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Izuku Midoriya didn’t remember his father, who had left shortly after Izuku was born. His mother had told him some things, however. It wasn’t often that Izuku would hear about his father because it seemed to hurt his mother too much and he never tried to ask, but once and a while, Inko would say something unprompted, such as…
You look just like him. I see your father in your eyes.
Izuku didn’t know how he was supposed to react to that. He never knew his father, after all, and had no photos of the man, so it wasn’t like he could agree or disagree, or even know if the comment was a compliment or an insult. All Izuku really knew about the man was that he had left Izuku’s mother without warning--something he couldn’t forgive--but surely his mother meant this comment as a compliment and not simply as a comparison to such a terrible man, right? So he didn’t say anything at all, and Inko simply resumed making dinner as if she had never spoken about her husband.
Kacchan had seen his father once or twice, but like Izuku, he didn’t remember anything significant. Unlike Izuku, however, Kacchan claimed to remember one thing about the mysterious Hisashi Midoriya.
In a rare moment in the hallways of UA, after being rescued from Kamino, Kacchan pulled Izuku to the side and told him what he remembered.
He had a presence. You didn’t want to turn your back to him. I’m not sure if it was fear or awe. But I feel the same thing around you sometimes, usually right before you’re about to do something stupid and reckless. You have his presence. I can’t turn my back on you for a minute, Deku, because then who knows what you’ll do. I just thought you should know this because… well, I met someone else with the same presence at Kamino. It’s not something you forget easily. It was… it was the one who ended All Might. All for One. Just… be careful.
Izuku didn’t know how he was supposed to react to that comparison either. Perhaps even less so than when his mother had told him he had his father’s eyes. That was more normal than this. Having his father’s eyes was more normal than having his father’s presence. What did Kacchan even mean? Kacchan was fully serious and calm the entire time he spoke to Izuku--something very rare for him--so Izuku knew to take it seriously, but what did it mean? At some point in what Kacchan had said, it had sounded like he had stopped comparing Izuku to his father and had instead started comparing him to… no, no, Izuku must have misunderstood.
Perhaps more startling was a conversation with All Might that soon followed his encounter with Kacchan. All Might had just returned from Tarturus, wanting to confirm for himself that his nemesis was soundly locked up this time, when he had run into Izuku in the halls of UA.
Usually, when All Might saw Izuku, he would demonstrate his All Might Smile™ and warmly greet his student. This time, however, Izuku was shocked to see fear on All Might’s face. Fear directed towards him .
I thought I saw Him. I thought I saw Him in you, All Might had said so quietly that Izuku almost hadn’t heard.
All Might had, of course, apologized right away for his strange behavior and asked Izuku how he had been doing. Izuku remembered giving some kind of neutral answer like “I’m fine,” even though he knew he wasn’t fine and likely wouldn’t be fine for a long time. Not after witnessing the end of All Might.
Now, as Izuku stared at his reflection in his mirror, he wondered what these people who knew him so well saw. What kind of person was Izuku if he evoked such a strong image of such evil people in the minds of others when they saw him? Of course, Izuku knew that All for One and his father were surely not on the same level of evil, but Izuku didn’t want to be anywhere close to being considered “evil” in the first place.
Was it something specific? His mother had commented on his eyes, but Kacchan and All Might had simply said that Izuku’s entire self--even his non-physical presence--resembled people that Izuku hated. He couldn’t change that, could he?
Izuku knew that he would have to go to class soon. Before he left, he tried to mimic All Might’s smile--not the impression, but just the smile--while putting his own personal spin on it. Satisfied with what he thought was a warm and welcoming appearance, Izuku left his dorm and walked out of the Heights Alliance, saying hello to each person he came across.
Izuku didn’t notice that each and every person who saw his face froze in place, unable to stop themselves from feeling utterly terrified at the haunting grin he wore, befitting of a villain.