All the Light That Can't Be Seen: A My Hero Academia Fanfiction

Chapter Three

CHAPTER THREE.

"THERE is something I must tell you."

All Might's—Toshinori-san's— tone is serious when he asks Izuku to sit down, after he invites him inside his office. Izuku places the teacup on the table, uneasy at how serious his mentor looks right now, at this moment. He's always smiling, always cheerful, always encouraging, when he's around him. The way he looks now makes Izuku wonder if he has serious, devastating news to bestow upon him, even if he feels reluctant about it.

"W-what's wrong? Did something happened? Am I in trouble?"

Toshinori-san shakes his head quickly. "No, no. You're not in trouble. It's just... did you hear anything on the large televisions?"

And now he knows what he's getting at. Even though, somehow, names were censored in the media, Izuku still can hear the way All for One had said that he was his grandson, so clearly through the loudspeakers.

He's come up with a thousand reasons for why that's impossible, and a thousand more about how that actually might be possible. There's a part of his soul that's still screaming and thrashing, crying out in agony, denying the truth even though All for One has no reason to say that he is his grandson if he is not. He can't pretend that this is not real, that this is not happening, even though he desperately wants to.

He places his palms down on her pants and tries to subtly wipe the sweat accumulating on them off.

"I... did. There was sound on the loudspeakers, so I heard everything." he admits, reluctantly. Toshinori-san is watching him, he's always watching him, but Izuku drops his gaze and hunches his shoulders. He's always struggled with feeling worthy of inheriting One for All, but now he feels terrified that Toshinori-san will think that he's made a mistake. After all, he's the grandchild of his mortal enemy, a centuries old cryptid. He still hasn't figured out how to talk to his mom about this.

"I see." He sounds unhappy, disappointed, and Izuku can't look him in the eyes. He knows that his family isn't something he has control over, but he still feels like he's being judged and found lacking. "Midoriya, my boy, please look at me. I don't regret that you are my successor or that I passed One for All down to you."

Biting his bottom lip, he blinks back the tears that sting his eyes (again, he's such a crybaby, why does he always end up crying whenever he feels remotely emotional?), and lifts his head. "I... I've been trying to tell myself that he can't be my grandfather, that he's lying, or trying to make you distrust me or something, but I can't think of what he would have to gain by saying that if it's not true."

"I know." Toshinori-san puts his hands on top of his jittery fingers, and Izuku stills. "He wouldn't have make up falsehoods about something like this; he has so many other things. No, the only reason why he'd say something like this is because he's trying to drive a wedge between you and me for some reason. He doesn't want me to trust you."

"You... you still do, right?" His voice is small, so small, and he recoils—or tries to recoil, but his hands are still holding his, and they tighten, so he can't really recoil away much. The idea of Toshinori-san deciding that it might be smarter to hold him at arm's length, because of something his supposed grandfather just said... and he knows that he wouldn't, rationally, but he didn't say that.

"Of course not!" Toshinori-san sounds so surprised, like he didn't even consider this for a moment, and it makes Izuku feel a little better. "I'm well aware that you aren't defined by your family. Besides, you're too set to become a hero. I have complete confidence in you."

Izuku smiles, a little, and Toshinori-san smiles back.

"I hate to ask, but has your mother ever talked to you about her father or your family history?"