It was a miracle that Izuku was born, at least that's what the doctors' who delivered him had thought. But as Izuku sat silently in the dimly lit apartment, clutching the one picture of his mother and father smiling happily, he had to think the doctors were wrong. His father certainly seemed to think so.

Hisashi was nothing like the man Izuku admired in the photo. He didn't smile, he never hugged Izuku and he always so angry . Izuku winced as his bruises reminded him of Hisashi's actions last night when the man came back from work. But it was ok, because Hisashi never forgot to apologize and tell Izuku he was only hurting him because Izuku had hurt him first.

Izuku couldn't be mad at his father. The man was never around or took the time to see if he was ok, but Izuku had a place to stay and on rare occasions, warm food to eat. Hisashi even homeschooled him long enough for Izuku to read, write and speak basic Japanese and do basic math before he put Izuku into the school system.

Izuku never said anything when his teachers asked where his bruises came from or why he didn't like to speak. His father had explained that Izuku was a troubled child who was socially inept. It wasn't like Izuku was completely alone at school, he had some other kids approach him trying to be his friends. Kacchan was especially stubborn, more so after he brought Izuku over to his house one day to let him meet his parents.

Kacchan's parents were so very kind to Izuku, and while Mitsuki-san could get loud sometimes, they never hit him. Hisashi forbade Izuku from going over again though, after Mitsuki had interrogated the man about Izuku's bruises. Kacchan was a lot gentler with him than he was with the other kids, Izuku didn't know why but he liked it.

"Does your dad hit you Izuku?" Katsuki asked one day while the two of them were exploring the woods nearby the school during recess. Izuku froze up before he looked at Katsuki with wide eyes. His small hands trying to wrap around his arms as if trying to hide the green marks. Izuku shook his head before he responded, "N-No, Pa-Papa doesn't hit me Kacchan."

Katsuki gave him a look that said the blonde boy didn't believe him, but turned away to catch a big bug. "My mom says adults shouldn't hurt kids you know? They aren't supposed to hit them, or yell bad words at them and stuff like that." 'Papa does all of those things…' Izuku thought before he smacked his cheeks to try and get rid of his thoughts.

Hisashi wasn't a bad father, was he? "P-papa scares me sometimes, b-but he still loves me. He's just angry because I-I hurt him before." Izuku said quietly as Katsuki said nothing but stared at him. "You shouldn't be scared of your dad Izuku." Izuku's eyes teared up as he knew Katsuki was right, but he didn't want to admit it.

When Hisashi finds out about their conversation, Izuku can't help but regret talking to Katsuki. He was pulled out of school and the two had to move to another district that was still close to Hisashi's workplace. Izuku wore a cheap sling for his arm for about a few weeks after the move too, as Hisashi blamed him once again, for something out of Izuku's control.

Izuku found himself hungry quite often now, but whenever he would ask his father for food the man replied, "Oh, I'm sorry Izuku, but daddy needs to eat first. He goes to work in order to give us this apartment and the clothes you wear after all. Not to mention the All Might action figure you love! You don't want your daddy to go hungry do you?"

Izuku nodded hesitantly in agreement and never brought up his hunger after that. He knew his clothes were old hand me downs and the All Might figurine was something Hisashi pulled out of the trash can on the side of their apartment complex, but he still valued them. He didn't really get to have much outside of those items after all.

Izuku had a bad feeling, however, after Hisashi started experimenting with Izuku's quirk. He had lost his temper one night and blew a stream of fire toward Izuku's direction, only to be surprised when Izuku raised his arms up in defense and a wall of ice formed in response. Then Hisashi tried breaking a bottle of beer over Izuku's head only to be met with hardened hair and skin. When he held Izuku's head underwater despite Izuku's initial thrashing, Hisashi noted that after two minutes, Izuku could then breathe underwater.

"...It turns out even you can be useful after all, Izuku." Hisashi said as he patted Izuku on the head gently, shocking the green haired boy who was still trying to catch his breath from reverting back to breathing air. Hisashi smiled at him for the first time Izuku could recall, but it sent a shiver of fear down his spine as Izuku stared up at him.

"I'm going to teach you how to fight Izuku, then, you're going to help Daddy make some money ok?" Hisashi said while leering down at Izuku who shivered from the quickly cooling water. "You'll be a good boy for Daddy, won't you?" Izuku could only nod as he turned his gaze to the floor and closed his eyes.

Hisashi was a harsh teacher, although his treatment of Izuku wasn't much different from what he did normally. The only reprise that Izuku got, was that his quirk made things much less painful for him whenever Hisashi let him use it. When Izuku's eleventh birthday came around, his father surprised him. "Hey Izuku, Daddy's got a surprise for you! Today's your birthday and with how well you've done with our training Daddy thought he would bring you somewhere as a reward!"

Izuku suppressed his nagging feeling of suspicion, as his excitement over Hisashi actually thinking of him won over. Hisashi even let Izuku hold his hand as the man drove them to wherever he had in mind. Izuku was kicking his feet back and forth in excitement, although as the scenery began to change into shadier places with even shadier people, Izuku glanced at his dad to see what was going on.

Hisashi let out a rather sinister grin as he announced they had arrived and told Izuku to keep holding his hand as they walked in. Izuku scrunched his nose reflexively as the odor of sweat, blood and other questionable things hit him. There was a deafening roar of a crowd as the doors opened and Izuku could see the plethora of scary looking people cheering for something.

Finally, they had reached a room that overlooked the crowd below and Izuku could finally make out what they were so interested in. His breath hitched as he realized what was happening, 'Q-Quirk fighting!' He thought as he watched two quirk users collide violently. "Ah! Hisashi! How have you been doing my friend?" A voice called out as Izuku turned his attention back to his father and the quickly approaching stranger.

The man was quite a bit taller than his father and had more muscles from what Izuku could see. He was also wearing what looked like an expensive suit and there were a few scantily clad women following behind him that had Izuku blush in embarrassment. "Akechi! It's been too long, my friend! I see you're doing as well as ever." Hisashi and Akechi shared a laugh before the other man spotted Izuku.

His eyes narrowed before a knowing smirk appeared on his face, "Is this your infamous son you've been telling me about Hisashi? Cute kid." Hisashi pushed Izuku in front of him in order for Akechi to get a better look at him. "Where are your manners Izuku? What do you say to Akechi-san?" Hisashi admonished in a plastic tone that had Izuku feeling uneasy.

"I-It's nice to meet you, A-Akechi-san." Izuku stuttered softly as the large man chuckled before addressing Hisashi. "The kid's as tough as a marshmallow Hisashi, you better not be fuckin' with me if you're serious about him being our next fighter." Akechi said with a bite to his tone. Hisashi bared a smug grin before he said, "You should know me Akechi, I don't bet easily. Why don't you try him out?"

Akechi raised an eyebrow in disbelief before he sighed, "You're fucking crazy Hisashi, I always knew you had a dark side in that annoyingly happy mind of yours, but this is your fucking kid." The man sighed before he lied a hand on Izuku's shoulder and lead them out of the room and down the stairs back into the main area.

There were quite a few confused gazes as Izuku was lead right in front of the boxing ring and Akechi whispered to the referee who gave him a disbelieving look. Izuku jumped in surprise when a body slammed down right next to where he was, one of the fighters was knocked out and missing a few of his teeth as the other one grinned as if to intimidate Izuku.

Which, he was quite successful in doing as Izuku gulped in fear. "D-Daddy? I'm not sure if I l-like this place." Izuku tried telling Hisashi who brushed away his hand before kneeling down to tell him, "Listen Izuku, Daddy knows this looks a little scary but you're strong . Daddy has been teaching you how to fight. Now you're going to help Daddy by fighting some people ok?"

The referee had finally relented to whatever Akechi said, the man was one of his bosses after all as he announced, "Ladies and Gentlemen! Freaks and Beauties! We have a strange and exciting event that Boss Akechi has scheduled for us!" Hisashi made Izuku look directly into his eyes as the crowd roared in response.

"Izuku, you're going to fight some people and win Daddy some money understand? You can be a good boy and do that for Daddy right?" Izuku teared up as he tried shaking his head negatively, but Hisashi's grip on his face only tightened. "Tonight, we have a new, special contestant whose appearance may be deceiving, but do try to cheer him on. Won't you?" The referee continued as Hisashi lifted Izuku into the boxing ring.

"And Izuku? If you don't win, Daddy's going to leave you alone and never come back. You don't want that to happen do you Izuku?" Izuku felt like he was going to throw up as the combination of the harsh white lights bearing down on him, the roar of the crowd and Hisashi's words hit him all at once.

"Give a warm welcome to Lil' Izuku! The boy full of surprises!" The referee hyped up as the crowd's noise died down into softer mumblings of confusion.

The winner from the last round narrowed his eyes both at Izuku who looked like a deer caught in headlights, then to Hisashi's dark grin before he said in a deep voice, "I don't hurt children ." He pinned a knowing look at Hisashi whose expression only grew more vicious at the silent accusation. Several others in the crowd voiced their discomfort having Izuku fight as well but they were all silenced by Akechi who took the mic.

"The match will commence with the sound of the bell. No objections can be made. The same rules apply, no serious maiming or murder. Everything else goes." Izuku felt his chest seize up as the noise levels began to rise again and the quirk user in the ring with him shook his head in disappointment before facing Izuku. "Hey kid, sorry about this. I'll try to make my hits not so painful."

But Izuku didn't care to hear any of that, his mind repeating Hisashi's last words to him. 'I can't lose. I can't lose, I can't lose, I can't lose .' Then, as the bell rang and his opponent lunged forward to attack him, Izuku evened out his breathing and let the training Hisashi pounded into him take control. "I. can't. Lose."

His opponent had some sort of muscle-boosting quirk that gave him extra strength and speed. 'He's clearly got more experience in fighting than I do and his strength and speed combination do work well together, but…' Izuku thought as he surprised the crowd and his opponent by using the arm thrust as him to pull himself up.

His legs swung around to wrap around the man's neck as Izuku's form liquified and he became water, wrapping his mass around the man's face. 'His punches can't hurt me now and he will pass out from lack of air. He can't breathe underwater like I can after all…' Izuku said as the crowd was silent. His opponent had finally passed out from lack of oxygen as Izuku returned to his regular form.

The match had been too easy for him as he watched Hisashi collect the winnings he had made off of everyone else. Even Akechi looked a bit shocked at how easily one of their fighters had gone down before he smirked. "Well? What does everyone think of our Lil' Izuku? Want to see another match with this surprising hellion?" The crowd's response shook the arena as Izuku could only look guilty, 'I-I don't want to hurt more people like this...D-Daddy why did you bring me here?'

As the next opponent, a woman with a vicious looking tiger quirk, climbed into the boxing ring, Izuku could only close his eyes, accepting his fate as everyone chanted for more. "You're more than meets the eye kiddo, but now that your element of surprise is gone I can counter your water-quirk!" She said confidently. Izuku said nothing as the match started, the two of them circling each other.

"You can turn into water but there was a moment when you had a fully solid form didn't you? So as long as I hit you before you can transform, my win's guaranteed!" She let out a rumble which Izuku believed was her version of laughing before her pupils dilated and she dashed around the ring. Izuku had a bit of trouble keeping up with her and she used this to her advantage as she lunged, claws out.

The crowd was high on the adrenaline of watching one of their favorite fighters viciously go after Izuku. She let out a roar of victory as her claws reached him, expecting them to slice through his chest. The sound of a pained scream ripped through the air as everyone quieted down once again. Their eyes wide in disbelief as they watched the tiger-quirk fighter recoil in pain, cradling her newly broken hand.

Izuku held the same passive expression he forced himself to wear at the beginning of his match as he lowered his hardened arm. "I...It's not a water quirk." He said softly before he hardened his whole body, sharpening it to the point where he looked quite fearsome. "I'm sorry." Izuku apologized before throwing a well-trained punch at the woman who had half the brain to move out before the hit connected.

The crowd gained back their momentum as more bets were being placed in Izuku's favor . Debris from where he broke the ring fell off to the side as Izuku wasted no time and quickly grabbed the woman's tail.

She screeched in response from the pain before trying to claw at him with her remaining arm, only for Izuku to grab a hold of her wrist. "P-Please, I- I-" She began to plead as Izuku lifted her up as if he were about to body slam her into the ground. "I forfeit!" She yelled out as Izuku immediately dropped her. "And another win for Lil' Izuku! What a strange boy he is! Akechi-san just how did you find such a gem ?" The referee asked rhetorically.

As the woman limped away to get first aid Izuku apologized once again only for her to shake her head in response. "No kiddo...I'm sorry for you. This isn't the kind of life you should've been brought into. With a quirk like that...bad people are gonna look at you soon. Especially considering where we are." She then looked to where Izuku's father was laughing maniacally, being swamped by people asking exactly who Izuku was.

"Really, I hope things get better for you kiddo." She said before leaving the ring. Izuku was miserable as they pushed the next contender into the boxing ring as he looked down at his clenched hands, conflicted. "I want to lose...but, I can't lose...All Might, what would you do?" Izuku mumbled as he thought to the hero he had grown to admire in the time Hisashi raised him before the bell rang out for his next match and Izuku breathed out. He didn't have the time to think about that now.