Chapter Text
There are very few feelings as powerful as helplessness and guilt, and Inko Midoriya was feeling both.
The aching pit at the bottom of her stomach she felt every time she saw her son come home from school with the smell of ash all over him, or the way he struggled so hard to pull pencils and chairs towards himself. She blamed herself so much every new day that poor little Izuku, her little bundle of sunshine, went without a quirk. Inko had noticed that she had started to eat away her feelings, but couldn’t really force herself to care as she poured every single last ounce of love into her son.
Every single doctor they had been to so far had simply shrugged and called him quirkless, two long years since his fourth birthday and she had almost exhausted both options and money looking for experts. That is until one fateful day when a letter arrived one morning.
A half asleep Inko tore open the letter as she sipped her coffee, barely reading the surprisingly short letter, until what she say made her do a double take and almost spit out her coffee.
Dear Mrs Inko Midoriya
I have heard of your plight from several of my Colleagues about your son Izuku Midoriya. I have had much experience in dealing with quirk development, especially in those children who appear to be quirkless much like your son. I extend an offer for your son to join us at my children’s hospital for a full run down on his potential quirk, or lack thereof. All expenses paid. Please call me on the number below in order to arrange an appointment as soon as possible.
Dr Tsubasa
As soon as she finished reading the letter again, she fumbled with her phone in her hurry, almost dropping it as she dialed up the number with shaky fingers, having to retype it twice thanks to her nerves.
It only took two rings before the phone was picked up, the hospital’s admin answering and helping the sputtering and stammering mother book her appointment for the next day. Inko barely spared a thought for how surprisingly empty such a renowned doctor’s schedule was, overcome with relief that this ordeal would finally be over. She would finally have an answer to the question that had been weighing her down for two whole years.
The next day seemed to pass by in a haze of anticipation and dread to her as she practically counted down the minutes to the appointment. She ended up leaving work early to pick up Izuku as soon as school ended with the excuse of taking her son to an appointment, dragging the confused child along with her into the car.
“Where are we going Mum?” Izuku asked, bouncing in his seat like always.
Inko ruffled her son’s hair and replied “We are going to see a doctor about your quirk. This is a very special doctor and it's going to take a bit till we get there, okay?”
“Okay Mum!” This news seemed to pull the steam out of him a little, but luckily for Inko he was still the age where simply looking out the window and reading street signs seemed to keep him entertained.
They ended up arriving nearly half an hour earlier than expected thanks to how anxious Inko was about not missing the appointment.
It was a very friendly looking hospital, with bright coloured plants and animals painted onto the white walls of the waiting room, clearly designed for children. Inko checked in at the front desk, and they settled in for the wait.
Inko couldn’t help but fidget and fret as they waited, cleaning some dirt off a complaining Izuku’s face. Surprisingly, the doctor appeared barely 5 minutes after they arrived, far sooner than they were booked. The short man with his big friendly moustache and wide circular glasses guided them to his office, and pulled out a clipboard.
“Now then, Mrs Midoriya, shall we begin?”
Inko sat down with Izuku on her lap, holding the child still so he wouldn’t go off and look at all the stuff in the room. “Oh! Of course, do you need me to tell you our family history or anything?”
The doctor shook his head “No no no, it’s all been arranged, I managed to pull up both of your medical records, but couldn’t find any contact information on his father. I assume you two are divorced?”
Inko flushed “Oh! No no, we aren’t divorced, he is just working overseas in America. We try to stay in contact, but it is difficult considering his work.”
“Of course, I apologize for assuming. You have had him tested for both of your quirks, correct?”
“Yes, sadly they weren’t able to find anything”
“Good, good. I’ll just need to take a blood test and a few x-rays in order to find out if his quirk might be an internal mutation, or a stockpiling type. May I examine your son before I take his blood?” The doctor reached out his hands towards Izuku reassuringly and Inko hesitantly pushed her son over to let the doctor get a better look at him.
Izuku had experienced this type of thing enough to know it was best to just stay still rather than struggle, letting the doctor examine his scalp, eyes, and the inside of his mouth, but when the doctor got to examining the child’s hands he seemed to be taken aback suddenly, eyes bulging out of their sockets in surprise.
“Is something wrong Dr Tsubasa?” Inko asked.
The doctor ran his fingers over the palms of the child’s hands, clear as day there was a small shallow hole in the center of his right palm and a small bulge out of his left. The doctor started to sweat heavily, hands shaking as he pulled them away from a perplexed Izuku.
“N-Nothing! I haven’t found any evidence of a quirk yet, I’ll definitely have to take a blood test and a full body x-ray”
After the blood test and the x ray, an irritated Izuku was rubbing his sore arm, the Doctor unable to stop himself from glancing at that hole in his hand. “I should get the results to you in a few days when the blood test goes through, I’ll call you if we find anything and email you the results.”
With that, mother and son left for the drive back home and Izuku got to have ice cream for being so good with the doctor.
Meanwhile, Dr Tsubasa was having an internal crisis, staring at a number on his phone. He tugged at his collar and after locking his office door dialed up his old friend.
Immediately, it was picked up. A deep even voice said. “Kyudai. What is it?”
“Do you have any children, Master?”
“Kyudai.” The voice was just as even and calm as before, but the doctor knew him enough that the word made his blood chill. “I am in the middle of dealing with this upstart All Might tearing apart my entire criminal empire and you are asking about my children?”
“Does the name Izuku Midoriya, son of Inko Midoriya, sound familiar to you?”
There was a pause, and even though there was no video, Kyudai could almost see his Master’s frustrated frown turn into a subtle smile. “Yes, it does. Why are you bringing this to my attention?”
“His mother believes him to be quirkless despite both parents being recorded as having quirks, which brought them to my attention. I suspect that the child has manifested some variation of All For One.”
Another heavy pause, and the doctor was surprised to hear a short bark of laughter echo through the phone “Ha! After all this time, you were the one to bring it to my attention. Excellent work my old friend. Be sure to prepare a room for my son when I bring him to you.”
Elsewhere a phone was slammed down onto a table, and the man known as All For One leaned forward with a grin that could only be described as sinister, the image of his child’s innocent smile on the screen in front of him reflected in cold green eyes.