Chapter Text
Aizawa stared at himself in the mirror, pushing up his bangs to reveal the white lock hidden underneath. He’d been in denial when the first white hair had shown up on his pillow, trying to convince himself that it might have come from one of the stray cats he fed. Then he’d hoped it was a sign of age, which was a strange thing for a man in his early thirties to hope for. But Aizawa did not want any similarities to his father, whose hair had turned white from overusing his quirk. Especially since their faces did have a certain familial resemblance…
Perhaps it was the stress. Aizawa had been under a lot of stress lately, between the League of Villains’ activity and Kurogiri’s capture. In front of Yamada, Aizawa had pretended not to know that Kurogiri had been made from Oboro’s corpse until recently. He’d never been a good actor. At least it had not been particularly difficult for him to fake tears.
Hair dye. Aizawa had to get hair dye. He opened his mirror cabinet as if he expected it to materialize according to his wishes on the mostly empty shelves inside. He couldn’t let anyone see him like this. In his panicked state, he forgot all about his father’s scars. He was convinced if the heroes saw him, they’d know. All Might had seen All for One before his injuries. The former number one hero might very well notice. Aizawa had to run out and purchase hair dye. But he didn’t have time to purchase hair dye. Soon the heroes would be gathering to prepare to attack Deika City and the Paranormal Liberation Front.
What if All for One found out? He’d use this evidence of his son’s ill health as an excuse to interfere even more. Out of habit, Aizawa stood on his tiptoes to check the top of his mirror for cameras. Then he remembered—All for One was in Tartarus. Aizawa took deep breaths. He was safe. There hadn’t been new cameras installed in his house since his villainous father had been jailed. All for One was too paranoid to let any other villains find out that he had a child. No one was watching now. If only Aizawa could capture Tomura Shigaraki and the rest of the League of Villains, then he might finally feel safe for the first time in his entire life.
A meow came from the doorway. Birthday ran over and rubbed against Aizawa’s legs. “Good kitty,” Aizawa muttered, petting the black cat. Aizawa had named the cat his father had given him Birthday as a reminder not to get overly attached, since All for One’s gifts could always be taken away. But he’d fallen in love with the sweet-tempered little cat in spite of himself.
“He’s not getting out of jail, Birthday,” Aizawa said, kneeling down and rubbing under his cat’s chin. “Once Tomura is in custody, his last ally will be gone. Then we’ll be free.”
Birthday purred.
Aizawa pulled himself together and went out to buy hair dye.
While Aizawa was standing in the checkout line, he got a text from Yamada. He already knew he was late. Without looking, Aizawa texted back I’m on my way.
Yamada sent a picture of Eri playing Cat’s Cradle. Aizawa’s lips tugged upward in spite of himself. He’d turned down the offer to become Eri’s guardian because he couldn’t put her at risk like that. Everyone around him became a potential hostage to his father’s whims. Yamada had been looking after Eri instead. They adored each other and had fun together. Yamada kept inviting Aizawa along on their family outings. With All for One in prison, Aizawa had given in and agreed. He’d started to dare to let other people in. If this mission to arrest the League of Villains went well (it had to go well) then maybe Aizawa could finally take Yamada up on his offer to live together.
After returning from the pharmacy, Aizawa followed the instructions to apply the black dye. While it was drying, he got down a bag of kibble and refilled Birthday’s bowl.
Normally, Birthday immediately came running at the sound of food hitting the bottom of the metal bowl. Unless the cat was asleep, of course. Aizawa tried to push aside his sudden nervousness. In the first few weeks after he’d obtained Birthday, he’d panicked every time the cat got out of his sight. As a result he’d frequently interrupted Birthday’s naps with his frantic shouting. Aizawa had to get his anxiety under control. He didn’t want to turn into his father.
“Where are you, Birthday?” Aizawa hummed, checking the windowsill. That was Birthday’s favorite sleeping spot, but no luck. Next Aizawa checked the sofa. Still no cat.
Heart hammering, Aizawa opened every cabinet and ripped off his bedcovers. He lifted up his pillows and checked under his bed. When he saw the cracked window, his shoulders slumped with relief. Birthday must have gotten outside. The backyard was fenced in, so it would be fine. Nevertheless, Aizawa headed for his back door, planning to collect the cat who was probably ripping up his garden.
Aizawa’s phone buzzed. He glanced down at the message, then swore. He was very late. If Nezu was texting then he was in trouble. Hair still wet, Aizawa ran out of his apartment.
Aizawa’s eyes burned from the effort of keeping Tomura’s Decay from destroying everything. Yet all other pain was wiped out from his mind the moment that the bullet hit his leg. Nerves wailed in agony. Ryuku’s words flashed across his mind: “He’s got a deleter round!”
They had to win here, for the sake of everyone Aizawa cared about. This was his chance to stop his father. He barely hesitated before he drove his own knife into his leg to chop it off.
The pain blinded him. Then Aizawa saw Tomura’s screaming, bleeding face rushing up toward him. As fingers fastened over his face, he knew that would be the last sight he would ever see.
“Stop, Tomura,” a deep voice ordered. A shadow loomed over the battlefield, snatching Aizawa up in big arms.
All for One cradled Aizawa close to his chest. The villain still wore his prison uniform. With his other hand, All for One lifted Tomura up by his hair like a farmer ripping up a carrot from the ground. Tomura thrashed and growled mindlessly. All for One chuckled. “You need to play nicer with your brother, Tomura.”
Manual inhaled sharply. Aizawa could practically feel the stares of the other heroes, even though his vision was too blurry to see them properly. He couldn’t see at all through his right eye. He struggled to breathe through the pain. It was all over. All the other heroes and his students would find out about his father now. They’d hate him or pity him, but either way they’d never let him become a hero again.
Light danced from All for One’s hands, sealing Aizawa’s bleeding leg stump shut. The villain crooned, “Aw, look at the damage you’ve done to yourself playing hero. This has gone far enough. It’s time to come home, Sho-chan.” The command was infused with a crackling power. “Sleep.”
The last light faded from Aizawa’s remaining eye.
Aizawa curled up in the corner of the metal vault. There was a bed, but he didn’t want it. He refused to take anything his father offered him. Phantom pain ran up his body from his missing leg. His vision hadn’t returned to his right eye, so it probably wasn’t going to.
The heavy metal door ground open. Aizawa did not move from the floor. He did not have any hope of getting past All for One. Even if he could escape by some miracle, Aizawa didn’t know if he had any home to go back to. Everyone probably hated him now. Yamada would put together the pieces and realize that Oboro’s death had been Aizawa’s fault. Aizawa wished that Tomura had succeeded in decaying his head off.
All for One called, “Lunch is served.” The tray set down on the table with a clatter.
Aizawa did not speak. He wasn’t speaking to his father.
“There’s no need to be sulky, Sho-chan.” All for One bent over and ruffled his son’s now mostly-white hair. “I brought you a guest to keep you company.”
An icy needle of fear pierced Aizawa’s heart. His head shot up. Birthday leapt down from All for One’s arms and landed in Aizawa’s lap.
By reflex, Aizawa petted his cat. His racing heartbeat slowed. He wasn’t exactly happy to have Birthday locked up in the vault, but this was much better than he’d first assumed when he’d run through a list of people who All for One might have captured. Aizawa had no idea what was going on outside his prison. He’d broken his silence to beg for information about how the battle had ended after his capture, but his father refused to tell him.
All for One said, “Since I got you a gift, I’ll be taking one in return.” His hand tightened on Aizawa’s head.
Aizawa felt the tug, but he could no longer resist it. He’d been unable to properly use his quirk since his eye injury. A single tear ran down his face as his quirk was ripped away. It hurt, but barely registered compared to the emotional pain. Erasure had been his only defense against his father for so long. Now it was gone.
“Finally,” All for One hissed, his scarred face contorted with greed. Then, as he brushed his son’s tear away, his tone turned faux-comforting again. “Now now, Sho-chan, I wouldn’t have needed to lock you up in here if you hadn’t recklessly gotten yourself injured.”
“Liar,” Aizawa hissed, his anger overriding his resolve to keep silent. “Birthday was gone before I left the house! You were planning this all along?”
“Oh, so you did notice your cat’s disappearance?” All for One laughed. “I thought perhaps you’d noticed and kept silent, because you couldn’t think of any way to tell everyone that I’d escaped without revealing our relationship.”
Aizawa’s lips slammed shut as he spiraled into self-loathing. If only he’d looked for Birthday more thoroughly, then he would have realized his cat was missing. That might have tipped him off that All for One had somehow managed to escape or communicate with people outside Tartarus. Then Aizawa might have prevented this disaster. He’d failed as a hero.
All for One said, “Still, you did catch me out. I was already planning to bring you your cat. I’ll give you a different guest in exchange for your quirk. Who do you want to see the most? Is it that loud-mouthed blonde friend of yours? Or perhaps his cute little daughter? I’ve been meaning to take the girl with Rewind anyway. She could be helpful to both of our injuries. Or do you want Kurogiri? You always claimed not to be attached to him but you certainly did visit him in jail frequently. Even though you never visited your dear father.”
Aizawa shook and trembled. His father’s tone was joking, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t kill someone important to Aizawa to avenge a perceived insult. “I couldn’t have visited. It would have looked suspicious. A mere teacher had no reason to see the most infamous villain.” A little flattery never failed to sooth his father’s temper.
“Ah, fair enough. I carefully kept our relationship secret to protect you.”
Aizawa couldn’t help a snort. All for One did everything for himself. Of course he’d never tell the heroes a secret that he didn’t even trust to his own allies. All for One was paranoid. From the moment he’d revealed their relation, Aizawa had known his father never again intended to let him out of the vault.
All for One continued, “What about one of your students? Word from my spy has it that the boy with the brainwashing quirk is teacher’s pet. Or perhaps you favor the problem child? Of course I have my own reasons for targeting the Nineth One for All Holder. More reasons than merely his quirk. This wish could be your big chance to save his life.”
Aizawa’s mostly empty stomach churned. He refused to speak. Every word might be a clue to his father about who would be the most effective hostage.
“You’re going to have to decide, Sho-chan.” All for One ran his fingers through his son’s white hair reverently. He loved the new color and couldn’t stop touching it. “You only get one gift. You can’t save all of their lives.”
Then All for One left Aizawa alone in the vault.
OMAKE TIME!
Omake: The Parent Trap
Yamada: Just a few more cute pictures of Eri, and Shouta will be falling into my arms.
Eri: I’ll help acquire the new dad!
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Omake: In Which Birthday Escapes Out the Window
All for One: Sho-chan, I brought you a cat plushie as a gift.
Aizawa: Why is your face covered in cat scratches?
All for One: I don’t want to talk about it.
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Omake: Fanboy Wrath
Tomura: Sensei! How could you never tell me that Eraserhead is your son?
All for One: Protecting my secret family, can’t let heroes or rival villains take him hostage, you know the drill.
Tomura: I’ve been asking for Eraserhead’s autograph every year for my birthday since I was five. Last year you gave me socks!
All for One: In my defense, my son wouldn’t sign anything for me unless it was paperwork to send him to a nursing home.
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Omake: Wires Crossed
Aizawa: Everyone knows that All for One is my father…my darkest secret has been revealed…
Meanwhile:
Yamada: It turns out that Tomura Shigaraki is Shouta’s younger brother, how shocking.
Nemuri: I always thought they looked kinda alike. No wonder Tomura is a such a big Eraserhead fan.
Nezu: Shouto Todoroki sent me ten different plausible theories about how Kotaro Shimura could be Aizawa’s father.