Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was by pure coincidence that Izuku met the number one hero, his favorite hero. It was just a coincidence, or perhaps it was set up by some deity, some other being that exists on a whole other plane, maybe it was set up by fate itself. Either way, it was the tipping point for him. The turning point of his horrible day of school, of losing what little had remained of a childhood friendship. A possible turning point for his whole pathetic life. The fate of which rested solely on the answer to his question.

“Can I be a hero without a quirk? It is... Is it possible? Can someone like me become a hero?” Izuku asked, holding his breath as he waited for the answer. His knuckles were a pale white from how tightly he had balled his hands into fists. There was a silent plea in his question. A sort of desperation for the answer that he had only ever been dreaming of, that has only ever been discouraged.

All Might stood at the end of the tunnel. The slime villain that had attempted to attack Izuku moments before was tucked neatly into the number one hero’s cargo pants pockets, bottled up in the plastic prison of an old soda bottle, the cap of which had been sealed tight.

“No.”

A single word. One word to answer a question that could give him the hope he needed to carry on with life.

One. Word.

The answer echoed in the under passing of the cement bridge.

“What? I don’t... I don’t understand...” Izuku murmured, brows furrowed in confusion. This was All Might. He smiles in the face of danger. He says that everyone can be a hero. It was in every interview Izuku had ever watched, which was all of them.

“Look, kid. Quirks are vital in heroics. Without one, you would get in the way. Dreams are nice, but at least try to keep them realistic.” The number one hero said dismissively, jumping into the air with the strength and power of a quirk that seemed to define what it meant to be the best of the best, to be a hero.

The sound of water dropping into a puddle or pond echoed in his ear. The distinct slashing pop sound rang out as Izuku stared into the empty space.

“...no?” Izuku repeated, eyes stinging as his vision blurred.

“Right. What was I thinking.” Izuku choked out as he angrily swiped his hands at the tears that threatened to escape.

“You can’t be a hero without a quirk... I should have known! Everyone says it. I should have figured it out.” Izuku laughed, a cold self-deprecating tone tainting the sound.

Izuku gathered his belongings that had scattered on the ground during the attack. He doesn’t remember the walk home. His mind wandered too far, too deep, to be coherent.

The events of the day are replayed over and over. Rewinding. Again, and again.

He didn’t realize when he had made it to his apartment building. He didn’t realize it when he passed his apartment door. He just kept walking. Step after step. Up, and up, until he reached the top. Cold air slicing across his cheek. A chill ran down his spine and through his whole body.

Izuku stared unseeing out over the city from the edge of the roof. His breath hitched as red flashed into his eyes. Bright red angry eyes blurring with the sun as his body tipped forward, diving headfirst, emerald eyes falling shut.

‘Take a swan dive off a roof and wish for a quirk in your next life.’

'Dive off a roof and wish for a quirk in your next life.’

‘Wish for a quirk in your next life.’

‘A quirk in your next life.’

‘In your next life.’

‘Next life.’

“Maybe next life...” Izuku laughed, body held hostage by gravity, and yet he felt weightless. Just a petal in the wind, floating down from up high, landing on the concrete below with a sharp crack of dried leaves.

He didn’t hear the screams of horror or the panicked shouts to call an ambulance. He didn’t register that he was still somehow semi-conscious as he lay limply on the cold concrete even though he should have died on impact, the apartment building was tall enough and he had been falling headfirst.

He should have died on impact.

He should have died.

He wanted to die.

Why didn’t he die?

Why couldn’t he do anything right?

The world faded to black as his eyes fluttered shut. He couldn’t breathe. Everything hurt. He just wanted everything to be over.

‘Maybe Kachan would finally be happy.’ Izuku considered as a cold feeling settled over his aching bones. The thought echoed in his mind, through the darkness he created. The sound of water dripping into a puddle or pond rang out once again.

“Happy birthday Kachan. Maybe we can be friends in our next life.”

The words ricocheted off the air, water dripping again with a satisfying pop.

Izuku waited, standing alone in the darkness, waiting for whatever came after death. He waited, and waited, looking around as another drop of water sounded out through the air. He continued to look around, walking through the darkness with no real destination.

“Ugh! What now? Is this really all that remains after death? Just a dark room? Leaving me all alone with my thoughts? Cause I’m pretty sure that’s how I got here in the first place!” Izuku voiced after what felt like hours of walking, frustration getting the better of him

“You are not dead little one.”

“We kept you safe.”

“Do not worry little one.”

Izuku whipped around trying to locate the voices, but try as he might, there was simply no one else around.

“Maybe this is my punishment for killing myself? Driving myself insane with voices and isolation?” Izuku mumbled as his hands reached up into his hair, tugging at a hand full of curls each, creating the familiar grounding pain. Something he knows and is used to in the familiarly unfamiliar darkness of death.

“You are not being punished little one.”

“We apologies if it feels that way.”

“What can we do to help?”

Izuku groaned, dropping into a crouch, forehead to his knees. Perhaps Izuku thought he could ignore this, whatever it was, this is. The never-ending darkness, the dripping sound, the voices. Maybe he had gone insane. Maybe it was just a nightmare, and he would wake up soon. Maybe one of the new first years thought it would be funny to use their quirk on the quirkless Deku.

“You are hurting yourself little one.”

“Allow us to help.”

Gentle hands resting upon his own hands, carefully working his fingers out of his hair as Izuku startled, looking up at the newcomer. Color and bright lights assaulted his vision, causing Izuku to squint at the tall woman that appeared out of thin air. He squeezed his eyes shut when the brightness became too much, arms ripping away from the woman as if he had been burned.

“You are safe here little one.” The woman cooed at him as if he was just that, a little kid.

“Who are you?” Izuku questioned, wrapping his arms around his torso protectively. The woman tilted her head to one side, offering Izuku a gentle smile that was far too kind to be directed at him.

“What do you wish to call us little one?” The woman asked instead of answering his question.

Izuku furrowed his eyebrows as he backed away from the woman.

“Who else is here?” Izuku questioned, looking around out of the corner of his eyes.

The woman stood in front of Izuku. They were in the middle of an island surrounded by water. The water was murky and dirty, reminding him of a swamp. Dead lotus flowers floated along the surface of the water. The sun was blocked by pollution, dimming the lights considerably, and yet it was still too bright compared to the darkness.

“No one else is here little one.”

“It is just you and us.” The woman answered.

“Us?” Izuku repeated, receiving a nod from the woman.

“Yes, us. You have yet to name us little one, so we are unsure of our name.” The woman explained softly.

“You’re referring to yourself as multiple people,” Izuku stated dumbly, causing the woman to smile again.

“We are five, but we are also one.” The woman unhelpfully explained.

“That... tells me absolutely nothing,” Izuku mumbled under his breath, running a hand through his hair.

“We apologize little one.”

“Is there anything you wish for us to explain?” The woman asked, blinking slowly at him.

Izuku bit at the dead skin of his lips, tugging at it until it broke and freed his lip.

“You said I wasn’t dead.” Izuku prompted. He received a nod from the woman.

“That is correct little one.”

“...How am I not dead?” Izuku asked.

“We kept you safe.” The woman answered with a smile.

“Why?”

“Why what little one?”

“Why did you save me!” Izuku asked, far louder than he had intended to. His frustration with this whole situation shines through.

“We are afraid we do not understand the question little one.”

“You are a small child, not yet grown. You are supposed to be kept safe.” The woman explained, blinking at him as if the answer was obvious.

“I didn’t need you to keep me safe! I needed you to let me die! I needed to die! I was supposed to...” Izuku hiccupped, wiping away tears that had begun to fall.

“We will not apologize for keeping you alive and safe, but we are sorry for upsetting you little one.”

“That had not been our intention.”

“Our intention is only to keep you safe little one.”

“Is there anything we can do to help?” The woman asked, crouching down in front of him.

“Why can’t I do anything right?” Izuku hiccupped, letting himself be pulled into a comforting embrace by the woman.

“You are safe little one.” The woman cooed.

“It will be all right.”

Chapter Text

Izuku liked staying at the pond with the woman. She was nice, and kind, and caring. She didn’t push when he switched topics. She didn’t call him names, or baby him, or treat him like a glass doll that was always about to break. He liked being able to talk about everything and nothing at all without being judged. He likes the unnamed nice lady of the pond who was strange in a good kind of way.

He didn’t like it when the world faded to black. He didn’t like it when the nice lady disappeared, and the darkness came back. He didn’t like it when the calm sound of water dripping was replaced by too loud, obnoxious beeping. He didn’t like hearing the muffled shouts of people that sounded so far away.

“Are you all right little one?” the nice lady asked as he came back from the muffled shouts and darkness.

“Mmhm, I’m fine.” Izuku claimed as he wobbled on his feet, feeling slightly off balance.

“Perhaps it is time for you to wake up now little one?”

Izuku shook his head.

“I want to stay here.” There was a hint of desperation in his words as he clung to the nice woman’s dress sleeve.

“We will not go anywhere little one.”

“We are always with you.”

“We have always been with you.”

“The only difference is that we will be able to help you this time.” The woman explained kindly.

“It Is, however, time for you to wake up now little one.”

The room turned back to muffled shouts and darkness before he could protest.

“What do you mean you didn’t know!” someone yelled.

“Because he didn’t tell me! Izuchan always has such a big smile! How was I supposed to know!” Someone else yelled back to the first.

“Izuku has scars littered all over his body. Scars that are years old! How could you not know?” The first one questioned the second one.

“Because he hid them from me! Because he hid all of it from me! I had to find out that my child was being bullied, harassed, belittled, abused, and suicide baited, from a detective after my child threw himself off a roof! I don’t understand why you’re acting all high and mighty! You haven’t seen or talked to him since he was born! So don’t come in here and lecture me about what a poor mother I am! Hell! You couldn’t even raise me! You gave me away and I had to jump through dozens of hoops just to meet you!” The second yelled, sounding a lot more familiar the more she spoke.

“Inko-” The first one started, giving a name to for the other as the first one got cut off by the second.

“No! You don’t get to speak! If it wasn’t for the fact that you had a healing quirk that helped save my baby, I would have kicked you out of here and banned you from coming to see him!” The second one, Inko, his mom yelled.

But that wasn’t right.

His mom doesn’t yell.

The beeping noise that had replaced the water dripping that had been playing in the background started to pick up its pace.

It’s loud and scary, and he hates it.

He just wants to go back to sleep and never wake up.

“We can’t have that, little one.”

“You need to wake up now.”

Izuku asked the nice lady why he had to wake up, why he couldn’t stay at the pond with her. He didn’t receive a vocal answer, just a nudge as if she was attempting to wake him up.

“Midoriya-san, you are going to have to leave if you can’t keep yourself calm.” A new voice states firmly.

“We understand that you are upset, but the both of you have been having the same argument for the past month, and every time you argue it seems to upset my patient. So, I suggest you either talk this out or don’t come back unless my patient wakes up.” The new voice states in a no-nonsense tone.

There was another nudge from the nice lady, and as if that was all he needed, Izuku slowly opened his eyes, blinking sluggishly at the ceiling.

“We’ll keep it down.” His mom promised.

“Yes, we apologize. We’ll keep our arguments at home.” The first voice, who was apparently his grandmother if he heard the conversation right, agreed.

“Good. That is all we ask.” The third voice, a woman that was probably his doctor sighed.

“Try to sit up little one.”

“Let them know you are awake.” The nice lady, that still needs a name, suggested, so Izuku did. Slowly he pushed himself into an upright position.

“Izuku!” His mom yelled with tears in her eyes.

“Midoriya-san, Shuuzenji-san, I’m going to need both of you to leave the room. This is standard procedure so we can check on the patient before they get overwhelmed.” the doctor says, gesturing towards the door with a stern look at his mom. His mom and the elderly woman who was apparently his grandmother, but is also Recovery girl, both nodded their heads and left the room, but only going as far as outside the doorway.

“Midoriya-kun?” The doctor questioned, drawing his attention away from the door that had just closed. Izuku blinked slowly at the doctor.

“Can you hear me? If so, you can nod your head for yes, and shake your head for no.” The doctor says.

Izuku slowly nodded his head.

“Good. I am going to do a basic check-up to make sure you are actually healed. Is that alright, Midoriya-kun?” The doctor asked, and once again Izuku slowly nodded his head.

They started going through a list. Checking his grip strength. Testing his reflexes. Following a finger with neck movements. Following a light with eye movements. Looking inside his ears which causes him to wince when the medical instrument was poked inside his ear.

"Are you alright?” The doctor asked, receiving a sheepish nod from Izuku

“Are your ears sensitive?” the doctor asked, marking something down on his chart.

Izuku furrowed his eyebrows with pursed lips, shaking his head slowly from side to side.

“Were your ears always this pointed and long?" The doctor asked Izuku, once again, shook his head no.

"Your skin seems a bit pale. Normally we would say this is due to blood loss, but it has been a little over a month, and you have already received blood transfusions." The doctor informed him. Izuku only shrugged, unsure what to do with that information.

“It says here on your file that your eyes are green. Is there any reason they would be purple?” The doctor asked after checking him over.

“Quirk.” Izuku crocked, scrunching his nose at the sound of his dry throat.

That response caused the doctor to furrow her brows.

“Your file says that you don’t have a quirk.” The doctor stated.

Izuku shook his head from side to side.

“Factor inactive.” Izuku coughed out, wincing as he cleared his throat. The doctor quirky gave him a cup of water, helping him drink from the cup.

“Ah, my apologies, it does say that in the notes here. However, it has listed Double toe joint and inactive quirk factor as evidence that you are quirkless. Are you saying that your quirk factor has become active?” The doctor asked, looking up from the clipboard where a stack of papers was attached.

Izuku gave another slow, but more determined nod of his head.

“Do you mind if I draw some blood to take a look at your quirk factor to see if you are correct?” the doctor asked, receiving a shrug from Izuku as he offers up the arm with an IV line attached. The doctor nodded, getting to work drawing his blood for testing.

“If you don’t mind my asking, how do you know your quirk factor is now active.” The doctor questioned, setting down the first vile of blood before hooking up the next vile

“Sentient” Was all Izuku said. Another shrug accompanies the single word.

The doctor blinked a few times before nodding.

“Right, well I’ll send this down to the lab and will let your family back in on my way out.” The doctor says as she leaves the room.

“You did well little one.”

“All though, we do not think that one believes you.” The nice lady commented.

‘Of course, she wouldn’t. I’m a supposedly quirkless, suicidal teenager. She is simply doing her job to double-check what I am saying in case I’ve gone insane.’ Izuku shrugged.

He really needs to give the nice lady a name

“zuku? Baby?”

“That one has been calling you little one.” The nice lady pointed out, drawing Izuku’s attention back to the real world.

Izuku looks over at his mom, blinking slowly as he turns to look at his supposed grandmother. He can see his mom glaring at Recovery Girl from the corner of his eye.

“Izu, baby, this is my mother, your grandmother Shuuzenji Chiyo.” His mom states.

Izuku blinked at her and nodded his head in understanding, staring at his grandmother before moving his head to stare at his mother.

“Izuku? What happened to your eyes?” His mom asked with her brows furrowed in confusion. Izuku blinked in her direction at the question.

“You do not have to talk if you do not want to little one.”

“You can always just wait for the doctor to come back and answer for you.” The nice lady suggested. Izuku listened to her and simply blinked at his mom and grandmother. He laid back down as the world began to fade back into darkness once more.

“You need rest little one.”

“We shall wake you once the other one is back with the test results.”

Izuku hummed in agreement, letting himself fall back asleep without a fight.

Chapter Text

“It is time to wake up now little one.” the nice lady said, nudging him gently. Izuku scrunched his nose, rolling over in bed, away from the strange feeling of warm, solid air being able to physically interact with him.

The nice lady nudged him again, and this time Izuku squinted his eyes open to see a hospital, all white and clean.

“I’m sorry,” The doctor began, looking as if she had only just entered the room. “The testing took far longer than expected, with the lab running the test multiple times to make sure the results were accurate.” The doctor explained, receiving a nod of understanding from his grandmother, Recovery girl.

“And?” Recovery girl prompted with a raised eyebrow.

The doctor turned towards Izuku as he finally sat up in bed. He yawned, hand flying up to cover his mouth as to not be rude. The doctor smiled at him, and Izuku blinked back, offering a slight wave of his hand before settling it back under the hospital bedsheets.

“Good evening Midoriya-kun. I have the test results back from the lab and am pleased to announce that your quirk factor is, indeed, active.” The doctor states with an encouraging smile.

His grandma and mom shared a look but appeared to have vastly different reactions.

“What does that mean?” His mom asked. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion while his grandmother gestured for the papers the doctor had brought into the room with her.

“During Midoriya-kun's checkup, I had asked why his eyes were a different color from the eye color stated on his file and his answer was, ‘Quirk’. I informed him that his file said he didn’t have a quirk, to which he corrected to, ‘Factor inactive.’ When I asked why he thought that his quirk factor was now active he replied with ‘Sentient’.” The doctor explained to his mom as his grandma read over what was probably the test results.

“What does that mean?” His mom questioned.

“It means that Midoriya-Kun has undergone a quirk awakening of sorts. From what the test results show, it was a conditional factor activation and not a stress-induced factor activation. Meaning that the quirk that Midoriya-kun has awakened is the same as that of what normal four-year-olds awaken, so there is no need to worry about any negative uncontrollable side effects from his quirk awakening.” The doctor explained.

“Are you telling me, that my baby has a quirk?” Inko questioned the doctor in disbelief.

“That is correct Midoriya-san. Your son is simply a late bloomer, which while extremely rare does happen, and there are recorded cases of conditional factor activation. Most of which require a brief shutdown of the human body in order for the factor to start functioning as it should have been.” The doctor explained patiently.

“But my baby’s quirkless.” His mother protested.

“No ma’am. Something had just gone wrong with Midoriya-kun's quirk factor activation where it became stuck at the inactive mark. It’s rare but does happen from time to time. A complete shutdown of the body is usually the cause of activation in these cases. Your son has a quirk.” The doctor explained, and it was starting to sound like she was just repeating the explanation in a new way in hopes that his mom would understand.

“So, you’re saying that my son, my precious baby had to kill himself in order to get a quirk?” Inko questioned harshly, causing Izuku to wince.

“Ma’am, these types of quirks with dormant factors tend to be lifesaving, second chance quirks that are usually only discovered by horrible accidents.” The doctor explained with a sigh, looking to Recovery girl, who had already finished reading over the test results, for help

“Inko-”

“No! They want my baby to die just so he can what? Float objects? Breath fire? Have pyrokinesis?” His mom stared to shout, causing Izuku to wince again.

He didn’t understand why his mom was having such a hard time with the concept. He thought she would be happy that he actually has a quirk, had a quirk this whole time that just wasn’t active. Maybe he was underreacting to the news of his newly awakened quirk. Maybe his reaction was supposed to be closer to how his mom was reacting, disbelief, distrust, borderline hysteria.

“He doesn’t have a quirk! Stop saying he does! My poor baby is quirkless and all of you are just being cruel to him by feeding him false hope!” Inko practically screeched, shutting down the idea completely, causing his breath to hitch at the dismissal.

“Be calm little one.”

“Breath.”

“Deep even breaths little one.”

‘It’s too loud.’ Izuku explained to the nice lady, as he covered his ears. There was a soft pressure placed on top of his head, a hand made of warm air that wasn’t really there, resting in his hair, combing through his unruly hair in a calming motion.

“Breath little one.” The nice lady repeated again.

“Midoriya-san, I’m going to need you to either calm down or step out.” The doctor instructed as she calmly stepped up to his bedside, not touching him or getting too close, giving him room to breathe as she handed him another cup of water.

“You’re kicking me out? You’re trying to separate me from my baby!” Inko cried, only to receive a swot on the arm from Recovery girl.

“That’s quite enough Inko. Either calm down or step out. You’re upsetting Izuku.” His grandmother stated in a no-nonsense tone, gesturing to the door and towards himself.

“No! I want both of you out! You’re trying to kill my baby!” Inko yelled, pushing the doctor away from Izuku as she rushed to his bedside, grabbing hold of his wrist with a rough yank, the cup of water spilling in the process.

There was a sharp yelp as Izuku pulled away from his mother’s grasp, curling up into a tight ball as the occupants of the room seemed to both freeze and speed up in their movements. Everything happened at once. Izuku staring in horror as the red liquid began to drip down his mother's cheek from a thin cut, water droplets floating around him as if to shield Izuku from a threat. New people entered the room, dragging his distressed mother out as his grandmother spoke quietly with the doctor.

“Breath little one.” The nice lady instructed as his vision began to blur.

“Midoriya-kun.” The doctor prompted, looking between the floating water and him as she approached and his grandmother left. “Your eyes are blue.” She stated instead of commenting on the fact that he could create bullets out of water.

Izuku looked from the doctor at the door, then back at the doctor, making a sound of acknowledgement.

“Do you know why that is?” The doctor asked, pulling up a seat next to his bed.

Izuku shook his head no.

“That would be my ability little one.” A new yet familiar voice spoke.

‘Who?’ Izuku questioned.

“I am still us little one.” The new voice answered with a chuckle.

“We are five, but we are also one.” The nice lady reminded him.

Izuku nodded his head numbly in response.

‘Your ability?’

“Blue is hydrokenisis little one.” The nice lady explained.

‘Purple?’

“Purple is my ability, healing.” A new voice answered.

‘There are five of you.’ Izuku stated in relization, receiving another chuckle.

“Black, Purple, Blue, White, Yellow.” The nice lady answered with a nod of her head.

“Midoriya-kun?” The doctor questioned, drawing his attention back to the real world.

Izuku looked away from where he had been staring at the door, to instead, stare at the doctor.

“Can you hear me?” The doctor questioned.

Izuku nodded his head.

“You nodded your head earlier too. Does that mean you know why your eyes are blue?” The doctor asked patiently.

Izuku nodded again.

“Can you tell me?” The doctor asked as Izuku blinked at her.

“Blue’s hydrokenisis.” Izuku answered. The doctor smiled, noting something down in his chart.

“But you didn’t know that when I first asked you.” The doctor observed.

Izuku shrugged.

“I asked.” He informed her.

“Asked who Midoriya-kun?”

“The nice lady.” Izuku answered.

The doctor nodded her head, writing something down in his chart.

“That’s right. You mentioned your quirk is sentient. Does the... ‘Nice lady’ have a name?” the doctor asked, glancing up from her papers to look at Izuku, still ignoring the water bullets that surrounded him protectively.

Izuku frowned, shaking his head no.

“That’s okay, you have time to name your quirk, but do you think you can answer some questions for me?” The doctor encouraged with a smile.

“Okay.”

“Does your quirk have a built-in definition? Most sentient quirks do, but it’s alright if yours doesn’t.”

Izuku shrugged.

“Can you ask the ‘Nice lady’ what your quirk is and repeat the answer for me?” The doctor asked.

Izuku shrugged again.

“We can hear everything you hear little one.”

“No need to repeat questions.”

Izuku nodded.

‘What type of quirk are you?’ Izuku asked instead of what the doctor had asked.

“We believe we are classified as a sentient, emitter, mutation quirk.”

“Although that is based on your own knowledge of quirks little one. Which is quite vast we might add.” The nice lady complements.

Izuku hummed.

“Pen and paper?” Izuku asked the doctor, who hesitated.

“Do you want me to leave to grab those, or have someone else grab them for you while I stay with you?” The doctor asked after a moment.

Izuku shrugged.

“I’ll have someone grab them for you then.” The doctor stated, pulling out a device she sent off a quick message. “Does that mean you have a built-in definition?”

Izuku nodded, waiting patiently for whoever the doctor contacted to return with the supplies.

Chapter Text

The next few days went by in the blink of an eye. The same doctor, and later physical therapist and therapist, worked with him for the entirety of his stay at the hospital, while a few nurses and medical students worked with him almost interchangeably. There was usually always a new face peeking into his room every hour or so. Sometimes just to observe the main doctor and how Izuku interacted with her. Sometimes they would ask questions about his new quirk, if he felt any different now that his quirk factor had activated, if he’s noticed anything different about his personality, if he had known what would happen if he jumped, if the reason he jumped was because he knew it would activate his quirk factor.

It was strange, to be asked so many questions by so many people. He wasn’t used to so many adults addressing him, waiting for his answer to their every question. He never ended up answering them, vocally that is. He would usually just shrug or stare at them until they left him alone. It felt like he was a rare exotic animal that had been put on display in front of hundreds of knowledge greedy scientists. All of whom are ready and waiting to dissect him at a moment's notice.

Izuku wasn’t a fan of the new treatment he was receiving from adults. He didn’t quite figure out why he became so valuable to them, but he could understand where they had come from at a quirk analyst level. Being quirkless was rare now that quirks had reached anywhere from their fifth to their seventh generation. Most of the employed quirkless population in Japan were medication testers, which could be considered human experimentation depending on who you asked, but most agreed that it was better for the quirkless to do it than the quirked based on the value quirks have in society.

Out of the roughly seven billion seven hundred fifty-three million (7,753,000,000) people in the world, twenty percent (20%) of them are quirkless. About one billion five hundred fifty million six hundred thousand (1,550,600,000) people do not have a quirk.

Forty-two percent (42%) of the quirkless population has a quirk factor that never activated, about six hundred fifty-one million two hundred fifty-two thousand (651,252,000) people.

Twenty-three percent (23%) of the quirkless population with a quirk factor have the double toe joint, about one hundred fourth-nine million seven hundred eighty-seven thousand nine hundred sixty (149.787,960) people.

Seven percent (7%) of the quirkless population has a quirk factor, the double toe joint, and manages to activate their dormant quirk, about ten million four hundred eighty-five thousand one hundred fifty-seven (10,485,157) people.

Only one point three percent (1.3%) of those who have all of the above, being part of the quirkless population, having a quirk factor, having the double toe joint, and activating their dormant quirk, actually survive long enough to change their registration to quirked. Only one hundred thirty-six thousand three hundred seven (136,307) of the world’s quirkless population become part of the quirked population with extremely powerful, heroic quirks.

That wasn’t even counting the fact that the quirkless population in Japan was among the smallest in the world, with only three percent (3%) of Japan being quirkless. A total of point two four percent (0.24%) of the world’s quirkless population resides in Japan, three million seven hundred seventy-four thousand (3,774,000) people.

If someone was to run the numbers, the chance of a quirkless person in Japan having a quirk factor, having the double toe joint, activating their dormant quirk, and surviving the whole process was point one percent (0.1%), fourteen (14) of Japan residing quirkless population lived to become quirked. And Izuku was now one of them, so he did his best to not pay attention to the extra people that hung around, poking and prodding him for answers to questions that he didn’t know or didn’t care to entertain by thinking about it. He just sat in bed, whenever he wasn’t in physical therapy, or actual therapy, waiting patiently for his three main doctors to give him the all-clear to go home.

Waiting turned out not to be as boring as he first thought it would be. The nice lady, who he ended up naming Senki, meaning fairy princess, which she had thought fitting and was very happy and proud of her name, was always there to keep him company so he never got too bored. He was even able to write up a draft for his quirk registry, but the final draft had to be typed up and sent to the HPSC quirk registration office by a licensed quirk councilor, who his grandmother was taking him to once he was released from the hospital.

His mom hadn’t stopped by to visit him since the water bullet incident.

He tried not to think about it.

Izuku blinked as someone knocked on the door.

“Good morning Midoriya-Kun.” his main doctor greeted as she stepped into his room with a smile, Recovery girl following close behind.

“Hello, Izukun.” Recovery girl greeted, handing him a few gummy candies as she took a seat in the chair beside his bed.

Izuku stared at the gummies in his hands, turning his head with a slight questioning tilt in his grandmother’s direction.

“Yes?” Recovery girl prompted, gesturing for him to continue and ask whatever question was floating around in his head.

Izuku blinked, cupping the gummy candies in one hand while gesturing for Recovery girl to lean closer with the other. It took a second for her to understand what he wanted, but once she did, Recovery girl leaned in, cupping a hand around her ear so she could hear whatever secret he was about to tell.

“They’re all purple,” Izuku whispered, leaning back with a curious tilt of his head, with the slightest upturn to his lips in a not quite smile, but it was the closest anyone had seen since his hospital admission.

His grandmother chuckled, patting the hand that wasn’t still holding the gummies.

“Yes. They are. You seemed to favor the purple gummies every time I brought them.” Recovery girl stated voice tinted with amusement as if the obvious answer was for her to take the time to get him only purple gummies. She looked over at the doctor who appeared to be holding back a smile, with a raised eyebrow.

“You should eat them before they get sticky Izukun.” Izuku nodded his head slowly in understanding, picking up one of the blueberry lavender gummies that had quickly become his favorite out of all the different flavored gummies his grandmother made and tossed it into his mouth.

“The last of your paperwork has been taken care of Midoriya-kun, and everyone working your case has signed off for the transfer of your care to UA’s medical team. If that’s alright with you, you’ll be under Hound dog, Mr. Principle, and Recovery girl for the remainder of your, well, recovery.” The doctor explained, causing Izuku’s brows to furrow as he finished chewing the last of the small handful of gummies he had been given.

“Go home?” Izuku prompts, looking between his grandmother and the doctor.

“Izukun,” Recovery girl began hesitantly, taking his hand gently in her own. “Your mother, Inko, has handed all her guardian rights to me.”

Izuku stared, unsure what to make of that. His lungs felt like they were burning as his vision began to blur.

“Breath little one.” Senki instructed.

‘What did I do wrong?’ Izuku asked, as his shoulders began to shake, and his eyes began to water.

“Oh, little one, you have done nothing wrong.” Senki cooed, running her warm, not really there, hands through his hair in her usual calming manner as a hiccup escaped him.

Izuku shook his head, hugging his knees to his chest.

‘I didn’t mean to upset her!’ Izuku cried out.

‘I didn’t mean to! I promise!’

“We know little one, and you are in no way at fault.” Senki tried to explain, but it didn’t make sense to him.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.” Izuku claimed through his sobs.

“We know little one.”

“It will be all right.” Senki continued to reassure him.

“You have no reason to apologize.” His grandmother informed him, rubbing circles into his back.

“I didn’t mean to,” Izuku repeated, voice cracking as he buried his head between his arms and knees. Tears continued to fall as the world became muffled.

Chapter Text

This was UA.

Izuku was standing in front of UA, the world’s best hero school that produces most of the high rank spotlight heroes. Three of the top five heroes like the number one hero All Might, the number two hero Endeavor, and the number four hero Best Jeanist all went to UA. The entrance gates felt too large, or maybe he felt too small. All he knows is that he shouldn’t be here either way. He wasn’t supposed to be here, Kachan said so.

“Come along Izukun.” Recovery girl instructed, offering him her hand that wasn’t carrying a thick binder of papers. Izuku ended up latching onto her hand as if it were his only lifeline, taking in a deep breath with some encouragement from Senki.

They walked in through the front gate, entering the maze that was the ginormous UA campus. Izuku made sure to pay close attention to the path they took as they made their way to the principal's office. It wouldn’t do for him to get lost or separated from his grandmother. The teachers would probably kick him out if he was found wandering the halls alone because he wasn’t supposed to be here. The only reason they allowed him to enter was because of who his new full-time guardian was.

The halls were relatively empty, only about five or six stray students making an appearance during the walk up to Mr. Principle’s office. All of whom sent his grandmother curious glances but didn’t attempt to bother her. They arrived at the office door, Recovery girl knocked, giving whoever was on the other side of the door a moment before opening it. Most likely a habit that she picked up from her medical practice.

“Ah! Chiyo-san, right on time.” Principle Nezu greeted with a twitch of his nose.

“Nezu-kun.” Recovery greeted in return, pulling Izuku along to take a seat on the empty couch across from UA’s principal.

“And you must be Midoriya Izuku!” The stoat cheered, pouring a glass of tea and offering it to Recovery girl, before turning back to pour another cup.

“Would you like some tea Midoriya-kun?” The principal offered, and just like with all the other questions that he had been asked in the past week, Izuku answered with a shrug.

There was a soft chatter sound as Nezu placed the cup in front of Izuku.

“Just in case you get thirsty.” The principal offered with wide beady eyes and another twitch of his nose.

Izuku stared back, unblinking. Nezu tilted his head to the left by a fraction of a hair before blinking. Izuku copied to motion, much to the stoat excitement if the quiet trill was anything to go by. Izuku offered a nod of his head in thanks.

“Now then!” Nezu began with a clap of his paws. “We are currently here to discuss your housing and schooling arrangements, and if there’s time, your quirk registration.” the stoat explained, receiving another nod from Izuku.

Recovery girl opened the binder she had been carrying and took out a small section of papers, handing them over to principal Nezu.

“This is Izukun’s current school file. I would like to petition all of the marks under the anti-quirk discrimination law, section 7.C) subsection A.3), through section 7.C) subsection A.12).” Chiyo started pulling out another file. “I would also like an investigation to be opened against Aldera Junior High and will be pressing charges against all responsible parties.”

“Of course, Chiyo-san! Anything else?” Nezu asked, whiskers twitching as he looked over the papers.

Recovery girl nodded, turning to face Izuku this time.

“Are you up for some tests, Izukun? We can always put them off, but they will have to be done before you resume schooling.” His grandmother informed him, patting the hand that had yet to leave her own hand.

“Now?” he asked, shrinking in on himself slightly.

“Now would work just fine Midoriya-kun,” Nezu informed him, pulling out a phone from his pocket and setting it face down on his lap. “However, we will need to suppress your quirk for the full extent of your test to prove that you were knowledgeable on the subjects before your quirk came in as evidence against your school markings. As well as have an additional licensed hero and teacher present. Will that be alright?”

Izuku gave a nod of his head. Nezu nodded his head in return, picking up his phone from his lap to type out a short message before placing it back into his pocket.

“Right! Onto housing arrangements.” Nezu cheered, opening one of the many plain vanilla file folders that had been sitting on the table since they walked into the office and pushed it over to Izuku.

“Here is a map of the campus ground. The blue highlighted area is the medical wing where you’ll most likely be spending the majority of your time. The red highlighted area is my office, and so on and so forth. There is a color key here, explaining where and what each area is.” Nezu tapped on the paper, pointing out each area as he spoke, Izuku nodded along.

“Your DNA has already been coded into UA’s security field. You will also receive a student ID card based on who you would like to learn under, either under myself or our dear Recovery girl, based on your test results.” Nezu explained as a knock echoed through the room.

“Ah! Come in!” The stoat called out and in walked none other than the infamous underground hero, Eraserhead, known for his quick, effective take-downs, and non-reliance on his quirk.

Izuku stared in shock as his quirkless idol entered the room.

“Midoriya-kun, this is one of UA’s teachers, Aizawa Shouta. He will be sitting in for your test.” Nezu informed him, taking the pair of bracelets the underground hero had offered him.

“You couldn’t have had someone else do this, rat? I was in the middle of teaching a class” Aizawa questioned, plopping down in the seat next to principal Nezu. Izuku continued to stare at the underground hero, lost in thought, not quite aware of the conversation that was still being held.

“I already sent Ishiyama-kun to watch over your ethics class Aizawa-kun,” Nezu informed the underground hero as he got up off the couch and walked around the table, cuffing a bracelet to each of Izuku’s wrists.

“Is that alright Midoriya-kun? Not too tight?” The principal questioned, receiving a shrug from the boy in question who was still staring off into space in Aizawa’s direction.

“You okay kid?” The underground hero questioned, leaning forward as he looks between the two other pro heroes and the green child in front of him.

“Stoat.” was all the kid said, much to the confusion of the three adults present. Seeing as Izuku’s statement didn’t answer either question that had been asked.

“Stoat, not rat,” Izuku explained with a tilt of his head before giving a sharp determined nod. This time the statement was met with a chuckle and snicker from Nezu and his grandmother, while the underground hero blinked, looking at the other two heroes with a raised eyebrow.

“And why do you think that Midoriya-kun?” The stoat in question asked, tail wiggling excitedly out of sight.

Izuku blinked.

“Because you are?” Came his confused answer, earning a gentle pat of the hand from his grandmother.

“Nezu-kun likes to confuse people about what species he is, Izukun.” Recovery girl explained, and now Izuku feels bad for ruining Nezu’s game

“Sorry.” Izuku apologized, slouching further into the couch. Silently wish it would swallow him up so he wouldn’t have to be the center of attention any longer.

“There’s no need to apologize Midoriya-kun.” Nezu waved off, gesturing at him.

“Aizawa-kun, this is Midoriya Izuku, Chiyo-San's grandson that she has recently been given custody of.” The stoat explained to the underground hero, who nodded along, narrowing his eyes at the albino.

“Shall we begin the test?” The principal asked, pulling out a thick packet of papers from one of the folders and setting it in front of Izuku.

Izuku gave a nod of his head.

“Alright! Begin!”

Chapter Text

Speaking with Nezu was nice, and getting to meet Eraserhead was cool, but Izuku was tired, so he didn’t get to fully appreciate the experience. He’s been tired for the entirety of the month or so that he had been kept at the hospital after he woke up, but that was nothing new. He had insomnia long before he got a quirk, so he pushed through the exhaustion, and opened the packet when Nezu called to begin.

The test was a little too easy, so he probably missed about half or more of the questions. There had been a few that he had to think over and revisit, but he ended up answering them eventually, so he called it a win.

Izuku answered the last question and looked up at the clock that was behind Aizawa. His eyebrows furrowed when he realized how much time had passed since the start of the test. He opened the test packet back up and began checking over his answers, biting away at the dead skin of his lips as he checked and rechecked his work. There were a few answers he changed after noticing a flaw in his writing or math. He revisited the English comprehension essay, adjusting some of the punctuations and word choices, squinting at certain words, trying to remember if that was how you were supposed to spell them, before moving on to the next part.

Izuku looked up from his test again, checking the time with a scrunched-up nose. He’s probably going to fail if he turns it in now, but he had no way to gauge when he should be done. There were no other students to wait after. He’s supposed to turn in his test nine students after Kachan, but how long was that? How fast could Kachan finish this test? It was probably just a review of the entirety of junior high and elementary school, and they’re usually given the whole class period for final exams, so a little under two hours total. Kachan averaged twenty-five minutes on the normal one-hour tests and averaged around fifty or so minutes on the final exams, so maybe at the hour and a half mark, he could turn in his test?

Izuku shook his head, looking back down at his test. He didn’t know when he was supposed to turn it in. What if he was wrong? What if he turns it in too early? What if he turns it in too late? When was the safe zone? He’s probably got all the answers wrong anyways.

‘What am I supposed to do?’ Izuku asked, biting the inside of his lip, eyebrows scrunching up when there came no response.

Right, quirk suppressant bracelets. He’s had his quirk for all of two months, only one of which he was awake for, and he’s already become reliant on it.

Izuku looked away from the bracelets and back to his test. He flipped through the packet from front to back, looking over the answers for any hint of what he did wrong. He must have done something wrong.

“Kid, breath. You’re doing just fine.” A voice spoke from in front of him, startling Izuku who looked up away from the test packet with unseeing eyes.

He has to get out. He’s done something wrong. Kachan wasn’t going to be happy with him, and that was bad. That was very bad. He doesn’t know the answer to any of the questions. Why was the new voice still talking? Why were there more voices? Where was Senki? What happened to Senki? She was safe. The nice lady was safe. Where is she?

There was a dull pain in his knees as he fell off his seat, scrambling up from the floor to stand up, to run, to get away. There were more shouts, lots of loud shouts, so he had to run faster. He had to get away. He ran, and ran, and ran until he couldn’t breathe. He ducked into one of the emergency stairwells, those were usually safe. Kachan and the others usually ran past them, he should be safe here, and as soon as his brain recognized that, his body weight collided against the door he had just run through, effectively blocking anyone's way in as his exhausted body fell to the floor once again, his panicked breaths turned into sobs. His knees curled up to his chest, burying his head in his arms that rested on top of his knees in an attempt to muffle his cries. He needed to be quiet. He didn’t want Kachan to find him.

He didn’t realize that there had been someone else in the stairway, who was now staring at him with wide purple eyes.

What he did realize was that there was a new voice again. It was different from the first one which was loud and sharp. This one has the same quiet hum to it that the nice lady has. This one sounded safe, so he didn’t bother to run from this new voice.

‘I didn’t mean to! I’m sorry!’ Izuku cried, hoping that the new voice was like the nice lady and just knew all the right things to say, but it didn’t seem to work. The new voice didn’t seem to hear him, only continued to ask him more questions than he couldn’t answer. He was so tired of all the questions. Why couldn’t he be left alone? He was tired. He just wanted to sleep.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to!” Izuku cried out again, his voice cracking as he choked on another sob.

“There we go. It’s okay. I got you. Just breath.” The new voice instructed, with a sigh of relief, and then Izuku was back in the darkness. The same cool air and echoing pop of a water droplet hitting a puddle, except it wasn’t right. He was still there, in the stairwell, but he wasn’t. He was in the darkness, but he wasn’t. There was a cloud of fog over his mind, over the pond where the dead water louts float, surrounding the island with the large tree that Izuku usually sat under with the nice lady.

“That was good. You’re doing good. Keep breathing, even breaths.” The new voice instructed.

“Okay. Okay. I got your breathing regulated, now what?” The new voice asked, and Izuku’s body shrugged.”

“Can you tell me your name?” The new voice asked, and Izuku’s body nodded his head, except Izuku didn’t remember his brain giving the command for the motion.

“Right, wording. How do I word this?” The new voice asked, and Izuku’s body shrugged. It almost felt like he was in the passenger seat, watching something on a computer screen. It was peaceful, not having to be the one to make decisions, he wouldn’t end up making wrong decisions this way.

“Uh, what is your name?” The new voice asked, which was apparently not the same question as before seeing as Izuku’s body gave a vocal response this time.

“Izuku.”

The new voice asking the questions winced in sympathy at the crack Izuku’s voice had, how horse he sounded from sobbing his eyes out for who knows how long.

“Okay. Uh, hi Izuku-san. If I release my quirk, will you be able to stay calm?” The new voice asked, and apparently, this was the new voice’s quirk. It was nice.

Izuku’s body shrugged.

“Okay, that doesn’t help me. What, what do you need to stay calm when I release my quirk?” The new voice asked.

“Senki.”

Izuku agreed with his body’s answer. Senki would know how to make everything better, she always does.

“Okay, Who’s Senki?” The nice voice asked.

“The nice lady.” Came Izuku’s body’s answer.

“Who’s the nice lady?”

“Senki.”

There was a pause in the questioning as the new voice let out a groan. Izuku's body only blinked back, and Izuku found himself following the motion, except he didn’t have a body. Which led to a question of Izuku’s own, where exactly was he? Was he on a different plane of existence?

“Okay. That was my bad. Let me try that again.” and Izuku’s body nodded in response. Maybe Izuku should give the new voice a name. Senki had wanted a name and had been happy when she got one.

“Where are your parents?” The new voice asked, and Izuku’s body shook his head no.

“You can’t be at UA by yourself, you look like you’re my age and you aren’t wearing a uniform. It was probably the wording again.” Apparently, none of that registered as something to respond to. Maybe because there wasn’t a question for Izuku to answer.

It’s definitely a voice-activated quirk based around questions, and Izuku’s body only responds with true answers apparently. Maybe some kind of lie detector? That doesn’t seem right, some kind of truth quirk? Truth serum? What names mean truth?

“What adult were you last with?” The new voice, maybe Ayuma? It’s gender-neutral since they never introduced themself and Izuku would rather not be a huge jerk by assuming, and the name essentially means dream walking, which is kind of what the new voice’s quirk feels like.

“Recovery girl, Mr. Principal, Eraserhead.” Izuku’s body answered.

Hibiki? It could work since the new voice has the same humming echo sound as Senki. Maybe Makoto? It means truth or sincerity.

“Okay. Okay. I can work with that.” The new voice claimed, in relief. Probably because those three are pro heroes that are easy to get a hold of by entering any of the classrooms and asking for help. The Izuku without a body shrugged and went back to the name game he had created.

Skipping over all the K names because, no thank you, just started calming down thanks, don’t need to think about it.

There was a ringing tone. It sounded like a phone, but it wasn’t his phone, he always kept it silent, it wasn’t like anyone called him, so it didn’t really make sense to turn on the sound.

Maybe Shin? Gender-neutral, means real, genuine, and true. It works with the whole truth quirk thing, but so did Makoto.

Shin. Makoto.

Shin. Makoto.

Shin was shorter and easier to say, so Shin it was.

“Dad!” Shin called out because it was apparently Shin’s phone that was ringing.

“What’s wrong?” The voice on the other end asked immediately.

“Kid under my quirk, my age-ish, mid-panic attack, said they were with you, Nezu, and recovery girl last,” Shin explained immediately, and wasn’t that interesting information. Eraserhead has a kid Izuku’s age, but the underground hero shouldn’t be old enough to have a fourteen-year-old kid. Maybe Shin thinks Izuku is younger than he was because he was currently curled up in a ball, so he looks smaller than he is, or maybe Shin is adopted.

There were voices and talking on the other side of the line before Eraserhead’s voice got louder.

“Are you both okay?” Eraserhead questioned.

“Uh, I think so?” Shin mumbled in a higher tone of voice than earlier. “Helping now will probably panic later.”

There was a sigh on the other end of the call.

“Where are you?” Eraserhead questioned.

“The emergency stairwell next to the teachers' lounge,” Shin answered with a wince.

There was another sigh from the other line. Izuku was beginning to think that Eraserhead was just a very tired person.

“We’re talking about that later.”

“I know,” Shin mumbled.

The sound of a door opening and footsteps on metal stairs filled the area.

“Can you release your quirk?” Eraserhead asked as he approached Izuku’s body and Shin, crouching down next to them but giving them space to not feel caged in.

“I can, but when I asked earlier Izuku-san said that they couldn’t stay calm,” Shin informed Eraserhead, who nodded his head.

“Can you try asking again?” Eraserhead prompted, and Shin nodded their head.

“Will you be okay if I release my quirk?” Shin asked, and Izuku’s body shrugged, which was fair since he was currently fully distracted by Shin and whatever their quirk is.

“What do you need to stay calm when I release my quirk?” Shin asked again.

“Senki.” Izuku’s body answered again.

“And who is Senki?” Shin asked again.

“The nice lady.”

Shin made a motion as if to say, see?

“Who’s the nice lady?” Eraserhead asked with a raised eyebrow.

“That would be referring to Senki, Izukun’s quirk.” Recovery girl answered, stepping up to the side of Izuku’s body and removing the quirk suppressant bracelets.

“Little one?” Senki greeted, unsure of what was going on.

“What the fuck.” Shin whispered, looking around for something or someone.

‘Senki! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to! I promise!’ Izuku cried, hugging Senki as tears fell from his body's eyes, mimicking the tears falling from the Izuku that was on another plane of existence.

“It is all right little one.”

“We are here.” Senki cooed, running a hand through Izuku’s hair.

“How the hell?” Shin questioned, staring straight at Izuku’s body. “Right, quirk, duh. Okay, this is fine I guess.”

“What’s going on Toshi? Talk to me.” Eraserhead questioned softly, crouched down in front of his kid.

“There’s a voice, and now there’s another voice, but I know the second voice. It’s Izuku-san's voice. Why are there two voices? There aren’t supposed to be voices.” Shin, or Toshi, asked looking at Eraserhead as if he had all the answers.

“Take a deep breath.” Senki instructed, and both Izuku and Shin/Toshi did.

“It is okay little ones.”

“I don’t know Toshi. Maybe your quirk interacts weirdly with Midoriya’s quirk?” Eraserhead suggested.

‘You can drop your quirk now if it bothers you.’ Izuku claimed as he took in another deep steady breath.

“You sure?” Shin/Toshi asked, and Izuku’s body nodded his head, while Eraserhead looked between his kid and Izuku.

“Okay.” And just like that, Izuku was back in his own body.

Everything was a lot brighter than it had been moments before. Maybe he hadn’t been perceiving color while in the middle plane?

“Woah.” was all he could bring himself to as bright purple eyes met mossy green eyes. He most defiantly had not been perceiving color, because otherwise, he would have known that Shin/Toshi had such pretty shades of purple in their eyes.

“Rest now little one.”

“You have used up far too much energy.” Senki informed him, and Izuku agrees with a nod of his head, letting his eyes fall shut and his head falls back against the door.

Chapter Text

“So, what happened?” Shouta asked once the two exhausted teens had been moved onto medical beds to rest.

“With Hitoshi-kun? Quirk exhaustion from prolonged use of their unused quirk.” Chiyo explained as she closed the curtains surrounding the patients' beds and gestured for them to move farther away.

Shouta gave a nod of his head as they moved farther into Recovery girls' office where Nezu had settled, looking over a familiar packet of papers.

“And with Midoriya?” the underground hero questioned.

“I will not be sharing a patient's medical information without their consent. Unless you were assigned to Izukun’s case, and I hadn’t been made aware of it?” Chiyo questioned in response, earning a raised eyebrow from the underground pro.

“Then I’m just going to continue this conversation with the assumption that Midoriya had a panic attack of some sort, and it triggered his flight response.” Shouta stated, earning a nod from the medic.

“Do we have any clue as to what set the kid off? I’m asking so that I can prevent it from happening again, if possible. You can wait till the kid wakes up if you want to check to see if it’s okay to share.” Shouta reasoned, receiving a sigh from Recovery girl as she adjusted her coat.

“That, I’m afraid, we do not know.” Chiyo started, pulling a clipboard from off her desk. “It could be a wide variety of things. Anything from being watched, to the sudden lack of his quirk, to the test, or even the school environment itself, could be potential triggers.”

“Do you know any of his triggers?” Shouta asked, nodding in Nezu’s direction. “The rat. Sorry. Stoat, mentioned you just got custody of the kid.”

Recovery girl shook her head.

“There was a lot going on involving the matter of custody. I’m unsure if Inko, my daughter, Izukun’s mother, even knows that he has episodes like the one we just witnessed, let alone what his potential trigger would have been.” Chiyo explained, flipping through the papers attached to her clipboard, as if looking for the answers in what was probably a patient chart.

“Midoriya will be living on campus now, just like Hitoshi?” the underground hero questioned after a moment of consideration.

“Correct. Although, he will be living here in the medical wing, like myself, in case of emergencies.” Chiyo nodded, placing the clipboard back on top of her desk.

“Having another kid around will be good for Hitoshi,” Shouta began with furrowed eyebrows, receiving a raise one in response.

“But you’re concerned about the reactivity of unknown triggers and how having a fellow traumatized child around with effect Hitoshi-kun's mental health.” Recovery girl summarized, giving a voice to the words that the underground hero had been trying to carefully craft together.

Shouta gave a short nod in agreement.

“That is something you or Yamada-kun will need to bring up with their therapist at a later date. My best guess is that they will interact in one of three ways, or perhaps a mixture of the three.” Chiyo stated, holding up three fingers.

“One, they co-exist independently. They do not interact with each other more than necessary but aren’t going out of their way for total avoidance.” a finger goes down.

“Two, they end up setting each other off based around their own triggers and medical episodes and try to avoid each other to the best of their ability.” another finger goes down.

“Three, they latch onto each other and become co-dependent to varies extents.” the last finger goes down.

“Depending on where you stand, the last option is most likely the best scenario. It involves social interaction outside of their parent or guardian. It involves them both having someone their own age who understands to an extent, what the other has gone through. It gives them both someone to rely on other than themselves, but it’s also a double-edged sword, depending solely on how reliant they become.” Chiyo explained, earning a hum of acknowledgement.

“Is Midoriya an open topic or someone that requires an NDA to be signed. I would prefer to give Zashi a full run down, but I also understand if it’s not possible.” Shouta stated, hand in his pocket, waiting for permission to send off a quick text message to his husband.

“Izukun is an open topic, on UA campus, and UA campus alone.” Chiyo informs him, earning a nod from the underground pro hero, who quickly pulled out his phone, sending a quick text message with a short update on everything that has happened so far.

“You’ve been awfully quiet Nezu-kun.” Recovery girl stated while Shouta was busy messaging his husband.

Nezu looked up from the test packet with a sharp chatter noise.

“Would you like to take a look, Chiyo-san?” The stoat questioned with a twitch of his nose.

“It won’t do me any good to look over it. Why don’t you just tell me Izukun’s results? How much of the test was he able to complete before his, episode.” Recovery girl asked, taking a seat at her desk.

“Why, all of it! Every question, answered, and in some cases, clearly edited!” Nezu chirped excitedly.

“All of it.” Shouta repeated, looking up from his phone with a raised brow.

“Correct! And with a success rate of ninety-three point seven percent!”

Shouta blinked, sliding his phone back into his pocket.

“What level of exam is that?” the underground hero questioned, eyeing the packet with suspicion, causing Nezu to grin, canines showing, ever so slightly

“Well, seeing as I wasn’t sure what level Midoriya-kun was at academically, I created a test ranging from first year elementary school to final year university exams.” the principal informed them with a tilt of his head.

“So, the kid completes a University level test in under an hour, with a ninety-three point seven percent. With quirk suppressant bracelets on. Has two pro heroes and licensed teachers monitoring said test, so it can be used as evidence in this kid’s case. Then the kid in question proceeds to have a panic attack of some sort, resolving in the kid passing out.” Shouta summarized, earning a nod from the stoat.

“So another problem child.” Shouta mumbled. “Well. Fuck.” Chiyo raised a brow at him, smacking his ankle with her cane for the curse.

“Sign me on to the kid’s case. Especially if it has anything to do with quirk discrimination like I’m currently thinking it does.” Nezu gave a nod of approval before turning to Recovery girl.

“Will that be okay with you, Chiyo-san?” The albino questioned.

“Better Aizawa-kun than some hot shot spotty.” Chiyo agreed.

“Then it’s decided.” Nezu claimed with a clap of his paws. "The files will be forwarded over to you later this evening Aizawa-kun!"

Shouta let out a sigh, giving a nod of his head.

Chapter Text

Izuku didn’t wake up with a start or burst of adrenaline. He woke up without the need to open his eyes as soon as his mind faded into conciseness. In fact, he woke up with the need to keep his eyelids shut and relaxed, feigning sleep with continued slow, even breaths. He simply listened in on the world around him to get a better feel for the new environment that clearly wasn’t his bedroom or the hospital room he had grown accustomed to.

“It is time to wake up now little one.” Senki prompted, running a hand, made of, warm not really there air, along his upper arm in a soothing pattern.

Izuku rolled away from the not-there touch with a shift of the blanket that laid over his body, pulling it up closer to his face to mask his movement as seeking warmth.

‘Not yet.’ Izuku stated, listening in on the soft muffled voices and the constant high-pitched ring of the overhead lights.

There was no steady beeping of a heart monitor, and yet there was still the sharp smell of disinfectant alcohol, reminiscent of hospital rooms. His nose scrunched slightly at the scent before rolling over in bed once more, curling up tighter under the blanket to cover the poorly concealed reaction.

The voices stopped and Izuku let out what could be perceived as a content sigh as he forced his body to relax, in order to give the impression that he was now comfortable and had fallen back into a deep sleep. Izuku waited for the conversation to continue, but the voices didn’t start back up after over a minute and Izuku began to worry. There was a set of footsteps that approached his bed, but Izuku remained as he had been. Not still per se, but calm and slow. Adding a sluggish lag to any and all movements to make his act more believable.

Izuku waited anxiously for something to happen once the person reached his bedside, but the only thing to happen was for additional weight, not heavy enough to trap him should Izuku need to escape, but heavy enough for him to settle underneath it calmly.

‘Where am I?’ Izuku questioned once the person that had been standing beside him went back over to their conversation partner, supposedly resuming their previous conversation. He had come to the slow realizing that while his memory from however long ago was all fuzzy, that Senki’s memory might be completely intact.

“You are currently in the medical wing of UA high school,” Senki informs him kindly, poking at him once again in an attempt to wake Izuku up.

‘Why?’ Izuku questioned, carefully keeping his brows from furrowing together in his attempt to put his memory back together.

“You used far too much energy and needed to rest little one.” The nice lady explained, and the Izuku that wasn’t in Izuku’s body nodded his head in understanding.

He really needed to come up with a better term for the in-between plane that his mind seemed to have created.

‘I was already at a hospital.’ Izuku pointed out, receiving a hum of acknowledgment.

“You were, yes, but now you are here.” Senki explained, and Izuku struggled not to huff at her.

‘You know what I meant.’ Izuku all but whined, earning a chuckle from the not-really-there being.

“We do.” Senki teased gently before sighing, a sound that echoed with a sad tone mixed within it.

“You had been at a meeting at UA with the principal, your grandmother, and another teacher to test where you are academically little one.” Senki explained, running her hand through his hair once more.

“During the test, you had a flashback of a previous trauma and ran to find a safe hiding spot.”

“Those types of things tend to tire most humans out.”

‘Oh.’ Izuku realized, as he stopped trying to pick out bits and pieces of his memory, content to let them fade away until something else brought them back to the surface.

“How long was I asleep?” Izuku asked quietly with a slight pout.

“About eleven hours.” One of the voices answered, causing Izuku to startle.

“The real question is how long have you been awake, Kid?” The same voice questioned.

Izuku opened his eyes, blinking slowly before pushing himself into the upright position. He took in his surroundings once again, but this time, with his vision. The lights were on, but they were dimmed so as to not disturb sleeping patients but to provide enough light to not trip over your own two feet. There are three other people in the room with him, one with black hair, one with purple hair, and one with blond hair.

The black-haired one waited patiently for an answer, while the blond one was rubbing soothing circles into the back of the purple-haired one, who only stared at Izuku with wide eyes.

“Not long,” Izuku answered with a shrug, adjusting the new, heavier blanket to wrap around his shoulders. The weight was comforting in the new environment that held way too many unknowns for his liking.

“You like that?” The dark-haired one asked with a raised eyebrow in a gentle tone, and Izuku hesitated. If he said that he did like the blanket, would they take it away? Surely not when they had given it to him only a few moments prior.

Izuku settled on a shrug, hugging the blanket around himself as he pulled his knees up to his chest. The dark-haired person gave a nod of their head. For what reason? Izuku’s not entirely sure. Does that mean they aren’t going to take away the blanket? He hoped that’s what it meant.

“Do you want any food or water kid?” The dark-haired one asked again, and has the purple one even blinked once during the entire conversation? Izuku couldn’t answer that as he stared into the shiny purple gems that made up their eyes. He had definitely met this kid before, but where?

“Kid?...Midoriya? You back with me now?” The dark-haired one asked.

Izuku turned his head away from the other kid’s pretty purple eyes and over to the dark-haired person. When did they get so close? Izuku scooted as far away from the dark-haired person while staying on the bed as he could, narrowing his eyes at them.

“Okay, I can step away. It’s okay kid. You were just zoning out again.” The dark-haired person explained, taking a few steps back from him.

“Again?” Izuku echoed, head tilting to the side in a question.

The dark-haired person blinked, nodding their head.

“Back in Nezu’s office, when you corrected me that he’s a stoat, not a rat.” The person explained, and Izuku furrowed his eyebrows. He blinked a few times before his mouth formed the ‘oh’ shape as his brain finished putting some pieces back together.

“Eraserhead.” Izuku greeted with a nod of his head.

The underground hero blinked.

“You’re a smart kid huh?” Izuku shrugged with a shake of his head.

“Whatever. Yeah kid, I’m Eraserhead, but you can call me Aizawa, like the ra... stoat introduced earlier.” The underground hero explained and Izuku nodded his head, slowly letting his eyes roam back to the purple gemstone, as he remembered where they had met before. They’re Eraserhead’s kid, Toshi, who Izuku had named Shin earlier when they were only a voice that had used their quirk on him.

The name he chose had been pretty close to their real name. Both names have ‘Shi’ in it, and were short, and easy to pronounce. What if Izuku just called them Shi? Would they mind? Probably, now that he thought about it, the name does mean death.

“Kid,” Eraserhead called, and Izuku blinked hard, but stayed facing Shin/Toshi.

“Hm?” Izuku questioned as he let his eyes finally stray over to the blond who was soothing Shin/Toshi with hand signs he didn’t recognize. Not Japanese sign language, maybe English sign language? Then again, it could easily be any other language out there, or a made-up one used to communicate when one isn’t able to do so vocally.

Which brought up the topic of why they couldn’t speak now when they had earlier. Maybe it’s a side effect of their quirk, or maybe Izuku was making them uncomfortable, so they didn’t want to talk. At that thought, Izuku quickly averted his eyes to face Eraserhead once more.

“You back with me Midoriya?” the underground hero questioned with furrowed eyebrows.

Izuku blinked, offering another shrug in response.

“What are five things you can see?” Eraserhead questions.

Izuku blinked again, looking around the room.

“Are you all right little one?” Senki asked, Izuku hummed.

“Kid?”

“Little one?”

Izuku hummed again.

“Midoriya? Kid. Can you name five things you can see?” Eraserhead questioned again. Izuku shrugged allowing his already curled-up body to fall over on the bed into a laying down position. The heavy blanket hugged him gently and securely in the corner of the bed.

“Perhaps you need more rest little one.”

“You can try again later.”

“Kid? You okay?”

“Rest little one. We shall be right here with you.” Izuku yawned with a nod of his head as the world became muffled again. His eyes slowly blinked shut once more.

Chapter Text

There was the steady beeping of a heart monitor when Izuku woke up. He blinked awake, staring blankly at the ceiling, contemplating his options. He knows where he is this time. He knows that the people here have yet to hurt him and that they still have the ability to hurt him. He knows that he’s not supposed to be here, at UA of all places. Kachan would probably kill him if he ever found out.

The heart monitor jumped to a slightly different pace, running faster and faster as if trying to catch up to his train of thought. His eyes fluttered shut once again as he focused on his breathing. When he opened his eyes the second time, he continued to stare at the ceiling. It took a moment for his brain to process his surroundings, but he eventually noticed something in the corner of his eye. Something fluffy and purple was within view of his peripheral vision.

Izuku sat up to face the purple fluff, blinking at them lazily as they blinked back at him. They opened and closed their mouth without a sound. The room was dimly lit by a set of lamps sitting on a desk, casting the room in dramatic shadows from the angle of the light source, but that wasn’t the thing that stood out to Izuku the most. It was the person’s eyes that held his attention. The way the light and shadows reflected in their eyes, creating a swirling gradient of purples, with a flickering sheen of gold from the lights.

“Pretty.” Was Izuku’s first thought as he watched how the spark of light caused a fire to dance in a way that was both chaotic and refined, showing off the bright amethyst gems behind it with a mesmerizing elegance.

“I... uh- wha-...me?” Shin stuttered out of nowhere. The shadows that were cast upon their face darkened right below their eyes, following an invisible pathway from one side of their face, over the bridge of their nose, to the other side of their face. The shadow held a hint of color to it. Perhaps a red or pink tinge around the edges that were exposed by the light.

Izuku hummed, tilting his head to the side in a silent question, blinking at them again. The silent question seemed to confuse Shin, who looked away from Izuku for all of the five seconds it took to glance around the room.

“Were you- I- me? Uhm... you know what- never mind- ignore me...” Shin trailed off, tripping over their words as they tried to make sense of something. Or, were they trying to get their sentence to make sense? Izuku had to hold back a shrug, instead, he gave a nod of his head, not wanting to upset Shin or make them uncomfortable.

“Time?” Izuku asked, spending a few seconds thinking over safe topics. He wasn’t used to having to interact with kids his age in any way that didn’t end with him on the floor in pain.

A part of him argued that it will end the same here too, but the other half of him reasoned that it wouldn’t. Shin had helped him, not hurt him. The other teen seemed nice enough, and at the very least, is unlikely to attack him unprompted. Which means as long as Izuku doesn’t bother Shin, he’ll be fine, and if he ends up hurt it’s his own fault.

“I don’t... I don’t know.” Was Shin’s whispered response. Izuku gave a nod of his head in understanding. It was likely that Shin didn’t have their phone either then.

Should he keep calling them Shin? It’s probably rude since they don’t know each other, but technically, Izuku doesn’t even know if Toshi was their full name. It could be a nickname and Izuku would end up making them uncomfortable. Which means Izuku would get hurt, and he didn’t want to cause any more problems for Recovery girl.

“...I’m Shinsou Hitoshi, they, them, pronouns.” Shin introduced themselves, and Izuku did his best to hold back the laughter that threatened to escape at the coincidence of Shinsou’s name being so close to the name Izuku had given them.

“Midoriya Izuku.” came Izuku’s own introduction. A frown pulled at the edges of his lip, debating if he had already messed up by not introducing himself with pronouns. A quiet, “He, him.” was tacked after a breath of hesitation, deciding it was better to be late than rude.

Was it considered rude? Izuku wasn’t sure. He would have to look into it at a later time when he had access to his phone or laptop. Either way, he considered himself lucky that Shin was nice enough to not acknowledge the pause in Izuku’s introduction, instead, offering a nod of their head in greeting. Izuku moved to return the gesture, only to realize, that he should have done it after Shin had introduced themself, so he ended up aborting the movement. It ends up appearing as if something had either startled him or caught his attention, causing Shin to raise an eyebrow in a silent question.

With the attention on him, Izuku felt as if he had to say something, but wasn’t sure what to say. What would be a safe topic? Sure he would love to ask about Shinsou’s quirk, but quirks were never a safe topic. Not for him, and there was a possibility it wasn’t a safe topic for Shin either, so he stayed away from it.

Izuku opened his mouth, then decided against it, letting his lips fall into a frown as he pulled the blanket up off his lap and over his shoulders. His legs pulled up to his chest, chin resting upon his knees as he wrapped his arms, and subsequently, the blanket, around his legs.

“I-...uhm...” Shin started only to trail off, a frown of their own falling in place. They stared not exactly at Izuku, but at the blanket which he was now holding tighter in a useless attempt to keep them from taking it, should Shin try to. He doesn’t really think the other teen would, but there was always the possibility of it happening, and he didn’t want to be caught off guard just because he was being an idiot.

“Do you-…hm-… would you- uhh...” They tried again, getting frustrated with themself over something.

Izuku blinked, waiting for whatever it was Shin wanted to say.

“Hug. Yes or No.” They end up stating in a slightly higher tone of voice. Yet it was definitely a statement, not a question.

It was strange to hear something that should, quite obviously, be a question come out as a statement. Still, Izuku considered it. Thinking over everything that could go wrong from such a small act of affection. Affection that the other teen doesn’t hold for Izuku, because while Shin had helped him earlier, they were still a stranger to him. They hadn’t even known each other’s names less than five minutes ago.

“Little one, breath.” Senki voiced. It’s a soothing sound that made him listen, so he took a breath, averting his gaze from the other teen. Izuku slowly released his breath, nodding his head in response to Shinsou’s not a question, question.

“Please?” He answered vocally, so he would, hopefully, not seem rude or standoff-ish.

He still wasn’t looking in Shin’s direction but could hear the shuffling of blankets. The sound of feet tapping along the floor echoed in his head as the other teen got closer.

There was a pause. Silence rang through the air as Shin came to a stop at his bedside.

“Hi.” Shin greeted in a softer voice, drawing Izuku’s attention back to them

“Hi,” Izuku mumbled, eyes unwilling to meet the amethyst gems in front of him.

“Come here,” Shin instructed, leaning on the edge of Izuku’s bed without touching him. They waited patiently as Izuku unwrapped himself from both the blanket and the ball he had curled his body into.

Izuku took one look at the arms gently held open for him and fell into them without a thought, knowing that if he did think about it, he would overthink it, and then he wouldn’t get a hug. Seeing as he really wanted a hug right now, he decided that it was better to turn it off and not think for the time being.

Shin held his weight easily, letting Izuku sink into the physical contact without a word. They moved slightly, repositioning themselves to stand between Izuku’s legs. For a moment, Izuku was no longer sitting on the medical bed but was being held by the other teen. Shin moved slowly, turning them around so that Shin could sit down on the medical bed themself, criss-cross, with Izuku settled in their lap.

After a little more movement, a weight settled back around him, and Izuku chanced a glance up. When he saw the blanket that he had been using a second ago get tucked around him by Shin, who was now holding him in a tight, but not suffocating hug, Izuku decided to just give in, burying his head into the other’s neck, let his eyes fall shut once more.

He ignored the slight shake of his shoulders and the hiccups that began to escape, as a hand carded through his hair and a quiet shushing sound made itself known.

He didn’t mean to cause so much trouble. He didn’t mean to hurt his mom. He didn’t mean to have a quirk or be falsely labeled as quirkless. He didn’t mean to jump in the first place. He didn’t mean to, but everything was too much, and he just wanted it to stop. He just wanted all of it to be over, but he couldn’t even do that right, and now he was all alone in a new place with new people, crying his eyes out on a stranger’s shoulder.

“Breath little one. It will be alright.” Senki cooed, and that seemed to be the only thing the not really there being has been saying to him lately.

How pathetic was it that he had to be told to breathe? He couldn’t even do a basic human necessity without help.

“I- do you- I can use my quirk on you if you want.” Shin offered after who knows how long of Izuku sobbing into their shoulder.

“Please-” Izuku choked out, sucking in an uneven breath in an attempt to follow Senki’s instructions.

“Can you respond to me?” Shin asked barely above a whisper.

“Yes.” And just like last time, he was in the world in-between. Not quite submerged in his quirk enough to reach the lotus pond, but not exactly present in the real world.

“Breath calm, even breaths,” Shin instructed, and Izuku’s body complied immediately.

‘Thank you.’ Izuku breathed out, startling the other teen.

‘Sorry.’ Izuku apologized, but for what reason, he wasn’t quite sure. Maybe he was sorry for startling Shin, or maybe he was apologizing for his general existence.

“It’s fine- I just... forgot about that,” Shin explained, taking a deep breath of their own as they lean more weight into the hug, creating a grounding pressure.

They sat there in silence, not a word from either of them, not even from Senki as Izuku’s body continued to breathe slow and calm under the influence of Shin’s quirk. Which doesn’t make sense if the quirk was a truth quirk, his body shouldn’t have just followed whatever instructions were given.

‘If it wasn’t a truth quirk then maybe it was a dream-walking quirk? It feels close enough to describe it, but that still doesn’t account for the automatic compliance.’ Izuku pondered, blinking hard when he felt Shin’s grip quickly begin to loosen. A frown pulled at his lips from the thought of losing the safe physical contact, which seemed to trigger his body to lean further into the hug, grip tightening where his hands were buried in Shin’s shirt.

‘Maybe hypnosis, or mind control? That would be cool and extremely useful for stopping conflicts. Except the quirk felt light and airy or was that how hypnosis or mind control feel? The only real comparison available was dream-walking. More information would be needed to make a definite conclusion when it comes to Shin’s quirk but asking isn’t an option because quirks aren’t a safe topic. Was Shin still a viable name for them? If their quirk wasn’t a truth quirk then the name didn’t work anymore, except that Shin’s actual name was Shinsou, so, maybe? But Shin was also just the name being used since he hadn’t known their name at the time, but he knew their name now-’

“I can- uh- I can hear you, Midoriya-kun...” Shin informed him in a quiet mumble of a voice.

‘...Sorry- I forgot.’ Izuku apologized, dreading the silence that began to fill the room.

“Do you... You think my quirk is cool.” Shin stated in the same quiet voice that would be barely audible if not for how close they were to him.

‘Yes?’ Izuku answered, even though it wasn’t a question.

“It’s brainwashing,” Shin informs him, and the Izuku that wasn’t in his body blinked hard, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

‘No, it’s not.’ Izuku blurted out without thinking, except he was thinking because that was how talking worked in the in-between world.

“It-… yes, it is. That’s what it’s called.” Shin stated. Their voice fell more along the lines of boring neutrality as the conversation about their quirk continued. Which was dumb because quirks aren’t a safe topic, so this conversation shouldn’t exist, to begin with.

‘Then whoever your quirk doctor is, needs to have their license revoked because this is not brainwashing. Mind-control? Sure, that’s believable under the context that the person would still be able to think. Hypnosis? Makes sense. Dreamwalking or sleepwalking? It works so long as your quirk has a vocal influence on the affected person. But brainwashing? Nope, it doesn't make sense seeing as brainwashing, by definition is the process of pressuring someone into adopting radically different beliefs by using systematic and often forcible means.’ Izuku explained, easily falling into the familiarity of analyzing a quirk.

‘Could a brainwashing quirk exist? Yes, definitely, but your quirk isn’t it.’ Izuku informed them only to freeze as he snapped back into full consciousness. His own body was calm and no longer crying, but Shin had, at some point in Izuku’s explanation, become a crying mess themself.

“Ah! Sorry I- kami what am I doing- quirks aren’t a safe topic- I'm so sorry! Are you- are you okay? Uh-… do you want me to get up and leave? I can go- should go-… I am, so sorry.” Izuku apologized, moving to get up but ends up tripping in the tangle of limbs and blankets, causing them to fall over onto the floor with a loud crash.

The two teens tensed up as they heard the sound of rushed footsteps heading in their direction, only for the door to open, revealing both of their guardians. All three pro heroes surveyed the room for an invisible threat, and when none was spotted, they began to observe the two teens, sitting on the floor in a tangle of blankets, with red puffy eyes.

There was a stomach growl that seemed far too loud in the silent room, and then there was laughter as the two teenagers fell into fits of semi-hysterical giggles. Whether it was the snap of the tension from when they fell off the bed, the far too serious faces their guardians held, or the stomach growl that set them off was a mystery, but one thing was known for sure, neither set of guardians could remember seeing their kid laugh that hard or smile that bright.

Chapter Text

Izuku’s first week living at UA passed by in a blur of time. Each day bled into the next, in the same way that all colors blur into murky grays. That isn’t to say he didn’t remember everything that happened. He simply can’t remember what day he had done which thing. Although, there hasn’t been much for Izuku to do. He had apparently tested out of junior high school, so he didn’t have any classes to attend. The only kid at UA around his age was Shin, and they did have school, so Izuku never really left the medical wing of the school. Choosing to stay close to his guardian instead of wondering about.

Most of the time during his first week, Izuku stayed within the relatively safe walls of his new room. It wasn’t that he couldn’t go around exploring the campus, more so that he didn’t want to. He felt out of place everywhere he went. So, for the time being, his room was enough for him. It was much larger than his old room had been, that was for sure. The walls were a similar cream color as his old room, but just different enough for him to notice that it wasn’t right. The bedding was a dull blue, same as the decretive placement rugs and curtains. There was a desk tucked neatly into the corner, with a tall dresser next to it that held the new clothes that his grandmother had bought for him. Other than that, the room was empty. Nothing of any personal value existed within the new room; his new room.

Everything was new, really. There was nothing old, nothing familiar or comforting for him to hold onto. Everything was shiny, new, and untouched, void of all emotional attachments as if a pair of blunt scissors had snipped all the threads connecting him to his old life.

It’s an alienating feeling, to be the only thing left of his old self. Which was strange to say as someone who had always been the odd one out. Except, now, everything he’s ever known, everything he’s ever cherished, forcefully ripped away, replaced by the emptiness it left behind. His memories were the only thing that was truly untouched by the changes caused by his death.

He doesn’t believe that he truly survived that fall, not with how everything’s changed.

There was a clear line between the two lives. His old one, where he had his kind caring mother who was always quick to tears and smothering affection. Where he was quirkless and knew what to expect when interacting with people. Where he knew how to react and what to do to minimize the damage. Then, there was his new life. The one where his mother abandons him to a relative, he had never met, a stranger really. Where he has a quirk, the constant presence of a kind woman who was yet another stranger. There was nothing that stayed the same.

No, he didn’t survive the fall.

Midoriya Izuku had died and woke up in a stranger's body. That was the best way he could describe it if he was being honest. Which he most likely wouldn’t be if someone actually asked him. He had been trained too well by his peers, trained to act as if everything was fine at every given moment. Despite being quick to tears, and how many pathetic breakdowns he’s had, he refused to burden anyone with the traitorous thoughts of his mind. So, he will continue on as he has been, the Izuku who woke up in a stranger’s body. Which was ironic when he thought back to the decision that led him here. The decision to listen to Kachan, to jump and wish for a quirk in his next life.

It had work, and was that really all that surprising? Kachan had been the one to say it, and he had never been wrong about anything before.

Now he has a quirk, and a little part of him hated himself for it. He hates how quickly he seemed to become reliant on his quirk. He hates that his quirk was still largely a mystery, that he no longer knows what he is and isn’t capable of. He hated that part of him wants to go back to his life before. He hates that part of him wants to be quirkless because at least he had his mom went he didn’t have the superpowers that everyone else got.

What he wouldn’t give to go back in time to the rooftop. To turn around and go back to his apartment, where he can fall into his mom’s smothering embrace and just be, just exist in the time before he messed everything up like he always does.

Izuku squeezes his eyes shut, rubbing his hands tiredly over his eyelids as he lays on his new, unmade bed before he returns to staring up at the ceiling. Unnoticing of how time passes on around him, or perhaps uncaring was a better choice of words.

He’s alone in a school full of strangers. Everything and everyone are new, and he’s been abandoned by everyone he had once known.

He’s all alone surrounded by people, and time is moving on without him. Clocks tick as seconds, then minutes, then hours pass by.

Before he knows it, there’s a knock on his door as Recovery girl calls him for dinner. Even though he could have sworn he woke up that morning, just a few moments ago. An entire day had slipped by in the blink of an eye. He groans, pushing himself up and off his bed. His joints are stiff, and his body feels hollow as his thoughts echo far too loud in his mind.

There isn’t much he can do, not here, not while everything feels wrong and out of place, so Izuku takes a deep, shaky breath, leaving his room to go join his grandmother for his first real meal of the day.

Chapter Text

UA wasn’t like Izuku thought it would be. Sure everything was big and shiny. Not shiny in the way that something new would be, but in the way that something well-maintained and cared for would be.

It's not overcrowded like he first thought. If anything, it was undercrowded, with just under six hundred students total attending UA. There were supposed to be five hundred seventy students, but Eraserhead had apparently expelled his whole class, again, making the true number of students studying at UA five hundred fifty. Each class housed twenty students max, unless it was the support course, then they only had ten students per class, meaning that UA teaches half the amount of students other high schools teach, the other high schools in question teaching thirty to forty students per class.

It made sense, seeing as UA is a specialized hero school that produces at least ten top heroes every year, but the longer he stayed at UA the less impressive the school becomes. Maybe he's just getting disillusioned with the whole thing. Maybe UA wasn't all that impressive, to begin with.

No. That's not right. UA is the best hero school, not just in the country, but in the world. It ranks first on a global scale, so obviously, UA had to be amazing, so it has to be him that's the issue.

He's here at UA, but he's not taking classes, he just sees other people taking them. He's not learning anything, just observing the real students. Of course, UA wouldn't be all that impressive from that point of view. That's not UA's fault. That's his fault.

He's not even supposed to be here, at UA, with Recovery Girl, alive.

Izuku was supposed to be dead, but he's not. He's supposed to be with his mom, but she left him. He's supposed to be in middle school, preparing for high school, but he somehow finished it early.

He's the problem because he's not supposed to be here, to begin with... but he can't leave. Not because he isn't capable of leaving. He tried to, once during his second week staying at UA, but he promised his new (sort of) friend that he wouldn't.

_______________

He had packed a small bag of things (not belongings because they did not belong to him, but they were useful and had been given to him to use so he might as well take it with him) and waited for Recovery Girl to leave for work. Then he left the room (not his room) and walked down the halls, following the invisible path that was the way Izuku had first walked into UA and had made it just outside the buildings, right in front of the gates when he saw the splash of soft purples that look both out of place and like they belonged there, laying in the green grass just off the walkway.

One of Shin's amethyst eyes cracked open, glancing at him tiredly.

"Hey." Shin greeted, doing a once-over of the greenette.

"Hi." Izuku greeted in return.

"Heading somewhere?" They asked with amethyst eyes trained on the small bag he had packed.

Not quite sure what to say, Izuku stayed quiet, staring at the other teen.

"You should tell them, little one," Senki suggests with a small nudge in Shin's direction.

'Why? Then Shin will just try to stop me won't they?'

"You should tell someone, little one. It doesn't have to be this child, but you should talk with someone." Senki informs him, and Izuku shrugs.

"Running away won't help you know." The purple-haired teen informs him with what sounds like personal knowledge of the subject, so Izuku asks.

"You've tried?" And to that Shin sighs, patting the grass next to them.

"Yup. The first night Dad took me off the streets like a stray cat, I tried to make a run for it." Shin explains as Izuku takes a seat next to them.

"How'd that go?" The greenette asked, receiving a snort.

"I'm still here, aren't I." And Izuku nodded his head with a wince, because yeah, that was a dumb question on his part.

They sat in silence for a minute or two, listening to the birds in a nearby tree and the rustling of leaves.

"You know how my quirk works, so questions yes, questions no," Shin says, and wasn't that a strange sentence when someone tries to remove all questions from it?

He understands why Shin would remove questions from how they talk if it activates their quirk, but most quirks like their's don't activate unless they want it to.

So while it's nice that Shin was checking to see if it was okay for them to use their quirk, it doesn't really matter because-

"I like your quirk." Izuku blurts out before he realizes that he's said that out loud, and then adds, "You can use it on me. I don't mind, or care." Izuku shrugged, trying to cover up his natural awkwardness that always found a way to slip through.

For a moment he's caught in the in-between and the familiar floaty feeling is draped over him. Then he snaps back into full consciousness.

Shin waits for a reaction, and Izuku gives one, just not the one they were expecting. Izuku smile. It's small, nothing notable, but a genuine smile all the same.

"Oh." The purple-haired teen breathes out more than says it. "Right." They swallowed thickly, taking in a deep breath and then letting it out slowly.

"...where were you planning to go?" Shin asked eventually, and Izuku had no idea how to answer that because he doesn't know where he would go.

He can't go home.

Does he even have a home anymore?

"I don't know." The greenette shrugged, and to his surprise, Shin doesn't ask a follow-up question. Instead, they move on to a different topic.

Actually, they didn't even ask a question next. It was more of an observation than anything else.

"You haven't been adjusting as well as everyone thinks." The purple teen says while rolling their head to the side in order to meet Izuku's eyes.

The greenette shrugs again.

"You should talk to someone about it," Shin suggests, looking back up to the sky.

Izuku lays down beside them, following Shin's sightline to a smallish cloud that was slowly making its way toward the main UA buildings.

"Senki suggested the same thing," Izuku admitted in a whisper that was just bearly not cared away with the wind.

"...Senki's a sentient adult figure right?" The purple teen asked curiously. There was still the hesitance to ask their question but Shin's voice was a little louder, a little less strained.

"Yes?"

"Then you should listen to them."Shin decides for him. "Built-in quirk influences are usually extremely helpful and tend to try their best to keep their host alive. Like some kind of symbiotic relationship." More statements, not questions.

Izuku blinked, realizing that this was probably the most Shin has said to him since he arrived at UA, but then realized that they weren't wrong as he thought over what Shin said, and compared it to the events that have happened so far after the activation of his quirk.

"Do you talk to someone?" The greenette asked on impulse. "Sorry! I shouldn't have asked that! Wow, that was rude of me! I'm so sorry- I'll just go n-"

"Yeah, I talk to someone," Shin answered, interrupting Izuku's rambled apologies. "Lay back down." And Izuku complies.

"Pops, my other dad, signed me up for therapy sessions with one of UA's counselors after a week or two of living with them," Shin explained.

"...I didn't mean to pry," Izuku says after a moment of silence.

"You're not. I'll tell you if you do." The purple teen says with a shrug, glancing over at the greenette.

Mossy green meets purple gems.

"You should talk to someone," Shin says as if it was already decided.

"Yeah, probably," Izuku responds, because he's not stupid (he is. he's stupid and can't do anything right.). He knows that some of his reactions aren't right (the way he reacted to the dumb test and not being able to use the quirk he's only had for two months comes to the front of his mind), but he doesn't really want to talk with someone.

Talking with someone means he'll have to think about everything, and he's not ready for that. He doesn't think he'll ever be ready to think about everything that he's been ignoring and pushing to the back of his mind.

Deciding to change the subject Izuku asks, "Don't you usually have school right now?"

"Yup, but I finished early. Perks of taking online classes instead of going to an actual school." Shin smirks, "Was me being in class right now part of your escape plan? So no one would be around to stop you?"

Izuku doesn't say anything, and that was answer enough.

"Don't leave." The purple teen says while pushing themself up into a seated position. "Trust me. It's worst out there than it is in here." And Izuku believes them because in here everyone is willing to coddle them and walk on eggshells if it's what's needed, but out there, they would be eaten alive.

"Okay. I won't leave." The greenette agrees, because what else was he supposed to do?

_______________

Izuku blinks back into focus at the knock on the door. He pushes himself off the bed and is met with familiar shades of purple.

"I'm bored, want to hang out?" Shin offers. It's a question without any hesitation or working up to a question. It may have taken a week and the whole attempted runaway incident, but it was progress.