With the internships over, they still had the weekend to get some rest before school started up again. On Monday, they will go back to their routine. However, before that, Aizawa and Izuku had the weekend to do whatever the hell they wanted.
Friday night, Aizawa suggested they watch a couple of movies. Despite their obvious differences in taste, they eventually settled on an old movie. It was made before the development of quirks. The movie told the story of a young man, who after his parent's murder decided to take justice into his own hands and become a vigilante. The story was interesting enough and the protagonist, who didn't have powers made it easier for Izuku to relate.
After that, they discussed the movie. Izuku going on a tangent about the movie's 'quirkless hero' and how he used his support items.
In this society, heroes didn't always have useful quirks. Most of them had a quirk that was activated given a certain circumstance that wasn't always met. Some of them had glaring weaknesses that made them useless in some fights. For example, Kamui Woods wouldn't last seconds against a fire quirk. On the other hand, Heroes like Eraserhead, Aizawa himself fought essentially quirkless. Aizawa's quirk only served to level the playing field. The rest depended on his own quirkless fighting abilities and years of hard work. Not to mention his support items, his capture weapon was essential in his hero work, after all.
The night went by, Izuku was finally coming out of his shell, he wasn't afraid to speak up and didn't expect to be punished for every little thing anymore.
It was getting late but despite already being exhausted from his internship and even though he was still recovering from his fight with stain, couldn't get some sleep. Aizawa, on the other hand, was out like a light.
Aizawa was acting strange, Izuku noted the way the older man would open his mouth, only to close it again. Whatever words he wanted to say were failing to come out. It was worrying, to say the least. Did his teacher have something to tell him? Was Aizawa afraid of his reaction? Did he do something wrong? Was he in trouble?
Shaking the thoughts out of his mind, Izuku slowly rose from his seated position on the couch. Making sure he made no sound, he turned off the television and walked past Aizawa's sleeping form making sure to cover up his teacher with the blanket that was now discarded on the floor.
Pausing for a moment, he took in the peaceful look that adorned his teacher's face. This man has already done so much for him. He will always be grateful to him. After all, Aizawa has given him something he's never dreamed of having.
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The next day went by in a similar fashion, they watched the morning news together, both of them enjoying the peaceful silence that had settled between them.
However, Izuku, who, in order to survive his mother's wrath, has grown accustomed to noticing the small shifts of behavior, knew that something was up with his teacher. He spent years observing his mother and learning how to guess her moods. He saved himself from countless beatings by doing so. It has become a sort of habit of his, watching people, analyzing their personalities and acting accordingly.
So, when Aizawa's attitude changed slightly, he knew something was wrong. His teacher has something to tell him but was nervous? No... why would Aizawa be nervous?
Dark thoughts swirled in his head, did Aizawa get sick of his presence? Did he want to get rid of him already? Of course, he did. His own mother couldn't handle it. Why did he expect Aizawa to be any different?
Politely excusing himself, he retreated back to his room. The guest room. After all, that was all that he was right? A stranger. An intruder in this man's home.
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Aizawa didn't know how to do this. This was uncharted territory for the man and he didn't know how he was supposed to cross it.
He was contemplating on ways to tell Midoriya but the boy had locked himself in his room all afternoon.
Should he just knock on his door and ask for them to talk? Or was he supposed to wait for the boy to adjust more?
This was beginning to be really frustrating, and Izuku's closed off behavior did not help settle his nerves in the least.
Was he making the kid uncomfortable? He wanted Izuku to trust him. He thought that he was getting through the kid's thick walls but was he just oblivious? Over the past few weeks, Aizawa has grown to love this kid as his own. Was he wrong in wanting to make it official?
The decision seemed to make itself for him because soon enough soft footsteps could be heard as Izuku hesitantly stepped into the living room.
They looked at each other for a second before they both spoke. Their voices overlapping each other.
"Look, kid, we should talk!"
"Mr. Aizawa I-"
They stopped, not having heard each other over their own voice.
"You go first kid." Aizawa offered with a nod. His eyes never leaving Izuku's as he straightened up from his slumped position on the couch. If Izuku has something to say, he would give him his full attention.
"I- I've noticed that I've been bothering you lately and I don't want to be a burden anymore and I'm sorry if I did anything wrong and I didn't mean to overstep any boundaries." Izuku was talking faster and faster by the second, his words were rushed and his voice was getting quieter as he went on. "You've been so good to me and all I've done is intrude on your everyday life and I know you never asked for this and I'm sorry. I just- I can go... I can take care of myself, I'm sure I can find some kind of job and pay rent for a small apartment near campus and you wouldn't have to worry about me anymore and I- "He was cut off from his rambling by a crushing hug coming from his teacher. The actions promptly shut him up, his words getting caught in his throat at the unexpected reaction.
"Izuku. Don't you ever think that you are in any way a burden. You haven't bothered me in the least. I know I've been out of it lately but I need you to believe me when I say that it's for reasons that have nothing to do with you being a burden. I was scared of how you would take it because... Look I'm not good at this. At all of the emotional stuff, I don't know how to act on them. But, what I do know is that you have grown to be like a son to me and I... I talked to Tsukauchi and he managed to pull some strings and the papers and legalities are all ready..." For once in his life, it was Aizawa who was rambling.
Realization dawned on Izuku, his eyes grew wide as he grasped the implication behind Aizawa's words.
"Do you mean..." Izuku breathed out, disbelief in his tone.
"Yes. I want you, Izuku Midoriya to become my son. If you're willing... that is." Although that last part was mumbled, Aizawa's nervousness bubbling to the surface. The hope and fondness behind his words were apparent.
Izuku was speechless. How was he supposed to respond to that? Aizawa wanted to adopt him. He wanted to be his father! Tears welled up in the teen's eyes as he felt loved for the first time in his life.
"I- Are- Are you sure?" He answered hesitantly, his voice barely above a whisper as he prayed for this to not be some kind of cruel dream.
"Yes, Izuku. If you accept, I'd like you to become an Aizawa."
"O-Okay... I'd love to."
Aizawa would deny anyone who said that he cried in that particular moment. No sir. He did not cry. He just had something in his eyes.
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Monday arrived without a hitch after that. The duo had spent the weekend putting up posters In Izuku's room. The boy, for once, was able to make the room his own. His mother never allowed him to keep anything hero related. Aizawa's house was slowly beginning to become a home. In every sense of the word. The man was his family now.
They arrived at school, walking side by side as they passed the gates. As soon as they passed the teacher's lounge, All Might, in his hero form popped up from around the corner.
"Aizawa! Young Midoriya! I was waiting for you! How are you feeling my boy! Gran told me about the Hosu incident! I'm sure Aizawa already scolded you for your recklessness. I'm glad that you're safe." His booming voice echoed through the hallway. Izuku barely contained his laughter when he felt Aizawa sink deeper into his capture weapon in order to escape the hero's loud demeanor, this early in the morning.
"Hi, All Might! Yeah... We were lucky. W-Why were you waiting for us?" He replied cheerfully despite his confusion.
"I wanted to talk to you about something my boy! If Aizawa will allow it, I'd like to take up a couple of minutes of your time before homeroom." Aizawa seemed to contemplate it before he nodded his head in approval.
"Just don't be late to class problem child." With that, the dark-haired man walked away.
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All Might led him to the teacher's lounge.
"Take a seat..." Izuku gulped at the sudden tenseness in his mentor's demeanor. He had to remind himself that All might could never hurt him.
They sat across from each other, All might taking a seat on the couch and Izuku on the seat in front of him.
"You've been through a lot lately and I'm sorry I wasn't there to help..." The hero started solemnly.
"N-No that's okay you don't have to apologize All Might. Is that what you wanted to talk about? The fight with stain?" Izuku was being impatient, he knew that. However, he couldn't help the growing sense of unease in his guts.
"I brought you here today, to talk about One for all." The hero began slowly "One for all, as you already know, is a unique quirk. Although it can't be forcibly taken, it can be transferred to another user if the current user wills it to." There was a pause, it felt as though All Might was steeling himself to say something important.
After a moment, the hero continued.
"One for All was once upon a time derived from another quirk altogether. All For One... A quirk that lets the user steal other quirks as well as grant quirks to others."
"All for One..." Izuku breathed out in disbelief "Everything was for this guy to take?"
"This was back at the advent of the exceptional. A time where society still hadn't managed to adapt to the changes. Back then, the norms of what it meant to be human suddenly collapsed and with that, laws became meaningless. Social progress halted, it was catastrophic. Humans with quirks were shunned and treated as monsters and in that age of confusion and chaos... One man took the initiative and brought people together. You may have heard about this... He would steal quirks and with his overwhelming power, spread the influence of his organization. He was responsible for manipulating so many others into committing the unthinkable. Before long, he had taken over Japan. A true lord of evil." Shivers ran Izuku's spine at the thought.
"I- I've seen rumors about this on the internet, but I... I thought it was all made up! They don't talk about it in the textbooks!" Izuku asked, comprehension apparent in his tone.
"The textbooks don't tell you what the Yakuza is up to either, do they? When a person has power, they instinctively seek a way to use it."
"But how is this all connected to One for all?" The boy inquired.
"I mentioned that All for One had the ability to grant quirk too. With that power, he instilled trust in people... Or at least he got them to submit. However, the human body couldn't handle the burden it took. Many would become mere puppets, inhuman creatures, like those Nomu..."
"You mean those Nomu- Th- They were people?!" Izuku couldn't believe it, all these creatures were once normal human beings, just like them, they used to have families, lives...
"I'm afraid so my boy. On the other hand, there were cases where his granting of a quirk would result in a mutation, a blending of the sort. You see... All for One had a quirkless younger brother." A gasp escaped Izuku's throat before he could stop himself. Quirkless. "The brother, despite being small and fragile, had a strong sense of justice and couldn't stand the deeds done by his sibling... So, he opposed the tyrant. However, the eldest brother gave the younger one a power stocking quirk by force. Whether it was to reward him or punish him, we still don't know."
"Wait... so-"
"Yes, it turns out, the younger brother was never actually quirkless. He just had a dormant quirk. A quirk, so passive that he was never going to be able to use it. It was the power to pass on a quirk to others. Then the stockpile quirk and the Transferring quirk were fused." All might brought both of his hands together to emphasize the fact." And that, my boy, is how One for All came to be. Ironic isn't it? Justice always seems to be born from evil." That Izuku could understand. In the world they lived in, darkness lurks at every corner. However, with the darkness, within the void, there is a light. That light is held by the heroes, the symbols of their society.
"Wait... why are you telling me this now?"
"One for all, a man with the power to steal other's quirk, acquired a quirk that would stop his aging, henceforth making him a near immortal, an everlasting symbol of evil. His defeated younger brother decided then to pass on his power to the next generation. In hopes that one day, his brother may be defeated. Though it was but a shadow of what it is today... the power grew and grew as it was passed on. Finally, it was my generation that managed to defeat the villain, or so we thought... He survived and now, he's on the move again as the brains behind the league of villains." He looked up, for once meeting Izuku's eyes through his whole speech." One for All is a quirk that was created for the sole purpose of one day defeating All For One. Which means that someday, it will be up to you to take on the world greatest evil. I'm sorry my boy, when I gave you this power, I thought that All for one was dead. I didn't want my successor to hold the burden of such a responsibility. You've already been through so much and all I've done is put more weight on your shoulders." He lowered his head in apology.
Izuku couldn't lie. This was terrifying. A villain, so strong that he was able to hurt All Might and survive?
Generation after generation of heroes have tried and failed to take down All for One and it was up to him now. It was his responsibility.
However, he reminded himself of everything he managed to accomplish with the help of his mentor and the people around him.
He was not alone anymore. He could do this... He would do this.
"I'll do my best All Might! I'll step up to the challenge! With you by my side, I can do anything! At least, that's how I feel!" Determination burned like fire in Izuku's emerald eyes as he clenched his fist, ready to take on the world. However, his resolve dissipated as soon as he met his mentor's eyes. "Wh- what's wrong All Might?" He asked, worry and fear boiling in his stomach.
"I- It's nothing, my boy. I'm just proud of you." All might saw the tension in his student's shoulders dissipate. The boy was oblivious to his interior monologue.
'I'm sorry Midoriya. But, probably when that day comes... I won't be here for you anymore."