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Izuku’s skin had been painted with splashes of black for as long as he can remember. His cheeks, most of all, donned dark spots that crawled all the way from one to the other, leaving their traces even over the bridge of his nose. His mother always loved his freckles, as did all of her friends, but Izuku had never really paid them any mind. Sure, they complimented his face nicely, but they were simply a part of him and he was always told he was plain-looking so he didn’t think they were anything that impressive.
Nothing about him really was, as it turned out. In a world where 80% of the population had some kind of superpower, some undoubtedly flashier than others, of course Izuku would be part of the 20% that had absolutely nothing to show for it. His freckles truly were the most notable thing about him, Izuku grew to believe.
Apparently... He was more on point than he thought.
As he grew up, Izuku’s skin got more and more specks all over, decorating him with tiny black stars in a somewhat tan sky. Most of his freckles made their home on his back and shoulders, a place he merely caught glimpses of in the mirror, something he barely spared a thought to at all. But things got a little strange after he finally took off the bandages around his right arm after the fight that may very well have turned his world completely upside down.
He learned a lot of things that day, and he thought the surprises were done for now. But as Recovery Girl peels off the white gauze, Izuku can only blink at his forearm in mild shock. She mentions that the healing isn’t perfect when the damage is so extensive and that’s why the scars are there, why his fingers are just a little crooked, but Izuku isn’t paying attention to those.
The dozens upon dozens of dark freckles crawling up from his wrist were most certainly not there the morning of the sports festival. Izuku is sure of it.
“Um…” He manages to choke out, effectively interrupting Recovery Girl into silence. “Th-these weren’t… I don’t remember… Are these a side effect?”
“Those are freckles, dear. You’re covered in them.”
“N-no I know that but…” Izuku stares at them a little while longer, jaw slacked. “I didn’t have these on my arm, not this many… Should I be worried? Am I sick?”
Recovery Girl furrows her brows and wheels her chair closer, adjusting her visor as she inspects his freckles under an intense gaze that almost makes Izuku feel naked. He shifts uncomfortably when she purses her lips and gets his charts, humming in thought. The silence stretches on and Izuku’s discomfort with it.
“Is—is something wrong?”
“You were quirkless before you got One For All?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“It appears it’s wrong.”
“What.”
“You have a quirk, dear. Congratulations.”
“I have… I’m sorry, what? There must be some sort of mistake, my toe it—the doctor said—”
“They were wrong then.”
“I…” Izuku gawks, unsure of what to think as he brings a hand over his arm. It doesn’t feel any different than it did before. Though freckles aren’t exactly something he can feel, he supposes. “So, what’s my quirk then?”
“Beats me. But it has to do with those freckles.” Well, that’s helpful… “Now off with you, I have other patients to take care of. I’m sure you will figure it out.”
As Izuku is practically shoved out of the infirmary, he thinks back to whenever he noticed a new batch of freckles adorning his skin. There was that one time with Kacchan, Izuku noticed that there were a few ones he hadn’t seen before at the base of his neck, and the ones that appeared on his leg after he saved Uraraka from that giant robot. He had thought that they had always been there but he just happened to somehow miss them until then. He never paid attention to them anyway…
There is one thing Izuku knows for certain, though… He never found as many as the ones now covering his right forearm.
Still in a bit of a daze, Izuku walks back into the classroom, jerking back to the present when he bumps into someone because he was too caught up in staring at his arm as if it would suddenly tell him what any of this actually means. The apology at the tip of his tongue turns to ash when he meets Todoroki’s mismatched eyes, a hint of surprise shining behind them that turns to relief when he looks down at Izuku’s arm.
“You got the bandages off. Is everything okay?”
“Uh—y-yeah… Just a few scars, no big deal.”
Todoroki frowns and Izuku’s heart squeezes slightly. “I hope it doesn’t hurt anymore… I’m sorry you had to go so far… But thank you. It… helped me in more ways than you can possibly imagine.”
Izuku’s gaze trails down to the freckles and back up to the gratitude written in his new friend’s face. “I simply did what was right.”
“You do that a lot, don’t you?”
A small laugh tips form Izuku’s lips as he lowers his arm and runs his fingers over the dark spots. “I guess I do.”
And as his life goes on, Izuku keeps doing it, and more and more freckles keep showing up all over his body, one after another, in small clusters. Almost none come as close to the size of the small galaxy on his right arm and whenever Shouto takes that hand, his fingers connect them into constellations, a small smile dancing on his lips that quickly spreads to Izuku’s own.