Ticked Off [Boku No Hero Academia]

FATHER'S DAY SPECIAL: WONDER

Ah, this turned out a lot sadder than I was expecting,,, my b.

I feel like it says a lot about my relationships that I wrote this chapter for All Might before even doing anything for my actual real life father, but anyway yeet hope you enjoy!!

Discord server, if you wanna call me a dumbass and gently smooch me: https://discord.gg/DSBF4dP

~

Toshinori had never really wanted children. Even if he had, it was notoriously difficult for a Pro Hero to start a family; being the Number One Hero, and the Symbol of Peace on top of that, meant that he barely had any free time. It wouldn't have been fair to bring a child into the world if he was absent all the time, so he dedicated himself to keeping Japan safe to allow everyone else could have families instead.

Then he got injured, and there was nothing but the burden of heroism to keep him going, even as his transformation hours declined.

And then... he met Midoriya Izuku.

The kid astounded him, time and time again, doing everything he could to save everyone whilst learning how to control One for All at the same time. Toshinori got attached to all the other kids as well in the time he spent teaching, but everyone could clearly see that Izuku was his favourite, and vice versa. Although he'd permitted the students to call him by his real name – because he wasn't All Might anymore, not properly, not since Kamino – it was only Izuku who referred to him as 'Toshi,' while the rest of the kids – well, they weren't really kids anymore; they hadn't been for a while - would usually call him 'Yagi.' Despite the many years that had passed since he was the Symbol of Peace, those close to him would still sometimes call him 'All Might.'

They'd never know how much it meant to him that they looked at him, the scrawny, sickly old man, and still saw a hero.

No matter how many times they'd been in fights on their own since becoming full-fledged heroes all those years ago, he'd still find himself watching fearfully from afar and wishing that his emaciated body could hold his muscle form so he could help, because sure, they were technically adults, but... god, he'd watched them grow up from delicate children to hardened heroes: they would always be the bright-eyed kids of 1-A to him. Aizawa had done a good job in teaching them, because they always came out on top, never backing down or giving up, even when the odds seemed stacked against them, fighting and winning until it seemed like they were invincible.

But then Izuku...

Toshinori raised a fist to rub at his eyes, other hand clenching in the sand beneath him. In the darkness, he could pretend that he wasn't crying, but the tightness in his throat and the aching of his lung betrayed him.

Banisher had finally been cornered. Uravity and Deku were the two main heroes sent in to catch him, but only Uravity came out. It wasn't until a few hours later that everyone else got the news, after all the evidence had been properly processed. Most of the kids were scattered over the country, too busy with heroics and too valuable to send away, so most of them got impersonal statements delivered to them. Tsukauchi had been the one to call in Toshinori, both of them solemnly going with the lead officer on the fateful case to Inko's house to deliver the crushing news in person, because it was the least she deserved.