Chapter Text
The first time he woke, he had no idea what was going on. His limbs wouldn’t move, there was a multitude of flashing colors, he thought he hears someone’s voice…and then he fell back into darkness.
It happened multiple times. Later, he was told that for two days, he was in and out of consciousness with convulsions and that he was delirious with fever. When he was finally awake, he realized that something had changed.
The colors didn’t disappear.
He saw them whenever the doctor came into the room. A type of…string that connected him to the nurses, to the other doctors, there was even one that connected him to Izuku! Each string seemed to be a different color and new ones appeared whenever a new person stepped into the room, as if they were only visible whenever the other person was close.
Izuku had no idea what was going on.
Had he had some sort of brain damage? He had broken so many bones in the attack, had risked so much to stop the villains from taking Kacchan…only for it to all lead to nothing. His childhood friend, the first person he had ever truly cared about beyond his mother, was being held hostage. He could be being tortured right at this very minute. And Izuku was useless.
Deku indeed…
Maybe this was because of his head being slammed into the rocks when he was fighting to help Kota…maybe something in his brain had shifted or something. That was something that happened, right? He had heard of people with brain damage that their brains kind of…rewired themselves to make up for the problem. People that had never picked up an instrument suddenly being able to play them all. Or someone that had never studied a foreign language that could speak four or five after waking from a coma. Was that what this was?
He wanted to keep it a secret. Didn’t want to admit that something was wrong. But…but what if it was more than that? What if it, somehow, got someone hurt later on because there were side-effects he didn’t know about?
So, the next time the doctor came in to check on him, Izuku told him the truth.
He would never forget the look on the doctor’s face. A kind of shocked expression that quickly turned to one of disbelief. He asked Izuku to describe the strings and the different colors. He brought in person after person and asked Izuku to tell him about the strings connecting the people in the room. Finally, after Izuku’s head ached and he had grown even more worried, the doctor left and told him that he would be sending someone in shortly to speak with him.
“Midoriya Izuku?” the woman entering the hospital room was taller than average with dark hair pilled on top of her head and sharp grey eyes that were hidden by thick frames. Izuku nodded his head quickly and the woman’s strict face broke into a small smile as she stepped further into the room. Almost instantly, a thin, extremely thin, thread seemed to appear between Izuku and the strange woman. The thread was completely grey without a hint of color. Izuku stared at it in confusion and amazement. What was happening? “I am Takada Aiko and I am a therapist here at the hospital.”
A therapist. Of course. They thought he was crazy.
“I’m not-“
“You aren’t,” Takada-san agreed as she moved to sit on the chair beside Izuku’s bed. “I was called here for another reason.” Instantly, she reached into the briefcase she had been carrying and pulled out a multitude of pamphlets and a paperback book. “I wrote a few research papers and articles around a certain phenomenon that I’ve heard you’ve become familiar with. Fate Strings.”
“Fate Strings?” Izuku asked curiously, trying to look at the pamphlets despite the fact that both of his arms were currently in casts. Recovery Girl was coming by in a few hours to see if Izuku was strong enough for her quirk and Izuku could honestly say he was ready to see the woman. Even with the lecture he was sure to get.
“Do you know anything about Greek Mythology, Izuku-kun?” At Izuku’s confused look, Takada-san smiled. “I did not think you would. Thousands of years ago, the Greek people had a religion based on a multitude of Gods. There were three in particular, known as the fates, that were said to control a person’s destiny. Each human life was measured by a string that the fates could control. And, by cutting the string, they could end a person’s life.”
Izuku sucked in a deep breath. She couldn’t be saying that he could-
“Now, the strings that you are seeing do not work like the ones in the legend,” Takada-san reassured him, flipping through the papers and pulling a certain one to the forefront. “The name is just based on the mythology. A few hundred years ago, it was discovered that a small, almost abysmal, amount of people could see strings that connect to other people. These strings show emotions and relationships of individuals. There has not been anyone notated as having this gift in almost eighty years.”
Izuku’s tilted his head. “So it’s…like a quirk?”
“No, it isn’t a quirk,” Takada-san responded. “It’s about a person’s brain chemistry. There are some people that can see smells or see music. Smell music. It is similar to that. If a group of people are standing close enough, you will be able to see a string connecting them that will tell you not only the emotions between the people in question, but how strong their relationship is. For instance, I noticed you looking at the space between us when I entered the room. I assume it is because a string formed between us the moment we met one another, am I correct?”
Izuku shifted a bit uneasily. Was it that obvious? “Uh, yes.”
Takada-san nodded. “I suppose it looked thin? Like a gust of wind could break it? And probably grey in color?”
Izuku stared at the woman with wide eyes. “Yes! How did you-“
“As we just met, it is not surprising that the string looked…flimsy,” Takada-san laughed lightly. “It takes time for relationships to grow. As a relationship deepens, whether it be one of friendship, mentorship, even hatred, the string will become sturdier. The grey color indicates a neutral and formal relationship. This,” she reached for another sheet of paper, “will help you to distinguish the meaning behind the colors that you see.”
Izuku’s mind was whirling. He could see relationships? So if someone didn’t like him, if they hated him, he would be able to see it? A pair of red eyes flashed in front of Izuku’s vision. He shook the image from his mind. In some ways, he was sure people would see this as a blessing. But Izuku…Izuku just wondered if there was a way to make it stop.
Because there were some things that he just didn’t want to know.
“I’m sure you noticed that a string can have more than one color. The main color of the string is the true relationship between the two people. It can have other colors mixed in, showing that there is more to the relationship than the one thing, but the dominant color is always the dominant feeling. Now, toward where the string connects to the person, there is the surface emotion.”
“Surface emotion?”
Takada-san nodded. “Let’s take our string, for example. The grey is the dominant relationship and emotion. Neutral. Formal. Professional. Now let’s say that, over time, you begin to trust me unconditionally and I do the same to you.” She tapped lightly on the paper and Izuku’s eyes went to where she indicated. Royal Blue. Trust, honesty, loyalty. “Royal blue might begin to weave itself through the grey. Now say that I abuse that trust and use it against you. On my end, close to my body, you might see the string take on a black hue.” Black. Control, authority, power. “On your end, you might begin to see another color. Over time, the grey could be completely covered up and changed by another color and the relationship in general will have changed. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” Izuku answered, his harsh breathing making the word sound small and scared. He cleared his throat. “I understand.”
Takada-san studied him for a moment before nodding. “Well, I believe that you probably need some time to process the information. I will stop by in a few hours to check in with you.” She stood and then frowned as she looked at Izuku’s arms. “Would you like me to…shift some things around so they are more easily accessible?”
“Please,” Izuku murmured. Takada-san quickly shifted the documents, laying them side by side in three rows on the bed. The book was moved onto the small table, out of the way until Izuku could read it himself. Once everything was situated, Takada-san once again said she would return in a couple of hours and left Izuku alone.
Izuku let out a deep sigh and stared down at the papers. This was…going to take some getting used to. And he had a lot of research to do.