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It was the first time in the years since Izuku was found to be Quirkless that little Izuku woke up excitedly on the morning of his birthday. He ran out of his room in his All Might onesie pajamas to the delicious smell of pancakes, and he cheered as he entered the kitchen, “I am here!”
Inko laughed in delight as she scooped up the little hero into a hug. “You sure are! Happy birthday, my sweet Izuku!” She planted kisses on his cheek until he started squirming with a ‘mooom’ and giggled as well. She chuckled and put him down by the table where she had a stack of pancakes ready for him along with his favourite toppings. After Izuku climbed into the chair, she sat down as well and picked up her cup of coffee. “Oh, and I heard you are having a special visitor today.”
Izuku halted as he was about to dig into his pancakes now doused in syrup and powdered sugar and looked to her wide-eyed. “You mean…”
Then the doorbell rang. Inko waggled her eyebrows at Izuku and nodded to the door. Izuku took a deep gasp but didn’t quite dare hope yet, but still it really could be, so he quickly jumped off his chair and dashed for the door.
The door opened to reveal All Might in full uniformed glory striking a pose while holding a gift-wrapped box in hand, before bending closer to Izuku. “Hello, my boy! I heard a brave little hero was having his birthday today!”
Izuku literally squealed in excitement, practically vibrating in place. “All Might!” he managed to squeak out. Inko shook her head fondly and got up from the table to walk to the door.
“Good morning, Yagi-san, and thank you so much for coming to Izuku’s birthday.” Inko carefully patted Izuku’s shoulder who was still vibrating with happiness. “Don’t worry, his brain will restart in a moment, it’s just being flooded in excitement. Would you like to come in?”
All Might gave a hearty laugh and then said, “Yes, thank you, Midoriya-san.” He looked a little bit more worried at Izuku though. “I would think after the last few months he would get used to it…”
Inko chuckled amused. “I think the fact his childhood dream for the bestest birthday ever coming true has over-loaded him a little.” She guided Izuku to the side to let All Might inside and closed the door behind him.
Yagi chuckled more sheepishly. “Ah, I see. But I haven’t even got to his birthday present yet.”
That did kick-start Izuku’s brain and he gasped, looking up at All Might with stars in his eyes, “My birthday present? Is it… An All Might Hug?”
Yagi couldn’t help but laugh in delight at the question. “Ah, my boy, you can ask for a hug from me any time! But your actual present is something even better!”
“Better than an All Might hug?” Little Izuku looked up sceptically at the hero.
“Hm… How about I will give you that hug first and then I will show you your present?” All Might offered and bent down on one knee, holding open his muscled arms. Izuku gave another excited squeal and jumped into the hero’s arms, then sighed happily into the hug as if it was indeed the best thing ever. Yagi felt something warm in his chest at how happy he could make the little boy with such a simple action.
“Would you like some coffee or tea, Yagi-san?” Inko spoke up after a few minutes, walking back into the kitchen.
“Tea please, Midoriya-san,” Yagi replied as he held Izuku easily in one arm to his chest, holding the present in his other arm and followed behind her.
“Oh, please call me Inko. You’re practically my son’s adoptive father at this point.” Inko laughed softly as she turned the water kettle on and looked for a box of tea.
“I… of course, Inko-san. It’s my honour, really.” Yagi blushed at her words, but it was hard not to feel happy around the excited and sweet little boy. He looked to the table, noticing the untouched pancakes. “Ah, you really should eat, my boy, heroes need to eat their breakfast to grow big and strong.” He gently placed Izuku down on his chair and after a moment of hesitation, he sat down on another chair, being careful that it could hold the weight of his ‘hero form’.
Izuku blinked as if coming out of a daze, then looked up at Yagi. “But All Might, what is my gift then?” he asked excitedly.
“Ah-ah, breakfast first.” Yagi grinned amused.
“Yagi-san is right, or else you’ll be too excited to eat,” Inko said as she placed a cup of tea in front of Yagi with a smile. “Here you go, Yagi-san.” She looked to Izuku and flushed a little. “Izuku, please don’t inhale your food like that!”
Izuku swallowed the mouthful and looked sheepishly at his mom. “Sorry, mom. I’m just too excited about my birthday!” But at least he did start chewing his food.
Inko just smiled back at him. She was so happy that she had her happy little boy back. She glanced at Yagi and noticed his fond smile. Their eyes met and they both quickly glanced away with a blush on their faces.
“All done!” Izuku said proudly and Inko reached over with a napkin to clean the syrup and sugar from his face, but he could barely hold still.
“Okay, okay, calm down, my boy.” Yagi chuckled and placed the box in front of Izuku after Inko took the plate away. “It’s two presents, actually, but well, you need one for the other,” he said. “Go ahead and open the first one.”
Izuku gaped in amazement at All Might’s words and looked reverently at the box. His tongue stuck out the side of his mouth as he carefully opened the gift wrapping and opened the box, gasping as he looked at the brightly coloured garment inside. “My own All Might costume?” He gaped at the sight, his eyes filling with tears of happiness.
Inko quickly got the tissues ready while Yagi beamed. “Yes, I asked my friend David Shield to make it for your birthday.”
Izuku gasped. “It’s… a real All Might costume? B-by the David Shield?” The boy looked like he was about to faint from happiness overload.
“Remember to breathe, my boy!” Yagi hurriedly said, reaching out to pat him on the back. “But yes, and you can wear it somewhere very special today!”
Izuku’s hands hovered reverently over his own All Might costume, but he looked quickly back to his da- idol. “Y-you mean…”
“Yes, my boy, I got us VIP tickets to Hero Con!” Yagi announced, producing three tickets from his belt pouch. Something snapped inside Izuku and he started crying in pure happiness.
Yagi faltered and looked worriedly at Inko but she just shook her head with a fond smile. “Just let him ride it out, it’s the Midoriya way,” she said, sliding the box of tissues in front of Izuku.
Once the waterfall of tears ran out and tissues were discarded, Izuku excitedly ran to his room to try on his brand-new costume. Yagi and Inko were left alone for the moment and Yagi asked curiously, “Do you have a costume as well, Inko-san?”
“Oh, yes, I had a look after you asked me about the con, so I dug up an old costume from my college days’ Halloween parties. Mind you, I had to get it a bit adjusted,” Inko said with a bit of a self-deprecating laugh. “It’s a pre-Quirk comic book character, do you think that would be okay for the con?”
Yagi perked up at that and smiled widely. “Why, that would be an amazing costume! Do you like pre-Quirk comics, Inko-san?”
Inko chuckled a bit sheepishly and tucked her hair behind her ear. “I dabbled a little in college, Hisashi had plenty of them. After Izuku’s- … well, I thought it was wonderful to find some old pre-Quirk comics to cheer him up. Of course, he loved Batman.” Though her smile was fond, there was a sad tinge to it as well.
Yagi smiled warmly at that. “That is a great example for young Izuku, to see a hero who can fight by using their smarts and training instead of a super-power. I have some rare comics at Might Tower, I would be happy to show them to you and Izuku.”
Inko nodded. “That would be wonderful, Yagi-san. So, what about you?”
Yagi blinked. “Me? Oh, my costume? I … thought I would just go like this.”
Inko grinned more mischievously and shook her head. “Oh, no, you have to dress up for a con like this. Come on, I will help you out.” Before Yagi could protest, Inko stood up, took his arm, and dragged him along to the study where she kept all her craft and sewing equipment. With a hero-obsessed little boy, she became quite versed at patching up torn clothing after all. She was glad though she didn’t have to use that skill so much anymore as the clothing damage had shifted from toddlers playing to bullying sadly, but it finally stopped after Yagi-san had been so kind as to have an appearance at Izuku’s elementary school to talk against bullying and Quirkless discrimination.
Izuku came running back excitedly, dressed in a perfectly fitting All Might costume, and his idol had been so kind as to include a wig for the con so he really looked like ‘Small Might’. He looked around a bit confused at the empty kitchen, so he called, “Mom?”
“We’ll be right out, dear,” Inko’s voice came from the study.
“Okay!” Izuku called back and then went about practicing his All Might Hero Poses.
All Might’s laugh boomed behind him. “You’re very good at those, my boy!” Yagi complimented him and Izuku blushed at the praise, then blinked looking at his idol. With the help of brightly red-coloured cloth pinned in place and cardboard pieces acting as armour and even more obviously, red-and-yellow flame pattern cardboard pieces carefully placed as a mask and in place on the costume, he looked like a cheap version of… “Endeavour?”
Yagi chuckled more sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head in a nervous gesture, taking care not to disturb the band holding the flame mask in place. “Ah, yes, Inko-san made this. It’s quite impressive how quickly you managed it, Inko-san,” he said, looking to the woman as she joined his side and she blushed, preening a little at the praise.
“Oh, it’s nothing, really. I think it will be more fun this way to have a costume for the event,” Inko said, waving her hand with a nervous chuckle at the praise. “Anyway, Izuku, you are looking absolutely adorable!” she cooed, taking out her phone to snap several pictures while Izuku happily posed and Yagi even went to join him, making Izuku smile even wider. After putting a dent in her phone’s storage, Inko hummed, “Well, I suppose I’d better go put on my costume too.” Then she disappeared into her bedroom.
While she was gone, Yagi and Izuku were easily entertained by Izuku wanting to perfect his All Might poses and Yagi giving delighted feedback. Yagi was quite impressed with the young boy’s encyclopaedic knowledge of his battles and public appearances that rivalled Sir Nighteye’s. Izuku was in the middle of recounting an interview All Might gave at a charity event when they heard the door click open and both turned to look at Inko returning, dressed in a stunning black leather Catwoman costume.
Yagi immediately coughed blood and with a poof of steam turned back into his ‘thin’ form. Inko gasped worriedly while Izuku quickly dashed for the tissues on the table to help out his hero. “Are you okay, Yagi-san?” she asked and while Yagi gratefully took a few tissues from Izuku to dab at his nose and mouth.
“Y-yes, Inko-san, I’m okay. I just- … Your costume is very impressive,” Yagi said with a deeper blush on his face.
Inko blushed as well. “Thank you.”
Izuku looked a little bit more confused between the two adults and then spoke up, “So can we go now?”
“Ah, erm, yes.” Yagi coughed, but at least without any blood this time. “My truck is outside, my boy.” Izuku nodded eagerly and went to retrieve his Eraserhead backpack with his camera and his notebook, also packing a water bottle and some snacks before declaring he was ready to go.
The trip to the Musutafu event centre went smooth and Yagi thanked his lucky stars that they didn’t see any incidents along the way. He wanted to keep his focus wholly on Izuku’s special day after all. After they parked, they walked up to the entrance where people were queueing for the convention. With the VIP tickets, their wait was very short, but it took longer than expected as many people waiting in line cooed over the little All Might and asked for pictures of the family. This made Yagi blush so much that Inko started teasing him that he looked even more like Endeavour. Of course, he was very used to photo shoots but being called a family warmed a special place in his heart.
They finally entered the convention centre and Izuku, already riding the high of being the centre of attention in a good way, was practically vibrating in excitement at all the sights of Hero Con, all the stalls with hero merch, everyone dressed up as heroes and villains and the artist galleries, the list went on. Yagi chuckled and patted his shoulder lightly. “What should we do first, my boy?”
“Oh, can we go to the Hero meet and greet?” Izuku piped up excitedly.
Yagi looked around, his tall form easily seeing over the crowd. He could see the posters announcing each hero near the back of the room. “This way,” he said, starting to walk that way. There were a lot more stops for photos along the way, with Izuku giving the camera to either Inko or Yagi while he happily posed with all his favourite hero cosplayers and many more wanted photos with the little All Might. Yagi found it easier to smile than ever as he watched Izuku enjoy all the positive attention from people. The poor boy needed it more than anyone, he thought.
Before they made it to the meet and greet area, Izuku was excited over a stand of self-made hero merchandise and Inko bought him a spherical plushie shaped as a ‘kitty’ form of All Might. Yagi had to admit it looked cute. It also helped in his case to have a hero persona that looked different from his real self to make seeing all the merchandise feel less awkward. It was more like a character to him, one he ‘cosplayed’ all the time.
The meet and greet area was very busy so Yagi picked Izuku up to sit on his broad shoulders, making the boy cheer in glee. “So which hero would you like to meet, Izuku-kun?” Yagi asked, glancing up at him.
“All of them!” Izuku cheered. Yagi chuckled to himself; how could he have expected any other answer?
“How about you boys go meet some heroes while I go get us some coffees and a hot chocolate for Izuku?” Inko said and headed for the cafeteria area.
“Okay, mom!”/”Sure thing, Inko-san,” came the reply from her boys before they headed towards the tables, Yagi showing the VIP tickets to go into the VIP line.
Yagi placed Izuku down as they came to the front of the line and the boy eagerly stood up on tip-toe, staring with stars in his eyes at the hero sitting on the opposite side. “Hawks! Oh my gosh, it’s really Hawks!” he cheered excitedly before remembering himself and looked a little sheepish. “I mean, hello, Mr. Hawks, it’s an honour to meet you.”
Hawks gave an amused little laugh at his little visitor. “What a polite kid. And wow, look at you! All Might in the flesh!”
Izuku giggled. “No, I’m Small Might! All Might is my dad!” He pointed up at Yagi.
Yagi blushed both at being called dad and being put on the spot as… well, All Might, finding everyone around freezing in place and staring at the two. Lucky for him, Hawks jumped right in, “Hahah, I’m afraid you’re a little confused, kiddo, your dad is obviously Endeavour!” At that, everyone else chuckled along, thinking they were just cosplayers. Hawks stood from his chair and held out his hand. “An honour to meet you too, sir,” he said with a wink as Yagi chuckled sheepishly and shook it.
“Likewise, Hawks-kun,” Yagi returned. He reached down to help lift Izuku to see the table as the boy watched excitedly as Hawks signed a photo for him with his autograph.
The boy took the offered photo, quickly tucking it safely away in his notebook and grinned widely. “Thank you, Mr. Hawks! You are so cool, I love how fast you save people! Do you really use your wings like a bird’s or is it like the telepathy you use to control each feather to carry you instead? Then how many feathers can you send out before they can’t carry you anymore? And can you feel everything in each feather? Isn’t that overwhelming in sensations or do you manage to compartmentalize the incoming sensations somehow? Or did you have to train really hard for that? And does-“
Hawks blinked slowly and stared at Izuku before looking a little helplessly at Yagi with an awkward little laugh. “He’s really into this, huh?”
Yagi smiled sheepishly, he felt on one hand it may be too much to handle for a first time experience but on the other hand, he admired the boy’s passion for Quirks and how amazing his analytical skills were so he felt uncomfortable with apologising for it. He looked down to Izuku who caught on to the awkwardness and looked down sadly. “M’sorry, I know it’s creepy-…”
Before Yagi could protest, Hawks already reached over to pat Izuku’s head. “Not at all, kiddo! That’s really impressive stuff, but that’s better discussed in private, hm?” He gave him a wink. “I’d love to hear all your theories but we’d better discuss that where it’s just us, ain’t that right?”
Izuku looked up in awe and nodded quickly. “Of course, Mr. Hawks, sir!”
“Great! I’m sure I’ll see you around, kiddo, just ask Endeavour-san here to arrange a meeting.” Hawks gave him another pat on the head, carefully avoiding disrupting the ‘bunny ear’ bangs and sat back down, looking with an amused smile at Yagi.
Izuku gasped and looked up at Yagi. “Really? Can we?”
“Haha, of course we can, my boy, if Hawks-kun says so,” Yagi told him, then looked to Hawks and nodded. “Thank you.”
“Any time. Have fun at the rest of the con, you two!” Hawks gave them a wave as Yagi picked up Izuku in his arms and went to visit more of the heroes.
Izuku cooed the whole time. “He’s such a great hero, coming up so fast in the ratings! He’s really skilled at being a hero and … well, of course he’s not as great as you are, All Might.”
Yagi just chuckled. “I’m always honoured by your faith in me, my boy. But yes, he did come like a bolt out of the blue…” Honestly, it made the whole thing a bit suspicious, especially since there were rumours about Hawks’ connection to the HSPC, but this was hardly the time and place to investigate such things. He made a mental note to perhaps look into it later. He could ask Nighteye about it.
Yagi was pulled out of his thoughts as Izuku squeaked, “Oh my god, it’s Eraserhead! I never thought he would be at a Hero Con!” Honestly, it was rather surprising to Yagi as well, and even more oddly the poster above the spot announced Present Mic instead. Still, Izuku was really excited to meet another one of his favourite heroes so he walked over to the line. They ended up waiting a bit longer because there was some confusion at the front of the line from fans who had come to see Present Mic, and as far as Yagi could hear, they were reassured he would be back soon, but in the meantime, Eraserhead fans could meet their idol.
Yagi glanced around while waiting and noticed a boy in his mid-teens right in front of them. He had unkempt blueish-grey hair and red eyes. He had a home-made but really well-done Eraserhead cosplay, but what drew Yagi’s attention more was the condition of his skin from what he could see around the hair and how the boy kept trying to refrain from scratching under the scarf, almost trembling with the effort. It reminded him a little of how he found Izuku for the first time, the boy just screamed ‘neglected’ at him. “Your costume is really wonderful,” Yagi spoke up.
The teen’s eyes snapped back up at him and blinked, staring uncertain at him. “Erm … thanks,” he muttered.
“Let’s see, I keep some first aid items on me all the time…” The teen looked on confused as Yagi dug into one of his pouches. “Ah, here, this is a great skin cream, I use it to help people with painful scrapes or superficial burns. I got it from Recovery Girl. It might help you. You know, so you can enjoy the rest of this lovely event without worrying about your amazing costume,” he said as he offered the tube of cream.
The boy still looked suspicious at him, but then he took the cream. He stared at it for a moment before he put a little on the back of his hand and smeared it around. His eyes widened as he felt all the itchiness in the back of his hand gone. “I … er… thank you,” he said, baffled.
“Mhmm, works like a charm, doesn’t it?” Yagi gave a happy chuckle and dug out a little card with a phone number on it. “Here, so you can call me if you need more cream so I can get you in contact with Recovery Girl for more. Or, you know, if you ever need to talk about anything.”
The teen still stared before looking down at the card and he hesitantly took it and put it away, before looking away. “Maybe. Don’t expect anything, old man.”
“I won’t, it’s all up to you, my boy,” Yagi replied reassuringly before looking back to Izuku who was looking around excitedly at everyone’s costumes in line. Soon enough, they got to the front of the line and Yagi smiled to himself as he watched the kid walk away happily with his Eraserhead autograph.
Izuku was once again in almost-vibrating-out-of-his-skin mode as he stared up at a bored-looking Eraserhead. But when he spotted the new duo in front of him, he sat up straighter with a frown. “All Might?” he asked confused. Yagi could hardly blame him, who would expect All Might to stand in line for hero autographs?
“Hahaha, yes, my boy’s cosplay is amazing, isn’t it?” Yagi quickly said, holding up Izuku at table-level.
Izuku blushed and tried to imitate All Might’s big smile quickly. Aizawa raised an eyebrow but decided not to press further. “Yeah, that’s a really great costume, kid.” Yagi let out a soft breath of relief while Izuku beamed in pride. “If you are here to see Present Mic, he’ll be back soon…”
“No- I mean, yes, I would love to see Present Mic but I’m also a huge fan of you, Mr. Eraserhead, sir!” Izuku quickly blurted out. “It’s amazing how with your Quirk, your actual fighting style is Quirkless and you use your Quirk to make everyone else Quirkless, which is so amazing and-“
“Whoa, whoa- calm down, kid. I… well, thank you,” Aizawa said quickly, somewhat baffled. He didn’t exactly have many fans let alone kids as fans, mostly by design as an Underground Hero, but even rarer, he had never had anyone compliment him on his Quirkless fighting. He glanced up to the man he knew was All Might confused for a moment before looking back down to the kid. Did All Might adopt a Quirkless kid? He couldn’t ask outright, perhaps he would have to ask Nedzu about it later. But then again, was it really any of his business? Well, only in as far as he wanted to make sure the kid would be okay.
“Ah, sorry, excuse me…” came a soft spoken voice and a lady with green hair dressed in a Catwoman suit appeared out of the crowd, coming up beside All Might. “Are you having a great time meeting your heroes, Izuku?”
Aizawa blinked once, staring at the odd trio. There were obvious similarities between the kid and the lady, and All Might certainly acted friendly enough to the lady to be a part of the family… how the heck would he be able to keep that hidden from the press anyway?
“Yes, mom, look, it’s Eraserhead!” The boy bounced in All Might’s massive arms.
“Oh, how lovely. Nice to meet you, Mr. Eraserhead, my son has been a big fan since he was very little,” the woman in the Catwoman costume said with a warm smile.
“I… It’s my honour, ma’am. Thank you. Great costume, by the way. You should participate in the Pre-Quirk era cosplay competition,” Aizawa said with a rare little smile. Well, being All Might’s secret girlfriend set aside, she certainly had a great taste in heroes.
“Oh, you really think so?” Inko blushed a little. “I just made this back in college…” But Izuku was already bouncing again at the suggestion.
“You totally should, mom! Your costume is amazing, and I would love to see all the comic book hero costumes! Oh, oh, I wonder if there will be a Batman!” Izuku cheered.
“I have it on good authority that there will be a Batman,” Aizawa said more amused now. Of course he knew, he bribed one of the last year costume designer students at UA to make him a Batman costume with one of his best brews of coffee. Considering how many times costume designers also had to pull all-nighters, it was a god-sent for the student anyway.
Izuku was super-excited again and Inko chuckled. “Okay then, we’ll go check it out after you boys are done with the autographs.” Yagi put Izuku down so he could retrieve his notebook from his Eraserhead backpack, much to further bemusement of Aizawa, and offered it up with a big, excited smile.
Aizawa wrote his autograph into Izuku’s notebook, then glanced up. “Actually, I can take you there,” he said as he noticed a certain cockatoo-mimicking hairstyle approaching in the crowd. The fans cheered seeing their idol show up, but then it turned into coos of ‘aw, how cute!’. Yagi, Inko and Izuku looked back curiously as the crowd parted to let Present Mic through, and he was holding a little girl by the hand who was dressed in a custom costume, looking adorable in a magical girl/princess outfit, coloured pastel pink and white. She had a little horn on her forehead, no doubt a part of her Quirk.
Inko cooed, “Oh my, aren’t you the most adorable little hero.”
“Why, thank you.” Present Mic had his usual big grin but it certainly looked warmer as he looked down to the little girl. “What do you say to the nice lady, Eri-chan?”
“T-thanks…” she said quietly, partway hiding behind Mic’s legs.
“Hi, Eri-chan! I’m Small Might!” Izuku greeted cheerfully. Inko felt her heart swell, she hadn’t seen her boy so full of cheer since that eventful doctor appointment. Getting into the ‘Small Might’ persona certainly helped a lot to bring him out of his shell, but she also knew the biggest cause of his happiness was the real All Might. She smiled happily and leaned lightly against Yagi’s side, making him blush a little again.
“I’m … I’m Princess Unicorn,” she said shyly, halfway pressed into her guardian’s pant leg.
“Wow, that sound like an amazing hero!” Izuku said with genuine enthusiasm.
Eri looked curiously at the boy, then her eyes widened seeing his Eraser backpack. “Ah- you like Eraserhead?” she spoke up a little more, moving from behind Mic’s legs and making both Aizawa and Yamada look at her surprised.
Izuku grinned widely and nodded. “Yeah, I think he’s the best hero after All Might!”
“I think he’s the bestest hero ever!” Eri exclaimed, getting swooped up in Izuku’s fanboy-ism as he started listing all the ways Eraserhead was the best and she enthusiastically nodded along. Yamada was the first to recover and turned the biggest grin at Aizawa. Aizawa gained an even rarer blush and looked away, but he had a happy little smile.
After letting the kids geek out for a few minutes, Present Mic went around to other side of the table to take his place to meet and greet his fans while Aizawa stood up. “Alright, let’s go check out the cosplay competition. Do you want to come and see all the costumes, Eri?”
“Okay, Mr. Eraserhead!” Eri said more cheerfully than Aizawa had ever heard her, and his heart melted a little. He quickly got around the table and took her hand, looking a bit more warmly to Izuku. “You guys want to go now?”
“Sure, we can come back for more autographs later. We wouldn’t want to miss the competition though,” Yagi said and Inko nodded. “Please lead the way, Eraserhead-kun.”
Izuku walked alongside Eri while they walked through the crowds of the convention, Aizawa holding onto Eri’s hand while Yagi and Inko followed close behind. “You know, I think I have seen some Eraserhead merchandise at some of the home-made art booths. I’m sure you could find a backpack like mine! There also were plushies!”
Eri’s eyes widened and she looked up at Aizawa with awe in her eyes. “C-Can we go see the Eraserhead stuff, Mr. Eraserhead?”
Aizawa tried hard to not blush again and quickly nodded. “Sure, Eri. We’ll also have to get some Present Mic merch,” he pointed out and Eri gasped excitedly and nodded quickly. “We’ll go check out the shops after the competition.”
Aizawa left Eri with the little family for a few minutes while he went to one of the dressing rooms to change in his costume and Inko signed into the competition. Yagi, Izuku and Eri took a seat near the front when the competition started and Izuku gave excited commentary on all the different heroes the contestants were dressed up as.
“That’s Superman, he’s great too, he’s kind of like All Might! But All Might is still better,” Izuku whispered to Eri, who listened enraptured and Yagi felt himself blushing again. “Oh, and that’s Spider-Man, he’s awesome! He can use webs to sling himself around, like Eraserhead’s Capture Scarf!” That drew Eri’s attention even more and Yagi made a mental note to get her some Spider-Man merchandise too. “Wooow, that is such an amazing costume!” Izuku and Eri gaped at the Iron Man cosplayer stepping onto the stage. “You know, that hero is Quirkless but he made his own robot-costume!” Izuku commented excitedly.
All three cheered as Inko as Catwoman came onto the stage, though Yagi found himself glaring at some audience members making cat calls, which quickly shut them up. Eri cheered even louder as Aizawa entered the stage as Batman and, possibly to impress her even more, showed off some ‘Quirkless’ martial arts moves. It certainly worked to up her enthusiasm, and both Izuku and Eri chanted, “Batman, Batman, Batman!” before more of the audience joined in. Aizawa froze for a moment at being cheered at like that and made a quick bow before quickly leaving the stage again.
In the end, Inko won the best female cosplayer award; while Aizawa found himself breaking his number of smiles in one day record as Eri cheered loudly as he won the fan favourite award. After that, Izuku bid Eri a bit of a tearful goodbye and each expressed hope to see each other again soon. Aizawa found himself surprised at himself again as he agreed they could meet for playdates. Then the families went their separate ways, Izuku wanting to explore the con and meet a few more heroes, as well as go through the artists’ gallery. Yagi had to admit he was quite impressed at all the talent on display and found himself buying various art pieces that he really liked, some for Izuku of course, or others to hang up in his office in Might Tower. Inko suggested he should take a selfie ‘undisguised’ later and send it to the artists afterwards. She assured him it would make their day.
Izuku was just excitedly showing his Edgeshot autograph to Yagi as something else caught Yagi’s attention. “Oh, my…” He saw a girl about Izuku’s age with a cute brown bob, but most importantly, her costume was, obviously to him, Nana Shimura’s. Yagi felt tears prick at the corner of his eyes, feeling his heart warmed once more that even in the newest generation, there were those who remembered his dear mentor.
Izuku followed his gaze and gasped excitedly, quickly packing his notebook safely away as he jogged over to the girl and her friends, watched over by a few parents. “Hi! I love your Starfall costume!”
The girl blinked surprised and looked at Izuku, then squeaked in glee, “Ah, you recognise my costume!” She went straight in for a hug. “Thank you, I thought no one remembered her! But she’s one of my favourite heroes...”
Izuku blushed and stammered, unsure what to say for a moment as he was hugged so suddenly. “I… erm… did you know Starfall was All Might’s mentor?” Falling back on All Might facts always worked, at least.
“Aww, look at that, he’s making a new friend.” Inko said happily, standing next to Yagi as they watched the kids chat excitedly, the girl obviously eager to learn more about her hero.
Yagi had a happy smile on his face as well. This was what Nana and himself had fought for, preserving the smiles of the children who came after them. He admittedly had to hold back tears as Inko asked Izuku and the girl if they’d like to take some pictures together and the two posed happily side by side, drawing the attention of other con-goers who snapped pictures of the cute cosplayers and the kids loved all the positive attention. He would have to send a picture to Gran Torino later.
The girl introduced herself as Ochaco Uraraka and as the two were exchanging phone numbers, another boy-ish voice called, “Hey, Izu-bro!” A spiky haired boy came running, dressed in a Crimson Riot costume.
“Kirishima-kun!” Izuku called back happily, waving back at the boy as he ran up to them. Ah, right, Yagi remembered him now, they had met at the Crimson Riot movie he had taken Izuku to. One of the few other kids in the theatre, but he had been just as excited as Izuku for it, if not more, which is saying a lot.
“Izu-bro, I told you that you can call me Eijiro,” he replied with a sharp-toothed grin and a pat on Izuku’s shoulder that almost pushed him sideways. “Oh, hi, Izu-bro’s friend!” he greeted Uraraka as well. Uraraka returned a shyer hello this time and introduced herself to the newcomer. “Nice to meet you, I’m Kirishima Eijiro!” He gave her an enthusiastic hand-shake, then looked at her friend group. “Oh, wow, so many great cosplayers! It’s so manly to see everyone show off their amazing skills!”
Izuku grinned more widely. “I know! I find it hard to choose what is the best part, meeting the heroes or seeing everyone’s amazing costumes.” The friends joined in, and everyone exchanged happy compliments at each other. Izuku gasped looking up at a taller boy dressed in a full-armour suit. “Whoa… your Ingenium costume is amazing! It’s so realistic!”
The Ingenium cosplayer fidgeted shyly. “Thanks. My brother helped me make it,” came the muffled reply from the helmet.
“That’s great! Is Ingenium your favourite hero?” Izuku asked, always eager to learn more about people’s favourite heroes. The other boy nodded quickly. “I understand why, he’s an amazing hero who does so much good work!”
At that, the boy visibly perked up and waved his arms. “I know, right! He’s the most amazing hero and I want to be just like him one day!” All the kids now chimed in, happily chatting about each other’s favourite heroes and discussing what made them so great.
“You know, it’s a surprise to see little Tenya get out of his shell like that,” a voice sounded next to Yagi and Inko and they looked to see a young man dressed in slacks and a button up shirt, and a baseball cap that said ‘Idaten’ on it.
“I know what you mean, I have never seen Izuku be so happy around so many other kids his age before,” Inko cooed. “I’m Midoriya Inko, the boy dressed as All Might is my son,” she added.
“I’m- er, you can call me Yagi,” Yagi said. He wasn’t quite used to introducing himself much while One For All was active.
The young man smiled and held out his hand for both of them to shake. “Pleased to meet you, I’m Tensei.”
“Ah, you must be Ingenium-kun,” Yagi said in recognition, “you do great work.”
Tensei grinned, gaining a faint blush across his cheeks and standing straighter. “I’m honoured, sir. Like every hero out there, I’m a great admirer of you, ‘Endeavour’-san,” he said with a wink.
“Hahah… I guess it isn’t much of a disguise, but the costume has surprisingly worked well, actually…” Yagi said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.
“Don’t worry, Yagi-san, no hero is going to out you here, of course,” Tensei replied. “Granted, they must all be quite surprised to see you like this.”
“Well, I really don’t want to be the centre of attention, we’re here for Izuku after all,” Yagi said, glancing to the boy happily chatting with his new friends.
“I understand, I’m doing the same for Tenya. He’s my little brother but he is possibly my biggest fan. Isn’t he the most adorable little brother ever?” Tensei said with obvious pride sounding from his voice.
“He seems like a wonderful boy,” Inko commented, “I hope the boys can be friends.”
“That would be great, for Tenya too. Well, I’m sure the kids are exchanging phone numbers already but hey, you can always reach me at Idaten, it wouldn’t be hard for you to get the number, Yagi-san,” Tensei replied.
Kirishima glanced around. “I think the con is winding down for the day. Wow, it was so much fun, I’m so glad I could come!”
“Me too! I saved up for months,” Uraraka said. “My favourite part was meeting Thirteen! They’re my other favourite hero. Hey, Izuku, did you have fun today?”
“Yeah, lots and lots of fun! It’s been amazing, this is the best birthday ever!” Izuku exclaimed. The other kids gaped at him. Izuku blinked and asked, “What?” Oh no, did he say something wrong?
“Dude, it’s your birthday, Izu-bro?” Kirishima asked and Izuku hesitantly nodded, but then Kirishima put his arm over his shoulder, pulling him into a half-hug. “We should celebrate with a party!”
“Yeah, that would be a perfect end to the day!” Uraraka cheered happily.
“Hm, I concur. Er, given that your parents would be okay with that, of course,” Tenya added.
“I think it’s a great idea, my boy!” Yagi proclaimed. “And I actually have the best place to go to end this day on,” he said with a wide grin that looked way too familiar to the kids now.
“Dude, is that-… no, it can’t be All Might dressed as Endeavour, can it?” Kirishima muttered and Izuku could only grin in return.
“OH MY GOD! It really is All Might!” Kirishima shouted as they stood outside Might Tower, joined by the other kids staring up in awe. Yagi had given the other guardians an address to convene for the party and they were all surprised, to say the least, to find themselves parking at Might Tower.
Yagi stood a bit sheepishly to the side, Inko at his side and Izuku running over to the other kids as the other guardians stared at them. “I, er… I was doing a favour to my secretary, Toshinori, who is close friends with the Midoriyas,” he tried to explain, but it sounded a bit lame even to his own ears.
Tensei laughed and clapped his hand on Yagi’s shoulder, though had to wave his hand in pain afterwards, and once he got himself to stop wincing, he said, “Don’t worry about it, All Might-san. Even All Might needs to let loose some time and what’s better than helping a kid have a great birthday?”
Tensei looked to the kids, who were all staring star-struck at All Might. “Hey, kids, who wants cake!?” That seemed to pull them out of their paralysis and they started cheering for cake. They were all quite hungry after such an eventful day.
Yagi chuckled and gave a much lighter pat on Tensei’s shoulder. “Thank you, Iida-kun. Well, let’s get this party started.” He took them to his private elevator to the top floors, making the kids even more excited at the amazing view through the windows, as well as seeing all the All Might memorabilia, curated by Sir Nighteye, of course.
They set up in the conference room and while the kids showed off the con loot to each other, including which autographs they managed to get, Yagi called the cafeteria to ask for a bunch of food to be sent up as well as the cake he’d ordered earlier for Izuku’s birthday.
As Izuku sat in front of a big All Might-themed cake, with All Might and his mom sitting on either side of him, with a table full of new friends and fellow hero-enthusiasts, all of them joining in a rendition of ‘Happy Birthday to You’, the only wish he could think of was that this could last forever as he blew out the candles. This really was the best birthday ever.