PROTECTORS

000

All Might finds an unwanted baby on a doorstep, and the future takes a few steps to the left. Fatherhood, Heroing, growing pains, and love. Everything and nothing changes, all at once.

Slash, Pre-canon, semi-AU, Magic and Quirks exist.

000

CHAPTER ONE

Of all phone calls Gran Torino though he would be fielding from his former student, this was not one of them.

"Baby formula?" the foxy older gentleman thank you very much asked in abject bewilderment as he set his tea cup down on the grubby table of his house. "Are you shittin' me, brat?" he demanded sharply.

"Ah, uhm, no. You see, I – he – someone left a baby on a doorstep," his student explained morosely, as if he knew a scolding would be coming his way, Torino could picture the big lummox right now, drooping in his seat like a scolded pup, "with nothing but a letter. So I gave it a quick read to figure out the situation. The child was the nephew of the home-owner, his parents had been murdered less than twenty-four hours previously. When I woke the homeowner up to inform her of the tragic news, and that apparently her nephew was now in her care, her reaction was... horrible. She told me I could throw the child in a river for all she cared. Just as long as it and I never came near her again. I couldn't just leave him there. And the letter said the villain that killed his parents might still have followers hunting for him! So the police and the social care system might be too dangerous and – ow! Ow, Harry, please no pulling, we don't pull hair," his student yelped, begging pathetically as what was unmistakably baby-babble filled the receiver.

Torino sighed deeply, knowing that this would be a lost cause already.

"You know this is gunna put a severe crimp in your career plans, kiddo," he pointed out tiredly.

There was a moment of silence on the other end, filled only with the occasional sound of the child, Harry, vocalising as much as his underdeveloped cords would allow him.

"I know. But... he has no one else. And really... neither did I until Sensei found me." Torino squeezed his eyes shut, hanging his head in a mixture of annoyance, pride, and that old aching sadness that came with remembering his bestfriend and combat partner.

"Finish your business there. I'll have the adoption papers waiting for you when you get back. And I expect you to bring him with you! I want to meet this brat," he barked down the phoneline, listening to his former student yelp, and fumble with the phone to the sound of the baby's laughter.

"I – uh – yes, of course, I – thank you, sensei," the new father blurted down the phone to Torino's noisy disgruntlement as he snapped off some instructions about googling for help, or just asking a woman at the store down the baby aisle. If they were there, then chances were they had children and would know how to help, idiot! And then he hung up, put his head in his hands, and laughed.

By the kami, Nana, if only you could see the mess your student had gotten himself into this time!

000

Toshinori breathed out a deep sigh as he lowered his phone. Well, that could have gone a lot worse. Gran Torino must have been more amused by the situation than annoyed because there would have been a couple of promises for 'remedial training' thrown in if he had truly been displeased. He shuddered at the memory of his training, pausing only when he felt something hot and wet on his knuckle, and looked down to see the infant latched onto his hand, suckling hungrily on his knuckles.

He huffed a small laugh, "You must be hungry, huh?" he asked brightly, thinking briefly to lift the little boy up high, but remembering at the last moment that he was technically a stranger. A strange man doing something like that would probably not be appreciated. So instead he freed his hand and adjusted his hold on the child to rest him against his shoulder and check the letter that came with him again, trying to ignore the stab of fury smouldering in his veins that someone would be so callous as to abandon a child on the doorstep of such an unpleasant woman without even trying to talk to her. Though perhaps they knew what her reaction would have been. He wondered if she would have taken baby Harry in, or left him? The thinly veiled threat within the letter about people hunting for him, and how her blood would provide protection for their family if she took him in would tip the scale in the child's favour but... Toshinori gently stroked the back of his head as he felt clumsy uncoordinated fingers exploring his neck and collarbone – and slap at the underside of his chin as chubby little legs kicked out.

If she had taken the child in, he doubted the little boy would have been well cared for. And that was tragic.

Still.

"You're mine now, little tyke, I'll take care of you," he promised, this tiny life he could hold in both cupped hands, he would take care of him, and raise him.

He paused as the child grunted, straining against his shoulder, and laughed a little awkwardly as what was unmistakably a fart ripped through the back of the child's nappy. "But first, food and toiletries. And help."

Good thing it wasn't too early.

Finding the nearest superstore wasn't too hard, the hotel he was in was opposite the train station and literally just up the hill was an ASDA shopping centre, he remembered passing it the day before, so wasted no time in jogging his way up there, his new charge cradled in his arms. A few people looked his way, gigantism wasn't as common in the United Kingdom as other areas, so his seven foot plus frame was more than a little eye-catching, plus the baby without any form of carrier or bag... Harder to ignore were the tittering women at the supermarket when he hesitantly shuffled his way down the baby-aisle with a basket on the crook of his elbow, and little Harry in hand – literally.

There was so much stuff.

Where did he even start? He peered helplessly at the vast array of babywipes laid out in front of him, everything from ASDA own brand at ninety-nine pence a packet, to Johnsen's Baby skin kind at three pounds eighty five pence. One that was apparently aloe vera rich, and another that was extra moisturising, and one that boasted a protective layer of something that was somehow breathable?

Was fragrance free important? A lot of them advertised fragrance free.

A woman giggled behind him and he felt his ears turn a little pink.

"Need a hand?" a girl at his elbow asked, a spray can of deodorant from the otherside of the aisle in hand – the baby section also shared space with feminine hygiene as well. She looked a little too young to be a mother, but thus far she was the only one to offer him any aid so he grabbed onto it desperately.

"Yes, I ah, I recently came into this little fellow here. And I'm a bit at a loss," he admitted, gesturing sheepishly to the wipes, "I don't – is fragrance free important?" he asked worriedly.

The girl shrugged, "Sometimes babies have really sensitive skin, and perfumes can irritate it. I was actually allergic as a kid, used to get horrible rashes," she explained before reaching up and collecting one of the blue ASDA's own packets with a plastic lid. "This is the kind I used."

"Oh, you're a parent?" Toshinori found himself asking in surprise.

She shrugged a shoulder, "I was a bit of an idiot as a teenager. Anyway, this was the kind that I tended to use with Alicia. Are you looking for everything, or just wipes?" the young woman asked, pushing stray strands of bottle blonde hair from her tanned face.

"Everything. I – all I was given was his blanket," he admitted quietly, aware of how suspicious a man with a baby and no idea how to care for it or supplies to do so might be. But, it was the truth.

The woman huffed and chucked her can of deodorant into her basket, "Well, I have nothing pressing to do for the next," she checked her watch, "six hours until school let's out. Buy me lunch and I'll help you out, how about it?" she offered with a grin. "I'll even teach you how to feed and change the little one properly, since I figure you're not too familiar with it?" she teased kindly.

Toshinori chuckled a little self-consciously, rubbing the back of his neck, "Ahh-haha, yes, thank you, and please. I'll be happy to pay for lunch in exchange, thank you very much. I'm Yagi, nice to meet you," he greeted with a little bow, as much as he could with the baby, "And this is Harry."

"I'm Laura, and hi there Harry," she cooed sweetly to the baby as he waved his fists at her. "How old is he?" she asked as she collected another two packets of the blue wipes to drop into Toshinori's basket.

He quickly calculated the dates in his head, and felt a painful twist in his stomach, "About three months yesterday," he explained.

"So you'll definitely be wanting new born stuff. Okay. And you said everything. We're going to need a trolley you realise," she pointed out dryly.

"I return to Japan at the end of the week, I was hoping just to get the essentials until I could get home," he told the young woman as she whisked two packs of newborn nappies into his basket – which was already over three quarters filled with just those five items.

She gestured to his basket with a grin, "You're going to need a trolley," she repeated in amusement.

They went and got a trolley.

000

Laura was a lifesaver.

With her help, he got everything he needed for the short-term, and some really good practical advice for how to take care of a child. Tips on checking temperatures, how to bathe properly, burping after meals, how to recognise teething pains and best ways to handle that, even clothing suggestions. 'I know all those little outfits are super cute, but he's going to grow like a damn weed. Best to keep him in baby-grows for as long as possible or you're just going to waste your money,' she had explained while they ate lunch at a cafe-restaurant that didn't mind them occupying the ladies room to teach Toshinori how to properly change a stinky nappy.

A lot of Laura's advice was like that. How to provide the best care possible at the cheapest cost possible.

He supposed that if she were a teenage mother, there hadn't been a lot of support for her, and she hadn't had the same career opportunities, meaning funds were tight. Mentally he vowed to remember as many of them as possible because it might help someone else if ever he encountered them, no knowledge was useless knowledge after all.

The young woman left him after their meal in order to go and finish her own chores for the day before picking her children up from school, leaving Toshinori to take Harry and their mass amounts of bags back to his hotel – good thing he was a Pro-Hero or there was no way in hell he could handle it all in one trip. Though he most certainly looked comical with the bags and the baby, people were leaning out of their cars as they passed him, shouting praise for some reason.

"YES MY SON! THAT'S HOW MEN DO IT!"

"EVERYTHING IN ONE TRIP – WE DIE LIKE MEN!"

He had a few people ask if he needed help, he noticed that it was mostly older men and young women that did, but he was actually quite alright with it all, the bags barely weighed anything and with his strength his only concern was that he was accidentally going to destroy something against a wall or a car. English people were weird, he decided as he finally reached the hotel and began to climb the stairs with his purchases – there were too many bags to take the tiny lift without dropping something, and since the baby was the only thing not actively looped around his wrists, he didn't want to risk it.

Carefully, he laid Harry out on the bed and then dropped all of the bags, the three month old was sleeping soundly, fingers flexing with whatever dreams it was he was having.

Toshinori sat down on the floor next to the bed and stroked one of those tiny hands in awe, and a little fear.

He was responsible for this tiny person.

He had been responsible for lives before, but this was different, he was going to be this little boy's whole world, the way that Toshinori treated the people around him would shape how Harry treated them too, his views and opinions would influence his, and anything that affected Toshinori, would likely affect Harry as well through him. Gran Torino wasn't wrong when he pointed out that taking on a baby would put a severe crimp in his career plans, but...

He could handle it, he thought.

000

HE COULDN'T HANDLE IT! HE COULDN'T HANDLE IT AT ALL!

Ever since boarding the flight back to Japan, Harry hadn't stopped crying. They had booked into first class to give the majority of the passengers some peace from a baby, only Toshinori hadn't been expecting the entire thirteen hour flight to be so painful for everyone. Harry couldn't stop crying, and he felt a bit like crying himself. He had been on the verge of working himself into a full panic and physically ripping open the plane in order to sprint them to the nearest doctor before one of the flight attendants managed to explain that it was the change in pressure. While they could pop their ears in order to redress the pressure changes, babies couldn't.

Eventually though, Harry fell into an exhausted tearful sleep, wearing himself out far too much for such a little thing. Toshinori could only be thankful as he cradled his little bundle against his chest in tired relief. How such a tiny bean of a person could have such a set of lungs was remarkable, perhaps he had a voice quirk of some nature? His aunt certainly had one, her voice twanging through the air shrilly in a decidedly non-average manner. It would be something to keep an eye on.

For now, he planned on getting some sleep while Harry was out for the count as well. Hopefully there would be less tears when the little one was awake.

000

Gran Torino was waiting for him at the airport. And it wasn't like Toshinori could 'not see him' when both of them were the only people at Departures at seven feet tall and blond.

"So, this is the little Sprout, huh?" the old man demanded as Toshinori left the gate, suitcase wheeling behind him, shoulderbag with everything Harry needed on his back, and the baby against his shoulder, sleeping soundly and much more comfortably now they were no longer on the plane.

The blond youth nodded, "Yeah. Wore himself out on the plane," he admitted sadly as he adjusted his grip on his luggage – and found it promptly taken out of his hands by his old sensei.

"Well, quit gaping. Let's get back home so we can feed the little Sprout," Torino grunted as he began to march off towards the train station, Toshinori's suitcase over one muscular shoulder.

They managed to find a few seats towards the back of a carriage, sadly the quiet carriage was already full and with both suitcase and baby there was no space. So the two Pro-Heroes took spots at the back, and settled in for the next hour behind a group of school girls coming back from lacrosse practice. Torino snatched up the nappy bag Toshinori had over his shoulder the second he let it slip off, and bundled it away along with his suitcase, glowering hard enough to make the younger blond too frightened to ask for it back as he practically huddled in his seat with the baby.

"That shoebox of yours," Torino commented flatly, "You're going to have to move you know."

Toshinori winced, thinking to the little shoebox flat he had and how it was no where near large enough for a baby. And how his neighbours were of the age where drunk and noisy was the name of the game, no, it was not the best environment for an infant. He was going to have to make a big debut in order to get signed for a high earning office, the down-payment for his contract would hopefully be enough to afford at least a two room house in a better part of town, or even just a better flat. He wasn't picky. Just somewhere safe to raise Harry would be good, because he was committed now. He wasn't going to be giving up, he gave his word.

Harry grunted, drawing their attention down as bleary green eyes peeked open.

He smiled and Toshinori could feel himself grinning back, rubbing one chubby pink little cheek with a finger, "Hey there sleepy head, feeling better now we're not on that flying tube?" he cooed, completely oblivious to how Torino was craning his head and shuffling closer, nose twitching every now and again (he wanted to hold the baby too but wasn't going to admit it).

Harry kicked his legs out again, grinning toothlessly up at the two of them, hands waving enthusiastically as he rubbed a finger against the baby's cheek, cooing over how cute he was. If Toshinori remembered this right, and he'd definitely spent long enough scrolling through his phone in the departures lounge, at three months little Harry was only just becoming aware of the world around him. His eyes finally being clear enough to actually register what he was seeing, and his brain developing enough to understand cause and effect – I touch this thing and my hand feels something, or I hit this thing and it moves, I scream and someone gives me food. In other words, he saw Toshinori and he smiled because he saw him!

His heart was going to burst, Harry was just too cute. He fell just a little bit more in love with every wriggling kick this tiny bean gave.

And then he burst into flame.

"Eh?" Toshinori squeaked.

"Ah," Torino grunted, his eyes widening.

"AHHHHHH!" Toshi screeched, leaping to his feet, baby held aloft in horror as he tried to blow the flames out, brush them off, without setting anyone or anything else around them on fire. Several of the girls yelped and squealed when a giggling ball of flames swished in their general direction. "BABY ON FIRE! BABY ON FIRE! W-WATER! WATER-WATER!"

A boy from further up the train rushed over with his water bottle, his bestfriend fast behind him, the girls squealing and parting for them and trying to get away from the flaming baby who was still giggling in Toshinori's palms as both he and Gran Torino desperately tried to pat out the fire without hurting him. The dark haired boy shifted into a better position and activated his Quirk, dark hair standing on end as if in a wind tunnel as his eyes glowed red – and Harry went back to being pink, wriggly, and leaving the only testament to the incident being the strain on Toshinori's racing heart and grey hairs in Torino's beard.

The blond breathed a sigh of relief, drawing Harry up against his chest tightly as he baby wriggled enthusiastically, "Ahhh, saved. You're my hero, kid! Thank you so much!" he exclaimed to the dark haired boy who slouched self-consciously behind his blond friend.

"It's fine," the teenager mumbled, shoulders drawn up as he looked away.

"More importantly, are your hands alright mister?" the blond one exclaimed loudly, his voice twanging through the air indicating a vocal quirk of some degree.

Toshinori glanced down at his hands, which were currently full of baby. Harry grinned at him and flailed his cute chubby limbs. He grinned right back down at the baby before looking back up at the boys, "Yup, they're fine!"

Harry's fire hadn't actually been hot (and if it had he wouldn't have cared all that much, as long as his hands could hold the baby, they were fine, they could wait). The flame had been more of a warm tickle than any kind of burning, but it had just been so much of a surprise that he hadn't been thinking clearly enough to have realised it wasn't dangerous. All he knew was that his baby was on fire, and fire was dangerous, thus baby was in danger.

Blondie grinned, craning his head over to make silly faces at Harry while Torino breathed a deep sigh of relief and sat down, grumbling about how he was too old for this kind of excitement. Everyone began to settle down once more, the two middle school boys quickly joining them in the back corner while the girls moved a bit further ahead to let the dark haired boy stay close at hand, in case of any more flaming baby incidents.

"Seriously, thank you. I was totally freaking out," Toshinori laughed sheepishly as he spoke to the quiet fifteen year old boy, absent mindedly ducking the vicious headslap Torino aimed at the back of his skull.

"IDIOT! How do you expect to make it as a Pro if a baby bursting into flame short circuits your brain that easily?!" the old man barked angrily as the blond huddled up against the train window, shifting a shoulder to shield the baby from any further assault, pouting sadly at his teacher.

"Oh come on, old man!" he whined, "I thought he had a voice Quirk, not a fire one! Exploding baby was the last thing I expected!"

"EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED!"

No mercy. The two middle schoolers watched in varying degrees of amusement and disbelief as the two older Pro-Heroes devolved into offended bickering, stopping every now and again to comment on how useful the dark haired boy's Quirk would be in their line of work and generally ask after their plans in the future. The baby went back to sleep unnoticed by all save the dark haired boy who idly wished to join him.

000

Harry did not remain sleep, and by the time they reached Toshinori's flat he was hungry and letting them know about it, at volume. Torino grunted something about understanding what he meant about the voice Quirk as he shoved open the front door and quickly brought Toshinori's bags into the kitchen, cringing as the baby screamed harder and louder than something so small should have been able to by any reasonable assumption.

Toshinori chuckled a little painfully as he kicked his shoes off and closed the door behind him, ignoring the incredulous look on his neighbour's face when he passed by the open door and heard little Harry expressing his outrage at the world.

"Can you take him while I get a bottle made up?" the blond asked over the wailing, "I don't think I'm good enough to do it one handed just yet."

Torino looked like he wanted to refuse, but one glance at Harry's wet little face and he crumbled like cheap tinfoil. Carefully collecting the infant from Toshi's hands, he stood in stiff petrified silence with the baby crying in hungry outrage against his pectorals while his student dove into his baby bag and rummaged out a bottle and several tins. Muttering under his breath as he did about how it couldn't be cold water, and it couldn't be too hot either – oh, he needed to wash his hands too!

It took less time than Torino would have expected, but still more than he was entirely comfortable with given how wet his clothing was beginning to get with drool before Toshinori was gently lifting the baby from his arms and rubbing the rubber teet of the bottle against the roof of the child's mouth. He latched on immediately, the flat falling silent instantly.

"Thank the Kami," Torino sighed, collapsing back into Toshinori's spare kitchen chair as the blond chuckled a little weakly, sitting opposite him. The two listening to the tiny little grunts and sucking noises the child gave off as his tiny fingers reached for the bottle in Toshinori's hands.

"Sorry Sensei, I know it's a bit of a – well a culture shock I guess," the blond admitted with an embarrassed grin.

Torino stared at him before turning and facing him fully, hands clasped on the table in front of him, "Toshinori. Have you truly thought this through, lad?" he asked seriously, solemn in a way that the blond had never heard him be since... since Nana's passing.

"What do you mean, sensei?" the blond asked warily, guessing that this wasn't just about how to handle a baby and his career at the same time.

"I mean, Nana had to give up her son to continue her Hero work. That her child's life was in danger because of her career. Her husband was murdered. Kid, your baby's Quirk has already manifested. He isn't even half a year old yet. He's going to be potent, and hard to raise. You're trying to juggle a highly dangerous career, and a child that's a walking fire-hazard. Are you sure you've thought this through? How are you going to care for the kid when you're out on the job, are you going to keep him secret and hope no one notices when you're suspiciously absent when elementary school lets out, or are you going to make him so public that he'll need a Pro escort whenever he leaves the flat, or house because goddamn if you make it even half as big as Nana did you're going to have Villains looking to kill, turn, or use him every second of every day.

"Are you sure about this, Toshinori? It isn't – it isn't too late to put him up for adoption. He's still three months, he wouldn't suffer any damage from it. You've had him less than a week. He won't come to any mental or emotional harm if you do," he explained softly, staring at his student firmly over the table.

His muscles twitched, rippling urgently under his skin as everything in him wanted to recoil, hide Harry from his mentor and hold him tightly. Torino undoubtedly saw, and it was pure embarrassment that had Toshinori physically swallow down the urge and look down at the infant tucked into his forearm, sucking greedily on his bottle and blinking slowly, peacefully, up at him in complete trust. It... had been pure selfishness, and probably a little arrogance that he took him. When that horrible woman had told him to throw the child into a river, it felt like his heart was ripping in two for him, to be rejected by family... That was a pain Toshinori knew well, though he was too young to remember much of it. When his Quirk hadn't come in when he was six, he had been unceremoniously put under state-care, abandoned by his parents. It resonated with him on a level he couldn't really explain, and filled him with a burning need to do right by him. An unwanted baby, dead parents, threatened by followers of a Villain, an ominous threat to protect him or suffer the consequences to a civilian woman that clearly wanted nothing to do with him... He had not considered, even once, putting the child up for adoption. Giving him up to state-care. Not once. From the moment the woman spat her vitriol at him, and he wound his arms around the tiny infant, Harry was his. Irrationally. Possessively. Completely.

He looked up at his mentor, "What's done is done," he stated flatly, firmly, "It will be difficult, I know. But I refuse to give up on him. I was hoping to ask for your help but if you are disapproving then I'll find it elsewhere, do not fear, we'll be fine," he promised intensely.

Torino sighed, "Don't be stupid lad. I'm not disapproving, I'm askin' if you know what you're getting yourself in for. Babies need constant care. Firecracker there will need feeding near-enough every two hours, changing, cuddling, right now he can't even hold his own head up. I'll help, of course I will, already brought everything I need," he admitted, jerking a thumb to a sports bag in the far corner that Toshinori hadn't seen behind the futons, "But kids aren't easy. And neither is Hero-ing. S'why so many fine Heroines retire when they get in the family way."

The blond sighed as he rummaged a dirty T-shirt from his bag to put on his shoulder, and draped Harry over it when he was finished with his bottle, remembering what Laura told him about burping as he began to rub gentle circles on Harry's back, patting him every now and again.

"I know. But... he needed me. And, he's mine now."

Torino shrugged in amusement, leaning back in his seat, "That's that then, huh."

Harry burped in agreement.

000

Family Name: Yagi / Potter
First Name: Harry / Nao / James
DOB: July 31 2080
POB: Unknown [ United Kingdom ]
Father: Unknown / Yagi Toshinori
Mother: [ Surname unknown ] Lily
Quirk: Fire Cloak – ability to cloak oneself in flame

Toshinori spent a good twenty minutes mooning over the newest Yagi's papers, practically sparkling on the train as Torino shook his head in (semi-indulgent) amusement, Harry dosing in his arms. It had taken an extended visit to the police, and then to a few officials to explain the situation, do a few more papers, etc, Toshinori had handed over his Hero Licence and sat several long exhausting interviews to determine his suitability to be an official guardian to a child. He squeaked by on the skin of his teeth thanks to the advice that Laura back in England gave him, as well as Torino's willingness to vouch for him having a support group (even if that boiled down to just him, and a few of his old classmates, Enji had children though they were a little older than Harry, Fuyumi-chan being nearly a teenager at that).

But they managed it.

Toshinori was now officially a father.

Unwilling to remove all traces of his birth-family, little Harry kept his former name, and was given a few more that he could select from if he wished. Toshinori's family name, and Nao. In honour of Nana. And then they went straight to Torino's old Hero office to register the blond for work with them, with the bullet-speed Quirk user's vouching it didn't take much before Toshinori found himself registered as All Might. His new boss even said that if he ever had need to, he could bring Harry in, he was a father himself and knew how rough it was, his office was always open as an emergency crèche.

Then it was to a real estate office to look for a new house. It felt like it was almost going too fast as between the two of them they managed to arrange a few places to look at, got their background checks approved, credit checks, etc, Toshinori had been polishing his Hero skills overseas so he had quite a bit of money stashed away in saving accounts from that work. It was more than enough to afford the few properties both he and Torino had selected.

They went home and slept, and got up the next day to shop for everything a baby would need. Toshinori spent a fair bit of money on parenting books, and if Torino dipped into his own money to buy Harry a few toys, well the blond wasn't going to comment beyond noting how the dog plushie had been so well received.

000

There... were very few decent houses in Minato ward, none of which Toshinori felt were child appropriate. In the end, they went for a pleasant two bedroom apartment not far from a pretty good elementary school just on the otherside of the train-tracks. With Harry being so small, he would be staying in Toshi's room, and Torino could easily make use of the other bedroom until Harry was a little more independent and he could return to his own home.

Moving in was fairly easy, it wasn't like they had much in the way of belongings outside everything Harry needed – he had more than both of them put together.

And... he knew Laura told him not to fall into the trap, warned him against the sheer temptation...

Toshinori stumbled on a number of themed onesies at the clothing store down the road, and his phone rapidly began to fill with pictures of his son.

He made his big debut barely a month after he returned to Japan.

Harry popped his first tooth and let him know of his displeasure by trying to gnaw his thumb off in protest.

It was hard for Torino to say which his student was more excited about.

000

Now that All Might had made his big appearance, he had to keep his momentum up and put in more appearances, present himself at more crimes, and disasters, and stop more villains. Whenever Harry went down for his nap, Toshinori was out and stopping as many criminals as possible, keeping up the momentum of his big debut, keeping public interest, putting All Might front and centre of the news every evening or every day.

It was exhausting, as Torino had warned him.

But made strangely worth it when he came home and the first thing Harry would do when he walked in was lift his arms and grunt demandingly, clumsily trying to headbutt him with his jaw when close enough – it never failed to make Toshinori's heart melt at those absolutely awful attempts to kiss him. Kisses he always returned, showering his giggling little boy's face and hands. Occasionally, they would see the little tyke burst into flames again, but he never seemed to burn anything around him, or any of them. His favourite person to 'pop' on, so to speak, was of course his Dad, who no longer shrieked anymore but started to laugh, taking the spontaneous combustion as an expression of excitement, as he sometimes did it when about to be fed, or when Torino presented him with a particularly beloved toy.

Harry was beginning to explore the world around him, lying on his stomach and examining the textures of anything near-by. He wasn't quite able to sit up on his own, but he seemed to like rolling around, kicking his little legs around to get better traction, grunting and dribbling as he concentrated. Almost everything had seen the inside of his little mouth at least once. Toshinori was currently using a photo of Harry chewing on his beltbuckle as his phone background, having returned from the kitchen with a drink and found the infant on the floor gumming the cool metal enthusiastically. With his teething the poor thing was chewing just about anything cool he could get his lips around, be it Toshinori's belt buckle, the chair legs, or his plastic toys. He also developed a fascination with Toshinori's hair, and Torino's beard, gripping both, examining them intently and only occasionally trying to eat them.

Toshinori joined a local playgroup, and spent a few hours a day with a few of the local parents and children, sat with his knees drawn up as he sipped from tiny teacups and listened to the housewives gossip, absorbing as much information as he could about baking and cooking, tips for cleaning and making life easier on top of child-rearing. He was one of the few single parents, though he wasn't alone, Mrs Midoriya had a little boy born only two weeks before Harry, and the two of them bonded over not only how adorable their children were, but also how difficult it was raising them alone. Mrs Midoriya's husband had apparently been transferred overseas by his office not long after she got pregnant, she confessed that in her darker moments she wondered if he had chosen it in order to get away from her as they had been drifting apart in the more recent years of their marriage.

Either way, Toshinori found a steadfast friend in the young woman who taught him how to bake, and the best ways for removing stains in clothing, all the while Harry and her little boy Zu-chan explored the carpets together on their bellies.

Toshinori had been a bit worried about this stage, approaching six months of age, he had begun preparing little Harry for weaning, and beginning to socialise him a little more, but apparently anxiety over strangers was to be expected, crying and general clinginess as well. But Harry took to his playgroup very well, especially little Zu-chan and Mrs Midoriya, others he was a bit dismissive of, others he outright rejected.

However, the worst reaction had been when Mrs Oda came over to coo at him, he immediately burst into tears, and then into flames. Not the excited crackling cloak of happiness he sometimes popped, this was roaring, wild, and hot, it blazed rapidly off his tiny form and produced an uncomfortable heat as Toshinori quickly swept him up before little Zu-chan got burnt, Harry's tiny hands gripping the fabric of his shirt as he turned his face away from the woman and cried against him. The fire was hot, unusually so! Harry normally only felt warm and tickley when he popped, this was the first sign of aggression and discomfort he got from his son's quirk. He frowned at the middle-aged woman that his son had taken such a dislike to, mustering up enough manners to apologise to her for the scare even though he really wanted her to go away.

It wasn't until she did so, and Harry managed to calm down, his little face still red and wet, that Toshinori realised that... that feeling of displeasure had not been entirely his own.

It was hard to describe, especially given how he was predisposed to dislike anything that made his son upset, but he had spoken to Mrs Oda before at the tea pot and had no issue with her, she seemed quite pleasant, interested in his job and life. She had been flirting with him if he were entirely honest, and flattering as that was, she was a married woman, so he purposefully remained 'obtuse' to her interests. But aside from that vague discomfort, it wasn't until Harry was wailing that his discomfort became outright dislike. And now it was back to discomfort.

He looked down at Harry in dismay as his baby whimpered unhappily and stared up at him with big watery green eyes.

000

He immediately rushed his son to their local doctor's office, (im)patiently waiting in the waiting room for his name to be called, quietly reading a storybook to Harry as his knee jogged up and down a lot faster than it humanly should have been able to do – the old woman next to him edging away with an irritated sniff while the old man in front of him grinned in amused understanding and returned to his paper.

Harry had given up paying attention to the story after the third time Toshinori had read it to him and was grabbing at the pictures with happy little squeals by the time their names were called, happier that Harry was happier now, he set the book down and quickly made his way into the doctor's office to explain the situation.

The doctor listened to him explaining his suspicions that Harry might have a secondary Quirk, unusual as that was to hear, because the two abilities were very divorced – a fire quirk and an emotional manipulation one? They weren't even remotely in the same category!

Harry didn't seem to know how to feel about the doctor that knelt down in front of him, but he was in his Dad's lap so he didn't seem to be overly bothered by the stranger that began to poke and prod him – at least until the man tried to pick him up.

He did not like that.

The screech was far too loud to have come from a normal human, it physically cracked the windows, and the doctor actually dropped him – directly into Toshinori's swooping grab, but dropped none the less, and it took everything the Pro-Hero had not to punch the doctor through the far wall as Harry started crying again, turning away from the strange man in order to try and get away from him.

"Well! I don't know about a secondary quirk! But there's definitely more that meets the eye about your little boy here, Yagi-san!" the doctor shouted over the baby's screaming. "Allow me to call one of my colleagues in! She has a diagnostic Quirk that may help this go a little faster! And perhaps he may feel a little more comfortable with myself out of the picture!" he added with an apologetic look and a grimace as he dabbed a finger on one of his bloody ears.

Toshinori grimaced a little, feeling a stab of guilt amidst his almost visceral dislike of the man as he quickly hurried from the room. With the doctor gone, it didn't take long for him to settle his son down again, the child clinging tightly to him and sniffling in outrage and misery, clearly having decided that he didn't like this outing or today in general.

The woman that came in was, in a word, fluffy. Her clothing had to be specifically tailored around the large flats of black skin under her arms, as shiny berry black eyes observed them, she smiled revealing sharp teeth.

"Yagi-san, I'm Kikuoka-sensei, diagnostician for this clinic. Akamatsu-sensei asked me to come and give your son a quick check over," she explained as she closed the door behind her. The bat-quirked woman knelt down in front of them and smiled sweetly at Harry who sniffled angrily at her, "Hi there Harii-chan. I hope you don't mind if I give your hand a quick lick? It won't hurt a bit and you can stay right there in Daddy's lap. Can I?" she asked kindly, holding a hand out for him to make the choice as to whether or not to let her. Though how she expected a six month old to make the decision himself remained to be seen.

"L-lick?" Toshinori echoed sceptically, and a little protectively. Medical practitioner, licking his child was a bit...

She smiled in understanding, "Mm, he's too young to ask for a kiss, or a blood sample, but I do need to ingest some of his DNA to get an accurate diagnostic. Skin cells work well enough at his age, there isn't too much history written into him just yet, so I can parse everything I need from those few cells," she explained calmly. "My quirk is Bat, and while I could have taken it into a combat direction, I unfortunately have a crippling combat-paralysis. I had to be shuffled into the Support Classes at UA before I even finished my first year," she admitted with a self-depreciating laugh, "But still. I find this suits me better. It isn't as flashy, but I like to think I've saved just as many lives as the rest of you Pros, maybe more in the long term. Oh, thank you young man," she cooed when Harry seemed to become too curious about her fuzzy hand to ignore her anymore and quickly grabbed at a finger.

Toshinori watched curiously as the woman, faster than Harry could react, licked his hand. The baby was so startled by the action that he just stared at his hand for a moment, before looking up at her almost indignantly. She laughed at him and patted him on the head as she got to her feet, curling her tongue over in her mouth as she hummed.

And then she stopped laughing.

"Can I ask what your quirk is, sir?" she asked as she took a seat several feet away at the desk, and began to pull several papers towards herself.

"An augmentation Quirk. I adopted little Harry here from overseas after his parents were unfortunately murdered. I – I have an appointment next week to bring him in for immunisations but after what happened today at playgroup I felt it important to bring him in immediately. Is everything alright?" he asked worriedly, Harry whimpering in his lap.

The woman sighed deeply, "I found a few concerning things, but I'm writing them down for you to read later when he's been put down for a nap. Wha- "

"Why later?" Toshinori asked in confusion.

The woman smiled wryly at him, "Because your son has a very interesting Quirk. One that has a few abilities, including empathy and empathy projection," she explained shortly as she continued making a few notes. "He's young now, so he's only feeding off the people closest to him, his range is about three feet, perhaps less right now, but emotions and motivations are registering with him. That was why he was fine with my examining him, but upset as soon as Akamtsu-sensei tried to lift him up. Neither of us meant any harm, but it was Akamatsu-sensei that intended on taking him out of your lap to be weighed, little Harii-chan took exception to that," she continued before folding over the strip of paper and presenting it to him. "Believe me, Yagi-san, read this after you have separated yourself from your son. At this age, he will feel your emotions, echo them, and with his empathy projection return them to you, heightening them. You'll be stuck in a vicious feed-back loop that may very well prompt you into an action that you cannot take back. These kinds of quirks are very dangerous.

"I'm still parsing through the information I received, but I have your e-mail on file, I'll send you my full write up when I've finished digesting the information. For now though, the best I can suggest is for you to keep a closer eye on your own emotions, and limit physical contact with individuals Harii-chan has already rejected for whatever reason. If your feel yourself becoming distressed or upset, best to set him down with a favoured soft-toy than risk him feeding on that negativity."

He took the slip of paper and tucked it into a pocket, "I see. I will bare that in mind, thank you Kikuoka-sensei."

She smiled, "Don't forget to update his Quirk registry when I get my full report to you, and if you want to come in and discuss what's on that slip of paper, I will make time for you, whenever it is you need."

That... did not sound good.

000

Harry had been hit with a Death Quirk.

That scar on his forehead had been carved into him via a Death Quirk that forced his own to activate to protect him.

One for All burned through his body with an intensity that threatened to tear every thread of the clothing he wore to nothing, his joints ached with the burning need to find the Villain responsible and –

His voice strangled, he begged Torino to keep an eye on Harry before leaving the apartment.

He hunted down every single Villain within Tokyo that night, and then he kept going.

Single-mindedly he just moved, his grin plastered to his numb face as he stopped criminals, saved lives, rescued goddamn kittens from trees, instead of going home and holding his son, instead of bundling him up against his chest and kissing the wild thatch of downy black hair that smelt of baby-powder and milk and jasmine fabric softener on his clothes. Because he wanted to destroy the person that dared to lay a finger on his head, that looked at him with evil in their hearts, that laid their hands on his child and hurt him. And Harry would feel every inch of his black rage.

Toshinori couldn't go home and hug his baby.

He couldn't expose his baby to that. To the anger that burned like solar fire in his veins.

So he drowned it with action. With light and hope.

He drowned it in gratitude, smiles, and tears shed in relief.

And when he felt like he could breathe again...

He was in Kyoto.

And the sun was rising on a new day.

Whoops.

000

Torino wasn't impressed when he got back, but he didn't say anything when the first thing Toshinori did was whisk Harry up in his cloak, and sit down, right there, in the middle of the living room floor, still in his Hero outfit, One for All nothing more than a distant ember in the core of his being, and shower his son with kisses and soft promises to never let anyone hurt him ever again.

Harry seemed a little confused by the emotional feedback, but pleased enough with the cuddles and feeling of absolute safety as he babbled eagerly, chewing on his teething-ring and gripping Toshinori's long blond hair.

He called up his Hero office to tell them he wouldn't be in, he'd received some bad news and needed to take the day – by now news of his all nighter had already reached them, and his Boss had already come to the conclusion that it was a stress reaction and told him to pass the phone to Torino. Whatever his mentor said, Toshinori didn't pay attention to it, he took his son into the bathroom for a good long soak and a play in the tub.

Just today.

He would go back to his Heroing tomorrow, but today... today he needed to be with his son.

He needed to soothe the rage that continued to sleep deep inside of himself like a beast waiting for the first scent of blood.

0000

And that's the end of chapter one. I have somehow started another multi-chapter fic, this time featuring DAD MIGHT – the best of all the Mights. Dad Might, Smol Might, and then All Might. This fic will cover Harry living and growing up with Toshinori right up to his enrollment at UA and everything that involves as well as Dumbledore and Hogwarts and all THAT involves too.

Strap yourselves in. There's going to be razorblades of feels hidden in this fluff, it's really a question of which will kill you first.