Third person pov
Izuku rolls into a form that vaguely resembles a rice ball against All Might's side, absolutely tiny next to the hulking skyscraper of a man. Nighteye took a seat primly across from them, eyes crawling greedily across the apartment and taking everything in with insatiable hunger. Izuku could definitely understand that, solemnly enough. From one All Might fanboy to another, he too had soaked up the space like a happy sponge his first day in. He still did from time to time, but it was sort of like exposure therapy, to be honest. Now he was just numb to the awe.
That was besides the point anyway. All Might was sweating like a pig waiting for slaughter and it only got worse the longer his former sidekick stayed silent. He was doing his best to stay strong for Izuku, but he couldn't deny Mirai had mad intimidation points backing him. Not as many as Gran Torino-- All Might's worst nightmare, second to only All For One. Maybe. Depending on his mood.
Izuku, for the record, did not squeak like a startled mouse when Nighteye's gaze descended upon him like a vulture onto the corpse of a raccoon on the side of an interstate highway. The way his glasses glinted was ominous in the worst way, and Izuku momentarily wondered if there was something he could do to get out of this situation. A glance at Toshinori told him the man was going to be no help in bailing him out. He was just as pale as Izuku was! At least they were in this together, he guessed. If Izuku was going down then he was, shamefully, going to drag All Might down by his hair antennas alongside him.
"A son." Nighteye somehow didn't sound impressed, those two simple words firing like missiles from a launcher. The newly-awakened dad in All Might rose defensively to the challenge, batting them away with his shiny, fresh fatherly pride.
"He's cute!" The blonde hero immediately blurted out, sounding distinctly offended on his behalf. Izuku pressed his lips together so tightly they formed a straight line and contemplated the benefits of willingly dissociating, and Nighteye still didn't look impressed. All Might, being the Number One hero, naturally did not waver in the face of this great threat. "And very smart. The brightest child I know."
"And how many children do you know, Toshinori?" Nighteye cocked an eyebrow in a manner near elegant, and Izuku was once again overcome with a feeling of severe inadequacy. He really didn't like this. Could they go back to the part where he was criticizing Toshinori-san's food tastes? Burning muffins? Writhing in pain from the injury he'd taken? He'd even take the thirteen papercuts he'd gotten from their failed attempt at origami over that oppressive glower!
"Enough." Toshinori gave him the stink eye for a moment before collecting himself. Because he's a mature adult who does things maturely. "That's besides the point! I'm sure you're here to address my increase in patrols!"
Nighteye nodded wordlessly as Toshinori puffed his chest out pridefully, the underground hero unable to stop the fondness that washed over him unbidden. Izuku looked between the pair hesitantly, trying to figure out whether or not he should say something. If he called for a bathroom break, he was pretty sure he'd at least make it out the front door before either of them could bring themselves to react. Or he could say he'd gotten food poisoning. But Toshinori-san had been eating all the same things as him and would definitely call him on it. Maybe. Or maybe he'd give him the out... it could be worth a shot.
No... no, this is unavoidable, isn't it? He's pretty sure he hasn't been this scared in his entire life, barring that one time he found out his mother got burned alive, but trauma dictates that he's at least a little numb to all that. For now. He'll have (another) mental breakdown eventually. Nighteye is All Might's former sidekick and it makes sense he'd show up eventually. Ugh. Oh woe is him. He got a nice, loving new home with the literal Number One Hero and now he has to talk to his super badass former sidekick who can see the future. He'll never recover.
"You appear... better. I was worried you were straining yourself, but you look..." Nighteye trailed off, brows furrowing.
"Like I did before?" Toshinori prodded, grinning and pulling Izuku further into him. The boy let himself get man-handled limply, already having given up. This was it for him. He was too young to have a will, but he was beginning to regret not writing one anyway. "Thanks to Izuku-kun, I'm healed!"
The following silence was deafening and incredibly awkward, and Izuku debated the pros and cons of throwing a childish tantrum. Newly adopted kids tended to be troublesome and temperamental, right? He had at least three free passes to lose his shit within the first two months before they got him a therapist, and that seemed like more than enough to him. Was this a situation that warranted using one of those chances? All Might knew some weird people. He may need to save them up for the future. There's no telling.
Nighteye stared for a moment, looking as though he'd just been told they were going to lock him in a box and throw him into the stratosphere at terminal velocity. Izuku and Toshinori were politely quiet whilst the man had his come to Jesus moment, sharing a mildly-concerned glance when Nighteye made a sound one would expect a disappointed hippopotamus to let out. As in, it was not entirely human and it gave them vast reason to worry. Did Nighteye need them to call someone? Was he okay?
Toshinori made things worse by lifting his shirt up as proof, which got them another sound much like the last. Izuku slapped the pro-heroes hands, giving him a sharp look as his shirt dropped back down again. Toshinori shrugged uselessly, smile turning a little sheepish. He was literally dying like, a week ago ish. Or something. Izuku wasn't counting, but the point was that this was no doubt a real shock. Right?! Right. He was being inclusive and sensitive.
"I-It's my quirk." Izuku offered an olive branch, feeling rather satisfied by the way his dad lit up at his contribution to this conversation. Even though this was awful and he wanted to cry. Details, details. This is something he can cry about later when he freaks out about his problems collectively all at once. It's much more efficient that way.
"You... You healed him?" Nighteye choked out, eyes wide and glasses slipping down the sharp slope of his nose. "How? His wound, it was-- I saw--"
"You saw wrong!" All Might bellowed heroically, because that's kind of his whole schtick. "Izuku selflessly reached out to me without regard to himself and aided me, and it's the least I can do to aid him myself. Not that he hasn't grown on me. I actually have quite a few pictures, if you want to see. I was thinking of making a scrapbook or two to document his life. I would need categories based on topic, but--"
"P-Pictures?" Izuku asked, scandalized. Toshinori froze as the boy's green eyes narrowed. "Show me."
"Uh, that's not necessary." Toshinori assured. Izuku's eyes went from suspicious slits to round, pleading puppy dogs eyes that made Toshinori hiss like a cat that had been dropped in a bucket of ice water. "Don't do that."
"I'm not doing anything." Izuku said with all the faux innocence of former nun who was now a rave queen. Very specific, but it was necessary to be clear in situations like this. "I just want to see the photos, Toshinori-san."
"There's only a few." Toshinori lied, averting his gaze. He subtly shimmied his phone so that it was buried underneath his thigh, debating what he could possibly change his password to that Izuku wouldn't guess. He claimed it was observation, but how could he have possibly known his password was David Shield's social security number? He was ten, for god's sake!
"Back up a moment." Nighteye demanded, saving Toshinori without even realizing. Izuku and his doting father both turned towards him in unison, looking as though they'd forgotten he was there. Mirai didn't appear to mind, raking a hand through his hair anxiously and leaving it all askew. He seemed misty-eyed, which was... awkward. What did they do if he started crying? Toshinori scoured his memories and tried to figure out if Sasaki liked hugs. "You're saying that he... you're healed? Permanently?"
"Yeah." Izuku's voice came out small, and he resumed his rice-ball form in an instant when Nighteye turned to him in a bewildered manner. "I-I mean, I've never seen it wear o-off before? But I uh... I-I haven't used it that much."
"Good." All Might's claim had a grim undertone to it that made Mirai frown. "Anyway! Let's order pizza and then we can figure out where to go from there."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They ate their pizza in silence for the most part, Izuku nudging Toshinori with his elbow every so often and jerking his head at Nighteye in an attempt to get his guardian to say something. Toshinori would just rapidly shake his head in response, having no idea how to approach this entire thing. What was he even approaching to begin with? They'd basically told him the entire story already. Izuku was amazingly smart, had healed him, and was now Toshinori's brand-spanking-new son. There was really no more meat to the story.
The underground pro assessed the pair with a bit of caution. Izuku did not seem to have any ill intent. In fact, this all seemed like a massive coincidence if nothing else. A miraculous one, but a coincidence none the less. All Might does a charity event and a child there just so happens to have a healing quirk. It was just... peculiar. A quirk of his magnitude never should've ended up in an orphanage to begin with. It was too powerful, and that implied it hadn't been recorded. The Hero's association surely would've snatched him up by now if it had been.
"You have an incredible quirk, Izuku." Nighteye decided that was a good way to start. He watched the young boy jolt slightly, head swinging back in his direction. Toshinori cleared his throat. "With a power like that, I'm rather surprised you were left at an orphanage to begin with. Healing quirks are in short supply."
He tried to keep his tone as light as possible but he wasn't all too sure how well that worked. Toshinori shifted a bit uncomfortably, glancing at Izuku as the boy fixed the pizza slice he was holding with a firm stare. There were more pieces to this puzzle than Toshinori had realized, no doubt. Nighteye felt himself become renewed with vigor. Toshinori-- All Might-- was healed. Back to his former glory, and now with a child who had the ability to remove injuries of massive proportion. His potential was overflowing. To have a power like that on the side of the heroes would make a world of difference in society.
It also put Izuku in a dangerous position, but that was the least of their issues right now, Nighteye felt. After all, where was safer than under All Might's full protection? Clearly nobody knew about him-- they'd have surely come to fetch him from the orphanage otherwise.
"I, uh..." Izuku cleared his throat a bit. He glanced up for a brief moment before flushing and looking back down. "M-My quirk isn't... legally registered as... w-well..."
Nighteye faltered. Toshinori blinked a bit.
"It's not?" All Might really hadn't even thought to check. He beat at his brain but couldn't recall a given reason why his quirk would be hidden in such a way. "Is there a reason why, my boy?"
"O-Oh, yeah. I'm supposed to hide it and not use it." Izuku recited with a nod, sounding quite sure of himself despite his nerves. Nighteye raised a brow at Toshinori, who was growing more concerned by the second. He should've asked about this. How hadn't he known? He'd just assumed his quirk was... well, listed. He'd had no reason to think it wouldn't be. Izuku sure hadn't brought it up before that.
"Ah... because of the side effects?" Toshinori asked. Mirai blinked, glancing at him. Side effects? That made sense, he supposed. He should've inquired about the limits of the power first before assuming its strength and flexibility. There was a chance he could only use it every so often, or it had some sort of backlash. Perhaps it drained energy like Recovery Girl's did, but at a smaller proportion?
Izuku felt himself begin to panic just a little. He knew they deserved and needed to know. Toshinori-san had brought him into his home and was giving him a life he never would've dreamed of. Devoted love and care that was a little bolder and a little louder his mother's had been, but just as warm. He wanted to trust them. He had to, really, because who else was there?
"Sort of, b-but not really." Izuku admitted, suddenly seeming to close in on himself. Nighteye gave Toshinori an expectant look, but the blonde looked more panicked than anything else. "Th... M-My mom, she... she, um... they...."
Izuku shriveled up like a piece of old broccoli, and Toshinori cursed himself up and down. He should've known something more was up. He hadn't wanted to try and force Izuku to talk about anything he didn't want to, but maybe a few inquiries should've been made despite that. Clearly there was a lot more here that he probably needed to know. Izuku looked pale and clammy, his eyes downcast and shadowed over with something Toshinori had never seen before. His eyes were always so open. It's one of the many things All Might loved about him.
Right now, however, they were entirely closed off. He couldn't say he was a big fan of the change. Toshinori could feel potent concern beginning to brew in the pit of his stomach. This wasn't shaping up to look good. He should've assumed, honestly, that something more had happened. He should've seen the signs. He's glad Nighteye is here.
"You mentioned your mother passed when your apartment building caught on fire." Nighteye's voice was uncharacteristically quiet. All Might held his breath as Izuku tensed. "Was that fire an accident?"
Izuku opened his mouth only to snap it right back shut again, his eyes growing misty. He shook his head slightly, ducking his head as though he were ashamed. Toshinori felt something icy rush through his veins. The arm he had around Izuku tightened its hold a little, pulling the boy further into him. The Number One Hero met Nighteye's gaze. His former sidekick looked grim, and All Might felt his own face pull into a frown.
Someone was after Izuku, and they'd murdered his mother to try and get to him. And if they were willing to go that far... well, it really is a miracle he hadn't been picked up from that orphanage before Toshinori showed up.