look.

Izuku was crying, silent tears falling down his cheeks as he turned around and faced his mother. He gave a broken smile. “M-Mama’s not leaving, she’s-she’s coming b-back. R-Right, Mama?”

A tear fell down Nana’s face - Izuku saw - but the woman turned around before Izuku could mention anything.

And Izuku was confused.

A small inhale came from his Mama. “Goodbye,” she said, loud enough for the three to hear.

The next words came whispered, not meant for the ears of the three.

But of course Izuku noticed.

He knew Mama wouldn’t leave him - at least not without reason.

So he noticed. He had paid attention to his adoptive mother’s behavior of the day - how she saw grieving, holding back cries, and ever so slightly shaking.

He noticed.

And he heard those words, sad and filled with motherly pain, “my kiddos.”

And his Mama was out the door.

____________________

It was done.

There was no more going back.

With each step Nana took towards the car, a heavier weight was dropped on her shoulders. However at the same time, Nana felt lighter because now she knew that her children were out of harm's way. They'd be safer there than they could ever be with her.

Her body shook with suppressed sobs, her hand angrily wiping at the rogue tears dripping down her face. She could hear the agonizing cries of Izuku, her son, from the other side of the thin doors of the orphanage and despite her situation, she wanted nothing more than to run back and scoop the boy into her arms.

But she knew she couldn’t.

She shouldn’t.

Because All For One was out there, and she knew her fated encounter was close.

Too close.

Kotaro’s death was a warning.

A warning that said that the evil knew her personal connections, her family. That they had the upper hand, that she should watch out.

So she left her kids there to fend for themselves. It was heartbreaking but it was necessary.

She knew that it was necessary, but she wanted to throw that all away the moment she heard Izuku’s screams and Tenko’s audible struggle in holding the younger back.

Nana thought back to Hana, how she was uncharacteristically quiet. She must have known, her smart little girl - the reason why Nana had to do this.

Maybe if Nana could defeat the villain, she would come back to collect her kids. It was unlikely she knew. All the other holders of One For All couldn’t defeat this dark evil, so who was to say that she would, too? She was already getting weaker, having already given her quirk to Toshinori - her unofficial official son. She knew the chances of her success were slim, but she wouldn’t give up.

Because that is what a true hero would do. She just wished that she could uphold that title to the end. Maybe if she defeated this man, Toshinori wouldn't have to suffer the same fate all her predecessors had before.

… For now though, at least for this short moment, she would allow herself to be Shimura Nana - the loving mother of three.

And so as soon as she closed the door to her car, she broke down in tears.

____________________

Torino Sorahiko was devastated, to say the least.

He knew it was for their own good, after Kotaro’s sudden death. Izuku, Tenko, and Hana would be better off somewhere far, far away. Away from the villain’s lurking eyes and slimy clutches.

He knew they would be better off with him not knowing of their whereabouts. They could live normal lives without direct connections to enemies of heroes so long as they get adopted by a good family.

He was just sad that he’d lost four of his close family all in one day. Heck, he might lose the whole Shimura family if things didn’t go according to plan.

Chiyo was sad, too, along with Toshinori, Naomasa and Haruta. They all understood, though. They were all informed to not go looking for the three kids. It was for their safety, they all knew.

It didn’t stop them all from promising to go looking out for them after all of this was over. 

All For One would be defeated, the villains would be arrested, and the big family would go back out looking for their missing pieces. Nana would lead them there, of course. Torino couldn’t imagine a world without his best friend.

Everyone would be happy.

But alas, this is a world with cruel twists and turns, and that was but a figment of his imagination.

____________________

Tenko was mad.

And sad, but mostly mad.

Ma said that she’d always be there for the three, but here they were, abandoned in a crappy rundown orphanage.

Tenko was beyond pissed that his said Ma would leave them there right when they needed her the most, when Pa died . Though admittedly he was more pissed that she had the nerve to abandon poor Izuku when they all knew what he’d suffered from.

I mean, seriously, the boy was persistent in supplying himself time-travel lies in order to fill the void of his missing mother and Kacchan .

Really, Tenko wanted to bash his brother’s biological mother inward, too, but whoever this Bakugou Kacchan person was had hell to pay.

Tenko still remembered his younger’s heart wrenching sobs that day at the park.

They were the loudest, most vulnerable cries the boy had ever heard from the younger - and that was saying a lot. His brother tends to cry more than not, but he’d usually get over the matter pretty quickly.

So when Tenko found Izuku’s wailing louder than the park incident, his loving opinion on his mother had changed fairly fast.

First she tosses them in the car and packs a load of shit into small luggages.

Then she leaves them in an orphanage right after Pa dies.

Now she’s the cause of Izuku’s pain?

Call him protective, but his brother was everything to him.

Pulling him away from the door after Ma had decided to yeet herself out of the three’s lives had been emotionally wrecking to the blue haired child, especially when Izuku had passed out from exhaustion.

The three Shimuras’ (with Izuku on Hana’s back) were led to their room shortly after, which they shared with a large majority of the kids staying there (the rest were crammed into the room next door). Luckily, each kid got their own bed.

After gently plopping Izuku onto the bed furthest in the corner, Hana and Tenko made their way to their own (literally right next to their little brother’s).

Time passed as normally as it could have with Tenko ignoring the feeling of dread rising in his chest as he also pushed the painful thought of his father to the back of his head.

Hana was quieter than usual, but she was still there for her younger brothers - at least they had her still. She was comforting to the two in this dark situation, it was nice. Tenko was grateful.

Somewhere along the way, Izuku woke up. His eyes were puffy and swollen, cheeks red from rushing blood. Other than the small sniffles and doubtful mutters, the boy was silent. 

Tenko left the boy to himself, occasionally going over to his side to whisper sweet lies in his ears.

At lunch time, people found out about Izuku’s quirkless state due to his absentminded replies. He was shunned for it. Tenko and Hana were there by his side, protecting him from the hits, but Izuku took no mind to them. Or to the bullies, either.

He looked out of it.

Dinner time was the same, though Tenko thought that Izuku was looking a lot better. There was a glint in his eyes, something lit beneath them. Tenko couldn’t place his finger on just exactly what it was.

So when bedtime came, he questioned nothing, only adjusting his gloves and plopping himself down on bed.

He turned over and said a small, “night, nee-chan,” to Hana, to which she hummed back.

Tenko rolled his body around to face Izuku, who was staring out the window, back faced to his brother.

“Izu?” 

The boy turned his head ever so slightly, dull green eyes shining in the moonlight from the window above. The fire was brighter than before, when it had been dinner time, and Tenko could see what it was now.

Determination.

Light from the outside shone on the boy’s dark green curls, his eyes reflecting the shine. Izuku looked back at his brother almost robotically, like he wasn’t fully there. Like he was preoccupied with thinking.

Tenko shook it off. It wasn’t unusual in this type of situation, he couldn’t blame the boy. Tenko knew his little brother, knew of his abandonment issues and the strange ways he’d cope.

Perhaps it was different this time - they were basically abandoned by the whole family crew this time - Izuku, Hana, and himself.

“Don’t worry about it, Zuku,” he whispered, mindful of the other dozen sleeping children in the room. “You’ll get use to it in no time, you’ve got nee-chan and nii-chan with you," Tenko jabbed a thumb to his chest for emphasis.

Izuku was silent for a moment before humming, and Tenko thought that was the end of the conversation. He turned his body over again, back flat against the hard mattress.

But Izuku spoke.

“Tecchan-nii?”

Tenko shifted his head to the side. “Hm?”

“Love you.”

And Tenko’s heart clenched, though he doesn’t know why.

He doesn’t know that those words would be the last he’d hear from the boy.

“I love you, too, Izu.”

And the room was met with silence once again, safe for the soft snores coming from the others.

Tenko let himself drift off into a peaceful slumber - well, as peaceful as he could get with the image of his father’s corpse burning in the back of his lids.

____________________

Mama wasn’t gone.

Well, okay, she was gone.

But Izuku wouldn’t let her be gone any longer.

The whole day had gone miserably for the boy, thoughts and possibilities swirling around in his head.

He still believed that Papa wasn’t gone, that he was just at home waiting for his children to arrive.

But somewhere in the back of his mind said otherwise.

He ignored the voice.

Everything around him was blurred. He wasn’t paying attention to anyone, though his brain still processed the words the other kids had asked him. His brain still supplied the curious children answers, replies.

So when he let his quirklessness slip during lunch, he wasn’t really surprised.

He wasn’t concerned like he usually was, he wasn’t trying to hide his lack of quirk like he usually did.

He didn’t care what other people had to say right then because he had other things to worry about.

The course of the day had went with Izuku muttering to himself that his Mama had a reason for this, that she’d come back for them.

After a few hours had passed, Izuku realized that this wouldn’t be the case.

Mama wasn’t coming back, so Izuku would just have to go back to her.

So for the rest of the day, he tried very hard to act normal, conversing with his siblings and giving lopsided smiles (even though he knew they saw through it - his eyes lacked its usual shine). 

Izuku planned.

He’d escape sometime later that day, somehow (he wasn’t really sure how yet) make his way back to his Mama, convince her to take them back, and then come back for Tecchan and Hana.

Easy!

Originally he planned on taking his siblings with him, but later thought against it.

Hana was a nagger, always sticking to safety precautions. She wouldn’t be up for the adventure. Tecchan didn’t mind getting dirty, but when it came to Izuku, he was pretty much just like Hana - overprotective.

So he figured he’d leave them for a while as he’d go out looking for Mama.

He already knew where they lived (he didn’t know how far he was from it, but it couldn’t be that far, right?), and the name of their school if need be. Maybe he can get someone to put it into a GPS and drive him there? Yeah, there seemed to be cars around.

Dinner passed in a flash and Izuku was eager to get to bed. Conveniently enough, there was a window right next to his bed. It was bigger than the one in the restroom at home and Izuku already knew there wasn’t an alarm in the orphanage’s vicinity. They could barely pull through with feeding all the children there, anyway.

Despite the slight swole in his eyes, Izuku was bouncing, hopping off his chair as he impatiently waited for his siblings.

“Nii-chaaan, nee-chaan, hurry up!” He whined, grabbing Tecchan’s sleeve and tugging lightly as he pointed in the direction of their rooms.

It was fake, his optimism.

Right then he wanted to sink into the floor and cry for his Mama.

He was sure Tecchan and Hana could tell - no one would be this happy in their situation. Izuku was never a very good liar.

His energy was spent on fallen tears, but his determination burned strong.

So he dealt with it.

Izuku stomped childishly, tugging and pulling as he pointed at the kids already making their way to their designated bedrooms. There was only two rooms for the children in the orphanage - all the beds were crammed right next to each other, literally touching.

“Coming, Zuzu,” Tecchan said, rolling his eyes playfully though Izuku swore he could see some type of concern, “give me a moment, ‘kay?”

The boy huffed but nonetheless let go, instead going over to Hana. “Ha-nee, let’s goooo.”

The eldest chuckled lightly, though to Izuku it was obvious that she had a lot on her mind. He saw that her eyes were tinted a light red. She’d been crying, too. If anything, that fact only made Izuku more determined. He’d get them out of that place soon, he’d find Mama and Papa and connect the family again.

And their days would go on as normal, just like it had been only just yesterday.

Auntie Chiyo would be ever the nagging woman.

She didn’t abandon him.

Uncle Torino would go on with his dad - uncle? - jokes.

He didn’t abandon him.

Uncle Haru would tell his work encounter stories from his life as a detective.

He didn’t abandon him.

Toshicchan would scoop him up and they would laugh as he’d spin him in the air.

He didn’t abandon him.

Nao-nii would still steal his cookies, no matter how annoying it was. It was their thing (Izuku would never admit the fun in snagging it back and seeing the playful pouts on Naomasa's face).

He didn’t abandon him.

Mama would be Mama - the one who brought him in, the one who promised to stay by his side. Mama was Mama, kind and loving.

She didn’t abandon him.

And Papa would lift him up on his shoulders, take him to parks. They’d laugh together, play together, cry together. Papa was Papa, kind and loving.

He wasn’t dead.

H e di dn ’t a b an do n hi m.

Hana hummed down at the boy, smiling. “Yeah, Izukkun. Let’s wait for Tenko first though.”

Izuku groaned but complied, watching as Tecchan carefully lifted his plate - and Izuku’s, oops! - off the table, pinkie up in precaution, and disposed of them at the dishwasher.

“Finally,” Izuku whined, rushing over to Tenko and grabbing his wrist, dragging his two siblings toward the rooms. “Wan’ sleep.”

Oh please, even if he desperately wanted to, he couldn’t. Not with everything that was going on, anyway.

Tecchan ruffled the boy’s hair carefully as they made their ways over to their beds - Izuku’s was right next to the draft window; it was his escape route. “M’kay, Zu. I’mma tuck you in now.”

Izuku nodded, climbing onto the end of the bed as Tecchan did the same. They couldn’t really step to the side - the beds were touching, basically connected. Tenko crawled onto his own post and Izuku did the same to his.

“Wait,” Izuku shouted, receiving glares from their other roommates. He ignored them, rolling across Tenko’s bed and onto Hana’s, where she sat. Izuku hugged his sister tight, as they usually did at night time. He smiled brightly (or as bright as he could manage) before shooting her a tired but sincere, “love you, Ha-nee.”

The girl hugged back with a smile painted over her delicate (so so very fragile) face before she whispered the words back. “Love ya, too, my little green bean.”

Izuku giggled. “See you soon, nee-chan,” he said, though Hana seemed to only think of it further come morning time.

“G’night, Zukkun.”

So Izuku rolled back to his bed, playfully rolling over Tecchan’s knees in the process. 

And Tenko tucked the boy in as per usual, like before when they had shared a bedroom in their home, before heading under the blankets himself.

Izuku was left to his thoughts for a short moment, his back turned to his siblings as he stared at the moon out the window. Somewhere under that same sky, his Mama was there waiting for him. Papa, too. And Uncle Torino and Auntie Chiyo and Uncle Haru and Naocchan and Toshicchan.

Izuku watched as the cars passed by - only a few drove through every few minutes. Hopefully one would let him hitch a ride. He’d need to walk further through the dark road before asking someone - he didn’t want anyone to (correctly) think that he was from the orphanage. A little further down and he’d ask someone for a ride back home.

Silently he watched through the window, vaguely acknowledging the soft snores of the other orphans (Izuku wasn’t an orphan though!).

A soft voice broke him out of his trance. It was Tecchan. “Izu?”

Izuku rolled his body over instinctively, eyes landing on the blue-haired boy yet seemingly passing through. He stared with dull eyes, mind still running through escape plans.

After a couple seconds of silence, Tecchan whispered, “Don’t worry about it, Zuku. You’ll get used to it in time, you’ve got nee-chan and nii-chan with you.” Tecchan’s brows were scrunched in concern, a comforting look on his face.

Izuku blinked once. Then twice before he hummed in response.

But he already knew that he wouldn’t ‘get used to it.’ He wouldn’t allow himself to, he didn’t want to. He didn’t want to live in a world without his whole family.

He’d much rather accept death.

So Tecchan turned over onto his back, taking to staring up at the ceiling and leaving Izuku to his thoughts.

Soon, Izuku would leave. He’d come back, of course, for the sake of his two loving siblings. He just needed to patch things up with Mama and Papa.

A few moments passed, soft snores playing in the background.

Good. He needed everyone to be asleep before he made himself scarce. He needed to wait for Tecchan and Hana and all the others to fall asleep before he slipped out the window.

Izuku blinked some of his thoughts away, instead focusing on what was right in front of him. Tecchan - a family that he so dearly wanted to protect, childishly so. Izuku would be leaving him - for a short while, but so nonetheless.

He whispered, barely audible. “Tecchan-nii…?”

And he wondered if the boy was still awake.

He was. Tecchan hummed, shifting his head to the side.

Izuku took in the boy’s features not knowing that this would be the last he’d see the boy in a long while. His big brother, who cared for him like a parent despite the three - twenty? - year age gap. His big brother, who played with him carefully, demonstrating his quirk pridefully in helpful ways such as disintegrating the trash (and not so helpful ways such as accidentally destroying Izuku’s Recovery Girl figurine). Izuku appreciated the boy leaps and bounds.

“Love you,” he said, because he truly did. Maybe, he thinks, even more than his own birth mother, who left but didn’t leave.

And Tecchan smiled softly back, though there was a twinge of pain in his crimson red eyes.

“I love you, too, Izu.”

And Izuku let his brother rest, for he loved him as a brother and wanted the best for him. Together in the future, they would be heroes along side Toshicchan, and Mama and Papa would be there to see it.

He’d make sure of it.

____________________

He was out.

Izuku’s escape had been fairly clean, he’d say. He laid there in bed for nearly an hour after talking with his brother, waiting for the others to fall into a slumber.

Then he opened the window quietly and slid out into the night, carefully closing the slide behind him. Simple, yes, but Izuku had always thought that that was the way to go.

And now he was walking alongside the dark path of the road (sticking to nearby trees - he’d get closer to the road as soon as he felt that he was further from the orphanage).

Izuku had been walking for about two hours now - maybe three - and he was getting tired. He didn’t regret his decision, no, he just regretted eating so little at dinner. He was far enough from the orphanage, he thought, so he started making his way over to the side of the road as he avoided the critters that lurked on tall grass.

He would find his Mama soon enough, he just needed to hitch a ride in one of the cars (ignoring the lingering voice of his parents in his head that said to never talk with strangers).

Upon reaching the roadside, Izuku stood there purposefully contorting his features into one where he’d look like he’d break down at a moments notice, gaze lingering on passing cars in hopes of guilt-tripping one to stop.

Several cars passed by him, some even slowing near his area before hesitantly driving on before one finally stopped. It didn’t take as long as he had expected and for that he was thankful - his stomach was making all kinds of weird noises.

The car door was hastily thrown open, a young woman - possibly around his Mama’s age - stepping out with a worried expression on her face.

Izuku looked up at her with a hand clutched to the side of his stomach, massaging gently as if it’d help his hunger reside.

“Oh, honey, are you alright?” The woman said, dark green curls not unlike his own basking in the light of her car’s headlights.

As if on cue, Izuku’s stomach made a low growl, his eyes shining with unshed tears. “C-C-can you t-take me to m-my Mama, please?”

The woman cooed softly and comfortingly. “Oh, sweetie,” she stretched her hand out to the boy, encouraging him to grab it. He did, “do you know where your mom is?”

Izuku shook his head (though he knew the actual address of his house, he wouldn’t tell a stranger - hypocritical of you, Izuku ), but told the woman, “I-I dunno h-home, but I go to A-Aldera Primary School? I kn-know home from there.”

She pulled him up, hand in hand as they walked towards the car. “Okay baby, we can take you back to your Mama, hm?”

He sniffed, nodding. Something about the woman made him feel safe, like she was worth trusting.

The woman opened the backseat of the car door, ushering the boy in and buckling him in before  closing the door behind him and making her way to the passenger’s seat.

In the car, Izuku noticed there were two other people in the car - a man in the driver’s seat who glanced at him comfortingly in the rear view mirror, and a girl around his age seated a seat away from him.

The woman from before got in and closed her door, turning her body to look around at Izuku. “What’s your name, sweetie?”

“I-Izuku. Shimura Izuku.”

“Alrighty Izuku-kun, what was the name of your school again? We’ll drive you over, hmm?”

“Aldera P-Primary, miss.”

“Awh, no need for that, call me Yuuto! Akatani Yuuto. This is my husband Saito, and that,” she gestured to the girl next to him, “is my daughter, I-”

“I can introduce myself, momma!” The girl huffed and crossed her arms, but turned to Izuku with a bright smile. “‘M name’s Inko! Nice to meet you, Shimura-san!”

Izuku smiled; tired, but not lacking any energy. “That’s momma’s name!” He grinned. “Y’ don’t have to call me Shimura, Aka-chan! Izuku is fine!”

Inko smiled. “M’kay, Izuku, then you can call me Inko!” Her dark green curls (like his momma’s and his own, he notices) bounce lightly around her shoulders, emerald eyes (like his momma’s, he notes again) shining in the moonlight.

Yuuto smiles at the exchange, shifting in her seat as she whips out her phone and types in the school name into the GPS. Soon enough, they’re driving in the dead of night (Izuku assumes it is around three in the morning) as the two in the backseat make small talk tiredly. Thankfully, the nice family blesses him with crackers, quieting his stomach’s angry growls.

“Why are you driving at this time?” Izuku asks Inko, tilting his head to the side as he munched down on the cracker.

“Why were you walking at this time?” Inko shoots back, crossing her tiny arms smugly - it was a playful jab, of course.

Izuku opens and closes his mouth like a fish, noticing Yuuto’s gaze from the rear view mirror. “I… I, uh,” he starts, nibbling on the chip before a bright smile takes over his face. “I was looking for Mama and Papa so we could all be happy again!”

Inko nods, accepting this answer while Yuuto gives a questioning look at the wording. She leaves it at that, though.

“Well, we were coming back from a trip! We’ve been gone for a whole week! A week! ” Inko held up a finger, wagging it in the boy’s face.

“Oh-ho? One time, Mama and Papa took us out for two weeks! We stayed at a biiiig hotel.”

Inko gasped. “Two?!”

The two continued to talk animatedly towards each other, both growing closer with each growing second. Turns out they had a lot in common, even bringing up how similarly they looked for a short while. When the conversation turned to quirks, Izuku was glad to know that Inko didn’t care about his quirkless stature - Yuuto and Saito didn’t seen disgusted either! 

The boy quickly became a close friend to Inko. Izuku had even shifted over to the middle seat to get closer with the girl so they could play chopsticks (it was a very confusing game for the seven year olds).

Eventually they grew tired, Izuku taking to leaning on the girl's (who was older by nearly two weeks) shoulder as she rested her head on his own fluffy bundle. Soon enough the two fell asleep, heads lolling and bodies lightly bobbing through the rocky terrain. Izuku remained unaware of the picture Yuuto snagged, only later remembering it from a framed photo on his momma's bedside table back in the future. Apparently, the green-headed boy was his own godfather.

He'd realize later on with a bitter laugh. He was named after his own dead self.

Soon enough, Izuku would be back at the doorstep of his house, where his Mama would welcome him with open arms. 

Their family would be back together in no time.

____________________

“Izuku! Psst! Hey, hey, Izukkun!”

A light pat fell on his cheek, the boy jolting awake, shaking his head and blinking the grogginess out of his eyes. He smacked his lips together before squinting at his blurred surroundings, “hmn, wha?”

A laugh, “We’re at your school now, baby.”

He turned his head at the voice and found Yuuto hovering over Inko’s awakening figure from an open car door. Izuku rubbed at his eyes, the girl to his right doing the same. He lowered them and hummed, closing his eyes once again and leaning back in his seat to drift back to sleep.

But then it occurred to him why he was there as his brain filed through the day’s events. He jolted forward again, more awake now at the thought of being a step closer to some form of normalcy. “‘M gonna see Mama again!”

“Yeah, sweetpie,” Yuuto said, reaching over and grabbing the boy from underneath his pits (after unbuckling) and lifting him out of the car. She set him on the ground, where Izuku beamed up at her. “Now, do you want us to just go ahead and drive you there anyway? You can just navigate Saito through the neighborhood, you know.”

Izuku paused a bit before shaking his head. “No thank you, it’s fine! Papa said to not lead people to our house for safety,” he said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck because heck, he just hopped into their car without a question and now wouldn’t let them go to his home. “But it’s not that far away, so you don’t have to worry! It’s just a lil’ over there,” he pointed nearby.

“Zuzu’s leaving?” Inko nodded sleepily as she tried to focus in on the boy.

Izuku nodded energetically despite it being five in the morning. “‘M gonna see Mama n’ Papa again, Aka-chan!” He cheered, using the name he insisted on calling her - calling the girl his momma’s name sounded weird on his tongue. “I’ll call you over again, hmm? We can have playdates! You can meet Nii-chan and Nee-chan! And Toshi n’ Nao-nii!”

Inko laughed, blearily reaching down from her seat in the car to tug at one of Izuku’s curls gently. “Promise?”

“Yeah, pinky promise!” He reached up and intertwined said pinky. “Just call the school and they can give you Mama’s number, I think. Then we can play!”

“Mhm!”

So Izuku waved goodbye to the family of three, watching as their car drove away and left Izuku under the light of the street lamps (yes, it took much convincing for Yuuto to leave the boy).

Turning on his heel, Izuku set out for his home which was really just a five minute walk away. After a while, he was at the doorstep. He casually walked up to it, bubbling with childish joy, and knocked.

No one answered.

So he knocked again.

And again.

And again.

No answer.

Then he rang the doorbell.

Again.

And again.

And again, before spamming it with all his might.

No answer.

Something rose in his chest - it was a familiar, horrible feeling, he knew - but he pushed it down, instead taking to wobbly smiling as he slowly pounded on the door. “Mama, Papa, can you open the door, please?” He whispered to the hard wood. “Mama? You left us at that daycare place and didn’t come back, so I came! I-I’m here now, so can you open the door? T-Then we can go back and get nii-chan and nee-chan.”

He continued to mutter to the door, like someone would hear, as he knocked, like someone would answer.

But as the minutes passed, no one came from the inside.

And something told Izuku that no one was home right then.

So he let up on knocking, instead sliding down with his back to the door. “Mama will come in the morning…” he muttered to himself, pulling his knees to his chest and resting his arms to his head.

She didn’t leave me.

Izuku fell asleep repeating those words in his head.

____________________

A loud boom shook the boy awake, heavy vibrations resounding from the ground as screams of terror filled the air, and Izuku was reminded of that day .

Dread clawed at his chest as he abruptly stood up, legs popping from the change in position. He wiped at the dried trails of tears, itchy and cold, as he stared ahead into the smoky blue sky. The commotion seemed far away, yet the impact he felt from where he stood felt as if he were right next to the fight.

Villain attacks were normal in this day and age, nothing out of the ordinary, so Izuku would usually just stay where he was or go inside to watch from the TV.

But something told Izuku that this was different.

His arms were shaking, fingers twitching - and when had he started crying?

When had he started running…?

As the minutes passed, the seven year old grew closer and closer and the smell of rubble and debris filled his lungs. The screams grew louder with each step he took, people running past the boy through the trees - one had even tried to stop him, yelling, “What are you doing, boy? RUN-”

He was impaled by a rogue piece of a building.

And Izuku stared at the body, bloodied and smushed, his own eyes wide with fear. He stood frozen in his spot, taking a look around him just to take in the amount of dead carcasses around him.

Something screamed at him to run, hide. 

But his legs moved without a thought, small body maneuvering past the trees, helicopters from local news stations circling above.

He didn’t know why he was running forward.

If anything, he should have been running back.

All the logical parts of his brain screamed at him to flee, but his legs apparently disagreed.

So he continued to run, tears streaming down his face all the while (for what reason, he did not know - but he could tell it wasn’t from the people around him).

The amount of trees he passed lessened, the amount of dead bodies like Papa’s  increasing with each step.

He ran past them.

Buildings came into view, the smoke heavier.

He ran.

Helicopters circled the perimeter, suicidal maniacs (like he could say anything, he was literally coming at the source) leaning out with heavy camera equipment positioned at the fight.

One helicopter went down after getting hit with a flying piece of cement.

He ran.

Until he was right there, mere meters away from the villain and the hero.

A man with white hair stood in the middle of the rubble, a woman staring up at him bloodied and defiant from his feet, tears streaming down her frustrated face.

His Mama.

It was his Mama.

Bloodied and banged up, a glint of resignation and acceptance in her wet eyes.

The man stared down at his Mama, body encased in a powerful light. He quirked the corners of his lip up, a calm smile filled with murderous mirth. He cooed, “Awh, what’s that, Shimura Nana? Done playing already?”

Mama’s voice was shaky, but it held a sort of grieving defiance. “Fuck off, All For One. You killed him, you killed us ,” she chuckled humorlessly. “My family,” she wiped at the blood dribbling out of her mouth. “YOU KILLED MY FAMILY! ”

And she shot up, activating her Float quirk as she now looked down at the still-calm man. “YOU KILLED US ALL! ALL OF THEM, MY HUSBAND, MY KIDS,” she dove down and shot a powerful, strength-quirked kick at ‘All For One,’ she had called him, “me…”

Her voice cracked as he dodged with ease.

And Izuku watched in horror, invisible to the two as they fought.

Izuku watched in horror as he stood there, the dust of collapsed buildings hiding his trembling frame, the smell of decaying bodies filling his lungs.

Izuku watched in horror as his Mama finally landed a blow to the man’s shoulder, watched as he shrugged it off as if it were nothing.

Izuku watched in horror as his Mama hesitated at the lack of reaction from the man.

Izuku watched in horror as All For One grabbed his floating Mama by the leg and smashed her down.

He watched in horror as his Mama’s head came into contact with the floor, a loud thud echoing through the rubble.

And for a second, the world was silent.

Izuku’s breath hitched in his throat as he watched the villain laugh, his Mama twitching as she tried to get up.

She couldn’t, and Izuku realized that his Mama's skull was bashed into the concrete.

All For One laughed, exhaling. “Ahh, so this is it now?”

Mama didn’t answer.

The man clicked his tongue in disappointment, fist crackling with energy, the only sound coming from the buzz of the recording news stations. “Goodbye, Shimura Nana.”

And he brought his fist down.

Down.

Down.

Down.

“STOP IT!”

And the man stopped.

And before Izuku knew it, he was in front of his Mama, standing protectively between the man and his mother.

The man stared, eyes wide with something akin to humored shock.

Izuku stared back, eyes scrunched in a determined scowl.

The whole area was silenced, sans the buzz of the helicopters.

Then the man laughed hard , throwing his head back and doubling over.

And Izuku felt a hand grab at his ankle from the ground, so he looked down with a fiery gaze, though he was still shaking terribly. 

“I-Izuku,” his Mama looked up at him - no, looked through him, her eyes dilated and dull, brows scrunched as she tried to focus on the boy, “is that you, I-Izu? My green b-bean?” She coughed out blood.

And for a second to Izuku, the threat was gone, the rest of the world a white blur. All For One was gone, the surrounding dead bodies disappeared, the rubble gone, his Mama’s injures gone.

And for a second, Izuku was back at home with his family, curled in the middle of the couch as they laughed amongst themselves. 

Tecchan was there, on the ground at his feet smiling up at the boy.

Hana was there, playing with Naomasa, both on the adjacent couch.

Auntie Chiyo was there, throwing skittles at each and everyone there.

Uncle Torino was there, happily catching the candy in his mouth as he laughed with Uncle Haru.

Mama was there, sitting down next to Izuku on the couch, playing with his unruly curls as she made him laugh.

Papa was there, smiling at this one, big happy family.

He wasn’t dead. He was here, with Izuku, with Mama.

Izuku was there, sandwiched between his parents, a toothy grin on his face as he basked in this deep, deep love.

He was happy.

He was happy.

He… He was happy.

He was so fucking happy... What happened to that...?

But as soon as it arrived, it was gone.

The world came back into focus - Mama’s red-stained face, the smell of decaying bodies, the buzz of the helicopters, the scrapes of pain on his hands and knees (and how did that get there?), and the man who had caused it all.

All For One was laughing.

Mama was looking through Izuku again and she sure as hell wasn’t sitting on a couch right now.

His family was gone.

And with a look up at the villain, Izuku finally came to terms with something.

Papa was dead.

But still, with tears dripping down his cheeks, he smiled down at his Mama. “Yeah, Mama. It’s me.”

And something told Izuku that his Mama didn’t believe him, that she believed that she was dreaming in this last look of life. Her eyes were dulled, practically dead, her skull bashed in and it was a wonder how she was still alive. “Baby,” she reached a hand up shaking.

Izuku grabbed it and pressed it to his wet cheek. 

“My baby.”

His silent tears fell harder, but he smiled through his pain. “Yes, Mama.”

He smiled.

“I-I love you, my baby. I’m sorry I-I left you there. I’m sorry I left you and Tenko and Hana. I love you, green pea.”

Because he knew somewhere deep down.

“I love you, too, Mama.”

That this was the end.

“I-Izuku, I-I love y-you.”

And something told him that that time at the park was momma’s end, too.

All For One ceased his laughter, now seemingly bored at the whole ordeal. “So you had a third, Shimura.”

The statement fell on deaf ears.

Nana was not listening to the man, only staring at the illusion of her son through blurred vision with love in her teary eyes.

____________________

Shimura Nana knew this was her end.

She just wished that she had a chance to tell her kids how she felt, so that they wouldn't need to live with the feeling of abandonment and hatred in their hearts.

Her vision swelled and she allowed herself to cry, tears streaming down her face as she stared up at this cruel illusion, that her son was there for her at that moment. She doesn't know why she told it how she felt because she knew it was fake, knew that this Izuku was a cruel hallucination at her bitter end.

But please... to any deity up there, would you please carry on her message to her kids.

This fake illusion of Izuku would disappear in a moment's notice, but his warmth was real. She caressed his cheek in her hand with what little strength she had left. 

Shimura Nana knew this was her last moment. The only thing she regretted was not telling her kids how she felt. With a last look at her son, she passed on.

____________________

The villain sighed, raising his fist once again as power surged through its veins. “I guess he’s joining you, too.”

Izuku looked up at the man with pure hatred in his eyes, though it was watered down tremendously with the tears blocking his vision.

This was the end for him.

He knew it.

Sorry, Tecchan, Hana.

He bent down and hugged his Mama, her damp locks sprawled out on the rocky floor.

I guess I can’t come back, huh.

Izuku embraced the woman tightly, covering her frame with as much body he could afford from the man’s attack.

It seems I couldn't fulfill that promise I made with Aka-chan, either.

He felt the loneliness and pain coming from his Mama in waves, a hint of resignation in them.

He hid as much body of his Mama as he could with his own, shielding her because this would help her too, right?

This will lessen Mama’s pain?

He’ll take the brunt of the attack.

His arms bled, stinging from the cuts he had gotten from sprinting blindly towards the two before. Izuku didn’t care, though. He only hugged the woman who could not hug back tighter, blood gushing out of his arm from the force.

He didn’t care.

And he waited for the powered punch to come.

Waited for the arms of death to wrap around his broken frame.

And he felt the fist come closer and closer to him, his back tingling with unwanted anticipation.

Izuku smiled, burrowing his nose into the crook of his Mama’s bloodied neck.

He couldn’t feel her pulse.

Tears erupted his vision, silent ones as water trickled.

And finally a quick pain pushed into his back, the harsh impact shoving him into his mother and oh wait, did it go through his side?

It did.

But the pain was dulled, instead a warm feeling sprouting through his chest (though it may have just been the hot blood) as pride flowed through him.

He protected his Mama to the end.

He smiled.

To the end.

____________________

Tenko watched in horror, staring at the screen as his sister cried to his side.

The fear he had felt waking up to Izuku’s empty bed was nothing compared to this feeling of dread rushing through him.

“No, no, no…” he muttered, standing up sharply, his chair flying behind him. “Izu’s not dead…” He scratched at his neck.

“Izu’s not dead, Izu’s not gone, he didn’t leave, he’s here still…” He got up and started speed walking towards the exit, in need of a breath of air.

He exited the orphanage, rushing to the side of the building as that horrible moment played behind his lids from the TV screen.

“... Izu’s alive. My little brother, he just went out for a bit-”

“TENKO!” A grasp at his wrist snapped the boy out of his thoughts, eyes wide as he stared at his crying sister. 

Apparently all he had been doing for the past twenty minutes was muttering to himself as Hana stood idly by.

“Tenko…”

“Nee-chan, where’s Izuku? Ma left us here - all of us - so where’d he go? Where… Where’d my brother go?”

“Tenko, I-”

“He must have gone to the restroom, right? I should go check, he must be there, that boy wasn’t Izukkun. It was Ma and some other kid, yeah.” He waddled past the girl, only to be stopped by the same hand again.

“TENKO.”

He paused, looking back at his sister’s teary face. “Tenko, Izuku’s gone.”

And just like that he snapped.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN, HANA, IZUKU’S NOT DEAD. IZUKU’S ALIVE, HE’S JUST HIDING!” He cupped his hands together and positioned it to his mouth, shouting, "IZUKU! WHERE ARE YOU, ZUZU? YOUR," his voice cracked, "your nii-chan is looking for you."

Hana slapped the boy’s cheek, glaring up at the younger. “IZUKU IS DEAD, TENKO, I SAW. IT ZOOMED IN, TENKO, HIS SIDE WAS MISSING, HE WAS DEAD.”

Tenko screamed and pushed the girl back by her chest with his hands.

He shouldn’t have done that.

Hana screamed in agony, flinching back.

His gloves weren’t on.

Tenko jerked his hand back, holding it up to his own chest with wide eyes. “H-Hana-nee?”

She collapsed in a broken pile on the ground.

Tenko’s eyes widened as he took his sister into view.

He had disintegrated her heart.

He stared in shock. “H-Hana-nee? Nee-chan? Hey,” he crouched down next to her lifeless body, shaking her shoulder with his hand, “nee-chan, get up. W-We still gotta find Izu!”

Her upper body turned to dust.

The ten year old flinched, bringing his head back as her own rolled into view.

Her eyes, they were dull.

And something told Tenko that she was dead.

And something told Tenko that Izuku was dead.

Just as his sister was.

In less than two days, he was alone. His family was gone.

He was the last Shimura left.

Tenko doesn’t know when his body moved, but he ran.

Just like Izuku had, he ran.

But the difference was that he ran to save himself.

And, though he didn’t know, Izuku ran to save his Mama.

Tenko ran for what was probably hours, away from the orphanage ad he stuck close to the trees. But then he finally reached a city. Exhausted, he slid down the side of a building in an alleyway and sat there for hours, a trashcan hiding him from view.

Sooner or later however, a thug ran into the alleyway, holding a knife to the boy’s neck and demanding money (which Tenko found stupid - did he look like he had anything on him?)

So to his own shock and horror, Tenko raised his hand and touched the man without a second thought, listening to the man’s screams of agony as he blew away in the wind.

Shimura Tenko lowered his hand back to his side, slipping on a pair of gloves he had found stuffed into the pockets of his pants.

Then all of a sudden, a man stood before him (when had he gotten there? Tenko hadn’t heard anyone).

The man smirked, reaching a hand out to the boy. “My name is All For One, but you may call me Sensei.”

Shimura Tenko looked at the man and noticed it was the same white haired male who had slaughtered his family. He felt rage.

But then Shimura Tenko noticed something.

It was not this man, All For One, who had killed his brother.

It was his mother.

Shimura Tenko looked at the hand for a moment longer before reaching out and grabbing it with his own gloved one.

That day, Shigaraki Tomura walked out of the alleyway with his Sensei.

The Shimuras were dead.

____________________

Were they really?

____________________

They couldn’t do anything.

All they could do was stare at the screen with horror in their eyes, an acidic feeling in their chest as they were huddled together on the couch, frozen.

Torino Sorahiko stood abruptly in his seat, jumping at the TV.

Shuzenji Chiyo’s eyes widened at what the screen was showing from an aerial view.

Tsukauchi Haruta covered his son’s eyes from the graphic display, his other hand reaching to his mouth as tears pricked at his eyes.

Tsukauchi Naomasa had watched with dread as his little brother figure was smashed to bits before his father had covered his view.

Yagi Toshinori watched with clenched fists, his usual smile wiped off the face of earth as he only stared as his mentor and younger brother were impaled by the powerful quirk of All For One - his future enemy.

He could do nothing but watch.

They could do nothing but watch.

____________________

Midoriya Izuku woke up screaming, tears rushing down his red cheeks.

It seems his other cheeks (if you know what that means) were frozen cold, the feeling of metal on skin.

Voices were heard from the other side of wherever he was, but he ignored them, instead taking to jerking up - that was a mistake.

His head hit a metal top, a thin white sheet of fabric sliding down his frame. It occurred to him that he was naked.

He doesn’t know how he had concluded it, but Midoriya Izuku knew one thing for sure:

He was in a morgue.