Know the Difference: A My Hero Academia Fanfiction

CHAPTER ONE: THE NORM/THE FAMILY BUSINESS

First of all, this fic is entirely Rune's fault. She threw out the idea of "villain family AU where Inko's a villain and married to All for One" in a Discord server and plotted it with me for a week, along with several other folks. This story is more of a Discord collaboration between all of us that I got attached to and decided to write.

Secondly, this fic is going to be super long, probably, which is why it's slow build/slow burn. (My other 200k WIP took 30 chapters to get the main ship to admit they're in love with each other... and the main genre is romance.) The main pairing will be BakuDeku... eventually. I promise it will be worth it. (I hope?) There will probably be other pairings that pop up over time, but romance really won't be the central focus of this fic anyway.

Finally, I'm super excited for this story! I really got attached to the idea of Izuku being raised by All for One and all the fallout due to that, so hopefully I don't mess it up! And yes, when the angst comes, I guarantee that I will be cackling at your misery unless I say otherwise. :)

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CHAPTER ONE: THE NORM/THE FAMILY BUSINESS

"FATHER, do you have ten minutes to talk with me or are you busy right now?"

The papers he carried in his arms weighed heavy as Izuku bounced on the balls of his feet. Even though there were only two or three sheets, the weight was in his own head because of the words and phrases that he had written on them. There were twenty five reasons he had carefully written in his best penmanship, with his best pen, each considered just as carefully as he would consider anything else.

Father's gaze was as intimidating as it had always been his entire life, despite the mess of tubes that connected him to life support for the past five years.

Eventually, he sighed wearily and his lips twitched up. "Is this about taking a more active role in the family business?"

Izuku lifted his chin and squared his shoulders. This was it, his opening. If he had been busy, father would have dismissed him instantly or told him to talk with mother.

Calmly, he laid the papers on top of the desk, on top of the other papers that he was surely browsing through for the family business, and then he took a step back. He had rehearsed his speech with Tomura-nii, several times in fact, until Tomura-nii had shouted at him to "stop bugging me already with your whiny insecurity and just say it to him!"

So.

It must be good enough by now.

"Yes, father, it is about taking a more active role. Please listen to me. I thought full every reason like you asked me to, and I truly believe that I would be an asset to the family business."

Izuku bowed at forty-five degrees and then pulled his back straight again, waiting for permission to speak again. The last two times had ended badly because Izuku had mumbled or spoken too quickly; the ones before that he hadn't even considered why he wanted to help with the family business. Really, it was no wonder father told him no instantly.

This time though, Izuku was sure, would have a different outcome.

He even had mother's advice on the reasons.

Father sank back into the chair and gestured with his hand, a little circle—the universal sign to continue on with the explanation. "You have five minutes to present your case. After that, you are welcome to join me for lunch, but I will not listen to insistent pleading if there is no depth to it."

"Right," Izuku said quickly. He cleared his throat and took a deep breath. That was less time than he would have hoped for, but that was all right. "Reason one why you should consider allowing me to participate more fully in the family business is that I'm plain. Most heroes would not suspect me of all people to be involved with the family business."