Chapter Text
I suppose the story starts with the first to be born.
Yaoyorozu Momo was born and the world shined brightly for her birth.
Now that the famous Yaoyorozu family had an Heiress, they could rest easy that someone would take over their business for them.
The world shined for Yaoyorozu Momo.
People clawed at their eyes and shut themselves in their houses, closing curtains and breaking lights to try and dim the light. The light would not dim.
The world was so bright that no one ever stopped to question that the child that had been born was not crying. She was not screaming. She wasn’t even covered in blood. She just was.
Schools and libraries and bookshops around the world suddenly found themselves full of the nicest books and supplies, a mysterious donation note present for all of them simply thanking them for bestowing the gift of knowledge to the world. Similarly, many tea shops found themselves with full restocks of the highest quality. Again, a strange donation note thanking them for providing elegant teas to the world. In fact, many libraries and schools and tea shops around Japan never found themselves needing to properly restock again after her birth. They always had the best supplies and the highest quality tools at their disposal, and their budgets never seemed to take a hit.
I thank you for the gifts that you provide, note after note says, for without you we should surely crumble.
The world shined brightly for Yaoyorozu Momo at her birth.
One could only hope that she would turn out to be a hero, for the chaos and fear that would be unleashed should She Who Must Know All turn to villainy would be legendary. It would level worlds, and none were willing to risk that.
The next to be born was born screaming and crying and covered in blood.
Not unusual for a child.
What was unusual was that there was no child there.
Hagakure Tooru was born two weeks after Yaoyorozu Momo.
She was not able to be seen.
All around the world, televisions malfunctioned and celebrities disappeared.
Some no one ever heard from again.
On some televisions Hagakure’s birth was broadcasted, as well as the doctors horrified reaction, exclaiming that the crying child was a demon from the deepest pits of hell.
No one ever saw a child besides those doctors.
Her parents assumed she was born with her Quirk, as it is not an uncommon occurrence. That did not explain the doctor's reactions.
The child basked in attention, crying immediately ceasing as her mother held her and gave her attention and cooed at her. She wanted everyone to adore her.
The best way to do that would be if she became a hero, unless She Who Needed To Be Known equated adoration and fear, and she found villainy just as tempting.
The next child to be born, a week after Hagakure almost to the minute, had a perfectly average birth.
He was incredibly plain.
Only abnormal thing seemed to be his tail.
The doctors could not look at him.
They tried. In fact, one tried to have a staring contest.
But they just could not stand looking at the plain, plain child.
They tried to describe him.
All the could describe was the tail.
He had a perfectly average birth, Ojirou Mashirao.
Nothing was amiss, nothing would tell you something was Wrong unless you noted his lack of emoting.
He just seemed to exist.
He was calm.
He was normal.
He had a tail as the most defining trait about him.
He was a perfectly normal baby.
The One Walking Along The Balance was perfectly average, one would never assume that he could be either a villain or a hero, or much of anything really. He was normal. Though something spoke of fear and death and anger should he choose villainy. And when the day to choose comes, it will be his choice.
Three weeks later, a child was born in utter darkness.
At exactly midnight, a child was born to the Tokoyami’s. They did not know what to expect, but a bird headed child with a strange and unruly shadow was not it.
Tokoyami Fumikage was born under cover of darkness, and that was preferred.
Tokoyami was born prematurely, he had been expected to be born later, but he wished to be born at midnight and did not want to miss his chance.
Dark Shadow would be upset if they missed the chance, as well.
They were born together, though their parents were not expecting twins. Were they twins? One was just a shadow, after all.
Which was the shadow, however?
It seemed to change every other day, every other second really.
The shadows made sure that the weeks following his birth, up to the next one, were dark and gloomy so that everyone knew that the two were born into this world. Lights blew out and stopped working, storms raged for weeks and the sky was never clear, the nights it was always especially hard to see the moon or the stars, the shadows made sure the world knew that the pair of darkness were born.
The Duet Of Shadows And Emptiness was branded for villainy by everyone around them instantly, though for unknown reasons the idea that either would actually go down that path made people shudder and glance over their shoulder or jump at their own shadows. They didn’t dare mention anything of it.
The next one was also born at night, two weeks after Tokoyami.
However, he was not born to darkness.
In fact, the day his mother started experiencing contractions had been unusually bright.
The brightness continued into the night, the stars welcoming him into the world.
The world burned hot, unusually so, and so very bright . Unlike the brightness under Yaoyorozu Momo’s birth, this was more separated. It felt like individual stars were shining, not like there was only one light.
The child himself seemed to be littered in stars. He smiled and giggled when he saw his mother and father, reaching out for them.
The doctor holding him suddenly started screaming out in pain as the flesh melted off his arms as he held the bab. He quickly gave it to the parents, who seemed completely unaffected by the power he held.
His skin glittered with light from the stars, and he pointed at the ones he could see from the window in the room that wasn’t there before. He pointed and giggled, even though he could not express the things he really wanted to say he was content. Aoyama Yuuga was born with skin glittering with the stars from the heavens above.
The Brightest Star Dancer was born into a cruel and unforgiving world, one that would try to bend and break him into villainy. Only time will tell if he breaks. No one wanted to see that day, should it come to pass.
Shinsou Hitoshi, born four weeks after Aoyama, was born on a day when all the world was silent.
He was born and his mother scorned him immediately, claimed he looked too much like the father who had sired the child.
But with some reluctance she still accepted the child into her arms.
Shinsou did not cry. Did not whine. Did absolutely nothing. All of the doctors were silent, too. The silence was uncomfortable.
Almost no one spoke a word that day.
There were some people, who were concerned and confused as to why the world seemed to suddenly lose its ability to speak, but they were the minority.
Shinsou was born on a silent day with sparrows singing outside his window.
The Voice Of The Voiceless would be subjected to a great amount of abuse throughout his life, for his apparent villainy, though they never seemed to understand that should he turn to that route the world will tremble and once again fall silent. No one would be able to escape the silence.
One week later, after the strange silent day, everything was suddenly up and bustling and loud. So, so very loud. For some people, it was so loud their ears bled.
Funnily enough, those with hearing Quirks didn’t feel anything out of the ordinary. In fact, to them the world was a bit more muffled than usual.
Jirou Kyoka was born, and the sound volume of the world increased. Everything was loud.
The loudness presented itself differently to people, and brought varying emotions.
To some it was a comfort.
To some it was angering.
To some it was painful.
To some it was sorrowful.
But She Whose Heart Hears Everything basked in the noise, the little aux plugs attached to her earlobes explore the noise, looking to absorb it all, and the doctors were terrified of the power the newborn held. She would be able to know everything just from the way one breathed, and that was far scarier than the blasting noise emanating from the small child that encompassed the entire world.
Two weeks later, Todoroki Shouto was born to Pro-Hero Endeavor and Todoroki Rei.
Rei did not wish for Enji to be there, she always ordered him out of the room when she was to give birth.
She had done so with the three children she had had before and again with Shouto.
Endeavor obeyed because something in him compelled him to listen to the woman.
It was probably a good thing, as the moment the child was born the rooms temperature suddenly became inhospitable. It was cold, then hot, then cold again. The temperature fluctuated wildly and the doctors tending her struggled to breath.
One half of Japan was bathed in winter-like weather and freezing cold air. The other half was burning hot, people subjected to swelteringly high temperatures and painful heat waves.
Rei just chuckled at the small babe in her arms. He was just like his sister Fuyumi, though she was much better at control than he was. Oh well, time will only tell.
He Who Razes With Hail And Heat would make an excellent hero, despite his father. Just wait and see.
Sero Hanta was next. Not even a week after Todoroki, even. Apparently he was impatient and did not want to stick to the schedule, as he was not meant to be next.
His parents stared in horror once he was born, spider-like traits in full view. He did not pay attention to them, but the spiders in the corners of the room that had come to congratulate him. He was finally among them. It deserved celebration.
His birth was not dramatic, it was quiet and simple.
Another Plain, Normal Child.
His more obvious mutations were quickly folded into his body as he realized that they were not normal.
He would make sure to exercise them regularly, though, because otherwise they would cramp.
Once they were gone from sight no one even remembered they had existed in the first place.
The Weaver Of Fates And Times is going to be raised to hide what makes him unique, lest he garners too much attention. He will not listen, aiming for the top. Where he will meet them all once again.
Shoji Mezou is born half a week later, actually on schedule. Sero was supposed to wait until the week after him, but Shoji couldn’t really blame the Weaver. Waiting is boring. What is there to do while you wait?
Shoji is born to caring parents, though for some reason they’re crying when they see him. They are not happy tears.
He is abnormal.
He has a snoot, he has two extra arms on both sides, he is abnormal.
He wasn’t aware that wasn’t what he was supposed to be.
But he couldn’t bring himself to care.
Not when fire raged outside as people who hated those who were abnormal for no reason burned.
He could not bring himself to care.
Even though abnormal is hated and branded villainous in this world, The Hidden Protector Of Those Abandoned never let himself care because it did not matter to him.
Two weeks later, Sato Rikkido was born. He managed to maintain a normal birth, for the most part, unlike the others.
Only two people bled from the eyes and nose.
And those two people happened to be the doctors tending to one of his mothers, the one who had birthed him.
However, the weather around the hospital was constantly shifting.
And the child did not cry, he just giggled excitedly, happy to finally be there and in the world. Unfortunately his giggles were what caused the doctors to start bleeding.
Oh well.
The Crafter Of Change shall be raised with love and care and to be the best he can be. Those around him will wait with baited breath over what he choses, it could mark the End or a new Beginning. No one wished to see the horrors that an Ending could entail.
Soon after Sato, about six days later, Kouda Koji was born. He too was growing impatient with the waiting, so he wanted to be born then. Sero had messed up the schedule, but he was meant to be after the Weaver, so no one really minded.
The day he was born, birds sang. Every animal in the nearby area came to celebrate his birth, chattering and making noise outside the hospital. Animal control was called, but no one really could get the animals to leave.
They were celebrating, after all.
And they weren’t going to be separated from Him before he’s even born.
Kouda waved at one of the birds that was by the window, his crying ceasing once he saw that his friends had gathered to welcome him.
Kouda was placed in his parents arms, and the glass of the window disappeared, letting the birds and some of the animals that were better at climbing into the room. They all chittered excitedly, some licking the newborn and some trying to give him little trinkets and things like nuts and seeds to eat.
The Bringer Of Life And Nature was terrifyingly powerful, with all of the planet willing to bend and break for him. The weak but still felt earthquakes were a testament to that. Anyone would fear what that power used for evil could do.
Iida Tenya was born next, about four weeks later because he actually sticks to schedules even when bored and impatient.
He was the second son of the heads of the IidaTen hero agency.
His birth brought pain and blood.
His mother was burned when he was born, from the engines in his legs.
Iida didn’t mean to, he just forgot that most mortals aren’t born with their Quirks.
Iida quickly erased his Quirk from existence and the injury with it, before settling into his mothers arms.
His mother seemed wary of him, though she quickly forced the feeling down. He was just a slightly strange child, after all. There had been a string of odd births around Japan, there was nothing wrong.
He Who Brings Vengeance And Punishment will be raised to be a hero, and he will do great and wonderful things. No one and nothing will change that.
Uraraka Ochako was born shortly after Iida, early once again. They needed to catch up quickly if they wanted to avoid the year ending, after all.
She was born and everything around the hospital she was born in suddenly started floating.
For several blocks, everything was floating and hovering above the ground by a few feet, and then suddenly… everything was dense. The air was so heavy almost no one could move. The dense air cut off abruptly after about two blocks, and everything was normal. The hospital seemed to be completely unaffected as well.
Uraraka wasn’t screaming or crying, more so just looking around in awe and giggling when she noticed how many people got stuck within her powers. She hadn’t meant to, but she thought it was funny so she was not willing to let it go yet.
The Endlessly Changing Gravity would grow up to see both the good and bad of the society she was born into, hero and villain alike, and she will struggle with which she wants to side with. The world will hold its breath, hoping against hope that she does not decide they are not worth saving.
The Asui’s first child came earlier than they expected.
Their first child arrived the day after Uraraka Ochako was born.
Asui Tsuyu had always planned to come quickly after Uraraka, but a day was quite a lot for the world.
Flooding rivers and mossy swamps reacted to her sudden presence. Frogs started croaking aggressively or invading human civilization for no reason other than they were told .
By what, who knows.
Asui Tsuyu does.
She will not tell.
She knows the importance of secrecy.
The Bringer Of Floods And Seasons is good at keeping quiet. She will choose her path when the time comes.
Two weeks later, Ashido Mina was born. She waited to give the world a bit of a break after Asui and Uraraka’s ‘one immediately after the other’ stunt.
Ashido was born pink and colorful.
And the sky was pink and bright with her.
And so was the grass.
And so were the trees.
And the clouds.
Everything was pink and bright with her birth. Different values of pink, of course, but it was still all… pink.
It only lasted a day and a half, but it was still very strange. Many people forgot about it shortly after it happened, though.
Once the pink frenzy had ended, everyone never thought about it again.
It didn’t actually happen anyway.
She’d never understand it, but appearance was important to these people in this world. And unfortunately, her appearance made people scorn her and call Her Highness Of Whispers And The Wasted a villain. This doesn’t faze her, however. It likely never will, who cares anyway?
Kaminari Denki was born a week and a half after Ashido. His birth brought horrible storms and violent lightning and thunder.
Kaminari was born to two unassuming people, Kaminari Tenki and Kaminari Shinken. When the world exploded with lightning, Tenki smiled as her son was born.
Lightning struck aggressively outside, and the doctor holding her child was suddenly electrocuted.
The baby made of lightning and electricity, seemingly, just appeared in her arms after zapping across the room. The doctors were more concerned with the doctor Denki electrocuted.
He giggled wildly and lightning shot out from him, thunder quickly following the lightning.
The Corrupted Bringer Of Static And Storms will have to learn and grow fast, faster than he deserved. But he will do his best to remain the same, always. No matter what those around him whisper and say with scorn.
Kirishima Eijirou was born half a week after Kaminari.
Mountains crumbled and reassembled themselves, volcanoes erupted and ash filled the air before the child absorbed it.
He melted into lava and reformed into rock, he fell apart into broken rocks. Those broken rocks rolled over and rolled into his mothers arms.
She looked at her wife, slightly concerned, but she would roll with it. No pun intended. She would care for her child no matter what.
Their strange child laughed excitedly at seeing his mothers, what little hair he had turning into smoke plumes.
He Who Will Not Break Under Pressure laughed excitedly, even in the face of people calling him weak or villainous for being scary. He didn’t understand the desire to criminalize being scary, being scary was a wonderful thing to him.
The next two came nearly at the end of the year, slightly off schedule and almost late.
They arrived at the same time.
They were born at the same time, exactly.
Bakugou Katsuki and Midoriya Izuku.
They were born through pain and anger and sorrow.
Throughout Japan, engines and coolers failed and things exploded.
Throughout Japan, people mourned for something they did not know.
Midoriya Izuku and Bakugou Katsuki were born.
And the world almost fell apart for them coming into existence at the same time.
Though, they’ve existed before, haven’t they?
They Have All Existed For Long Before They Existed.
The Bringer Of Hope And Light and The King Of Wrath And Strength would not calm down until they met each other after they were born.
They would never deal with everything thrown at them no matter what.
And they would make sure that the world knew them.
Villain or Not.
Hero or Not.
Hero Or Villain.
The World Will Know Them.
—---------------------------------------------------------------------—
As they grew, they continued to be very strange children.
Yaoyorozu, the moment she could articulate it, would not accept anything besides the finest teas for drink. She learned to speak incredibly fast, and was walking and running even faster. She was struggling some with reading, solely because (in her words) ‘the language was unfamiliar and unusual’. She preferred the books detailing the theorized formation of the universe over fairytales as bedtime stories. She always giggled and told the person reading to her that the theories were wrong, and why they were wrong.
The Yaoyorozu’s were going through nannies and babysitters every other week.
None ever seemed to be able to stay long, before having a nervous breakdown or quitting randomly, citing a demon child that ruined them.
Hagakure seemed to be everywhere and nowhere all at once. She always seemed to know everything. That wasn’t too odd, since she was invisible so it wouldn’t be too hard to figure that she was just not easily noticed. But even when her parents were sure she wasn’t in the room she always seemed to know what they talked about.
At night, after putting her down, her parents would talk quietly to each other in the living room.
And the next morning, she’d always ask about the things that they talked about without fail.
She had done such every day, without fail, ever since she learned she could talk.
The knowledge the child carried terrified her parents.
They were all strange children.
No one seemed to ever be able to explain the strange happenings around them.
Like Iida Tenya suddenly having more eyes or less eyes. Him suddenly having three, four, five, six legs. His classmates complained about headaches and nosebleeds after hanging out with him, but there were no real sources for them. Iida knowing too much and showing that knowledge, though no one was ever really sure if he ever spoke. They never remembered his lectures that tended to take over class. No one could explain it, so they assumed it wasn’t anything to worry over.
They avoided thinking about how shadows followed Tokoyami and Dark Shadow, and the child excitedly engaged in conversation with them and they answered back . How he seemed to steal peoples shadows, even though neither seemed to have one of their own. Maybe Dark Shadow was Tokoyami’s shadow, and that’s why the child never had one. It was nothing to worry over.
Shinsou never seemed to talk, and yet everyone always insisted that he spoke all the time. His mouth was only open sometimes and yet he was very talkative. People didn’t try to explain how anytime they tried to think of his voice after having a conversation with him all they could hear was static and screeching and a high-pitched hissing noise. They could never remember what they talked to him about, and yet they didn’t try to question it further. Surely they had nothing to worry over.
They didn’t have to worry over the youngest Todoroki not knowing his own strength and killing his older siblings, only to bring them back with a laugh from both he and his siblings.
Nor did they have to worry about how every time Kaminari spoke, people's eyes bled and lightning struck nearby, the boy's voice filling the area with the smell of ozone and the feeling of static throughout the air.
Or Kirishima laughing causing minor earthquakes where he currently was.
They didn’t have to worry over anything these children did or said or caused.
Children are weird, after all.
There was nothing to worry about.
—---------------------------------------------------------------------—
The first time Yaoyorozu met with them properly, it was the first gala her parents hosted that she had been allowed to go to. She had just turned seven, and her parents had deemed her old enough to attend.
She was incredibly excited, as this gala was one that Pro-Heroes were invited to, and they were allowed to bring their families.
She sincerely hoped that they would be here.
She was not disappointed, when she noticed a familiar head of blue hair and familiar red eyes. She and him locked eyes, and nodded, slipping away from their families easily. She melded into the shadows, and the shadows carefully guided her to the gardens.
Iida met her there, and smiled. “It’s great to finally see you again, My Lady Of Knowledge,” he said, bowing slightly.
“You as well, Bringer Of Justice,” Yaoyorozu bowed to him as well. “My name in this life is Momo, you may refer to me as that.”
“And I am Tenya.”
Yaoyorozu smiled at Iida as they both straightened out. “I hope this goes well. I’m glad to not be as alone anymore,” she said.
Iida nodded. “It’s a great feeling, knowing you’re here. That we can see each other easily now.”
Yaoyorozu brightened, smiling excitedly. “We must try it as soon as possible, this night, perhaps?”
“I agree, and tonight is a wonderful idea.”
Yaoyorozu's smile softened. “I truly hope it works. Weaver and Static and I worked so hard on it before I came down.”
“I’m sure it will work wonderfully, you all are brilliant and I can confidently say that I believe entirely in your ability, and the network you created.”
Yaoyorozu blushed slightly, looking away. “Thank you, that means a lot, Tenya.” She turned back to him. “We must return, they’ll notice sooner or later.”
Iida nodded, and the two quietly made their way back through the shadows to the ballroom.
They spent the night talking about the intricacies of being human, and the things they’d learned already. How odd breathing and sleeping and eating so regularly was. How people seemed surprised at their intelligence, struggling to learn mortal speech and language. All of the little things.
And then, as they were talking by the snack table, they spotted a head of red and white. They shared a look before quietly approaching the person.
Todoroki was surprised, and happy to see the two. Yaoyorozu and Iida were surprised and excited to see each other as well.
The three spent the night together, talking and chatting excitedly before the gala was over and Iida and Todoroki had to go home.
And once they were home, once they three had all closed their eyes and slipped into sleep, they continued to spend the night together. They continued their conversations, they continued their intense debates about their favorite human foods so far, they talked until the sun rose and then some, only ending their conversations when they were forced to wake up. Still, they promised to continue once again when night fell.
Kaminari and Jirou met at school.
They met and were immediately inseparable.
Kaminari did most of the talking, and Jirou listened. She was always more fond of listening. Kaminari didn’t mind.
Normally mortals could not stand Kaminari’s voice, but he was aware that Jirou was no mortal. Her power was nothing to sneeze at.
He talked about anything and everything on his mind, and Jirou would as well when she felt like it.
They talked endlessly, though sometimes they sat in silence.
Jirou would listen to his heart in awe, something so delicate was able to be maintained even with all of the power coursing through Kaminari’s body. Powers mortal beings could not handle. He was so delicate with the small organ, because he knew Jirou liked listening to it.
Kaminari would play with Jirou’s hair, fascinated by its texture and ability to hold static. He would ask questions about the things she heard, or just quietly hum to her.
They were very comfortable with each other. Why wouldn’t they be?
Sometimes, they would sit silently, and the silence would be a facade.
They’d be talking to each other through their shadows, laughing and talking about everything going on around them. About mortal ignorance.
Sometimes they’d be silent, thinking things only each other could hear.
When anything happened, they were always there. A rock to lean on. They would always be there for each other, through all of the pain and through all of the anger. They would always be there.
It would be unfair to describe Bakugou and Midoriya’s first meeting, as they had known each other all their lives.
Their parents were friends, and so they grew up with each other.
They were raised together, they were as close as can be.
Even when everything tried to tear them apart.
When that damned doctor informed them that Midoriya would not get a Quirk–ignoring the bristling power that was something Other Than A Quirk, because having to acknowledge that would force them to acknowledge that this tiny Quirkless child could kill him with ease if he wanted to.
He wouldn’t even have to blink.
Does Midoriya blink?
That doctor diagnosed Midoriya’s Quirklessness, and for many that is a breaking point.
Especially for other Midoriyas.
But this one, no, he does not care.
Who cares if he has a Quirk or not?
What is a Quirk to a God?
Bakugou doesn’t care, either.
For many versions of him, it just encourages an awful thought that he was better than Midoriya. That Midoriya was a weak bug to be pitied and squashed.
This Bakugou doesn’t care.
This Bakugou stands by Midoriya, treating him on an even playing field.
He knows the power under Midoriya’s skin.
Even when his Quirk, the ability to cause explosions, gets praised left and right and Midoriya is put down and treated as less than for his lack of it, Bakugou sticks by him.
Because Midoriya and Bakugou come as a pair, you cannot separate one from the other.
And they were both very, very strange children with power bristling just under the surface.
Sometimes, out of the corner of their eyes, people see it.
An odd shift under Bakugou’s skin.
Midoriya’s shadows moving on their own.
Bakugou growling and the sound leaving someone in pain and bleeding from their eyes and ears.
Midoriya having long, sharp, needle-like fangs one moment, and regular teeth the next.
They were extremely powerful children.
They were extremely odd children.
But no one sees that power, that oddness for more than a moment before they either forget or brush it off as children being children. Children are all strange, after all.
Sometimes a little disturbing.
It’s nothing to give more than a brief thought to.