AN:

This fic is inspired by Katekyo Hitman Reborn! but you don't need to have watched that to read this.

Dedicated to Mori! This is all your fault.

"With His Dying Will"

Chapter 01: An ode to the father I never knew.

The news of his father's passing doesn't really affect Izuku as much as he knows it should have. He never knew him, so it isn't really all that surprising. He never asked about him either, he didn't care. If the man didn't want to be a part of his life then that's just that. He has learned from a young age not to ask for something he knows he couldn't have. But everything made perfect sense now, it's because his father was a criminal, a mafia boss to be exact. And now, the family he left behind wanted him to succeed him, whatever that means. His mother is the only family he's ever known. He looks at her back, hunched over the white marble coffin wrapped in the Italian flag as if his father was some kind of hero. He clearly wasn't, far from it. But these Mafiosi regarded him as such. It turned out he was the boss of the most powerful mafia family in their country, the Yuuei Famiglia. But was he really strong if he couldn't even keep his family within reach? Then again, they were never a family. His father belonged to these people. That's why he didn't understand why they were suddenly returning him, just because he was dead and out of use. What a family.

Izuku tugs at his collar, the tie is too tight and he's sweating through his shirt. It's the first time he's ever had to wear a three-piece and it had to be under the summer sun with more than an hour waiting for that stupid plane. He looks over to the side at the vast runway, the tarmac is melting, steam blowing towards them by the wind. He wishes they could just get this over with, bury the man somewhere and go home. Except his mother is still bawling her eyes out, and Izuku doesn't have the heart to say anything. She must have really loved him, she must still do. He doesn't know, and he wouldn't ask. It doesn't matter to him, he just hates all of this.

"Don't you want to join her?" Yagi Toshinori, a blond lanky-figured old man with sunken features, places a hand on his shoulder. He said he was a close friend of his father and the external advisor of the famiglia. He was also the man who delivered them the news.

Izuku struggles not to shrug him off, he sighs trying not to sound exasperated. "Mom is mourning the death of her husband, but I don't know that man. He's not my father."

Yagi holds his breath and lets his hand fall as he exhales, he doesn't say anything further. They wait for about ten more minutes until Inko has gathered herself enough to stand. She motions for Izuku then, and the child runs up to give her a hug, the coffin being loaded into the hearse in the background.

Izuku doesn't understand why there are so many people at the funeral, he doesn't know most of them and only a few of their neighbors actually showed up. They're all wearing black suits, speaking among themselves and would greet him formally if he as much as makes a move. He's sure they had ample time to mourn his father before sending him here so why did they all have to come? He feels so uncomfortable, and one guy with spiky blond hair who's been giving him the stink eye from across the room, isn't helping. He stands from his seat and ducks into the crowd, walking to get away as fast as he could. He accidentally bumps into a tall guy with unbelievable red and white hair, he means to apologize but when the man turns to look at him, the glare and the scar scares him enough to bolt. He doesn't look back.

He gets outside and heaves the deepest breath he could muster. The chapel is suffocating, everyone is scary and he'd rather be anywhere else. He figures he'd wait at the burial site, he just wants this all to be over. He walks away, towards the back to the cemetery. It makes for an eerie sight but at least he's alone. He threads through the gravestones, mindlessly looking around. He then remembers how the kids at school would tell him to go kill himself. He doesn't know if things would have been better then, but if he did, he'd probably be buried somewhere around here.

"Hey there, Midoriya-san," a bulky middle-aged man calls and bows slightly before approaching him.

"Hello sir," Izuku bows back, trying to be polite.

"No sirs please, I am just one of your father's lowly subordinates," the man grins, too wide. He definitely fits the mafioso stereotype.

"I see, thank you for coming and welcome to Japan. Please enjoy your stay," Izuku smiles tightly, he doesn't want to look too uncomfortable. He knows this man is dangerous, he's sure all of them are. He doesn't trust any of them, he's scared to be left alone with any of them. "Can I help you with something?"

"Ah, actually-"

The man doesn't get to finish, because another person lunges at him from the back. Izuku falls to the ground face down, the person is now sitting on his back. He belatedly realizes it's a girl after she stomps a bare leg over his shoulder. The bulky middle-aged man from earlier hurriedly holds his arms behind his back. He's probably not a loyal subordinate if he really was one, mafiosi don't normally attack the son of their boss right? He holds that thought as a stabbing sensation hits him below the scapula. But it's too small, it feels like a needle.

"Agh! What're you doing?!" He flails, trying to kick backwards but the bulky man decides to sit on his legs. There were many times he's felt so helpless, this probably makes it to the top of his list. He thinks back to the long list of plausibly horrible things his bullies at school had done to him and whether anything else beats this. He comes up empty, feeling his cheek pushed to the ground.

"Relax, baby boy~ we're just taking some blood~" the blond girl sounds too cheerful. "We're not gonna hurt you~ don't worry~"

"What?! Why?! Let me go!" Izuku tries to push them off, but they were too heavy. He's actually having a hard time breathing and something in his side hurts. He curses his damn luck, eyes instantly watering.

"Aww! Don't cry, baby~ this will all be over soon~"

"Why don't we just kill him? If he's dead, that's one less problem for us." He bulky man asks, shouting in a whisper.

"If he dies, the next problem will be Todoroki-sama." She answers as she stabs him with a new syringe. "And that's just tedious."

"But we already have his blood! Even if-"

"Eeeeekkk!" The girl suddenly shrieks, jumping off him.

Izuku feels a strong gust of cold wind and then, there was silence. He looks around him and sees the bulky man trapped in a big block of ice. That's amazing, he thinks as he tries to sit up, wheezing. There's significant pain on his right side, and he hopes it's not a broken rib. But considering his rotten luck, it probably is.

He hears footsteps running towards him and he looks to the side. It was the scary bi-haired scarface that he bumped into earlier.

"Are you all right?! Sorry if I came too late," he checks for wounds and tries to help him up.

"I'm fine! But there was another girl, she got away!" Midoriya tries to look around but she's nowhere to be found.

"Yeah, she jumped into a black hole." He holds him firm in the upper arm until he's on his feet. "It's an enemy famiglia's quirk."

"Oh... wow," Izuku shakes his head. A teleportation quirk was top tier, but he really shouldn't be thinking like this right now. He could've died.

"Are you hurt? Did they do something to you?"

"They took some of my blood, about two syringes but besides that I'm fine."

"You're crying."

"I'm okay, sorry." Izuku quickly scrubs at his face. He totally forgot he was crying. Then he flinches when there was a certain sting on his cheek. He must've scratched it on the ground. Great, now his mother is definitely going to notice.

"You should've called for help," the man admonishes while scrutinizing him with mismatched eyes. "You were quiet, so I didn't immediately figure you were in trouble. Normally, people scream when they get attacked, but you were resigned."

Izuku frowns, and mumbles. "I didn't think anyone would come." He tries to walk around the man, wincing through the pain on his side, but a hand grabs him by the elbow.

"I apologize if that was rude, I was just noting observations." He walks to face him and suddenly kneels down. "My name is Todoroki Shouto, I am your Cloud Guardian."

"I don't know what that means," Izuku thinks back at the name, the girl who attacked him mentioned it. "But you don't need to kneel, please stand up."

"You could say that I'm similar to a bodyguard, it's my duty to protect you." Shouto explains, straightening back to his feet.

"Oh... nice to meet you then, I'm Midoriya Izuku." He bows slightly, suddenly flustered. This person is a good head taller than him, and surprisingly pleasant to look at despite the scar.

"We should have you checked, you seem to be in pain." Shouto suggests.

"I'm fine, really." Izuku tries to walk away again, but staggers.

Shouto catches him by his arms. "Please come with me, Midoriya-sama."

There's a clipped tone in Shouto's voice that he doesn't like, coupled with the blank face, Izuku is sure the man doesn't actually care about him. "Fine, but no honorifics please." He relents anyway.

The first time Shouto sees him is at the airport, standing beside the external advisor a few ways away from his grieving mother and his father's coffin. But he isn't crying, he doesn't even look grief-stricken. He was indifferent, detached, bored. He reminds Shouto so much of himself most of the time, it's a kind of way to survive in their God-forsaken world. For a moment he considers how much they could possibly be the same, and remembers how this person is currently being presented the dead father he never met. He doesn't know which of them is luckier, he doesn't want to think about it anymore.

The second time is more of a surprise. They were inside the chapel for the funeral and Shouto was trying to appear inconspicuous, blending in with the crowd alongside Shinsou. Mostly, the people who attended were from the mafia, the triad and some yakusa. The underworld is vast, fortified by deals, pacts and contracts. The funeral was just another excuse to gather and secure allegiances, no matter how much they cared about their fallen Boss, he was dead and the family always comes first.

Midoriya had bumped into him then. He was shorter up close, doesn't look any older than him. Tense and skittish, he looked like a scared wild animal, a deer caught in headlights and was too quick to run away. Shouto stares at his running back, the kid doesn't look like he'll survive a day in the underworld.

"You should go after him, you know, just in case." Shinsou breaks him out of his thoughts. "I'm waiting for Denki so I can't."

The perfect excuse, but he doesn't deem him an answer. Shouto just turns and walks away, following the vague direction of their soon-to-be Boss. He doesn't see him when he gets outside, he isn't sure which way he could've gone either. But the chapel is relatively small and he's sure the boy wouldn't go far.

The third time he saw him, he was crying. Slumped on the ground, weak and powerless. Two goons from a possible enemy famiglia had jumped him. And although Shouto managed to catch one of them in ice, the other one escaped through what seems to be a black hole. That was the first time he had seen it in person, he would have to report that later. He turns back to the child on the ground, and he looks up back at him with tear-filled eyes, silently pleading for help but at the same time too scared to make a sound. The sight makes Shouto grind his teeth, he doesn't like what he sees. A person who doesn't call out for help is a person who has learned to accept pain. It was hopeless resignation. This person will not fight back.

And he is the next Boss of the most powerful mafia famiglia in the world.

He immediately drops that line of thought and finds his voice. "Are you all right?! Sorry if I came too late."

He checks for wounds and after a short introduction, they head to the clinic. As it turns out, Midoriya has fractured one of his ribs, but it isn't life-threatening and they would be able to hide the bandages under his suit. He's sitting on a bench as one of their medics fuss over him, when Shouto takes his chance to really take him in. He's thin but not as scrawny as the suit made him look, must've been a wrong fit. It's surprising that he actually has muscles, with freckles peppering everywhere especially on his cheeks. His face is framed by soft evergreen curls. He has big and emerald doe-like eyes, and lips pressed together too tightly. He looks so fragile and delicate it was frustrating, the previous waterworks not helping the image.

This person is going to be his Boss, and he couldn't help hearing the echoes of Bakugou's voice inside his head saying this person is unfit to rule and they were, as he so articulately put it, "fucking doomed". But Shouto has not decided yet. Midoriya still has his birthright, and there has to be a reason the external advisor wants them to meet him. He wonders, would a person like Midoriya do any good in the underworld? Would he save them? Would he be able to? For the life of him, he doesn't know. His best bet is standing guard and watching around for now.

Midoriya excuses himself from the medic and Shouto follows him out.

"You should get yourself checked at a hospital later," he advises.

"Yes, thank you." Midoriya kept his face forward, eyebrows creased.

Shouto didn't say anything more, and they immediately bump into Yagi on their way back to the chapel.

"I see you two have become acquainted," the blond older man looks between the two of them, trying to be casual. But when neither of them responds, he decides to fully regard Midoriya. "Your mother is looking for you, it's time."

Midoriya nods without a word and finds his way beside his mother, standing dutifully in front of his father's coffin as people prepared to carry it

"Bakugou found the man you froze. What did they do to him? Is he all right?" Yagi whispers as they stand ways away from the general crowd.

"They jumped him and took some blood. One of them escaped, sorry." Shouto glances at the older man.

"It's fine as long as he's safe," Yagi heaves a sigh.

"Aren't you worried they managed to take some blood?"

"Not at all, they wouldn't be able to take anything away from him." The blond man looks back at the crowd. "That's not how it works."

"I see," Shouto bites his tongue, stopping himself from asking further.

"Just be more careful next time." Yagi smiles slightly at him.

"I'll never let him out of my sight again," Shouto swears.

Yagi nods, "they're acting too fast, the decision hasn't even been made yet."

"I think the decision was made pretty clear the moment Hisashi-sama took his last breath. No one wants my father to reign."

"None from our side anyway," Yagi agrees and digresses.

"Yagi-san, I'm going to tell you honestly I don't think his birthright will be enough."

"It's not," Yagi doesn't miss a beat. "But his power will be."

"He's not ready,"

"He doesn't need to be,"

Shouto frowns at that, but he doesn't say anything. He knows there are things Yagi doesn't trust him with, being his father's son and all.

Yagi finally turns to face him. "We'll protect him, and train him. So by the time he graduates high school, he'll be ready."

"That's less than a year,"

"It'll be fine, we'll deal."

Shouto doesn't know about that, but he won't say anything. If it's disagreement they want, Bakugou will be enough.

Two days after his father's burial, Izuku's life seems to have gone back to normal. He hasn't seen Yagi or Todoroki or any of the mafiosi since. They seemed to have left him alone for a while, if not completely. He sighs, he had a bad feeling they'll come back soon enough, if what Yagi has told him on their first meeting was true. He wasn't sure of the details because he didn't ask, at the time he got too distracted by the mention of his father that he didn't really pay attention. In retrospect, he should've cleared everything from the start. Then he wouldn't have to worry and feel such foreboding. He thinks back at what they call the Yuuei Famiglia. He's done some research the following nights, but he really needs to do more.

An eraser thrown to the back of his head breaks Izuku out of his thoughts. He's at school, in the middle of class, surrounded by classmates that hate him despite him never having done anything bad to them.

"Quit daydreaming, you fucking nerd! It's annoying!"

"He must think he looks cool, staring out the window like that,"

"He always thinks he's cool, especially when he gets perfect scores."

"Who cares about that? He's still just useless Deku no matter what,"

"Ah! I remember overhearing my auntie talk to her friend about attending Deku's father's funeral! She said there were so many rich people there, she felt so intimidated!"

"Ehhh? So Deku's actually a rich boy pretending to live like a commoner?"

"No wonder he thinks he's better than us!"

"So all this time we could've been getting more from you?!"

"You owe us!"

Izuku always hopes that if he didn't say anything back they would stop and leave him alone, he's always wrong.

He doesn't even see who does it first, but he is punched out of his seat and they all start kicking and hitting him. It would've been good if they had stopped there, but with lunch period nearly over they decided to drag him out of class to the back of the school and continued the onslaught.

And again, just like any another normal day in his life, he's left battered and bruised. It almost makes him wish he doesn't have to return to this life, but any other possible alternatives don't seem so promising, not with his rotten luck. Besides, he only has a few months left and then he'll graduate and be able to enter the Police Academy. It was always his dream to be a hero. Well, that's not exactly the same thing but definitely the closest thing to one in real life.

He finally sits up and dusts himself. He's left all of his things in his table but he doesn't want to go back to class anymore. He'll come back tomorrow anyway and it's not like he has anything of value in his things. All of his quirk analysis notebooks were at home. He loves studying quirks and detective work, as well as reading crime novels. But his very favorite pastime would have to be All Might's comics, even though it's about heroes and not the police. It's close enough. [1]

He stands up and smiles to himself, since he's skipping afternoon classes he would have more time to study quirks and cases. He also has plenty of time for extra training, since he can't immediately go to Sir Nighteye's office and report for his internship, the man would know he's been skipping class. And he doesn't really want to tell him why, especially since he's being a loser again. Anyway, there's no need to dwell on that.

Izuku heads home, jogging to get started on warm-ups. He allows himself to enjoy the scenery and sights of everyday life. There were children playing in the park; a group of girls talking and laughing in a café; some businessmen brisk-walking across the street; an old lady tending to her plants; a group of skateboarders down an alley; a mother with her baby in a pram; salespeople trying to sell him things. He smiles sheepishly at them as he passes by, he really likes this little town of Musutafu. It was peaceful, despite the occasional crime and in spite of his bullies. It is still a relatively good place.

He halts at the red light in a crossing, he can already see their apartment from here. It's just another block away. He absent-mindedly starts counting the windows while waiting, they were on the seventh floor. He smiles knowing fully well his mother would be at work all day, and won't be home until late into the evening. He would have the house all by himself, so he can do whatever he wants.

But why is there a shadow moving about inside his room?

His smile drops, heart racing and thoughts running through his head. He counts the windows again, to make sure. And he isn't mistaken. There were people inside their house!

The stoplight turns green and he walks to cross the street, breathing slow deep breaths. If they were thieves they wouldn't really find anything worth much from their house. All their money is safely in the bank, in their cards, and he and his mother were never fond of jewelry or anything too expensive.

Izuku stops in front of his building, there were two black cars parked up front. Cars he's never seen before, and too heavily-tinted as well. He steps into the middle, both were empty. He memorizes their number plates and heaves one final deep sigh. He figures the people inside his house probably aren't thieves, in fact they were probably worse. He thinks about whether he should turn back, or call the police. But this was his house! And they didn't have a right to trespass!

He takes the elevator to the eighth floor, readying his phone for speed dial. He isn't 100% sure the people inside his house were from the mafia, they could still be real thieves. He doesn't know their quirks either or how many they are. He walks out the fire exit, the window of his mother's room should be below him, to the left. He calculates the distance, he could definitely make that jump to her veranda. He'll enter through there.

He makes the leap, landing safely but not without a stumble. His mother's room was empty, but the door was open. He slides the glass door open and closes it as he enters. It didn't look like they rummaged through here, and considering how his room was filled with All Might's merchandise, they should have known this was the master's bedroom. And if things were left untouched, it meant they weren't looking for valuable possessions. That meant they weren't thieves, but even if they were from the mafia he still isn't sure if they're his father's allies or not. And he really doesn't want a repeat of what happened at the funeral, where he looked like an absolute idiot. That was embarrassing!

He moves by his mother's bedside table, unlocking a secret compartment under the drawer and pulls out a gun. He makes sure it's loaded and grabs a pepper spray before hiding behind the door. He isn't really planning on shooting anyone, but it's better to keep his options open. He pockets the pepper spray on his left and fastens the gun on his belt.

He hears footsteps and as soon as a blond guy enters the room, he pulls him back and punches him in the gut as hard as he can. Blondie makes a choking sound but is instantly knocked out. That was easier than he thought, except the guy didn't look any older than him so he couldn't really judge.

He peaks through the hallway and sees the backs of a tall bluenette and a redhead standing in front of another blond. He waits for them to move, and they look like they were talking to another person to the side, so he loosens his left shoe. The redhead was the one who eventually turns to the hallway.

"Kaminari? Don't touch anything, dude." The redhead calls out, walking towards the master's bedroom where Izuku was. The blond guy he knocked out must've been Kaminari, as the redhead calls him.

Izuku doesn't wait to think, he charges and pepper sprays the man's eyes. He doesn't stop when he hears him yelp and rushes forward. He jumps, aiming his right knee at the bluenette's back, slamming him to the floor and flinging his left shoe to the other man on the side before pulling out the gun and aiming it at the blond sitting on the sofa.

Everything happened so fast but he was precise. Still, he hopes to God they were his father's men.

"Oh? So you know how to fight after all," the spiky blond man sneers at him, but neither of them moves.

Recognition finally hits Izuku then, this man was the same spiky blond who was glaring daggers at him during his father's funeral. "Who are you and what are you doing inside my house?"

"We're here to introduce ourselves, sorry for intruding."

Izuku recognizes the voice belonging to Todoroki. He throws a side glance at him and sees him walking out of his bedroom door, holding one of his All Might action figures in his hands.

"I thought you were thieves!" Izuku stands up from the bluenette's back and pulls the gun back, shoulders relaxing. "Or some goons from the enemy like last time." He speaks through gritted teeth, securing the gun back on the belt of his lower back.

"We thought it would be a bad idea to show up at your school so we decided to wait around your house, but then people were looking weird at us so we entered here." Todoroki helps up the violent-haired guy he hit on the face with his shoe, who was rubbing his nose.

Izuku looks down at the other guy he pinned on the floor, he broke his glasses. Then he looks back at the redhead who was still writhing on the floor. "Oh, sorry about that. Whatever, it was your fault." He fishes out a handkerchief and wets it with water from the kitchen sink, before handing it over to the redhead for his face.

"Ah, thank you." The redhead gratefully accepts, "by the way, I'm-"

"I don't really care to know, sorry," Izuku cuts him off, turning back to Todoroki. "Grab your unconscious friend from my mother's bedroom and leave. I don't want to have anything to do with any of you." He snatches the All Might figure and enters his room, slamming his door closed on Todoroki's face.

"Wow, he's not even Boss yet but he's already got the attitude." Bakugou scoffs.

"What do we do now?" Kirishima finally manages to rub out the pepper spray from his face.

"We should definitely apologize! This was our fault, and I'm sure he would understand if we explain our side!" Iida speaks without his glasses, looking more mature for his age.

"You guys do that, while I go check on Denki." Shinsou walks past them to the master's bedroom.

Todoroki suppresses the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose, turning back to their Boss' door and raising his knuckles to knock. Suddenly, the door opens and Midoriya walks out talking to his cellphone.

"I don't care how many levels you need to access, I'm asking if you can clear me," Izuku moves to the window opposite his bedroom door and glances downwards to the front of the building. He turns back to Todoroki, pulling the phone away from his ear and covering it with his other hand. "Are those two black cars yours?"

Todoroki gives him one slow blink before answering, "yes."

"You were bugged! You guys led the enemies straight to my house! Are you guys sure you're from the mafia? Why are you acting like idiots?! Who's the leader of this team?!"

"You are," Todoroki doesn't miss a beat, before giving him another excruciatingly slow blink. "You're our Boss."

Izuku's jaw slackens, "you're kidding."

"We're your guardians, Midoriya." Todoroki kneels in front of him, the same way he did the first time they met. "We'll obey your every command, just please let us protect you."

"You're the one who-" Izuku doesn't get to finish that sentence when a loud explosion shakes the whole building. He falls forward, and Todoroki catches him. He quickly pulls away before standing up and looking out. One of the black cars has exploded. "They saw me come in here, I inspected the cars earlier." He runs back to his room. "All of you get out! They have us surrounded, you need to escape!"

"What about you?!" Todoroki yells back him.

"Who do you think you're talking to?" Izuku pulls out two cases of ammunition from his closet. "I'm going to fight back."

To be continued.

Fic facts:
1.) All Might and Yagi Toshinori are two completely different identities in this fic! All Might is just Izuku's favorite comic book hero, Yagi is the mafia family's external advisor.

— Lynx
20190818

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Thank you!