Chapter Text
Aizawa’s leg hurt, phantom pain because he didn’t have a leg. He didn’t even have a prosthetic, since his father preferred him less mobile. Jerking his stub up to his chest, he tried not to think about the phantom itches he couldn’t scratch. Unfortunately, while locked up in a metal box, he had nothing else to think about. All for One hadn’t left any books or music. The bed was the sole piece of furniture. The composting toilet stank, though not as badly as the litterbox. Aizawa’s own sweat had already killed his nose. He’d lost track of how long he’d been down here without a shower. In the dim light, he could barely see out of his one remaining eye.
Crouched under the bed, Birthday hissed and growled. The cat wasn’t coping well with imprisonment in darkness. Birthday barely ate and had stopped doing his business in the litterbox.
Aizawa ought to comfort his cat. It would be dangerous not to. His father reacted poorly to disobedient animals. But he couldn’t lift his chin off his shoulder. There seemed no point to trying. He’d lost all hope.
There would be no rescue for Aizawa. His villain father had declared his identity to the world. Everyone probably assumed he’d been a spy. If he somehow got out of here, then he’d be sent straight to Tartarus. Despite having visited Tartarus, Aizawa thought it would be a slight improvement, because at least then his father wouldn’t be able to visit him.
The vault door creaked open. Aizawa closed his good eye as light fell across him painfully. He’d stopped trying to run when the door opened a long time ago. He supposed that made him a failure as a hero, a teacher, and a human being.
“Happy Birthday, Sho-chan,” All for One said cheerfully.
It was on the tip of Aizawa’s tongue to say that Birthday was definitely not a happy cat. Then he realized it must be his birthday. Already? Oh, gods, how long had he been down here?
Birthday ceased all noise. The cat was very afraid of All for One.
Soft, carefully dim light enveloped the room. It came from All for One’s hands, one of his many quirks. Using another quirk, he created a shimmering disc, like a table set at floor level. All for One added two cushions on the metal floor. He plopped down in front of the fake table and placed a box in the middle. “Come eat, Sho-chan.”
Aizawa didn’t move.
A note of threat in his voice, All for One said, “I hope you’re not overwhelmed by the responsibility of taking care of a cat. If he’s tiring you out, then I’ll have to remove him.”
There was a distant screaming between Aizawa’s ears. With all his remaining strength, he crawled over.
All for One opened the box. The chocolate chip cookie cake inside had the letters “33” in frosting. “I ordered your favorite flavor. This was made by the most famous baker in Tokyo.”
“Thank you, Dad,” Aizawa said dully. In the distant past he remembered refusing to speak those subservient words but now there no longer seemed any point.
All for One pushed back a lock of Aizawa’s hair. It had turned completely white, now. “You can cut the first slice.”
The silverware was all plastic, of course. Aizawa took a big slice of cake and ate rapidly. He hoped it would be drugged. Then he could black out. But the cake was regrettably normal, fresh and still a little warm. He was forced to remain aware as his father wiped the crumbs off his face and combed his hair.
Hugging Aizawa from behind, All for One said, “I know this is hard on you, Sho-chan. But you’ve been so good lately, we can get you a proper room soon. Just as soon as I’m finished handling the heroes and securing Japan.”
Aizawa stiffened. Those cruel words had penetrated the fog around his mind. How many of his colleagues and students might be already dead? His shoulders shook with silent sobs.
“There, there.” All for One hugged his son, rocking him back and forth in a parody of comfort. Aizawa hated himself for not killing his father to save everyone. (He’d already tried. That was why Birthday was now scared of All for One. Aizawa couldn’t protect anyone but he had to at least stop any more harm from coming to his innocent cat.)
All for One lifted up Aizawa and tucked him into bed. These days, he only wore soft pajamas. According to his father, the clothing had once belonged to his uncle. Aizawa thought it only fitting that a man dead in all ways that mattered wore a dead man’s clothes.
After an interminable lullaby, All for One finally left. The vault door ground shut, and the lights lowered.
Once alone, Aizawa’s mind went even more insane. His missing leg throbbed. Over and over again, he saw his precious students lying bloody on the ground. His eye socket hurt, too. The physical pain had nothing on the mental. Aizawa dug his fingers into the skin around his eye, hard enough to draw blood. The pain felt good. Unlike all the phantom pains, this was real. He dug in his nails harder, scratching all over his face.
From a loudspeaker overhead, All for One said sharply, “Stop that behavior this instant, Sho-chan. Do you want a better room or not? If you continue like this, then I’ll inflict the same injuries on your cat.”
Of course, there were always cameras watching. Aizawa stopped. He lay very still. He pretended he was dead.
The vault door went down with the splintering of metal and an unholy scream. A very, very familiar scream that could only have been produced by a very familiar quirk. Aizawa’s head shot up. Birthday hissed and cowered under the bed.
“Shouta!” Yamada charged into the room and picked Aizawa up off the ground, lifting him into a bear hug.
“Hizashi? Are you…real?” The arms around him felt very real. Tears stung Aizawa’s eyes. “You can’t be here. My father, he’ll kill you…like he killed Oboro…” Aizawa stopped, horrified at what he’d admitted.
But Yamada didn’t look surprised. Only sad. Stroking Aizawa’s greasy white hair, Yamada said, “It’s all right. Midoriya killed All for One. But, uh, don’t tell anyone else I said that. We all promised to provide him with an alibi.”
“All for One…is dead?” Aizawa simply couldn’t believe it. Surely this must be a fantasy he’d concocted for himself to escape his hopeless reality. The notion of his father’s death brought a complicated swirl of emotions: joy, relief, disbelief, and even a little bit of grief. Once upon a time he’d loved his father very much.
“Mr. Aizawa!” Izuku Midoriya rushed into the vault. He was loaded down with weapons: grenades, knives, and poison vials strapped to his chest. A flamethrower hung on his back. His front and face had been stained with blood but it didn’t appear to be his own. His eyes looked even more demented than his usual battle face. Dark smoke and black tendrils swirled around him. His feet floated off the floor. Even his white pupils seemed to glow. “I’m so happy that you’re safe, sir.” There was an angelic smile on Izuku’s face, except he looked like one of those biblical angels who told shepherds to FEAR NOT.
“Problem child, did you develop two extra quirks?” Aizawa asked in a tone of mild shock.
Izuku said, “After I teamed up with First in order to bully the past holders into helping me save First’s nephew, I got six quirks.”
Those had been words but strung together they made no sense. Aizawa sagged. “As expected, this is all a dream…”
“We need you back—Midoriya becomes even more of a problem child without you.” Yamada hugged tighter. “I’m sorry we took so long to find you.” A tear fell down his face.
Aizawa’s arms went up to accept the hug. “It’s not your fault,” he said reflexively even though he still didn’t believe this was real.
The rest of Class 1-A poured into the vault. Their costumes were tattered and bloodstained but they were all gloriously alive. Most of them had blood under their fingernails. They piled on their teacher in a massive group hug. Chatter arose.
“We finally found you, Mr. Aizawa!”
“Your new hair looks cool!”
“We won’t let anyone bully our teacher!”
Overwhelmed, Aizawa muttered, “All for One will be coming…even if you think you’ve killed him, he always has a trick…he’ll regenerate…”
Mina said, “Not a chance! I melted down the corpse until not even a bone shard was left. My acid took care of every last atom except the bits in the stomachs of Koda’s rats. I couldn’t hurt innocent animals, especially not after they were so helpful.”
“Let’s not talk about what the rats did,” Kaminari said, his face a little green. “Mineta still hasn’t recovered from his faint.” The other students cast slightly frightened glances at Koda.
Katsuki punched a fist into his hand. “There was barely even anything left for me by the time Rock Face was done. I’ve got a new rival.”
Mina bopped her own head. “Whoops, we’re not supposed to talk about the corpse. Mr. Yamada said we shouldn’t get reputations as killers before we even graduate. Principal Nezu said it would be good for the HPSC to run around in circles trying to figure out what happened to All for One.”
Kneeling down, Koda coaxed Birthday out from under the bed. Whatever he said seemed to calm the cat. “Sorry, Mr. Aizawa, I know he was your father. His suffering was…intense but brief!”
“You have nothing to be sorry for…wait. You all know who I am but you still came for me?” Aizawa whispered.
Gently, Izuku said, “We know who you are. You’re our teacher.” He lowered his voice. “Besides it turns out you’re not the only one here with a blood connection to All for One. Let’s talk more later. We’ve got to get you out of here.”
The other students pulled back to let Yamada help Aizawa to his feet. Between his poor diet and lack of exercise, he could barely walk. Aizawa did a quick headcount of his students. He was one short. “Wait! Where’s Aoyama?”
Yamada and the students exchanged concerned glances.
“Did he die? Because of me?” Aizawa demanded. He felt like his very breath hung on the answer.
“No! No!” Izuku waved his hands. “Aoyama was a spy, but he turned on All for One after what happened to you. Because Aoyama helped us lure All for One into a trap and gave us information on your location, Principal Nezu says he’ll definitely get a plea bargain. Please don’t be too mad at him.”
Aizawa’s throat choked up. “You all…you’re all problem children…thank you. I’m so damn proud of you.”
Yamada beamed. “Time to go back home to U.A. Wait, no, U.A.’s infirmary got wrecked when the school crash-landed. We’d better get you to a hospital.”
Aizawa gaped. “When the school what?”
“Don’t worry about it! Focus on getting better.” Yamada put an arm around Aizawa’s shoulder to compensate for his missing leg and helped him out into the light.
The golden light around Aizawa finally faded away. Eri lowered her hands, her expression anxious. It morphed into relief as she saw that her quirk had worked. Aizawa had both legs now.
Touching his face, Aizawa realized he could see out of both eyes. His vision felt clearer than it had in years spent staring at computer screens for too long. He was a little afraid, but he braced himself and tried to use Erasure.
His hair lifted. His eyes glowed. He had his quirk back.
“Thank you, Eri,” Aizawa said, smiling down at the daughter of his heart.
Instead of looking happy, tears filled her eyes. “But…your hair…”
Aizawa looked over her shoulder at the hospital mirror. Even though his injuries had all healed, his hair was still as white as snow.
Kneeling down, Aizawa gathered Eri into his arms. He whispered, “I like my hair. We match now, see?” He tugged on a lock of her white hair.
In fact, Aizawa had some complicated feelings about whatever had made his hair color permanent but he figured he should work them out with a psychiatrist, not Eri. She only deserved praise from him.
Eri beamed up at him. “Like family?”
“That’s exactly right. From now on, I’d like to be your family.” Aizawa coughed. “If you and your dad will have me.”
Eri’s hug was an answer.
Aizawa sat with his legs hanging over the hospital bed, scribbling lesson plans in a notebook. He was determined to get back to his normal life as soon as possible. Besides, he wanted to see his students again. He owed them all some easy final exams.
The door opened. Immediately, Aizawa put his hands over his head and muttered, “Stay away, Dad…”
Yamada stood in the doorway, eyes wide. His hands fidgeted. “I’m sorry for startling you.”
Aizawa took deep breaths. His gaze flickered around the hospital room, white walls covered with Get Well Soon cards from his friends and students. Soft sheets cushioned his body. There was plaster on the walls instead of metal. He soaked in the warm sunlight and the fresh air from the window. He always left the window slightly cracked, even though it was against hospital rules, to remind himself that he wasn’t in the vault. A terrified part of his brain screamed that maybe this was all an illusion or a trap from his father. But All for One never would have let him have Yamada. His father had been hideously controlling like that. Looking up from under his shaggy bangs, Aizawa said, “It’s not your fault. You’ve done nothing wrong. Sometimes it’s easy for me to forget where I am.”
Yamada nodded. “No one would expect you to recover overnight.”
Aizawa looked away, ashamed of his own weakness. He expected himself to hurry up and get out of the hospital so he could repay everyone for their help.
Sitting down on the bed, Yamada looked over at the notebook. “Planning lessons already? Jeez, Shouta, you’re a workaholic.” He laughed. “Principal Nezu said that you could take as much time off as you need to.”
“I know, but I want to see my kids again.” A very small smile touched Aizawa’s lips.
“You can see them while you’re on leave. They’d be storming this hospital if the rules didn’t restrict visitors. They’re preparing a big party for your release. There will be a group dance.”
Aizawa rolled his eyes. “I hate parties.” He could not bring himself to admit that he was a bit touched.
Yamada cleared his throat. “Birthday misses you, too. He mewls a lot even though I promise I’ve been looking after him very well. Eri spoils him rotten. And…” He froze. “And…”
“Spit it out,” Aizawa said.
Yamada coughed. “I’ve been visiting Kurogiri in prison. Some of his old memories are coming back. He’d like to see you. He doesn’t blame you for anything.”
Heart sinking, Aizawa looked down at his hands. “He ought to hate me. I don’t have the right to see him.”
“He said he could never hate you. That’s how I knew there was still Oboro in there.” Yamada patted Aizawa’s back. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. But if it’s only guilt keeping you away, then I think you should visit him.”
“If you’re sure he wants to see me…” Aizawa twisted his hands.
“Yeah. He does.” Yamada kept stroking Aizawa’s back. They sat so close that their heads touched. “I showed him a picture, and he made a joke about your hair turning white while his turned into black shadows.”
“I’m glad. That he can make jokes.” Aizawa swallowed a lump in his throat.
Yamada laughed and pulled him closer. “Still bad jokes.” His tone turned serious. “I’ll go with you. I’ll be with you every step of the way.”
Without hesitation, Yamada had acted as if it was only natural that Aizawa move in with him and Eri. Aizawa desperately didn’t want to be alone after the vault. But they’d never talked about what that might mean.
Wetting his lips, Aizawa asked, “Do you remember my birthday, when you nearly kissed me and I pushed you away? That was because I feared my f—All for One might hurt you.”
“I figured that, after we found out,” Yamada said softly.
“All for One is dead now.”
“Your kids made extremely sure of that. Honestly I’m a bit scared of them now. Especially Midoriya, Ashido, and Koda.”
Aizawa tilted up his head. Yamada took the invitation and kissed him.
OMAKE TIME!
Omake: A Ghostly Chat
All for One: (Turning in his grave) How dare my son get laid?
Yoichi: He’s thirty, not three! Let him live his life. Congratulations, my lovely nephew. You’re continuing the family tradition of marrying the person who breaks you out of a bank vault.
#
Omake: Behind the scenes.
Aizawa: All my students and colleagues must hate me now.
At U.A.:
Izuku: Team, we are preparing to retrieve our teacher and kill All for One. Do all of you have your flamethrowers and grenades?
Class 1-A: CHARGE!
All for One: I’m here to collect my younger son—ARGH! My face! It’s being ripped off for the second time! Help, Tomura!
Tomura: I am not going near that walking cheat code and his OP minions. In fact, I’m turning myself in so I don’t have to fight the feral green monster.
Izuku: I was always going to kill you, All for One, but now you’ve made it personal. SEE YOU IN HELL DEADBEAT! Ashido, please come over here and help me melt this corpse.
Present Mic: Don’t worry, I’ll provide you all with alibis.
#
Omake: How Aizawa Got His Quirk Back, Version Two
Tomura: I stole Erasure using my copy of All for One. I’ll trade it back in exchange for leniency for my friends…and an autograph!
Aizawa: I’ll happily sign anything you want, but are you and the rest of the League of Villains really turning yourself over for my autograph?
Tomura: Uh, watching Sensei get eaten alive by rats was also a strong incentive. We accept that we’ve been out-eviled.
#
Omake: How Aizawa Got His Quirk Back, Version Three
Eri: You should try using Erasure.
Aizawa: I just did, but nothing happened.
Eri: Oh, no! Let me try again. Wait, my horn is gone. Dad, you have a horn on your head.
Aizawa: …
Eri: Yay, my quirk is gone!
Aizawa: Oh no, I have my father’s quirk.
#
Omake: Before the Rescue
All for One: Little did you know that Aoyama was my spy. I planted him to watch you constantly. I bet now you feel like you can’t trust any of those foolish heroes.
Aizawa: (Catatonic mumbling.)
Meanwhile:
Aoyama: Mr. Aizawa is like a father to me and unlike my biological parents he never sold me to All for One. Here’s a map to his location.
#
Omake: The Dad for One Ending
Inko: Welcome to the family, stepson.
Aizawa: Finally a good parent. I wish I’d met you sooner.
Inko: Well, my ex couldn’t have revealed he had a son so close in age to me without admitted that he was a lying immortal supervillain. Also from what he implied to me, he created Izuku because he wanted a child who looked more like Yoichi, and he probably didn’t want to admit that to you.
Aizawa: I’m completely fine with not being used as a replacement for my uncle.
Inko: He wasn’t worth much as a father but he did leave a generous life insurance policy. Since my dear son was smart enough to completely destroy the body, we won’t face any blame for being related to a villain and the HPSC can’t confiscate the money. I’d like to share it with you. I heard you have a wedding planned and those are expensive.
#Though I didn’t actually state in the story who else was related to All for One #Maybe Koda committed patricide for all you know