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Quirkless. Quirkless. Quirkless. The word echoed throughout Izuku’s head. Out of all the possibilities, all the quirks he had thought of, this couldn’t be further from any of them.
He came out of his head enough to realize that video wasn’t playing anymore. He reached for the mouse and clicked the replay button. His movements were sluggish; all his energy had been stripped away since the doctor trip.
He could remember the first time he saw the video; it was less than a year ago. He had always been partial to All Might, but seeing him save lives without a hint of fear, a smile etched on his face, cemented him as Izuku’s favorite. Izuku’s idol.
He had watched that video for hours, to the point where he could recite every word spoken by memory. It was watching that video that Izuku truly wanted to become a hero, to help and save lives.
Looking back to the computer, Izuku saw All Might carrying four people on his back to safety, beaming smile pointed toward the camera, toward Izuku. It was a scene he had seen a hundred times, but never before in these circumstances.
Izuku would become a hero, and no one could stop him. Not even All Might himself.
Inko was relaxing on the living room couch. Sat beside her was Izuku, quietly watching the news. She wasn’t paying much attention to the TV, opting instead to read a book.
“Hey Mom,” Izuku tapped her knee, “What are soul quirks?”
Inko looked up from her book, “What brings this up?” She asked. Honestly, she was surprised he didn’t already know. Soul quirks were commonly known about, she was sure an inquisitive seven year old like her son would already have heard of them.
Izuku pointed to the TV. “The news lady said that Blue Time used his soul quirk to ‘diffuse the situation before it could get further out of hand’.”
Inko nodded. She stayed silent for a few moments, thinking about how best to explain soul quirks to her son. “You know about soulmates, right?” She asked finally.
When she saw Izuku nod, she continued. “Well, most people develop their own quirk when they’re around four. Then, at about age ten, they develop their soul quirk, which is basically a more limited version of your soulmate’s quirk,” Inko paused so Izuku could let the new information sink in. He gave a slow nod to show he was ready for her to go on.
“So, for example, my quirk is telekinesis. Your father was my soul mate, so his soul quirk was telekinesis. But he couldn’t move objects as far or as big as I can. And then whenever your soulmate dies, you lose your soul quirk,” she finished.
Izuku mulled over what she’d told him. Then his eyes grew wide, sparkling with hope, “So, so, so, so, so, so-so-sosososo,” he began excitedly, “That means I’ll get a quirk?! Like, a soul quirk?!”
Oh, oh, Inko should have known he would come to that conclusion. She herself had thought that maybe, just maybe, her son wouldn’t go through life completely quirkless, so she had asked the quirk specialist. She hated to break Izuku’s heart again.
“Um. When people are quirkless, it works a little differently. Quirkless people have soulmates,” Probably. No one really knows, but Izuku didn’t need to know that, “but their soulmate doesn’t have a soul quirk, and neither does the quirkless person. Because quirkless people don’t have this thing called quirk factor, they don’t get a quirk period, soul or otherwise.”
Izuku’s face fell. “Oh. Yeah. I guess you would have told me if I could have a quirk.”
“Oh honey,” Inko pulled Izuku into her side. She gave him a hug filled with as much love as she could muster. Sometimes she wished the world were a little more fair.
Izuku should have known this was going to happen, he had known, but he couldn’t help but feel blindsided, betrayed almost. This part was supposed to be over.
Everyone was developing their soul quirk. It felt like every week a classmate of his came to school announcing their new quirk, and Izuku couldn’t help feeling left out, even more than normal.
The class seemed to wait with baited breath for Bakugou to come to school, boasting about how his soul quirk was the BestTM. An unspoken agreement among them all that it would, in fact, probably be better than all of theirs. It was Bakugou Katsuki, how could the universe pair him with someone who had a weak quirk.
Izuku just hoped the speculation around Bakugou would keep it off himself.
Izuku couldn’t sleep. He tossed and turned for an hour straight before he finally asked his mom for a sleeping pill, hoping that would help.
It was the night of his tenth birthday. Inside he knew that he shouldn’t hope, he knew it wasn’t going to happen, but his mind just kept on the topic of soul quirks.
He had looked up soul quirks, and he had definitely researched how they related to quirklessness. Everything he could find said the same thing: quirkless individuals don’t get soul quirks.
He knew, he knew it wasn’t going to happen. And even if against all odds it did, it wouldn’t happen the moment he turned ten. But his brain just wouldn’t shut up about it.
He wondered what his soulmate would be like. What their quirk would be. Something cool hopefully. How was he supposed to ever find his soulmate if he didn’t even know their quirk. Just go to the quirk registry office and look up everyone his age who didn’t have a soul quirk? That could take years. And what if his soulmate was quirkless like himself?
Finally Izuku felt the effects of the sleeping pill. His thoughts slowed to a crawl and before he knew it he fell into a dreamless sleep.
Unfortunately, Bakugou’s soul quirk didn’t hold the class’ attention forever.
Izuku felt like he was in kindergarten all over again. Glances that tried to be subtle but stuck out like a sore thumb every time soul quirks were brought up. Whispers about him floating through the air.
“Is Midoriya ever gonna get a soul quirk?”
“I heard quirkless people don’t even have soulmates.”
“I’m glad no one gets stuck with that loser.”
“Bakugou is right. He is just a deku.”
Sometimes Izuku wishes that people never developed quirks in the first place.
Endeavor awaited his son’s soul quirk. With both ice and fire, Todoroki was well equipped to surpass All Might. But if he had a strong soul quirk too? Well, nobody would stand a chance against him.
Todoroki on the other hand, did not look forward to his soul quirk manifesting. Another quirk would mean more training, his father would expect him to perfect it in months. Another quirk would just mean higher expectations.
And then Todoroki turned ten, and his soul quirk refused to make an appearance. And then his eleventh birthday came along, and there was still no soul quirk to be seen. And twelve. And thirteen. And eventually Endeavor stopped waiting. Of course the universe would pair his son with a quirkless nobody. As if it hated the thought of Endeavor finally achieving his dreams of toppling All Might.
Or maybe he just didn’t have a soulmate, Todoroki thought. What benevolent universe would force somebody to match Todoroki? To fill in his many, many gaps. How could someone like that exist. How could Todoroki keep them to himself without a heavy conscious?
But the lack of a soul quirk wasn't enough to end his training. Todoroki was the only child to have ice and fire, after all, he was Endeavor’s masterpiece. UA was fast approaching, and Endeavor didn't want his son to embarrass him, having gotten it on his recommendation.
No, Endeavor would not associate himself with any of his embarrassing children.
Izuku’s day had been a wild ride.
It started out bad (Bakugou telling him to kill himself), to terrible (sludge villain), to fucking amazing (meeting All Might), to disaster (All Might telling him he couldn't be a hero), to possibly even worse (Bakugou getting caught by the sludge villain because of Izuku ), to still bad (getting yelled at by the Pro Heroes) to like, the absolute best day of his life (All Might telling him that he saw hope in him as a hero and was going to give him his quirk). Truly a rollercoaster of a day.
Izuku still could not believe it even as he went to bed. A quirk. All Might’s quirk. Izuku had a chance to go to UA. He had a chance to become a hero.
Ten months of training. He knew it was going to be brutal, he wasn’t exactly in the best shape to begin with after all, but he would give it his everything. What was UA’s motto? Plus ultra? Yeah, that’s exactly what Izuku planned to do.
Sweat beaded down Todoroki’s face. His shirt was drenched and his hair stuck to his forehead. An ache started in his fists.
Endeavor was at UA, monitoring the test takers. He wasn't faculty, but as the Number Two Hero his thoughts were taken into consideration. Todoroki had been given a specific regimen to complete while his father was away. While he would have loved to skip, maybe go downtown with his sister, his father would know. His father always knew.
Punch. Punch. Punch. Kick. Punch. A simple drill to get warmed back up after his short brake. Slowly increasing his speed and strength until he was at his max, straining to go any further.
He wound his arm back pouring all the strength he could muster into his last punch. Streaks of red appeared on his arm, as though his arteries were on top of his skin rather that beneath it. Little sparks, like green lightning, surrounded him as well. He struck, and where normally he would have just left a shallow dent in the dummy, there was a hole. Stuffing fluttered behind the dummy, drifting in the wind Todoroki’s punch had caused.
Todoroki blinked, pulling his quickly bruising hand from out of the whole. A soft ‘wha…?’ left his mouth without thinking. This… had never happened before.
He didn't have to think about whether or not he would tell his father. He wouldn't.
Izuku couldn’t think. He couldn’t hear. He could barely see. Everything was so distant, the only thing he knew was that he had to do something.
People ran by him, going the opposite direction. He glanced up at the behemoth of a robot. Could he do this? Did he even have the quirk yet? It didn’t matter. He couldn’t trust that the machine would stop before it squished the nice girl he had met earlier.
He crouched, preparing to leap- his legs a rubber band ready to snap, and snap they did. He didn’t feel any pain yet, but he knew in the back of his mind that they were going to be mangled, almost unrecognizable.
He reeled his arm back, willing his body to do something, anything, to stop the robot in its tracks. His hand made contact, and he could hear his bones being crushed by the force of the impact. He saw ice, reflective and cold, coat half the bot as it toppled over, metal flying off from its ruined, dented head.
Then he was falling. His heart beat erratically, pounding up against his ribcage. The wind was rough on his skin, and he could vaguely feel his broken limbs flapping in the air.
He brought his one good arm up in front of his face. He knew it wouldn’t do anything though, he was still gonna end up a smear on the pavement.
He felt a hard slap against his whole body. He looked around and found himself floating in the air on a rock. He saw the girl he tried to help next to him, obviously the one who saved him.
“Hi-“ he started, before she threw up.
Honestly Izuku was surprised he hadn’t thrown up himself.
Izuku sat in his room inspecting the small icicles that had come from his right hand. It had taken him hours to finally get something to happen. He set them down on a small towel, hoping it would absorb any water and keep his bed dry.
He turned to his left hand, hoping to achieve the same result. But instead of ice, nothing happened. He focussed on it more. Frustration built up as he tried and tried. And then, fire. Bright and glowing and beautiful. This is the quirk his soulmate had? Able to create ice with their right hand and fire with their left? He had never heard of people having two quirks, not counting soul quirks of course. He would have to ask them about it when they finally met.
The rest of the afternoon passed by in a blur, Izuku experimenting with his newfound quirk. He made many discoveries about it. Like the fact that his element creating abilities extended all the way down the sides of his body, not just in his hands. Or that, and this one took a little confirmation from his mother, his ice side was colder and his left was warmer by a degree or two. He also learned that this quirk was very hard to control, having almost caught his sheets on fire a couple of times, but he would just have to keep practicing to get a hang of it.
“All Might! I really need to ask you something!” Izuku said, trying to refrain from grabbing the edge of his shirt.
“Midoriya, my boy. What is it you need to know?” All Might said, and although he was in his buff form, his expression was soft. Izuku found comfort in that. This wasn’t All Might: Symbol of Peace, this was All Might: cool guy who is a bit clumsy and doesn't always know how to carry on a conversation (but still the Symbol of Peace, there's no way Izuku could forget that).
Izuku fiddled with the sleeve of his sweater. How was he supposed to ask this? “Um, when I was in the Entrance Exam, I used One For All, but I also found that I had an ice and fire quirk. I think that it’s my soul quirk, but I thought that quirkless people don’t have soul quirks? So is it a soul quirk, or is it just like a side effect of One For All? And if it’s a soul quirk, why do I have one, even though I was born quirkless?” He asked.
All Might put a hand on his own neck, “Well I can tell you that it isn’t part of One For All. As for why you seem to have a soul quirk, I don't really know. There aren't many cases like yours, so there isn't really that much known about how soul quirks and soulmates relate to quirklessness. That whole thing about quirkless people not having quirk factor or whatever is really just scientist’s best guess. No one really knows why quirkless people don't get soul quirks.”
Izuku nodded. All Might was probably right, but, “If it is a soul quirk, won’t I have to tell my soulmate about One For All? I’m sure they’d wonder why they got a soul quirk so late. Do- Can I tell them about One For All?” he asked.
“From experience, it is never a good idea to keep big secrets like that from your soulmate, so I understand that you might have to share that information with your soulmate. Ultimately, eventually, this is going to be your secret to keep, and you will have to decide who to share that information with.”
Izuku hasn’t even thought of that. That one day, All Might wouldn’t be there. He was a person in a dangerous profession, one that takes lives all the time. Hopefully that wouldn’t be too soon though.
The anticipation. The letter. The hologram of All Might. The getting accepted into U.A. It was all so much for Izuku. He had to pinch himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming.
U.A. was nothing like Izuku had expected, their first day and they already had to worry about being expelled?! Even though their homeroom teacher looked about as friendly as a cat who hadn't slept in twenty years, his class seemed nice for the most part. Except for Bakugou of course, who had his face surgically replaced with a scowl.
Two students, the one with a bird head and the one with red and white colored hair, didn't seem as friendly, but they didn't seem hostile either. Izuku was content in being placed in class 1-A.
And hey, even if Izuku did break his finger, he didn't get expelled, so it was a pretty good day. Sucks he can't say the same thing for that short, grape headed kid.
“Hey Todoroki. Yours and Midoriya’s quirks are pretty similar, don’t cha think?” Todoroki heard Kaminari say from beside him. He simply ignored the comment and took note on how his classmates were performing in the Battle Trial. He knew what Kaminari was getting at of course, but it couldn't be, for many reasons.
Like the fact that Midoriya’s quirk broke his bones whenever he used it and Todoroki’s didn’t, that was strong evidence for it not being the same quirk. And.. uh, look, there was just no way someone as sweet and cheerful as Midoriya could be soulmates with someone as jaded as himself, okay. It just wasn't how the universe worked.
Todoroki probably didn't even have a soulmate. Him having a soul quirk was just happenstance, how else do you explain it happening five years late.
(Even Though having ice and fire together as a quirk combination was probably extremely rare. And when Izuku used his quirk he had red lines across his body, just like Todoroki. Plus Midoriya was pretty cute if Todoroki was being honest with himself, but when did that ever happen.)
Izuku didn’t know what to do with his hands. He felt eyes piercing into his him, but he couldn’t bring himself to look Todoroki in the eye.
“You and Todoroki both have ice and fire quirks. And you have strength quirks. That isn’t a common combination. Just sayin’,” Uraraka’s words repeated in his head. Red colored Izuku and he brought his right hand up to cool down his face.
There was no way they could be soulmates, it was just way too coincidental. It takes years to find your soulmate, you don’t just walk into them during high school classes. Besides, no one had even see Todoroki use his fire during class, it could be completely different from Izuku’s.
Izuku was so caught up in his thinking that he barely heard Todoroki ask him if he was ‘All Might’s secret love child’.
“Hah?”
Izuku was mad . That didn't happen often. Frustration, sadness, loneliness, those were all emotions his heart frequented, but anger was just not something Izuku was used to feeling.
But that didn't mean he couldn't recognize it. His jaw clenched, his heart pounded, tears pricked at the corners of his eyes. It was definitely anger.
He wasn't used to who he was feeling the anger toward either: Todoroki. The normal emotions he elicited from Izuku were intimidated, intrigued, impressed, embarrassed. He hadn't had much interaction with Todoroki before.
Izuku jumped away as ice barreled towards him. Todoroki was getting slower, and so was his ice. He heated his left arm, hoping to melt the ice Todoroki had encased it in. He had to balance focusing on that and keeping an eye on his opponent, he wasn't skilled enough with his fire to do it on autopilot.
Todoroki stood in the field, he looked like he was recalling something. Izuku managed to get a second hit in. He felt pain flare up in his hand, though the adrenaline was keeping Izuku from most of it.
“I won't use my father’s quirk. I can win without it. I can win without him ,” Todoroki mumbled. He repeated it to himself as he moved, dodging an attack from Izuku.
Izuku felt his anger intensify, though not all of it was directed at Todoroki, much was geared toward Endeavor. He could feel his gaze on them.
“It’s your power. It’s your power, not his!” Izuku screamed, the words tearing a hole in his throat.
Yeah, Todoroki’s fire looked a lot like Izuku’s.
Todoroki started to hang out with Midoriya and his friends after the Sports Festival. He sat with them at lunch mostly, but occasionally he would be invited with them outside of school. He enjoyed having people that he respected to spend time with.
He picked at his food. He knew he was going to be starving by the end of the day if he didn’t eat, so he gingerly brought it up to his mouth. He listened to Izuku ramble on, talking about the sidekicks who he thought had the most potential to become Pros with their quirks and abilities, and found himself agreeing with most of it.
Todoroki had learned a lot about Izuku. He was smart, being able to both pass tests with high marks and form capable strategies on the fly. He was passionate and determined, kind, loyal to his core. He had many makings of not just a successful hero, but a good person.
He also had a ridiculous pain tolerance, sometimes. He’d shatter every bone in his body twice over in a fight, but would sour his lips, pout, and whine, just a little, for minutes if he so much as stubbed his toe on a desk. It was cute. uh, Admirable that he could push through so much when the time demanded it.
Todoroki let out a fond sigh. He straightened slightly and looked around, did anyone hear that? He saw Uraraka and Iida looking at him, a knowing gleam in their eyes. Todoroki felt his cheeks heat up.
“I think Purple-Fueled Mania is the probably the best sidekick out there. What do you think, Todoroki?” Izuku said, apparently not picking up on his embarrassment, and hopefully not his sigh either.
Purple-Fueled Mania? Purple-Fueled Mania. Oh, Purple-Fueled Mania. Todoroki finally remembered who she was. “I think she has shown a lot of potential, but not many people know her. And your public image, your brand, is very important to your hero work, so I don’t know if she’ll ever get out of a sidekick job.”
Midoriya seemed satisfied with his brief analysis. Todoroki felt an odd swell of pride for himself. Midoriya, who might as well make his hero name ‘The Analyzer’, approved of his thoughts. For no other reason did he feel pride though, of course. He would have felt the same if anyone with Midoriya’s knack for analysis agreed with him.
Everything hurt. The slashes across his body stung, particularly the deep one on his ankle, the bruises that littered his sides ached, his legs burned from exertion. Izuku wouldn't have chosen to get into a fight with a villain, one known for killing Professional Heroes especially, at this time in his education, but he couldn't do nothing either. He was just happy they all made it out with their lives.
Izuku watched the two other injured teens in the hospital room with him. Iida sat stiffly, his arm in a position that looked uncomfortable enough that it had to be because it was causing pain not to be held like that. Every so often he would move, wince in pain, and go still again.
Todoroki sat in silence, occasionally picking at one of his new scabs. He would glance at Izuku, then go back to staring at his hands in his lap.
There was little sound in the room. Beeping from the machines, the whirr of the air conditioning, the rare shuffle of shoes outside in the hallway comprised most of it, the atmosphere was awkward enough to be unpleasant. They were all friends, Izuku couldn't imagine if they werent. If he was stuck in this room with someone like Ojirou, who he rarely talked to.
Iida stood up. “I believe you two have some issues regarding your interpersonal relationship with each other. I believe it is detrimental to your schooling and focus to ignore them and would recommend you talk about it,” he said before limping out of door, presumably to give them some privacy.
If it was unpleasant with Iida there, now Izuku felt like he was drowning. He was perfectly content to never discuss soulmates with Todoroki for as long as they knew each other, but now he had to say something. He had no idea where to even start.
Though apparently Todoroki did.
He stood from his hospital bed and wordlessly crossed over to Izuku’s. He sat down on the opposite edge of the bed as him. He was silent for a few moments, not looking at Izuku.
“I wouldn’t mind if you were my soulmate,” were the first words out of Todoroki’s mouth.
Izuku flushed, they were going to get right to the point weren't they. “I- I uh, um, same. Yeah.” Smooth as sandpaper. Todoroki looked over at him and made a small sound. A laugh? A giggle? “What?” Izuku asked.
Todoroki shook his head. “It’s nothing. You just, kind of look like, like a strawberry.” He giggled again.
Izuku blushed even harder at that, but felt some of the tension dissipate from his shoulders. “I’ve never been called that before. But,” Izuku let out a little giggle himself,” I can see why you might say that.”
They sat in silence after that. Both would open their mouths, forming words but not voicing them.
“I- I want to thank you, for what you did at the Sports Festival,” Todoroki said. “You helped me even though you barely knew me. You practically threw our match in order to. It- You helped me more than I think even I know.”
Izuku shrugged. “I’m mean, it’s not like I could just not. Y’know?”
“You can’t not help anybody, can you?” Todoroki asked. Izuku shrugged again.
“...Do, you want to go get ice cream sometime? Just you and me?” Izuku asked hesitantly.
“Sure.”