Archive of Our Own

Izuku was on a mission: to obtain the best ever All Might photograph and win the under eighteen category of Sir Nighteye’s contest. The winner would receive fifty thousand yen, a box of All Might merchandise, and a personal meeting with All Might when he handed out awards. Izuku had already been ready and willing to kill for an All Might handshake before he heard All Might say during a live TV interview that he would be happy to hug the recipients if they wanted. Izuku did not have the words for how much he wanted an All Might hug.

Other kids had better photography equipment and more experience. But Izuku had something no one else brought to the table: an extremely negligent father!

A week ago, Inko Midoriya’s former foster mother had taken a nasty fall and broken her hip. Inko had gone to Hokkaido to look after her mother, asking Hisashi to return from America to stay with their twelve year old son. Hisashi had agreed, but he’d only been home for one day before a work emergency popped up and he’d left. Hisashi had bribed Izuku with a new camera to not tell his mother. Izuku had cheerfully agreed, because this lack of parental supervision presented an unprecedented opportunity.

It was summer vacation, so school was not a concern. Izuku had carefully mapped out all the most frequent locations in Musutafu where All Might fought villains. With the stronger villains, All Might often led them to isolated locations to prevent damage to civilians and their property. All Might favored a beach with a large trash heap. So Izuku had brought along enough snacks to last him three days and camped out on the beach. By hiding behind the trash, he was determined to capture an All Might battle up close and personal for the best photograph.

Three days had passed with no hero sightings. Izuku had become filthy, tired, and hungry. Food supplies had run out. His back ached from sleeping on the ground. But he couldn’t bring himself to give up. He knew his algorithm was correct. All Might was overdue to show up at this particular location.

In the late evening of the fourth day, Izuku had slipped into a light doze while propped against a broken television. A boom jolted him from his slumber. Wiping drool from his mouth, he turned around.

All Might punched a villain in purple spandex across the beach. At first Izuku thought he was still dreaming. But the stench of rotten fruit reminded him that this trash heap was very real.

Resting his hands on top of the TV to hold them steady, Izuku snapped photographs nonstop. He wasn’t a pro, but if he took a thousand pictures, at least one of them would turn out good. No one else would have gotten this close to an All Might battle. It was seriously cool. Izuku’s head spun as the wind coming off the punches ripped into his hair.

Finally, All Might tied up the villain with his own sticky ropes. (This particular villain produced threads from his fingers.) The villain’s head lolled forward, unconscious. Wiping off his sweaty forehead, All Might coughed up blood. Then he deflated like a leaky balloon. When the dust cleared, a scrawny, skeletal man stood on the beach.

Despite Izuku’s shock, he kept taking pictures. A very small “Huh?” escaped his lips.

All Might’s head shot around. “Who’s there?”

Izuku ducked down and sat very still, but he was no match for the instincts of the number one hero. All Might shot over in a flash, looming over the broken TV. “I’ve found you—oh. You’re not a villain. What brings you to this trash heap, young boy?”

“P-pleased to meet you, sir.” Faced with his idol, words failed Izuku. “I, uh, there’s this photograph contest, um, for pictures of you…”

“You know who I am.” All Might’s smile faltered. “Did you take a picture of me looking like this?” He waved at his sickly form.

Wordless, Izuku nodded.

All Might sighed, looking very tired. “I’m sure you have questions, my boy.” He sat down on the sand. “What’s your name? I can’t keep calling you ‘my boy.’”

As far as Izuku was concerned, All Might could call him that forever, but he stammered, “Izuku Midoriya.”

All Might forced a smile. “Nice to meet you, young Midoriya. I must have given you a nasty shock, deflating like that. After a fight with a very dangerous villain, I lost multiple organs.” He yanked up his shirt to reveal a nasty cratered scar. “Now I have a daily time limit for using my quirk. This needs to be a strict secret, or villains might take advantage. Can you promise me not to tell anyone?”

“Of course,” Izuku said automatically.

All Might held out his hand. “May I have your camera?”

Izuku clutched the camera to his chest. “I-it’s just, the contest, it’s very important to me, and I worked so hard to win…”

All Might nodded. “I understand. The Sir Nighteye contest, yes? I think it’s only fair that I compensate you for your loss. I’ll give you double the prize money, and a box of exclusive All Might merch that hasn’t yet been released in stores. I can even let you take your pick from anything produced by my company.”

Izuku gasped. Unreleased merch was a rare prize indeed for a fanboy. But there was one thing missing: the All Might hug. For Izuku, that had been the most important prize of all. Unfortunately, at the moment, Izuku’s hair was so greasy it stuck to his forehead and he smelled like trash heap. He could not imagine asking his idol to hug him. “T-there’s one more…for later…”

“Ah, the prestige of the contest.” All Might tapped his chin. “I could arrange to introduce you to notable photographers, if that’s a field that you’re interested in going into. I have many contacts. Would you like a renowned photography or journalism course?”

Izuku didn’t care about photography. He shook his head. “O-one more thing…” He just couldn’t say it. “I’ll tell you after I get cleaned up.” Afraid that All Might would be angry, he turned away his body to protect his camera.

All Might only nodded. “Would you like to come back to Might Tower for a shower?”

Izuku leapt up, all concerns erased from his mind by his joy. “I can visit Might Tower?” His stomach growled embarrassingly. Hunger had eaten an aching pit into his stomach. He flushed. “Yes, please.”

Toshinori looked down at the filthy, bedraggled boy with green curls limp from grease. The boy smelled like he hadn’t showered in a long time. His stomach sounded so loud he clearly hadn’t eaten in a while, either. Toshinori didn’t think the boy was poor, because he was wearing a limited edition Hawaii All Might T-shirt and he had a ten karat gold All Might watch iced with diamonds. The camera was also new and expensive. But the boy’s unkempt state spoke of parental neglect at the minimum. He looked in late elementary school or early middle school. Either way, he wasn’t old enough to galivant off seeking out villain fights and climbing trash heaps all alone.

In truth, Toshinori wasn’t overly worried about the pictures. Toshinori had contingency plans in case his condition leaked. A woman who owed him her life had a quirk that could compel a person to keep one secret that didn’t belong to them. His media team could easily discredit a young boy and claim the picture had been doctored. Even in his skinny form, Toshinori could have grabbed the camera and smashed it. But Toshinori wouldn’t have needed to go that far against a child. Judging from all the merchandise, the boy was a fan. Toshinori felt confident that a carefully applied guilt trip from his hero would convince this child to hand over the camera.

But then Toshinori would lose his chance to investigate the precarious living situation of a boy who lived in a trash heap and got dangerously close to villain fights. So Toshinori smiled and extended an offer to come back to Might Tower.

First, of course, Toshinori needed to drop off the villain with the police. He extended a hand, inviting young Midoriya to hop onto his back.

The boy looked nervous, but he didn’t need to clutch his camera so tightly. Toshinori wasn’t planning to steal it. He only wanted to feed the child and then hear his story.

The interior Might Tower mirrored the media pictures: red carpet and shiny walls. Izuku looked around everywhere, scared that he must be tracking dirt across the floor. Apparently the tower had a gym and showers. All Might gave Izuku new clothing to wear: a Skier Might T-shirt and jeans with All Might decals on the knees. Izuku had lost his auction bid for the Skier Might T-shirt. He was over the moon with happiness. Even the towels had All Might’s smiling face. No doubt more precious merch lurked in the storage rooms in the tower basement.

But as Izuku let the hot water wash over him, he realized that he could get more. Much more. This was an absolutely unprecedented opportunity to get anything and everything he wanted from his favorite hero.

Izuku hadn’t entered the photography contest fame or All Might’s contacts. Deep down, he wanted a dad. His own distant father was never home long enough to properly spend time together. Izuku would never, ever spread All Might’s secret around. But would it truly be so wrong for him to ask for a few more rewards in exchange for giving up his hard four days of labor? Especially since it seemed like Izuku would probably never get his hug. He didn’t have the nerve to ask for it.

As Izuku brushed his wet hair, he made a list of things that he’d wanted to do with his real dad this week before Hisashi Midoriya had bailed on him yet again:

1. Cook breakfast together
2. Visit the new Dawn of the Age of Quirks Vigilantism exhibit at the Musutafu Museum of Heroism
3. Get ice cream at a famous traveling sundae stand
4. Eat a handmade bento
5. A hug

All Might waited for Izuku outside the gym, sitting in a folding chair and wearing a blue-green silk suit. “How do you feel?”

“Better, thank you,” Izuku admitted. His stomach growled. He blushed.

All Might said, “Food next. I’ll take you to the cafeteria.”

“Is it okay for you to be seen when…?” Izuku waved his hand over All Might’s current, thin form.

“When I look like this, I’m All Might’s secretary, Toshinori Yagi.” All Might winked.

Izuku felt honored to be privy to All Might’s secrets, even though he’d stolen these secrets instead of coming by them honestly. He trailed along after his hero, into the elevator and down two stories to the cafeteria.

The cafeteria workers recognized All Might, greeting him cheerfully as “Mr. Yagi.” They were in the process of closing the cafeteria, but they still let Izuku come in and fill a tray with pizza and a can of green tea.

Then All Might took Izuku to his office at the top of the tower. Izuku gaped in awe at the famous desk where All Might signed most of his autographs. Sitting in a wheely chair too big for him, Izuku wolfed down his pizza. He’d had nothing to eat for nearly twenty-four hours. After his stomach was full, he finally felt less light-headed.

All Might asked, “Have you decided what you’d like as a reward?”

Reward sounded so much nicer than blackmail. Izuku drained his tea, then said, “I’d like to make pancakes together. Uh, like a fan event.” That sounded less pathetic than admitting he wanted a dad. “Then could you take me to the Musutafu Museum of Heroism? I need an adult to get in.” That wasn’t true but hopefully All Might wouldn’t question it. “There’s a traveling sundae stand that everyone is talking about online, and I hoped you could help me find it. I know it’s an unimportant task for a busy hero, but…”

All Might said gently, “I’d be happy to.”

Izuku looked down at his empty plate. “You could even make me a bento with the ice cream. If it’s not too much trouble. Um.” As expected, Izuku lacked the nerve to ask All Might to hug him. He’d have to be satisfied with the rest of his list. He felt bad enough asking for anything at all. What if his favorite hero hated him for the transparent blackmail?

Nodding, All Might said, “That’s all very easy for me to do. Here’s your money.” He handed over a check. “Would you like to pick out your merchandise now?”

“Would I ever!” Izuku cried, leaping to his feet.

Might Tower had a basement room full of yet-to-be-released merch. With teary eyes, Izuku stared at shelves upon shelves of All Might goods. The toys were arranged in order of age, with soft plushies for children on the bottom and video games for teenagers on the top. The new fall line of All Might clothing, still months ahead of release, had everything from jackets to sneakers to underwear. The figurines immediately drew Izuku’s eyes, in glass boxes and a variety of poses. The life-size All Might statue was a thing of beauty. Izuku knew he’d never be able to fit it into a box. He ran over and snapped a selfie with the statue so he would at least have his memories.

Holding up a cardboard box, All Might asked, “Have you decided what you want?”

“I can’t pick!” Izuku collapsed to his hands and knees. He valiantly held back his tears, because he couldn’t risk flooding the treasures. Every single last bit of this merchandise had yet to be released in stores, so Izuku couldn’t have any of it under any other circumstances. How could he pick between one-of-a-kind All Might merch?

All Might asked, “Would you like all of it?”

Izuku shot to his feet, gazing at All Might with the thirsty eyes of a marathon runner approaching the finish line. “May I? Please?”

All Might shrugged. “This was sent over by various companies for my approval before they start mass production. I’ve already looked it over, so I have no further use for it. Most heroes give it out among their friends and family, but I…” The light in All Might’s eyes dimmed. “I don’t have any family.”

Izuku knew that All Might had never revealed anything about his private life to the public, despite a lot of speculation that he might be hiding a secret family. “I promise I’ll love all of it,” Izuku said.

This brought a smile back to All Might’s lips. “I’m glad. I’ll bring around the truck.”

True to his word, All Might brought a truck and workers to box up the merchandise and deliver it to the Midoriya home. Izuku left the boxes stacked up in the basement with the goal of going through them later. Except for the All Might statue, which he carefully placed in his room.

Izuku couldn’t help feeling a little embarrassed when All Might passed the posters of himself on the walls and the figurines in their glass cases, but All Might didn’t comment.

However, there was a slight frown on All Might’s lips when he asked, “Where are your parents?”

Izuku flinched. “My mother is helping my grandmother, who broke her hip. My father was supposed to be here looking after me, but he had a business emergency.”

All Might’s gaze was piercing. “Does your mother know that your father left you alone for days?”

Looking away, Izuku ran his fingers through his hair. “I didn’t see the need to worry her. I can look after myself.”

All Might crossed his arms. “You’re too young to be on your own. I’ll have to stay here until your mother returns.”

Izuku bounced from foot to foot. “Would you really? We can make pancakes tomorrow!”

All Might said, “Only if your mother gives me permission to stay, of course.”

Izuku was absolutely not taking the chance of failing to get parental permission. Inko would ask why All Might would stay at their house. And if she found out that her husband had left without telling her, she’d flip out. Izuku refused to ruin his chance for an All Might sleepover. Thinking fast, Izuku texted his mother the picture of himself with the All Might statue. Hey mom, can All Might come live with me?

Inko quickly replied, That sounds lovely, dear. I’m glad you’re having fun.

Izuku held up his phone, covering part of the screen with his hand to only show the texts but not the photo. “Mom says it’s fine.”

All Might’s forehead wrinkled. “Your mother’s attitude is a little flippant…I’ll have a word with her when she gets back. No need for you to worry! Time for you to get off to bed.”

Izuku hadn’t gotten a good night’s sleep in days, so he agreed. All Might threw a blanket over the couch to sleep. Since Izuku would be embarrassed to let All Might see the merch covering every available space in his bedroom, he stuck a chair under his door before he went to sleep.

When Izuku woke up the next morning, he reached for his door knob and bumped into a chair. Then he remembered: All Might was in his house. How amazing! He’d finally collected the real thing!

Izuku hunted through his closet, but he couldn’t find a single pair of pajamas without All Might on them. So he changed into shorts and a plain blue T-shirt before heading downstairs.

All Might already had a box of pancake mix on the counter. “You said you wanted pancakes, my boy, so I picked this up from the grocery store. Do you have a mixing bowl?”

“Of course,” Izuku said with a big smile, running to fetch it.

Making pancakes together with someone else was way more fun than doing it alone. All Might let Izuku measure out the ingredients, then stirred them all together faster than an electric mixer. With his quirk, the trick was not accidentally spraying the batter around. They took turns making pancakes in different shapes. Izuku tried to make an All Might shaped-pancake, but it looked more like a bug with antennae. At least it tasted delicious.

Afterward, while All Might washed the dishes, he said, “Pack everything you need for the museum. I already have tickets.”

“Yay!” Izuku cheered, running upstairs. Oh dear, now he was going to have to find a backpack that didn’t have All Might’s face on it.

In Siberia, Hisashi felt a distant twinge of annoyance, as if something was happening that would piss him off. Hisashi’s emergency had nothing to with the shell company where he pretended to work, and everything to do with his real identity as All for One. Hisashi was hunting down a quirk that would allow him to heal his face. Currently he used an illusion quirk to hide his scars from his family, and several quirks to disguise his blindness. But true healing would allow him to return to power as king of the underworld. There would be no more need to pretend to have died during his fight with All Might. In fact, with All Might injured, Hisashi could easily defeat his old foe and take his revenge.

Hisashi needed to quickly find the escaped Russian prisoner with the extremely strong regeneration ability, then head home before his wife returned. Inko would not be happy if she found Izuku alone. In Hisashi’s opinion, his wife was way too overprotective. Hisashi had been living alone and providing for his younger brother at Izuku’s age. And that had been during the height of the riots at the dawn of the age of quirks. Izuku would be fine in nice, safe Musutafu where he had enough food that he didn’t even need to leave the house. Hisashi had ordered Izuku to stay at home, and Izuku had promised. Unlike Yoichi, who had been very foolish and disobedient, Izuku was a good child who followed orders. As a result, Hisashi hadn’t even felt the need to lock Izuku up in the vault.

Spurred on by his sense of unease, Hisashi texted his son: What are you up to, ducky?

Izuku replied, Making pancakes with All Might.

Hisashi rolled his eyes. What an imagination his son had! Now Hisashi knew what had triggered his bad feeling: more braindead hero worship from his beloved only child. Izuku probably had an All Might figurine sitting across the breakfast table from him. It might even be a little cute if only Izuku had picked any other hero. Hisashi texted back, Make sure you clean up.

Then he headed into an icy forest, his quirks keeping him warm.

Izuku scowled at his phone. He didn’t know what he’d been expecting when he’d decided to text his dad the truth. Deep down, he did know: he’d been hoping for a bit of jealousy. That was a laugh. His dad bestowed attention only when he felt like it and not a drop more.

Sighing, Izuku put away his phone and headed downstairs with his Eraserhead backpack. “I’m ready to go.” He’d decided to carry his camera with him, because he couldn’t risk letting it out of his eyesight until the deal was complete.

Even though he was in his skinny form, All Might had still put on sun glasses and tucked up his hair tufts under a ballcap. “My car is waiting outside, my boy.”

The Dawn of the Age of Quirks Vigilantes exhibit was exactly as cool as Izuku had hoped. So much research had gone into it! The costumes looked completely authentic! They’d even consulted Makoto Tsukauchi, a renowned expert in the field. She’d appeared in the introduction video at the museum theatre.

Izuku flitted from exhibit to exhibit, snapping pictures. He was so excited that he ran around the entire exhibition once before going back to the beginning and stopping to read all the plaques.

All Might followed at a more sedate pace. He paused in front of a vigilante with spikey hair and gauntlets. His eyes widened. “Oh, I had no idea my predecessor would be here.”

“Your predecessor?” Izuku shot over in a flash.

“It’s nothing important,” All Might said, rubbing the back of his neck.

“It sounded interesting.” Izuku detected rare All Might lore. He widened his eyes pleadingly.

All Might lowered his voice. “I’ll tell you more when we’re alone.”

On the drive back from the museum, All Might explained, “I had a teacher who was very important to me. En, the person who taught her, had his own teacher—Daigoro Banjo. We saw him in the background of one of the photos in Crimson Riot’s exhibit. Banjo was taught by a man who was part of a group of vigilantes. Their leader was in the museum.”

“Tell me more.” Izuku bounced in his seat.

All Might told Izuku as much as he knew about his distant predecessors. Then, when Izuku begged for more stories, All Might talked about his teacher, Nana Shimura. All Might’s whole face lit up when he spoke of her. It transformed his gaunt cheekbones. Izuku loved hearing the stories. Nana Shimura sounded like the coolest hero ever! As the afternoon passed, Izuku discovered a new hero to idolize. Maybe he could have Nana Shimura merch custom-made?

In a distant part of the world, Hisashi stirred in bed, stabbed with a constant sense of irritation. He assumed it was because he still hadn’t found that damn quirk. Maybe he should go to the doctor for a checkup about all this heartburn.

That evening, All Might tried to make a bento for the first time. It was basically just plain rice with a pickled side dish.

All Might watched anxiously as Izuku ate it. Izuku said, “Delicious!”

Wringing his hands, All Might said, “I made an omelet, but it burned so I threw it out.”

“You could have given it to me anyway.” Izuku hated to think of All Might’s precious home cooking being wasted.

All Might shook his head. “No, no, I’ll do better tomorrow. I promise.”

Izuku had no objections to stretching this out a little longer, especially since there was only one more item on the dad list.

The next day, Izuku spread out a map across the dining room table. “The traveling sundae stand is run by a woman named Sato. She’s a housewife who sells her handmade ice cream in her spare time. She randomly shows up at different places and times around the city, so it’s impossible to predict where she’ll be. Although there’s an internet forum dedicated to trying. Her ice cream is worth the extra effort. Everyone says she makes the best sundaes in Musutafu.”

All Might nodded. “I see why you asked me, my boy. I can zip around the entire city in a flash and tell you if she’s working today.”

Izuku’s smile faltered. “I was hoping we could look the old-fashioned way. That’s part of the fun.” Actually, Izuku just wanted to stretch this out a little longer. When the last item on the list was over, All Might would be gone. Izuku knew All Might was only being nice to him because of the blackmail material. He didn’t dare stall too long for fear his hero would start to resent him. But even so, Izuku hoped for a few more days.

All Might chuckled. “Of course, I understand. Where should we start looking?” He didn’t seem upset at all. Izuku breathed a sigh of relief.

Tapping several spots on the map, Izuku said, “Here is where Sato has appeared repeatedly. People think that she has a child my age going to school here.” He pointed on the map. “But classes are on summer break. She hasn’t been in this area recently. Instead, she’s set up her stand around her usual shopping route. I think she’s overdue to show up at the fish market.”

All Might reached for his car keys. “Then I’ll drive.”

Toshinori hummed under his breath as he parked the car. This was fun! He hadn’t deliberately restricted himself from using his quirk in a long time, but it was a relief not to worry about his time limit. For that matter, he hadn’t taken a day off to have fun in a long time.

Fishmongers had set up stalls running down the docks. Toshinori noted places with long lines, planning to return later to buy some fish. He wanted to try sushi for his next bento. He’d been researching online.

Izuku dashed ahead down the street, then returned to report his findings. His enthusiasm was contagious. Toshinori had always loved children, had wanted a child of his own, but his life hadn’t worked out that way. Really, Toshinori thought he might be enjoying this more than Izuku. The boy had even been kind enough to listen to all his boring old stories.

By the time they’d finished exploring the fish market, they hadn’t gotten any ice cream, but Toshinori did purchase fresh salmon. His second attempt at a bento turned out much better, if he did say so himself. Tomorrow, he planned to make onigiri with smiley faces. They’d looked very cute in the recipe picture.

Izuku had drawn out the search as long as possible, even taking All Might to three locations that Sato’s stand had never been spotted before. He’d been blessed with three more days of All Might bentos. But finally, Izuku’s luck had run out. He’d picked an innocuous park where he thought it would be fun to feed the ducks. Unfortunately, Sato had set up her white table and freezer next to the vending machines for duck food.

Izuku grabbed All Might’s arm and pulled him away. “On second thought, I don’t feel like feeding the ducks. Maybe we could take a walk around the lake?”

“Of course, my boy,” All Might let himself be tugged along. “I fought Toxic Chainsaw in this park.”

“I know. I know all your battles.” Izuku flushed. “Would you tell me about the fight from your perspective? Is that how you got your scar?”

“Oh, that punk Toxic Chainsaw couldn’t have scratched me.” All Might sniffed. “The battle only lasted so long because I was trying to prevent him from poisoning the lake. I couldn’t ruin the home of these adorable ducks—” All Might’s phone buzzed. He looked down. His face stiffened. “Young Midoriya, I’m called to an emergency. Can you sit down on the bench and wait for me? Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be back soon.”

“Sure, no problem.” Izuku sat down. “I was living alone for days before you showed up. I can handle being left in the park for a bit.”

All Might patted his head. “You’re a good kid. This won’t take long, I promise.” He ducked behind a tree. Seconds later, a muscular blur shot away.

As soon as he was alone, Izuku immediately made a post online about Sato’s sundae stand. Hopefully enough people would arrive to sell out all the ice cream before All Might got back. His mother had also texted him. Oh no, she’d be returning in two days. No matter what Izuku did, it seemed like his time had run out. He took deep breaths and tried not to cry.

In his distraction, Izuku didn’t notice his bag was gone until he reached for his water bottle and found nothing but empty air. His backpack had his camera! Izuku couldn’t lose that camera! He couldn’t be the reason that All Might’s secret got exposed, all because he’d decided to play silly games instead of deleting the pictures right away.

Izuku’s head shot up. A man in a dark jacket walked away, an Eraserhead backpack tucked under his arm. “Hey!” Izuku shouted.

The man looked over his shoulder, then ran.

Izuku chased after him. “Stop! That’s my backpack! Thief!”

Ducks scattered before Izuku, but alas there were no humans close enough to help. They’d all been distracted away by the delicious ice cream. A surge of pure adrenaline gave Izuku the strength to leap forward and tackle the thief.

“You stupid kid!” The thief kicked Izuku. “Let go!”

“Just my camera, please, you can have my wallet, but give me my camera,” Izuku babbled, clinging to the backpack with all his strength. He fastened his teeth into the thief’s leg and bit straight through the skinny jeans, hard enough to draw blood.

The thief howled and backhanded Izuku across the face. The pain burned. Izuku grabbed both the man’s legs and ripped them out from under him. “Give. My. Camera. Back!” The thief fell backward, his head impacting against the ground with a thump.

“Yoooooooooooooooung Midoriya!” All Might dropped down from the sky. His lips peeled back with fury. “How dare you attack a child?” All Might lifted the thief up by his collar. The man’s eyes rolled backward. He was unconscious. All Might frowned. “My boy, I’m impressed that you defeated a thief on your own, but you should have let him go. What if he’d had a weapon? Your possessions aren’t worth your life. Oh, no, your face!”

Dropping the unconscious thief, All Might grabbed Izuku. With two hands on the boy’s face, he examined the bruise. “Are you all right? Let’s put some ice on that. Good thing I carry around a first aid kit.” An ice pack materialized from a pouch in his costume.

Squirming, Izuku said, “I’m fine.” The ice touched his cheek, both stinging and bringing relief. “I’m sorry, I had to get my bag back. My camera is in there.” Izuku’s eyes half-closed from shame, unable to meet All Might’s gaze. “Let’s delete the pictures right now. I should never have kept them so long. You don’t need to worry about my stupid list. I’m very sorry.”

All Might’s gaze gentled. “Oh, young Midoriya. I’m proud of you. But you still shouldn’t have risked yourself. I have contingency plans in place if a villain uncovers my secret. I know someone with a quirk to prevent a person from talking. I could have handled it.”

“You could have? But then why…” Izuku’s voice trailed off. He whispered, “Why waste your valuable time on me?”

All Might swept Izuku up into a hug. His arms felt big and warm. One hand still held the ice pack gently to the bruise. “Because I was having fun spending time with you.”

Izuku nearly passed out upon experiencing his first All Might hug. He could not entirely convince himself that this wasn’t a dream. After all, no one wanted to spend time with him, not his classmates or even his own father. Tears poured down his cheeks. “Do you really mean it?”

“Yes, I do. If you don’t mind continuing to indulge an old man, then I’d be happy to keep meeting you on weekends even after your mother returns.” All Might smiled. “I got early screening tickets to the new Crimson Riot movie next weekend to bribe you.”

Izuku wept even harder. Through his sobs, he stuttered, “Of course…I want to see the movie with you…oh, and Sato’s ice cream stand showed up…but the thief.”

All Might said, “I can drop him off at the police station and be back in time for ice cream.”

All Might proved true to his word. And the ice cream was the best Izuku had ever had in his entire life.

Hisashi slapped an illusion over his scarred face before entering his front door. He was in a bad mood because the quirk he’d wanted had turned out to be only a very weak healing power. It had done little for his old injuries. Furthermore, he’d kept on getting creepy crawly twinges at random moments for his entire trip. He had a strong one right now.

Inko sat on couch with her arms crossed. From her glare, he’d been busted.

Hisashi attempted a charming smile. “You’re back early, darling. Where is Izuku?”

Coldly, Inko said, “He’s at the movies with All Might.”

Hisashi laughed, taking off his coat. “What an imagination my sweet Izuku has.”

Inko said, “It’s not a joke. It turns out All Might has been taking care of your son while you putzed off to who knows where.”

Hisashi choked.

Inko said, “Izuku needs a father figure in his life, so I’m allowing him to meet up with All Might every weekend.”

Hisashi’s loud, “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” bounced off the walls and drifted all the way to the theatre where Izuku and All Might were watching the latest Crimson Riot movie.

OMAKE TIME!

Omake: First Meeting

Yagi: What’s your name? I can’t keep calling you “my boy.”

Izuku: “Son” will do!

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Omake: Murder Blocked

Izuku: Father, if you dare kill the DadMight, I will disown you.

Hisashi: (Sobbing) But I have my own list of father-son activities for us to do together! And number one was killing All Might.

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Omake: Murder Successful

Inko: When you abandoned our son, he was attacked by a thief and bruised his face.

Hisashi: Some mere petty criminal dared lay hands on my son?

Unnamed thief: (Chuckles) I’m in danger.

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Omake: Alternate Ending

Inko: All Might adopted Izuku.

Hisashi: (Drops dead from shock.)

Tomura: Ugh, now I’m orphaned again.

All Might: It’s a free child! I’ll take this one home too.

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Omake: A Redemption Story?

Enji: All Might, why have you been so busy lately?

All Might: I’ve adopted a new kid.

Enji: How dare you try to become a better hero than me and a better dad! I’m going to spend more time with my family now.

Shouto: You really don’t have to.

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Omake: If All Might Found Out

All Might: Your son loves me more than you, I win~

Izuku: You were never there for me. I declare DadMight to be my real dad.

Hisashi: (Drops dead from shock.)

All Might: Izuku, you have proven yourself worthy of One for All by making All for One drop dead.

Izuku: Yay!