My Father's Son - Chapter 25

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"Katsuki, dear, your mother and I were going to do a whole lot of cooking for the new year, would you mind if we used your kitchen or shall I go over to her place instead? There's a little more space in yours is all, but if you'd rather have some quiet time, I'm happy to go visit her instead!"

"Huh? Of course you can," he frowned. "It's not my kitchen, it's our kitchen. You live here too."

"You're very kind."

"It's a kitchen, Inko. It's not a big deal."

"Not just for that," she smiled, reaching up to pat his cheek lightly. "Thank you dear, you're always so kind and welcoming."

"Don't start this sappy shit," he blushed. "I'm going for a run, and I'm taking the nerd with me. You mind if I leave the boys to their game, or should I take them with us too?"

"I'm always happy to watch them, you know that! And Mitsuki will be here soon, between the two of us it'll be quite alright."

"Thanks. Good luck, I'll be back in time to put them in bed."

He stopped by the boys' room to say goodbye, then knocked heavily on Izuku's door, tapping his foot while he waited for it to open. Izuku seemed surprised to see him in general, let alone in his clingy thermal leggings and matching skin-tight jacket, but he just jerked a thumb toward the door.

"We're going for a run, get changed."

"W-What? Now? It's not Saturday!"

"Yeah, but you've been eating like shit and sitting around at home this whole time you've been off work, I figured an extra run or two won't kill you."

"With you?" Izuku asked flatly. "I'm pretty sure it could kill me in a heartbeat."

"You'll be fine, come on."

With a sigh, Izuku conceded, nodding as he closed the door to get changed. Katsuki considered following him inside just to teach him a lesson for closing the door in his face, but he wasn't sure that even Izuku had the patience to deal with that much of his bullshit.

"I got you a present," he called through the door instead. "You slammed the door on me before I got to say it."

"I didn't slam anything!" Izuku insisted, blushing as he tore it back open. "And why are you buying me presents?!"

"Because I saw it and thought you'd like it?" he shrugged. "Here, wear it. I washed it already."

He handed over a little gift bag, and Izuku peeked inside, lighting up despite himself when he saw the colours inside.

"An All Might gift?!"

"Thought maybe it would inspire you," Katsuki smirked. "Plus it's a bit cold out for the t-shirt."

Izuku tipped the contents out into his hand, finding two separate but matching items waiting for him. A baggy tank top first, like Katsuki always wore, navy blue with All Might's face etched out in black on the front. Then, a warm jacket – lightweight and waterproof, but insulated for warmth. It looked like plain black at first, but across the back were four stripes of colour: red, white, blue and yellow, with a rendition of All Might's familiar autograph printed across it in black. They were simple things, not the kind of garish merchandise Izuku had owned as a kid – much more classy and adult, which he supposed was why Katsuki picked them.

"Try them on," Katsuki instructed. "Then we're going running."

Izuku nodded, stripping his hoodie off over his head and replacing it with the new singlet. It fit perfectly, as always, but when Izuku looked up to thank him he found knitted eyebrows fixed on his arm.

"Oh," he said stupidly. "Um, yeah, I know it looks bad."

"What happened?" Katsuki asked, ridden with a sudden concern as he gripped Izuku's elbow, turning him a little to see the massive, mottled scar. "It looks painful."

"I'll tell you while we run," Izuku smiled, shrugging on his new jacket. "Be nice to me, okay?"

"Obviously."

As it turned out, when Katsuki said "run" he didn't mean the all-out sprint Izuku had feared. Instead, it was a gentle jog, even a walk at times, with the occasional dash thrown in to get their blood pumping. Every few minutes Katsuki would point out a landmark, instructing him to run to it and keeping pace with him the entire way. The moment they reached it, they slowed back down again, taking a minute to breathe before the next one.

"How long have you had it?" Katsuki asked, as they walked through the light layer of snow. "A long time, I assume."

"Yeah, since I was a teenager," he agreed. "There was a massive car accident outside my high school and the heroes weren't around yet. Two adults and a little kid. He was trapped and I couldn't just stand there and watch, I moved without thinking and managed to wrench him out. The heroes yelled at me for it later, but I saved that boy."

"Yeah, you're a hero," Katsuki grinned, elbowing him in the ribs. "Good job. To the last streetlight, I'll race you."

"I can't beat you!" Izuku whined. "Mean!"

Katsuki took off ahead, leaving Izuku to whine as he ran behind, trying and failing to catch up. He was gasping for air by the time he made it, clutching at his stomach as he doubled over – it took him forever to notice that Katsuki was still moving, striding ahead with a scowl on his face.

"Katsuki? Where are you going? I thought we were going this way?" he called, pointing down a side street. "Kacchan?"

When Katsuki sped up, he groaned and followed, running as best as he could to follow Katsuki's long strides. It took him far too long to understand, only the tiny sparks that fired from cold palms filling him in, watching as Katsuki built up enough sweat to fire himself up the side of a building.

He froze to watch in awe as Katsuki tackled someone off the edge of the roof, slamming into the next building, quirk firing as they fell through the air, grappling at each other right up until the moment they hit the ground.

Izuku fumbled at his phone, hands shaking as he dialled, whispering prayers as he waited for it to pick up.

"Mom! I need you to get Hiroki's phone and call Kirishima! Tell him Katsuki is fighting with someone, we're down by the business district. Please tell him to hurry!"

He hung up and stuffed his phone back in his pocket, shifting from foot to foot nervously as he watched Katsuki slam the man against a wall.

"Where is she?!" he demanded, exploding a hand when it reached for him. "I saw you, asshole! What did you do?!"

Izuku looked around blankly as they fought, finally understanding. Katsuki had seen something, something that wasn't right, and in the time he chased the villain, somehow the guy had... What, hidden it? Disposed of it? A person?

Izuku almost screamed when the other villains began to surface, melting out of walls like they weren't even there. It had to be some kind of weird quirk that could affect their surroundings, or maybe their perception? No, they hadn't noticed Izuku, so they wouldn't be using their quirk on him, in that case. Some kind of illusionary thing, maybe. Hiding their hideout from passers-by?

Katsuki fought them all valiantly, and even with a dozen of them surrounding him, he never for a moment looked like he could lose. When Eijirou arrived with two other heroes at his back the scales tipped in an instant, the group of them more than enough to handle it.

But still, Katsuki had said she. Which meant somewhere nearby, there was a girl who needed help.

Before he could even think about what he was doing, Izuku was crossing the road, trying his best to stay in the shadows. There was something not right about the building Katsuki had tackled the villain on, and Izuku was far too curious to not figure it out.

The moment he touched the wall, his surroundings seemed to turn to jelly. As he continued to move forward, they melted away completely, making him feel warm and sticky for a moment before he reached the other side of the weird quirk effect. Inside, he found a bare-bones structure of a building, all scaffolding and wooden beams, unlike the building he'd seen from outside. And way up high, lying on a metal grate, he saw a girl with white hair.

"Hello?" he called. "Can you hear me? Are you okay?"

The girl trembled, but didn't answer, and Izuku steeled his nerves once more as he began to climb.

Other than the people fighting, he couldn't see any other villains around. That did little to comfort him, though, as he climbed ramps and ladders toward the top. It just meant he had to watch, had to hope they didn't appear suddenly out of nowhere.

The girl was young, not even a teenager yet as far as he could tell, her limbs bound in dirty white bandages under ratty, torn clothes. He shook her lightly, leaning in close to listen for her breathing, and when red eyes cracked open he smiled warmly.

"My name is Izuku," he said softly. "What's your name?"

She didn't answer, but he decided not to push it, helping her to sit up gently.

"Do you need help?" he asked. "Just nod your head if you need help."

Shaking still, and slow as anything, her head bobbed just once.

"Okay, you're safe now, I've got you. Let me help you."

He wrapped an arm around her tightly, contemplating his next move. If they stayed within the illusion, they wouldn't be seen, but the villains would know exactly where to find her. If he called to Katsuki, maybe he could help them out, but the fight was still raging below and he wasn't confident about taking the number one hero out of it. No, his best choice was to move her himself, to find a quiet spot where they could hide until Katsuki wrapped things up. Climbing down with her was going to be a problem, though – he was going to have to carry her piggyback and hope for the best.

"Okay, hold on tight," he instructed, turning around and pulling her bandaged arms around his neck. "Don't let go, okay?"

He took the descent slowly, checking her grip at every opportunity, watching every direction for the one villain that was sure to arrive and ruin it, sure to destroy him once and for all, ruining his chances of seeing his kids grow up, of spending more time with his mother, with Katsuki.

"She's fucking gone!" Katsuki yelled, making Izuku jump as he reached solid ground. "Again! What the fuck!"

"Katsuki, calm down, it's not your fault."

"I had an opportunity! The best one we've ever had! No warning, no effort, she just fell into my lap and I fucking lost her! They must have a fucking hideout around here and I fucking missed it."

"We'll have another chance, Katsuki," a woman's voice spoke, softer and calmer than even Eijirou's had been. "I'll send you up, you can look around from up high and see if you spot anything."

"Where'd the fucking nerd go, too? Ugh, this night is turning to shit. So much for a New Year's holiday with my fucking family."

"K-Kacchan?" Izuku called, stepping out through the weird jelly field again and heading for the alley. "Are you okay?"

"Midoriya!" Eijirou said brightly. "I'm glad you're safe! Thanks for acting so quickly, you did the right thing by calling!"

"Thank you for arriving so fast!"

"Any time dude. We were hanging out at my place anyway, couple of blocks away. It was perfectly timed, honestly."

The grip tightened nervously around Izuku's neck, and he looked back with a little smile, touching her hands in the hopes of providing comfort.

"Um, I found this girl," he said softly, taking another step forward so they could all see. "The next building over? It has like, an illusion quirk or something around it? When the villains came out of it I went to look, and she was lying there only half conscious."

All four of the heroes froze when they saw, jaws dropping, and Katsuki seemed to deflate in a weird way.

"Eri," he said softly, taking a shaky step forward. "It's you, isn't it?"

The girl nodded, hugging tighter at Izuku again, and Katsuki's eyes filled with genuine tears.

"I'm so sorry, Eri," he choked out. "I lost you so many times, left you subjected to that- that torture, and I'm so, so sorry for that. Everything is gonna be okay now, alright? I promise, you're safe now, I won't let anything happen to you ever again."

Izuku set her down carefully, but she still clung to his side, trembling when Katsuki came closer.

"Deku is such a good boy, huh?" he sniffled, smiling all the same. "It's a good thing I brought the nerd along. Do you remember me?"

She nodded, and Izuku touched her back lightly, hoping to give her a little bit of comfort.

"I'm gonna call Lemillion," he said softly. "You remember him? He was there the first time, he protected you. He's gonna be so happy to find out you're okay. You want to come back home with me and Deku? I'll protect you, I promise."

There was a pause for a moment, then Eri nodded, fingers clutching lightly at Izuku's jacket.

"You don't mind touching people now, huh? Did you get that fancy quirk of yours under control?"

Her gaze dropped this time, and Katsuki reached out, stroking her messy hair.

"It's okay, we'll figure it out. You know it better than I do, after all."

"I'm coming with you," Eijirou insisted. "I'll stay over and help you keep watch or something."

"Thanks, Shitty-Hair. Let's go, I need to call Tin-tin. And Aizawa."

"I'll do it," one of the girls spoke up with a smile. "It's nice to finally meet you, Midoriya. We'll drop by in the new year to do it properly!"

"Ah, y-yeah, I look forward to it!"

The two girls disappeared into the night, and Katsuki and Eijirou took up either side of Izuku, flanking him and Eri as they all walked back to the house.

"Daddy!" Hiroki called from the balcony, scrambling to look. "Papa! Uncle Eijirou! What happened?!"

"We all got to be heroes tonight!" Eijirou grinned. "Papa too!"

"Wow! Good job, Papa! Oh, did you bring a friend?"

"Come on down, buddy. We'll talk inside."

He scrambled back into the house, and Katsuki smiled as he opened the door, waving the others in first.

"Hiro!" Eijirou grinned, scooping him up for a hug. "This is Eri! She's gonna stay over tonight, and so am I! Like a big sleepover party!"

"Nice to meet you, Eri! My name is Hiroki! If you need anything, I can help! Just ask!"

She nodded faintly, and Hiroki didn't seem to think anything of her silence, more than content to just smile happily at her and chat away regardless.

"My brother Yuuto is in the bath but he's super nice too! We'll make you comfortable!"

"I think Eri could use a sleep," Izuku suggested, getting a little nod in return. "How about we stick you in a bath, make some nice food, and get an early night?"

One more nod, and Izuku smiled, showing her the way upstairs to the vacant bathroom.

"You get clean, I'm gonna find you some clothes to wear. If you need anything, just thump on the wall and I'll come running."

By the time he closed the door he could hear more voices downstairs, eyes widening when he saw All Might in the living room with another man at his side, and Lemillion gaping at Eijirou while he explained.

"Young Midoriya, it's good to see you," All Might smiled warmly. "You were a real hero today, from what I've heard. Well done, my boy."

Izuku blushed, but All Might didn't even seem to notice, already looking back to where Lemillion and Katsuki both wiped stubborn tears from their faces.

"It may have fallen into your lap, but you still took advantage of the situation and did what you had to do. Sometimes, that's what it's about."

"Aizawa-sensei is right," Lemillion sniffed hard. "We screwed up over and over, but here we are, and here she is. We've finally won."

The house was full to bursting, with Katsuki's parents in the kitchen with Inko, the boys sent away to their bedroom, and everyone else packed into the living room. Normally Izuku liked having a house full of friends and family, but that night it made him nervous.

"I'm going to go watch Eri and the boys," he said finally, stepping away from the madness. "Um, if you need anything, you know where to find me."

He grabbed a warm t-shirt from his closet and a pair of shorts with a drawstring in the waist that he hoped would go tight enough, then he hurried up the stairs to the bathroom. He knocked lightly, pushing them through the doorway for her, and smiled even though she couldn't see him.

"Can you just knock on the tub for me to let me know you're still okay?"

She tapped lightly on the edge of the bath, and Izuku nodded.

"Thanks, Eri. I'm gonna be down the hall with the boys. There are lots of people downstairs, so you can come join us instead if you like. I'm really glad you're here with us."

The noise that came back was faint, squeaky, barely a whisper, but it was a sound all the same.

"Thank you."

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