Izuku looked down from across the cell he was in as Hisashi struggled to sit up. After the huge revelation, Shigaraki had beat up the older male even more and technically left him to die, but he wanted to insult Hisashi even more so he locked Hisashi up and put Izuku back in his cell.
No matter how much he had tried to think about it, he still couldn't believe that Shigaraki had said words. It was impossible, right? For him to be Hisashi's son? Mitsuki had told him that his father was a merman that left them as soon as he found out that his mother was pregnant with Izuku. His father was a merman and there was no way that this badly beaten up human was his father... it was just too impossible.
Think about it, merman. Shigaraki had told him when Izuku stated that it was impossible and that he was lying. You grew up different-- able to understand human language with none of your kind able to tell you why. Well, this is the reason why... it was because you were never entirely a mermaid from the beginning. You were the product of this bastard and that mermaid's love!
A grunt shook Izuku out of his thoughts and he saw Hisashi trying to stand up and get the gates to open-- he was still trying to get Izuku out.
"H-hey!" Izuku had yelled, "Stop it! You'll hurt yourself,"
But the older man wasn't listening as he started to shake his cell gate and yelled at Shigaraki for being a bastard and demanded to free Izuku.
"Stop it, I say!" Izuku yelled angrily. "Why are you trying so hard to save me?!"
"Because I promised Inko that I'd always keep you safe!" Hisashi yelled and Izuku froze when Hisashi broke down. "I promised her... I'd make a world where we didn't have to hide you from the cruelness of this world... that was why I joined Shigaraki, but it meant that I had to leave you for a little while... I had to leave you... I had to..."
Izuku slowly knelt on the ground as he gripped the cell gates. "Are you... are you really my father?" he asked. Everything was happening to fast and Izuku couldn't keep up, one morning he was sure he was a merman with a freaky ability to understand human language, the next morning he was half-human, half mermaid and meeting his father whom he never thought was even alive from the start.
Hisashi took his time before answering. "It took me a few days to realize who you were... but those eyes... I'll never forget them. Every part of you reminded me of her that it hurt me to see you suffer in Shigaraki's hands. I had to get you out but I couldn't do it with Shigaraki breathing down on my neck... I might be his right-hand man but he doubted my loyalty, especially when we caught you... he knew about you and Inko... he offered me revenge on Enji for killing her, I took it... I took it knowing that I was doing it for you and for her... I was fulfilling my promise," Hisashi wiped the tears in his eyes, "But things got out of hand and it was already too late when I saw that Shigaraki had other plans... he was going to kill you and I couldn't let it happen, I had to save you..."
Izuku looked up at Hisashi as tears streamed down his eyes. He couldn't believe what was happening to him-- he was finally meeting his father and he didn't know how to react. He felt happy that he finally had a family, but what about Mitsuki and Katsuki back home? He felt angry at Hisashi for being a coward and running away to get revenge, but he understood that he was just lost in thought after finding out that his beloved was killed. He felt like he wanted to strangle his father and hug him at the same time-- he was so confused.
"I'm sorry if you felt like I left you out of cowardice," Hisashi mumbled. "I didn't know what face would I show you if I ever get the chance to go back... I didn't know if you'd accept me as soon as you found out that a human killed your mother..."
"Mitsuki-san never told me she was killed," Izuku answered, his eyes focused on the concrete floor. "She told me mother was died giving birth to me... She figured that mother wouldn't have wanted me to hate humans... it made sense now knowing that my father is a human and mother didn't want me to hate you too as well, I guess..."
Silence passed between them as Hisashi didn't know what to say, bewildered at how easily could Izuku forgive him like that.
"What was mother like...?" Izuku asked and Hisashi looked up at him in astonishment. "I-I... I didn't get to meet her and only knew her from Mitsuki-san's stories, so I thought that... maybe..."
Hisashi let out a half-hearted laugh. "Inko was unlike any other girl I met in the village," he said, "I first met her when she climbed up a tree to try and get a kite some kids at the kingdom was crying about. She fell from the branch and I caught her... but the tumble had caused out lips to land on each other and never in my life had I been so flustered upon kissing a girl,"
Izuku couldn't help but smile imagining the scene-- the pirate king's right-hand man blushing and apologizing furiously at the very innocent mermaid disguised as a human.
"She had green, shiny hair and green eyes that could rival the sea," Hisashi continued. "Her skin was fair and flawless that anyone would mistake her to be a princess and had the other girls in the village feel jealous of her, but what I fell in love the most was how innocent she was-- always finding every little thing excited and wonderful... she was perfect in my eyes,"
Izuku leaned over the wall as he listened to his father as he wiped the tears that gradually flow down his face as he thought about his mother.
"Eventually we fell in love and I had screamed that I was the luckiest man in the world that day," Hisashi chuckled. "But... Inko was afraid to tell me her secret of who she really was... she was too afraid that she had stopped showing up. But I wasn't going to give up on her... I had to find her... so I set out to sail and try to look for her with no other lead or idea where to start finding her... I was caught up in a horrible storm and my boat sunk down, the waves threw me over and over until I lost consciousness and almost drowned to my death. When I woke up, Inko was beside me... his beautiful mermaid tail shimmering against the moonlight as she lay beside me. My breath caught up in my throat upon seeing her, not because of how terrified I was in finding out that my lover was a mermaid, but... by how beautiful really was that night,"
"I didn't ask her why she kept it as a secret, seeing how our kind were both at war with each other at that time. She was afraid I'd find out the truth and hate her for it, so she thought that fleeing was the best idea," Hisashi smiled. "She didn't know how much she was wrong, not until I looked at her straight in the eyes and only felt love for that mermaid... I never saw her as something else, but just Inko... the woman I love,"
"We lived peacefully away from the village after that," Hisashi wiped a stray tear that escaped his eyes. "And I never forgot the day when I found out that you were growing inside Inko... I always thought that I was the luckiest man when I won Inko's heart... turns out, I was also the luckiest father when we found out we were going to have you..."
Izuku bit his lips as he tried to stop himself from sobbing. He remembered his dream now, it wasn't a dream but a memory of when he was still inside his mother's womb-- it was Hisashi and Inko talking to him, his parents.
"But the killings were starting to worsen and somehow the villagers found out what Inko was," Hisashi said sadly. "We were forced to run out of Yuei and I had to convince Inko to go back to the water so I can make sure that you were both safe... that day was the most devastating day in my life, seeing Inko cry as she swam away from me to keep you safe. But I had to stay strong, for Inko and for you... That was when I met Shigaraki along the way-- Enji killed his family after suspecting that they had mermaid blood in them... Shigaraki was the last of his family and his hatred and thirst for revenge was what drove him the whole time... I never wanted to hurt anyone, I just wanted to leave peacefully with you... until Enji killed Inko that night..."
Hisashi stopped as he tried to gulp the lump that was forming in his throat. "My world stopped that night upon seeing Inko's body... my heart was filled up with hatred and thirst for revenge that I had forgotten all about our son... our baby boy who was probably somewhere under the safety of the sea, wondering where his parents are... I was so angry and so focused on getting revenge for Inko that I had forgotten all about you... my little Izuku... I-I'm sorry... I'm sorry your life turned out like this, I'm sorry if I had to leave... I'm sorry if I couldn't protect you and Inko that night... I'm sorry,"
Izuku sobbed as he shook his head. "Please don't... it wasn't your fault... it was never your fault, I never blamed you nor did mother..." he gave out a choked sob as he gripped the cell that was separating him from his father. "I'm happy... I'm very happy to meet you and see you and know that you cared for me... I've been alone all my life and even though Mitsuki-san was there to take care of me... it still felt different knowing that your own parents were there for you... so don't say sorry because you've done nothing wrong..."
Hisashi bowed his head as he cried along with Izuku.
"Thank you... thank you for letting me meet you," Izuku whispered. "Thank you for letting me meet my father,"
Hisashi half laughed and half sobbed as he wiped his tears away and Izuku looked up at him and smiled despite the tears that streamed down his face.
Inko, are you seeing this? Hisashi asked. Izuku is calling me father... our little boy is all grown up now... are you seeing this? Never again will I let him get hurt... I promise you that.
They spent the whole night telling stories about each other and Izuku had never been so happy in his life, and Hisashi had stared at Izuku when he fell asleep on the floor, his tiny body curled up in a ball and all Hisashi could see was his little boy.
He let out a shaky breath as he looked up at the small window in his cell. He knew what was going to happen tomorrow so he had to act fast, he had to get Izuku out as he knew Shigaraki wouldn't hesitate to kill him.
He never planned to reveal his true identity to Izuku as he knew the small possibility that Izuku might take him back and that was what Hisashi dreaded-- he knew Izuku wouldn't leave without Hisashi and his only chance of letting Izuku escape was for someone to rescue Izuku out... but who could do it? Shoto was nowhere to be seen or heard of and he was sure that the prince wouldn't go back and risk his life for his son.
But, oh, how wrong was he to think that.