Preface: I will start out by saying that this was intended to be one of those quick projects to keep myself going. That said, like so many others, the story kind of grew out of control. And it also insisted on being published as quickly as possible.

Secondly, this an AFO!Izuku story (as in "Hisashi Midoriya is All for One and Izuku inherited his Quirk), drawing some inspiration from Conversations with a Cryptid (by AMournfulHowlInTheNight, found on AO3). Add a dose of official artwork by Horikoshi Kouhei, and you get this.

So, yeah. A fan-fic of a fan-fic.

Anywho, on with the show.

Ten Years Ago…

Dr. Tsubasa said he didn't have a Quirk, that he couldn't have Quirk.

Sitting at home, Izuku stared at the blank space of wall. He couldn't move things with his mind. He couldn't breathe fire. He couldn't do anything. His dreams were all but crushed, Ka-chan's words ringing in his ears.

"And 'Deku' means someone who can't do anything."

The tears started to fall, refusing to stop. And his head hurt so much! He couldn't hear himself screaming.

"Izuku!"

His mom wrapped her arms around him, holding him close.

"I'm here, sweetheart."

Why don't I have a Quirk?

A spark.

And everything went black.

Into Black

Chapter One: Inception

Tensei Iida had gotten a call shortly before heading home for the night. A part of him rebelled at the delay, but he refused to ignore a cry for help, which brought him to a previously sleepy neighborhood in Musutafu. Around him, other Heroes and first responders were searching for survivors, floodlights illuminating ground zero.

According to first responders, it wasn't a villain attack, but the amount of destruction wrought, possibly on accident, was beyond worrying. The entire building had been brought down, supports warped and twisted before effectively imploding, almost as if someone had conducted an impromptu demolition of the building with the occupants inside.

Now that he was digging through the rubble, he was hoping he could find someone in the heap that was still alive. So far, survivors had been few and far in between, and more than a few had expired shortly after being rescued.

Popping over a slab of flooring, he found a hollow in the rubble that appeared stable enough for him to venture into. Slipping inside, he found nothing particularly out of the ordinary, but when ordinary of the last hour or so encompassed.

A little boy with green hair, tucked underneath his mother, having clearly used herself as a shield to protect her son. The shelves had been stripped of everything, the table swept clean and the chairs knocked over, bits of the wall, parts of the building, all drifting towards the epicenter, settling around the boy and his mother.

What happened here? He wondered.

Tensei's heart nearly stopped when he heard a little cough. Looking at the two bodies in the room, he saw the boy was still breathing.

"I found someone!" he hollered.

He gently moved the mother aside, cringing at number of puncture wounds that had been inflicted by assorted household items, many of which shouldn't have been capable of breaking skin on their own. Once she was set aside, he checked the boy for injuries.

"Hello," Tensei said, "I'm Ingenium. I'm here to help."

The boy looked at him with vacant eyes.

"What's your name?"

Words were not forthcoming, so he looked around for something to identify the boy, but with such a mess, that was liable to be impossible. Thankfully, the ruins of the refrigerator offered a name.

"Izuku?" The boy shifted a little. "Izuku, come on. I'll get you out of here."

"Mommy."

Tensei's heart jumped into his throat. "I'll be back for her. I promise."

It was kind of difficult to use his Quirk while carrying a child, even one as small as Izuku. Navigating his way out of the rubble, he found the paramedics and passed the boy off.

"These people are going to help you," he said, "I need to go back for your mom. I'll be right back, I promise."

He knew it was already too late, but the boy probably hadn't realized that yet. Tensei didn't know who would have to break that to Izuku or how, but he didn't envy that task.

Hours later, he's sitting in the hospital, his Hero costume stowed away after changing into his casual wear. Since the boy's father was apparently out of the country at the moment, and his home was in ruins, the hospital was looking for someone to watch him, especially since the boy became increasingly distraught with Tensei's absence.

So far, Izuku had stayed in bed, sitting up and staring blankly at the wall. Cleaned of blood and grime, he looked better. Marginally. His eyes had that far-off look, much like he had been when Tensei had first found him.

Izuku couldn't be much older than Tenya.

"Here." He took off his coat and placed it over his shoulders. "You probably need it more than I do." Probably better than another blanket, too, Tensei thought.

Without a word, Izuku tucked himself deeper into the coat. Tensei knelt down and rested a hand on Izuku's shoulder.

"There you go," Tensei said, giving the boy a reassuring smile. "It's going to be okay."

There was a knock on the door, the nurse's voice coming from the other side.

"Mr. Ingenium, can I have a word?"

"Sure. I'll be right out." Standing up, he turned to Izuku. "Hey, I'm going to step out for a bit. I'll be right back, okay?"

Unsurprisingly, the boy didn't say anything in reply.

Stepping outside, Tensei found himself looking up at someone for once. Next to the nurse was a man in a business suit. Tall and imposing, he stood substantially taller than even Tensei. Hair and eyes were light colored, almost white, but he looked closer to Tensei's age.

"Mr. Midoriya," the nurse said, "this is Ingenium. He's the one looking after your son."

The man looked at him. For all of his gravitas, he seemed…absent. Uncomfortable.

"Hisashi Midoriya," the man replied. "I came as quickly as I could. Tell me: how is my son doing."

The Hero grimaced. "His physical injuries were minor and easily tended to, but…he's still in shock. I've been trying to coax him out of it, but…maybe you'll have better success on that front."

"He might not even remember me," Hisashi said, almost whispering. "I…I left when he was small."

"Well, there's no harm in trying." Tensei knocked on the door, "Izuku, it's me. I brought someone to see you."

Reentering the room, Izuku had scarcely moved, still nestled in the cocoon of blankets

"Izuku, someone's here to see you."

Tensei didn't know what the man's Quirk was, but he certainly moved fast. The elder Midoriya knelt down at Izuku's bedside, taking his son's hand.

"Hello, Izuku," he whispered, settling a hand on the boy's head. "It's me. It's your father."

Slowly, Izuku turned to the man, a flash of recognition tugging at his previously impassive gaze. For the first time, Tensei saw a flicker of emotion from Izuku. Tears welled up, then flowed freely.

"I'm sorry," Izuku sobbed. "I-"

"Shh…it was not your fault."

[IB]

Itsuka Kendo was trying not to cry. She was a big girl, and big girls weren't supposed to cry.

It didn't make it easier to see her mom's casket being lowered into the ground.

Around her and her father were friends from work and some distant family members. Ms. Obsidian stood by her, umbrella in one hand, the other resting on Itsuka's shoulder, holding her steady. On her other side, her dad was seated in a wheelchair, still recovering from his injuries, only barely avoided having them amputated.

Itsuka barely noticed when it started raining on the way back to the cars.

"How many does this make?" someone asked, one of her parents' coworkers. They were trying to be quiet, but she could hear it all the same.

A deep, tired sigh. "Fourteen."

"What's going to happen to the Agency?"

"After the losses we suffered, what do you think?" Fugue muttered. "More than half the field operatives killed or crippled, and just from one battle." She paused. "At least he's behind bars. Should've been in the first place."

"He was our friend!" Selkie growled.

"A friend wouldn't have killed forty-seven people as response to getting his license yanked."

"Fugue, Selkie," Obsidian hissed, jerking her head towards Itsuka and her father.

The musical hero shrank in on herself. "…Right. Sorry."

Her colleague sufficiently chastised, Obsidian wrapped an arm around Itsuka, leaning close whisper in her ear. "People react to loss differently, Itsuka," she said. "No one is expecting you to be okay."

[IB]

No words were passed on the way home. There wasn't anything anyone could say that could fill the void left behind. And with her father out of commission until further notice, she was left in the care of Obsidian.

It only made the house seem emptier than before.

"Are you hungry, Itsuka?" Obsidian asked. When no answer was forthcoming, she continued. "I can make you something, even if you only want tea right now."

Itsuka tried to ignore her, staring out the window overlooking the driveway.

"It's okay to cry."

That little shove, and Itsuka fell apart in Obsidian's arms.

"I miss her," she sobbed.

"I miss her, too," Obsidian stroked her hair. "Just let it all out."

[IB]

Eight Years Ago…

Katsuki Bakugo stared at Deku with rapt attention, trying to puzzle out the enigma that had arrived at his house earlier in the day. The silver-haired woman (she had introduced herself as Yuri, or something) had brought him in, and spent some time talking with his parents, then left to do something, leaving Deku with them.

It had been months since he had last seen hide or hair of Deku, the boy dropping off the face of the earth after those rumors came out about his mother at school. It wasn't until later that Katsuki learned that Mrs. Midoriya had died in a Quirk related accident, with Deku as the rumored culprit.

The other boy had hardly moved since he sat on the couch after lunch, having barely touched his plate. It was almost time for dinner now, and he was utterly indifferent to the passage of time.

Compared to the irritating waste of space he just couldn't get rid of, now it was as if Deku had been replaced with someone who only looked like him, but didn't bother to get the other details right.

For starters, his eyes are old. Katsuki had come to the conclusion before the Hag had said the exact same thing to the Old Man when they thought no one was listening. A seven-year-old shouldn't have that haunted stare. No matter the comings and goings around the house, Deku had barely gone through the motions of breathing, barely eating anything.

"Hey, Deku," Katsuki growled out, "The Hag says dinner's almost ready."

True to the established pattern, Deku didn't show signs that he had heard, much less cared about what Katsuki had just said, so he got closer and snapped his fingers at him.

"Oi! Deku!"

No response. Still as a statue, without a care in the world.

That pissed Katsuki off.

"Quit ignoring me, Deku!" He tried to bop him on the head, only for his arm to swing around to the side, throwing him off balance.

Twisting around, he regained his footing. Explosions rippled from his palms, promising a swift retribution, but he stopped cold when those vacant eyes finally turned to him.

Katsuki would never admit to being frightened by it.

[IB]

Inko Midoriya, Quirk: Pull (attracts small objects).

Akatsuchi Kendo, Hero Name: Lava Girl. Quirk: Viscosity (she can alter the viscosity of earthen materials).

A/N: Right, so we have a series of snapshots of Izuku's life in new circumstances, and the results aren't exactly pretty.

Starting with the obvious, yes, I (or rather, Izuku) killed Inko Midoriya. Apparently, that is done more often than not, according to the tags I found in AO3, but I'm not sure how often it happens like this.

On the other side of things, Kendo wasn't originally supposed to show up this early. I wasn't planning on her showing up until maybe chapter 4 or 5 (which might become chapters 6 or 7), depending on how things went, which would have been about the same timeframe Izuku met All Might in canon. However, since she is stepping up to the plate as a major character, and since her established details are kind of limited, I had to come up with more details of her background. So, more tragedy on that front.

Aside from that, Selkie is the same guy from Tsuyu's internship. Apart from him and Itsuka, everyone else at the funeral was pretty much invented for the purpose of this story, as well as the villain(s) responsible for the tragedy.

The next few chapters will be working their way to "present day" (the start of canon) and have the dynamic duo growing through the years. Details will come later, but I'll try to keep angst to a minimum.

As always, constructive criticism appreciated, even if it only tells me I'm a jerk-bag who is mean to the characters I work with (I typically am, even if it's to their eventual benefit).