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 FOUR

Toshinori was not a coward, but he left as Inko desired, giving Harii just enough time to bid young Izuku goodbye, possibly for the last time. The sight of his son hugging his bestfriend tightly and planting a sloppy kiss to one freckled cheek and telling him that he could do it, he just had to work hard, made it feel like there was ice lodged in Toshinori's stomach. Harii of course noticed immediately as soon as he got close enough, and gripped his father's hand extra tightly as they walked back to the train station. He had learned young that when people felt bad, sometimes they didn't want to talk about it until they were somewhere quiet and alone.

"Daddy, what's wrong?" he eventually asked when they got onto the train and were sat quietly at the back of one of the carriages. There were barely any people around them so it was almost guaranteed their conversation wouldn't be overheard, but Toshinori was still... sad.

"Midoriya-san was... You know Izu-chan doesn't have a Quirk, right?" he asked gently, his son nodded, "His Mummy is worried that Hero work will be too dangerous for him. She's quite upset with me now." He wasn't going to lie, he did agree with her. Even he had to get a Quirk before he could apply for UA, before he could pursue his dream of becoming a Pro-Hero. But they were children, surely it wouldn't hurt to entertain the idea for a little longer? When Izuku was older, undoubtedly he would come to the conclusion of its impossibilities under his own power, and that would be heartbreaking enough by itself. They didn't need to crush his dreams already, so young. But Toshinori didn't say it, couldn't really explain it without telling his son that Inko hadn't liked the fact that he was teaching Izuku how to fight, how to defend himself. He didn't want Harii to think that this separation was his fault.

His son wrinkled his nose, "But he can be a Hero." Toshinori swallowed back his reflexive refusal of that, but Harii must have felt it anyway because the tiny warmth burrowed into his side sat up and away. "He can, Daddy," the child insisted sharply, a rare frown of disappointment on his face as he stared up at him.

"It – isn't that simple, Firecracker," he tried to explain softly, laying a hand on his child's tiny back. The five year old glowered up at him.

"But it is. Miya doesn't use his Quirk, and he still keeps up with you. Izu doesn't need a Quirk to be a Hero, he just needs the right kind of training!" he protested.

Toshinori huffed a small smile, bending down to his son's height on order to kiss his forehead was difficult in these tiny train seats, but he managed it in the end, pressing his lips to that odd scar on his forehead. "I wish I had your faith, sweetheart."

Harii clambered into his lap, "I have enough faith for both of us, Daddy," the child assured him happily as he pressed his hands against the window to watch the scenery as it whizzed past. "Just you wait. Izuku and I will go to Hero School when we're big boys. And we'll work for you and Miya when we finish, and save lots and lots of people, and then you can come home and play with me more."

"Sounds nice," the blond decided fondly, leaning against the window and watching the world pass by, soaking up the warmth and happiness of his son as he avidly described his future with his bestfriend, and how they would be amazing heroes.

He really did wish he had Harii's faith.

000

The year passed quietly, or as quietly as it ever could for a family of Pro-Heroes. There were a few minor unexplainable incidents, like Toshinori's hair turning green after an argument with his son, all the lights in the flat exploding randomly during the night, and of course, less unexplainable, Harii getting into even more fights. Especially now that he was playing with the other local children at the playpark down the road. Gran Torino had been forced to deal with more than a few pissed off parents who quickly remembered that they had better things to do upon realising they were confronting a Pro-Hero about his empathic ward attacking their child. Those talks very rarely went as they anticipated when the tables were turned on them, and Torino started to demand what it was their child was doing that was so objectionable that his grandson would go for them like that.

Finding out their 'precious little darlings' were bullying little assholes was probably the only amusing thing that Torino found in those situations. That and the way Harii would shuffle and scowl when he got told off but refuse to say he would never do it again. The difficulty was in punishing him afterwards. They couldn't very well punish him for standing up against bullies to protect his classmates, it was technically what they did as jobs. Using violence was also unacceptable but again, they did so for a job, so punishing him for following their examples, and the examples of every other Pro-Hero whom he looked up to was...

In the end, he found himself having his gaming privileges and internet access revoked along with a stern talking to about contacting the appropriate authorities to handle troublemakers. He was just a child, he might get hurt getting into fights like that, and that would make both Torino and Toshinori very sad. Harii promised he would try harder, but nothing was said about no longer fighting, it was probably the best they were going to get. He was smart like that, and only getting smarter.

They needed to get him some non-violent hobbies, things he could do at home – where it was safe, and he wasn't going to be getting into fights with children twice his age, height, and weight. Despite his fears, Toshinori was still proud of his son for being brave enough to stand up for his classmates and peers against such odds, but he was also terrified that his little bean was going to get badly hurt one of these days. Teaching him how to gage and assess whether a situation was too much for him, and how to get the attention of the nearest Pro-Hero had thus far been in-effective, going in one ear and out the other, and Toshinori had more than a few nightmares of his little boy accidentally confronting a legitimate villain and refusing to back down only to get hurt, or killed in the following fight.

They still took him to attend all of his martial arts classes, it was a good way to bleed off that excess energy while teaching him something productive, but on top of that they started looking into Crafting clubs, music, theatre, swimming, other sports, anything they could think of.

Out of it all, the phoenix child took to music over everything. He thoroughly enjoyed banging away on both piano and drums, and had already learned all the notes on the violin and how to read sheet music. But above all else, he loved to sing.

Downside – or up, depending on your point of view – singing often triggered his extra vocal cords by accident, allowing for empathic projection. So while he had the voice of an angel (and it wasn't just fatherly boasting and pride that made him think so), depending on what he sang and how, he could move a room to joy, to tears, and even on one memorable occasion, he sent a trio of men running away in utterly pants wetting terror. As soon as he figured out how to control it, and manipulate just what emotions he was trying to convey, he started screaming bullies into submission instead of just punching them. And suddenly Toshinori and Torino had all new, and considerably more serious, complaints to deal with – using one's Quirk in an urban area was illegal even if children were given considerably more leeway than anyone else because they hadn't yet figured out how to control it. Bullying accusations were now being thrown in Hari's direction by the parents of several of the little brats who had run home crying wolf about him.

Again, thankfully, they always seemed to find it difficult to justify their child's behaviour when they came nose to nose with the Pro-hero Guardian of an empath known not to tolerate bullies even to the detriment of his own physical health.

It was beginning to feel a little like every time Toshinori turned around his son was discovering new aspects of his powers, or experimenting with the ones he had. On top of that, the physical mutations were becoming more and more apparent as well. Harii's hair colour was also changing. Pictures of him as a small(er) child showed deep jet black hair, compared with now, there was a faint but noticeable red shade to his hair. Likely as not, it would get more pronounced the older he became, it wasn't uncommon for a child's hair to change colour like this, though typically it was from blond to something darker, not the otherway around. It only became obviously quirk related when, ruffling his son's hair, Toshinori felt the delicate shafts of feather down in the lightening mass of dark burgundy hair. Harii was growing feathers. Unnoticed for the moment because of how fluffy they were, but combing back his thick wild hair, it was easy to see the stiff spines.

On top of that, he wasn't getting any heavier despite his increasing height and the puppy-fat. He was a well fed, highly active little boy so despite his slenderness, he still possessed a cute little pot-belly. However. He hadn't gotten any heavier. It was unnoticable to Toshinori given his physical strength, but Nighteye had been confused and concerned when he picked Hari up during their last playfight and found the child barely weighed as much as a large cat. X-rays and doctors appointments confirmed that he had hollow bones, like a bird, and while his muscle fibres were strong, they weren't as dense as a normal human's. Everything about his body was developed to make him lighter.

Only time would tell if his bones were as strong as a human's despite their hollowness.

If they weren't, then his chances of a career as a Pro-Hero were null.

He would be a glass cannon that would destroy himself before he managed to do any harm to a villain.

On top of that, he was teleporting more often, often by accident – thank the Kami for his little tracking bracelet. Toshinori had been forced to use it more than once when his son teleported out of reflex when someone or something startled him. Usually he would flame himself to Gran Torino or Toshinori himself, sometimes even Nighteye, but if he didn't know where they were, or if they were out of range, he just ended up lost. One memorable time he ended up in a young family's bathtub, while they were in there.

It was very much a stroke of good luck, the Kendo family were very kind and Hari hit it off very well with their eldest daughter, Itsuka, and their son, Kenji. By the time Toshinori had managed to catch up with his wayward little boy Mrs Kendo had managed to not only wrangle him into taking a bath with her children, but had lent him some clothes, and fed him as well. Hari very much liked playing with Itsuka and asked earnestly if he could come back and play again sometime, which was perhaps the best reaction he'd had to anyone since Izuku. Of course Toshinori was going to say yes and eagerly accept Mrs Kendo's contact details.

Still, there were... other incidents. Such as the time Hari nearly split his head open trying to teleport all the way to Musutafu.

He had been wholly determined to see Izuku, but didn't have the money for the train, and neither Daddy or Ino had the time to take him, so he had to do it himself. Musutafu was too far away to teleport in one jump, but maybe he could make it with multiple little jumps? It was something to think about. Lot's of jumps were tiring, and he didn't really do more than one or two at a time – going all the way to Musutafu? What if he didn't find Izu before he fell asleep? He didn't want to get Nuu-moan-iya and die.

He was going to have to wear his hat, scarf, and mittens for this, so he didn't get cold.

Both Daddy and Ino were busy working, and he had finished his Kanji practice. If he wasn't in, they would think he was just down the park playing with the other children. It was actucally the perfect time to go on an adventure to find Izu.

He put his practice papers on the table so they would be easily seen, Ino and Miya liked to look them over and find errors to point out to him. There shouldn't be any, he had worked really hard this time. He quickly collected his favourite bag, a little knitted sling his Daddy made at their first Craft Club, it was red and yellow with a blue strap and a knobbly yellow AM on the front of it. He packed his hat, mittens, and scarf, he collected two juices from the fridge because flaming was thirsty work, and he tucked Bunny in with it all nice and safe. He thought about leaving his tracker behind, because Daddy was probably going to be upset that he tried to go and see Izu without him, but ultimately he decided not to. Daddy would be much more upset and scared if he did, and he didn't want to scare his Dad if something happened and he couldn't find him.

Time to go.

The five-almost-six year old closed his eyes and reached for that bright warm starlight that felt so uniquely Izu.

He was a lot further away than Hari first thought. That was going to take a squillion and one jumps to make, he thought with dismay pressing his lips together. How far was half? Still too much. Okay, half again? Still too far, but only by a little. So, half that again – that was doable. Comfortable even.

Okay, half, and half, and half again. That meant... eight jumps.

He had never made eight jumps at once before. Or so many long ones.

It felt safe, but he was still a little wary. Nuu-moan-iya was still dangerous.

He screwed his nose up and gripped his bag straps. He was never going to be able to see Izu if he stayed in here like a big scaredy cry-baby!

He squeezed his eyes shut, took a deep breath, and JUMPED –

And landed in a park, scattering several children with shrieks and squeals of fright.

He peeked his eyes open. It was a nice park, lots of grass for running and playing, a playpark over there with climbing frames and swings. A flower garden over there with benches and a pond full of ducks. He would have to remember this place for later.

"Hey! You!" one of the children blustered – right before Hari flamed away again.

He landed in the middle of a road.

Horns blared immediately and he yelped, hands flying up over his head as he jumped – landing hard in someone's back garden.

Winded, sweaty, and terrified, he sat down hard on his bottom to catch his breath.

Three jumps. He was tired, but he was almost half-way there. He just had to rest and have a drink now, it was like running a race, not to mention that car – he was going to have to be careful about where he aimed.

He rummaged his drink from his satchel and sipped while peering around the garden. It was lovely, with lots of flowers and butterflies. There was a little pond filled with fish, and he could see a fat calico cat sleeping comfortably on a warm sunny rock next to it, bird feeder hanging from a tree buzzing with activity as finches came and went, chirping and singing to one another. He was going to have to be careful of flaming away, he didn't want to set anything on fire, it was far too pretty to damage.

He wondered what Izu would say when he finally showed up. Hari wanted to see if he had started training, and spar with him – sparring was fun. He frowned around his juice drink, Baka-go had better not have tried to hurt him just because he didn't have a Quirk, or he was going to kick the blond boy's butt.

He hoped Izu would be happy to see him. It had been a while. And Hari had missed him so much.

Stowing his juice back into his bag, Hari got to his feet and carefully made his way to one of the larger rocks so he could flame away without damaging anything. Making sure he hadn't mislaid Bunny or any of his protective clothes, he climbed onto the rock and took a deep breath – and jumped.

The world slipped out from under his feet.

Hari screeched, flailing and twisting as he got a look at the river below him – his feet sliding off the metal railing he'd landed on, sending him toppling feet first towards fast running water.

He tried to grab the pavement, only to smack his forehead and eye against the stone lip of the embankment and bounce off with a howl of pain as the world exploded into bright light.

His fingers slipped and scrabbled on the stone as he dropped down towards the water – and was suddenly yanked up.

He felt himself being hoisted up around his middle and sobbed in relief as he was pulled against a firm warm chest. Not as wide as Daddy's, but strong. He felt kind, fear and concern thrummed through the stranger's body as he felt a muscular arm support him as they climbed up the side of the stone embankment.

While Izu felt like warm starlight, a flickering ember that promised so much more than what it was; Daddy felt like the sun, bright, and warm, not just the good parts but the bad too, sunburn and forest fires, sticky sweat and peeling skin; this person felt like moonlight, like cool evenings and warm beds, candles in windows, and flickering shadows. Hari had never felt anyone like this before, but regardless, he felt safe in almost the same way as Daddy. While Daddy was bright like the sun, this person was a shadow, and Hari would never see what kind of dangers this person would save him from because he was the type to pull them into the darkness never to be seen, while Daddy would drag them out into the harsh light of day and defeat them to reassure everyone they were gone.

Already, he felt calmer as the stranger vaulted smoothly over the railings he slipped from before hand and crouched down so his feet could touch the pavement.

"Let me see your head," the stranger said, his voice deep but gentle as Hari felt his arms move from around his waist to cup his head, gently pulling back variegated red and black hair and feathers.

Obediently, the five year old did as he was told, blinking tearfully as he gripped the front of his rescuer's black sweater with bloody scraped fingers. He was a young man, probably only twenty or so, long wild black hair, dark eyes, it didn't look like he had shaved for a few days, and there was a patch on his cheek the same as Daddy sometimes had. His hands were big and rough, he had patches there too, and a bandage around his right wrist. He wore black clothes, a comfortable thick black sweater, black workman's trousers with lots of pockets, heavy boots, and a long grey scarf around his neck that must have been really really long because he had to wrap it around himself lots and lots of times.

Hari whimpered when the young man's fingers probed the bump on his head.

"You're being very good for me, just hold still a little while longer," the man soothed, his concern and thoughtfulness thrumming like a steady hum in the back of Hari's head. Yes. This man was steady. Solid. "Well done, you held very still for me, thank you," he praised before gently running his hands down Hari's arms and lifting his hands up to be seen. "May I see these? Thank you," he said when the empath presented his palms without resistance.

The man rummaged a handkerchief from his pocket, "I'm sorry you caught me off duty, or I would be able to fix these up here and now. Hold this here, like that, thank you. Shall we poke our heads into one of these restaurants and ask if we can borrow their first-aid kit? I'm Eraserhead, a Pro-Hero," the dark haired man explained with an awkward half-smile. He was still, steady, concerned, and focused entirely on Hari's health, he didn't sense anything bad or dishonest about him.

But Ino and Miya had drilled him extensively.

"May I see your ID, please?" he asked hesitantly, rather than immediately follow after him. Anyone could say they were a Pro, but only official Heroes had licences.

Surprise and approval flickered quicksilver across his senses, only the slightest widening of dark eyes to display it before the Hero was opening up his wallet, and thumbing out a small card for Hari to see. The child gently took it, and then tilted it to see the holographic print across it. Eraserhead-san was a UA graduate, his serial number started with a 'Ka' katakana.

"Thank you," he said before he returned it and allowed the young man to pick him up. "I'm Hari."

"Hello Hari, can you tell me what you were doing?" Eraserhead asked as he took a few steps down the road and knelt to pick up a fallen bag of shopping, probably his own Hari realised with a sting of guilt, he hoped nothing was damaged.

"I was trying to see Izu-chan. But I landed wrong and I slipped. I'm sorry for making you drop your stuff," he said, feeling that steady presence twitch a little in exasperation, almost like an unspoken sigh.

"I'd rather drop this than you," Eraserhead told him truthfully as he made his way into the tiny cafe a little bit further down the road. "Hi, can I borrow your first-aid kit? The child took a nasty spill," he said quietly to the girl behind the counter who nodded and immediately bustled off. "Well Hari, do your parents know where you are?" he asked as he chose a table towards the back of the cafe and sat him down on one of the chairs.

He presented the Hero with his wrist, showing him the tracking bracelet, "Daddy always knows where I am. Sometimes I get lost when someone scares me by accident," he admitted with an embarrassed blush.

Amusement blotted the man's presence, like a pale cloud of water-colour on wet fabric, there and gone, leaving just a shadowy after-image. "Does that happen often?" he asked steadily.

"Not really," he admitted, "They try to jump out at me at school, but I sense them before they can. I'm an emmy-path."

Surprise, just as quicksilver and quiet as the last time, "Empath, huh? And you can teleport. Your parents must be proud."

Hari nodded, "Daddy is, but he doesn't like it when I tell people. He's scared I'll be taken away. Ino-jiji says it's because I have too much energy so obviously I would have more abilities, I'm not working hard enough. Miya says it's good because I'll have more verse-a-till-a-tee when I grow up," he quoted carefully, feeling that pale cloud of amusement soaking across the man's quiet presence again.

It was then that the girl returned with the first aid kit and Eraserhead began to get out the sterilising wipes to clean up his hands. They stung, but ultimately weren't too bad as the dirt and moss and little bits of stone were cleaned away. He had scraped them bloody though, and now that they were clean, they were bleeding much more freely.

"The skin on your hands is thinner than everywhere else, except your head," Eraserhead explained gently as he dabbed a funny smelling ointment onto the scrapes, "So it's going to bleed more than you'd think. You're fine though. And you're very brave. Even big boys tend to cry when they hurt their hands like this."

He shrugged a shoulder, wincing a little at the gentle actions and how the ointment felt uncomfortably warm on his skin, "I... get into a lot of fights. I don't like bullies, so I'm used to getting hurt. I'm not big enough to stop the older kids yet," he admitted grumpily, pressing his lips together stubbornly when he felt the familiar hard dimming sensation of disapproval across the man's feeling.

"You shouldn't pick fights with bullies at your age," he stated firmly as he began to lay dressings over the more unpleasant grazes. "You should get a teacher, or someone else to help. Putting yourself into the fight could get you, and the person you're trying to help hurt. And that means that the next person who comes along to stop the bullies has an even harder job – they have to save you and the other person," he explained coolly before taking a roll of thin bandages out and beginning to wrap his hands.

Hari scowled down at his hands, "But the longer I take the more they get hurt," he muttered, "If I can do something, I shouldn't just... run away."

Eraserhead swatted his nose with the end of the roll of bandages, startling him into staring up at him, "It isn't running away," he assured the little boy seriously. "You're a child. It isn't your responsibility to help people. If someone is in danger, it is your job to get yourself to safety first and then get someone to go and help. Until you have the training to become a Pro-Hero, you'll just be getting underfoot and making more trouble for the people who are supposed to be helping."

"But – "

He flinched as his nose was swatted again, "No buts."

"But I can do it though!"

"You shouldn't have to," was the firm, unyielding reply as his bandages were tied off. "Now. Come on, I'll walk you home. I want to talk to your Dad about getting your head checked at the very least."

Hari swallowed, "Umm..." he trailed off, looking desperately to one side as Eraserhead's hands came up under his armpits and lifted him from the chair once again.

"Um?" the man echoed, sounding unimpressed, but filled with a strange mixture of amusement and sinking dread. "Did you think I was going to let this slide, Hari-kun?" he asked mildly.

"UhM..." he squeaked, voice reverberating inhumanly as he gripped his bag tightly in both hands.

The twenty year old got to his feet and leaned back, folding his arms, and peering down his nose at Hari who shuffled nervously in front of him. The Hero was nowhere near as tall as his Daddy but Hari still felt very small in front of him as his fingers itched to grab hold of Bunny and hide his face in the soft yellow fluff.

"Daddy is at work," he deflected slowly, eyes canting to the side.

"I see... And where does he work?"

Hari wet his lips and shuffled his feet, "In... Tokyo."

Eraserhead stared at him, a dawning sense of realisation bleeding across his presence, "And you live not too far away, don't you?"

Hari nodded solemnly.

Eraser knelt down, "Did you teleport all this way, without your father knowing about it?" he asked coolly, disapproval heavy and bitter as Hari cringed back.

"I didn't want to bother him," he defended quietly, "He's so busy all the time, and Ino-jiji is going home when I'm old enough to start Elementary so he's busy, and I didn't have the money for the train. Izu is my bestfriend, but he moved, and he doesn't have any friends where he is now because he doesn't have a Quirk and everyone is stupid," he exclaimed, scowling and getting more wound up, "And Bakago tried to hurt him last time and his friends thought it was fun! And – "

Eraser flicked the tip of his nose, cutting him off with a squawk as both his hands flew to his face to protect himself.

Exasperation, amusement, disapproval, respect, and a little bit of annoyance all bled across the Hero's feeling as he straightened up and extended a hand for him to take, "Be that as it may, Hari-kun, you still should have told your father. We will give him a ring so he can come and pick you up, no arguments," he added forcefully, making Hari's mouth snap shut with a click of teeth, "and we'll have a nice little chat – "

The ground shook with a heavy thud as they stepped out of the cafe. Hari squeaked and hid behind his legs.

"Uh oh," the child muttered, as people around them began to exclaim in excitement.

Eraser glanced to the small child, and then up at the smiling form of All Might as he straightened up and began to look around, casting dismissive but perfunctory smiles and greetings at the people around him, craning his head as he looked around for something... or someone... rather small. He glanced down at the child who looked a mixture of sheepish and nervous, a reaction that he had never seen a child have when faced with the Number One Hero, but one he'd seen more than once on a child confronted with a disapproving parent or guardian.

He scooped up the small child, who squeaked, his eyes going wide as the Hero tucked him up under his arm like a sack of potatoes and marched over to the blond Pro-Hero.

"All Might-san, I believe this is what you're looking for?" he called, gently righting the five year old and presenting him to the overly huge blond.

Hari smiled nervously at him, clutching his bag tightly as he drew his knees up, "H-hi."

The look on his father's face was anything but amused.

0000

Ickle Hari is in trouble now, but hopefully Aizawa has gotten through his stubborn fluffy little head about picking fights he can't win.

As part of your Pressies this holiday, I have updated the following fics:

Niflheim Academy
Against My Nature
Echoes of Green
Storming Skies
Protectors
Playing with Fire
Hand You're Dealt