A Merfolk's Tale

Chapter Twenty Three

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..."