Chapter Text
Inko Midoriya, knew her son, the #1 Hero named 'Viridian', more than anyone. She knew when her boy was excited or when he was frustrated. She knew the exact differences between his real smile and his fake smiles. She knew just how to cheer up his day, with both herself and giving advice to those around her to help him out. She knew his drive to protect those around him was the best thing about him.
So why was that drive feeling more like a detriment to her?
Izuku was a hardworking boy growing up, and now he was an even harder working man. And yet, as a boy, he would still make sure to keep in check with his mother.
During his time under UA High, there wasn't a day they hadn't communicated, be it through long days together or even simply text messages.
And their interactions were never one-sided, Izuku would initiate them around half of the time, and Inko would do so with the other half. But beyond the number of times they interacted with one another, they always felt... special.
Each and every time Inko and her beloved son had seen each other during his time in UA, there was always something new. Always a new compliment to be given, always a new warning to be made, always a different spot where he or she had kissed the other.
Nowadays she was lucky to get as much as a hug from him.
Inko eyed her phone from across the room. From what she had gathered from that young man Todoroki (Izuku was in the middle of a Villain fight when she tried to ask him), today he would going out to apprehend a Villain going by the name of 'Transmit', and he'd likely be gone for the rest of the day.
Thankfully, she had a little bit of time to call him before he went out on his mission. Inko knew there were two primary things she wanted to say to him before he went out on this challenge, one she knew he would pass with flying colors.
First, a calling of good luck for Izuku on this upcoming task. She knew he wouldn't need it, he'd done tasks more difficult than this in worse conditions, but anything could happen. More importantly, she wanted to show to him that she'd always be by his side and supporting him, no matter how big or small the obstacle he's dealt with.
And secondly... she wanted to ask if there was anything they could do together. Truth be told, she just missed him. Missed seeing that smile of his, the one that she'd move the world to see again. It didn't have to be big, it could be as small as just calling one another more than a few times a month, or it could be something more major. Above all else, she just missed her boy.
Inko reached down to the phone, intending to call Izuku. She wanted to pour her heart out, let her know just how much she appreciated her boy, despite the fair time they'd been spending apart from each other. So, she picked up her phone and dialed his contact reached down to the button to call him and...
Froze.
She couldn't bring herself to call him. All she could think about was that she was selfish. Selfish that she was no longer able to meaningfully influence his life. Selfish that they weren't spending as much time together as they had usually been.
Inko knew it wasn't intentional. She knew that if Izuku had the choice, he would've spent as much time with her as he possibly could. Simply put, Izuku had new priorities. He couldn't afford to spend time with an old lady like her, not when there were Villains to be defeated and muscles to be trained.
And so, she opted to not calling him. Inko sighed. She knew they'd have to grow out eventually, but she'd never thought they'd be this distant. She couldn't even remember the last time she'd kissed his freckled face. But, it was all for the greater good. Between the safety of the innocent and the enjoyment of his mother, she knew Inko had to choose the former in all scenarios, even if it meant his and his mother's mental health would be declining.
Maybe one day, once Izuku's finally finished with Hero work and can retire in the same way his mentor did, she could finally let him know just how proud of him she really is. Then she could make up for all of this lost time between them, tell and show just how much of an impact he made not just on the lives of all people, but just for her. Maybe someday.
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Izuku Midoriya, the #1 Hero known as Viridian, fired shots of Blackwhip as he swung across the cities of Musutafu. He had a blank expression on his face, the expression he had found himself having more often than not recently. Though you wouldn't be able to tell, as Viridian, Izuku chose to wear his mask to hide his face during most of his Hero work. Combine that with Izuku having a pretty plain face meant that most people didn't recognize him as Viridian when he was in his civilian attire.
Not like he’d ever be in his civilian attire in the first place. Just about every waking second he spent of his life was spent off doing Hero work. To him, there was never a task too small that he shouldn’t have to do, and there was never a task too large in the same way. This made Izuku quite respectable, Toshinori himself had said he’d never seen a Hero so dedicated to their work.
…This also turned to be his greatest weakness. His habit of overworking his own body often made him exhausted while doing Hero work. Not quite sloppy, but not as pinpoint accurate as he usually was.
His therapist brought this up, and suggested that Izuku should tone down the amount of Hero work he partook in. Maybe spend that time elsewhere, visiting Inko or Eri, or talk to his friends way back from Class 1-A. Since his time starting Hero work, he hadn’t gained anymore friends between the time he started his training at UA. He had been too dedicated to ever really properly get to know someone.
Izuku felt his phone ring in his pockets. He picked it up within a matter of seconds and noticed it was Shoto Todoroki. He put on his work voice, the only voice he seemed to ever use when calling people nowadays.
"Do you have Transmit in your sights?" Shoto said over the call.
“Eh, sorta. I don’t physically see him, but Danger Sense is telling me where he is.” Izuku replied.
“Good. Unfortunately I won’t be able to help you as I intended, another Villain interrupted me before I could get there and I’m not looking too good.” Shoto added.
“I’ll be able to handle it.” Izuku said before hanging up the phone.
Izuku shot one last Blackwhip through the sky, flinging himself to the entrance of a nearby building, where his Danger Sense had been leading him. Then he amped up his usage of One For All, bolstering his movement speed as he scouted out the building for the Villain.
Izuku found him rather quickly. Transmit was a tall man, fitted in a black and white suit, with messy purple hair and carrying a glowing black and yellow staff in hand, as well as a…
“Is that… a fanny pack?” Izuku said, looking at the Villain.
“YES IT IS A FANNY PACK! I COULDN’T CONTROL HOW IT CAME OUT! AREN’T YOU SUPPOSED TO BE ONE OF THE QUIRK POSITIVE HEROES VIRIDIAN?!??” Transmit shouted, clearly indicating this had happened before.
Transmit was surrounded by a group of other lowly henchmen, and had been aiming the weapon, which possessed electrical characteristics and the name ‘Chargebolt’ on it.
Wait… Kaminari? Izuku thought to himself.
Izuku then noticed who he was aiming the weapon at. It was Kyoka Jirou, another one of his classmates and friends during his time at 1-A. She looked beat up, and while Izuku knew she was capable, this might’ve been too much for her to handle.
“Oh hello Viridian!” Transmit said, taking a more giddy tone.
“Oh. Right.” Izuku said looking at Transmit.
“I’ve heard quite the tales about you, who you’ve defeated and how. I think your Quirk will make a nice addition to our collection.” Transmit said with a grin, putting his hands behind his back while looking at his henchmen.
The henchmen simply stood there, confused.
“…That means go get him you idiots! We’ve been over this!” Transmit shouted, as the group began charging at Izuku.
The henchmen charged in as Izuku shot a Blackwhip into the air, pulling himself to the ceiling of the floor of the building, before zipping to the other side.
That’s right. Transmit’s power let’s him steal the Quirk of anyone unconscious, and transmit their power into a nearby object that fits the intended purpose. So that staff was fitting Kaminari’s Quirk, which explains the electricity. I knew he had taken some Hero’s Quirks, but not some of my friends. Izuku thought as casually dodged the henchmen’s various projectiles fired by their Quirks. Then he spotted Transmit himself.
“I’m afraid our time is up Earphone Jack. So I’ll put you sound asleep.” Transmit said.
“You’ve gotta start working on this Villain dialogue man.” Jirou said.
“Yeah I know.” Transmit said, lifting up the staff empowered by Kaminari’s Quirk…
…Only to be struck by Izuku instead. Transmit was sent flying, landing on the wall of a building. Transmit digger deep into the fanny pack, pulling out a pair of gloves and putting it on each hand. The gloves then stretched out the rest of his arm, allowing Transmit to quickly drag one of his henchmen before smashing out the wall of the building, escaping.
“So that’s what the fanny pack does.” Izuku said to himself.
“Yeah. It basically lets him store objects and stuff in it. He’s got a lot of Quirks under him, but I know you’ve dealt with that before.” Jirou said.
Izuku nodded, intending to pursue him until Jirou gently tugged him.
“Hey uh… can you get Denki his Quirk back? He’s been feeling depressed since it got taken.” Jirou said, blushing.
“Of course.” Izuku said before rocketing out the building, One For All fueling his body with large amounts of energy.
That’s weird. Why did Jirou sound so flustered when bringing up Kaminari? They’re friends, shouldn’t they be comfortable talking to each other? Izuku thought as he flew around the city, using Danger Sense to track Transmit without needing to physically see where the Villain had gone.
Izuku found Transmit on the top of a building. He had his henchman in one hand, the staff empowered by Kaminari in the other.
“Hey man, we’re all on the same side right? You wouldn’t mind if I borrow your Quirk for a second?” Transmit said.
“Of course not! My Quirk is what makes me ME!” The henchman said.
“Agree to disagree! Hopefully I won’t get fined for poor working conditions.” Transmit said, aiming the staff at the henchmen, intending to knock him out…
…only for Izuku to snatch the staff with Blackwhip.
“Oh come on!! Is coming in at the last second and ruining people’s plans your thing or something?!” Transmit shouted.
“I guess you could say that.” Izuku said, floating in the air with the staff in hand.
“Alright then. Here’s a farewell to arms!” Transmit said, using the gloves from earlier to stretch his arms and intending to grab Izuku.
Thinking fast, Izuku struck Transmit with the staff, electrocuting Transmit. Transmit screamed in pain before stretching his arms straight back.
“Well that’s probably karma for all the times I did that to other people.” Transmit said before reaching into the fanny pack, pulling out a top hat before placing it on his head.
“What’s this one do?” Izuku said to himself.
Suddenly, Transmit began floating in the air, controlling the gravity around him to rupture the steel of the building, forcefully dragging it out. Then he formed the steel into dozens and dozens of razor sharp blades, firing them out like missiles.
Izuku floated to avoid them, only for the several blades to home in and impale him through his stomach. Izuku groaned, bleeding from the wound.
“You don’t seem to understand the gravity of your situation! I can take the powers of ANYONE I wish!” Transmit said.
“You don’t understand yours either. Your Quirk is just a worse version of All For One!” Izuku said.
Transmit was about to say something, but then paused.
“…Yeah actually that’s fair.” He sadly said.
Using this moment, Izuku flew forward with float. Noticing this, Transmit used the gloves to stretch his arm out, grabbing his henchman before tossing him off the building like a rag doll. Izuku quickly flew downward, firing out a Blackwhip to catch the henchman and gently place him onto the ground.
Using the time Izuku had been distracted, Transmit pushed the hat’s control over gravity to the limits, rocketing into the air with a large shockwave. Izuku saw this, using One For All’s own power to fly into the air, eagerly pursing him. Transmit had to make sure the hat hadn’t fallen off his head, looking behind himself to see Izuku flying behind him.
“Geez the news wasn’t lying when they said you were persistent!” Transmit shouted.
He pulled out another weapon from the fanny pack, this one a large gun labeled as ‘Can't Stop Twinkling’. He fired the gun forward, releasing a blast of shining blue light that Izuku quickly dodged.
He’s got Aoyama too?! I’ve got to stop this Villain here and now, before he can take anymore Quirks. Izuku thought to himself.
Unfortunately for Izuku, the chase would continue on for much longer, each time Izuku would get close Transmit would simply use one of his weapons to attack Izuku and widen the gap. Even attacking with shockwaves or pulling Transmit with Blackwhip proved futile, as Transmit would simply control the gravity of each to shove them back.
By now they had left Musutafu and entered the countryside. Izuku had gathered that Transmit couldn’t use the gravity Quirk on other people, only the environment, as he hadn’t used it on Izuku. Unfortunately, he was getting exhausted. The bleeding from earlier was taking a toll on him, and he had been flying after Transmit for going on thirty minutes.
By now the sun was starting to set. Luckily for Izuku, his endeavors would be paid off. Transmit lacked the same amount of stamina Izuku did. While Izuku was getting tired, he was far from finished, while Transmit was on his last legs. While he wasn’t using a Quirk to fly in the same way Izuku was high Float, traveling at speeds like this at altitudes this high was taking a toll.
At last Transmit gave in, the hat falling off his head before Transmit fell downward.
Finally! Izuku thought to himself, floating to pursue Transmit. They had landed in a more rural setting, Transmit falling into the hard grass of the ground while Izuku gently used Float to land. Izuku walked up to Transmit, empowering himself with One For All, intending to finish this right here and now.
Transmit groaned.
“Motherfucker… I really should’ve seen this coming…” Transmit said, out of breath.
But before Izuku could land the finishing blow, Transmit pulled one last weapon from the fanny pack, a small dagger radiating a dark purple energy. The dagger stabbed Izuku on his shoulder, causing the purple aura to spread around the small area where Izuku was stabbed.
Thinking fast, Izuku struck Transmit, knocking him out cold. Izuku felt dizzy, falling to the ground and grabbing the fanny pack as he fell. The last thing he remembered before falling unconscious was dragging the dagger off his shoulder, and a young woman, hair resembling something of a bob cut, walking up to him.
————————————————————————————
Izuku woke up the next morning. Except this wasn’t his apartment. This was someone else’s home, the room he was occupied looking a little wore down, pictures of people he didn’t quite recognize on the walls. Izuku noticed the comfy bed he was lying in, made of material unlike furniture he was used to. Izuku also noticed his mask was off, lied down gently on his lap.
Izuku tried to stand up, only to spike back down, feeling a sharp pain. He looked back at his shoulder, noticing it being wrapped up and bandaged, though still having the purple glow he recognized from earlier. Then Izuku looked at his stomach, noticing more bandages wrapped around the wounds he gained from the metallic projectiles Transmit had shot at him.
Izuku sighed. He really shouldn’t have been wasting the time of whoever lived here, making them take their valuable time to tend to a Hero reckless enough to let himself get stabbed twice. Since walking would be a pain, he opted to just sit there, waiting for whoever tended to him to come in.
That person came in a few moments later.
Now, Izuku had seen his fair share of attractive women. Being a Pro Hero, the outright #1 in the world, made that inevitable. From skimpy reporters trying to attract him to gain a story, other Heroes using sex appeal to boost their popularity like Mt. Lady, or fangirls who happened to get a little too close for comfort. And yet, in a matter of seconds, just about all of them became irrelevant to him.
The girl, no, young woman’s hair was brown, fitting the bob cut he recognized earlier, and reached slightly beyond her shoulders. Her eyes matched the color of her hair, a similar shade of chocolate brown and made her out to be nothing short of beautiful. And to top it all off, her face was painted with freckles with a permanent pink blush mark on each cheek.
“I… uh… h-hi?” Izuku stuttered out.
“Hey Viridian. Heard a lot about you, though I didn’t think I’d ever meet you.” The young woman said.
“…Especially not like this.” The woman said, shyly eyeing the dagger.
“Oh, r-right! I’m really sorry about this! I was sloppy, I didn’t mean to disturb you i-in the middle of… whatever you’re doing?” Izuku panicked sounding even less confident as he continued the sentence.
The woman was surprised, finding the bumbling Hero rather different from how she’d normally seen him on TV, determined and focused on protecting those around him. Before he could dwell on anything else, he felt his stomach grumble.
“Right… I hadn’t eaten dinner yesterday. I thought I’d be able to take that guy down and then eat when I got home.” Izuku said.
“It’s alright. I made something for breakfast.” The young woman said.
“Wait. I came in here, crashed presumably where you live, and you nursed me as well as you could and fixed me breakfast the next morning? And I don’t even know your name?!” Izuku said, surprised at the generosity this young woman had.
The woman smiled.
“Name’s Ochako.” She said before going to grab the breakfast she made for them.
So she nursed him to health, after he crashed into her home, made him breakfast, and all before he even knew her name. She was beautiful, dwarfing the appeal of just about every other woman he had seen before.
And he may or may not have had a crush on her already.
“I really hope that dagger only did physical pain to me…” Izuku sighed.
————————————————————————————
It seemed just about everything about this woman clicked with him in some way. Maybe it was because he had never really had a proper crush on anyone else before, but Ochako checked each and every box on the list of things that made him giddy inside.
From her skin bathed in the sun, freckles that outnumbered even his own, rosy cheeks, and cute demeanor that rubbed his heart all the right ways. Not to mention those fingerpads, the things she used for her Quirk, felt oddly squishy when she picked him up.
Oh right, she was picking him up bridal style, because he had been too exhausted to move regularly. Izuku protested at first, but gave in a moment later. Ochako argued that he wouldn’t weigh anything to her, thanks to her Quirk that lowered his own gravity, making him as light as a pin.
“So where are we going anyway?” Izuku asked, having been too flustered from earlier to ask.
“We’re going to my mama’s house. She’ll know what to do about that scar of yours.” Ochako said.
“Wait that reminds me! I can’t believe I forgot, what about Transmit!” Izuku said.
“The Villain in the fanny pack?” Ochako asked.
“Yes!” Izuku replied.
“Oh we phoned Pro Hero and got him arrested.” Ochako said.
“Okay good, they’ll be able to get the Quirks back to their owners.” Izuku answered back.
Soon the duo arrived at Mrs. Uraraka’s home. Though Izuku didn’t weigh anything, having to position both of her arms to carry something around was a bit difficult, and made them feel a bit tired. Izuku suggested they get a wheelchair for him, which Ochako agreed to.
Though deep down, Izuku was definitely going to miss the warmth that came from Ochako while she carried him.
Ochako knocked at the door as her father arrived a moments later. He eyed the two, looking up and down Izuku and Ochako. His face turned into a frown.
“And jus’ what exactly did you get my daughter into?” He said with a glare.
Izuku gulped. Ochako’s father was a towering hunk of a man, with dirty blondish hair. He completely dwarfed Ochako in height, and even eclipsed Izuku, who had turned out to be fairly tall in his adult life due to One For All’s effects.
“I… I uh… well…” Izuku stuttered yet again.
“Daddy!” Ochako groaned at her father.
Quickly, the man’s scowl turned into a cackle, laughing his ass off as Izuku stood there confused.
“I’m sorry, I just can’t help but pull the ‘Overprotective Dad’ fakeout thing whenever my little mochi slice brings home a boyfriend!” Her father said, wiping off the tears gained from horrifying Japan’s #1 Hero.
“Okay first, he’s not my boyfriend-“ Ochako said.
“That’s what she always says tiger.” Her father told Izuku.
Ochako blushed, kneeing her father to the side, which caused Izuku to blush at the girl’s flustered face.
“And second, I thought you agreed to stop pulling that card.” Ochako said.
“Yeah… nah. Is’s jus too temptin’.” Her father said.
“Yeah yeah, we’ve got something more important. Or someone more like it.” Ochako said, walking into the house while carrying Izuku.
Ochako gently sat Izuku on a couch before noticing her mother. She eagerly smiled and ran up to her, tackling her mother in the family’s signature bear hug.
“How’ve ya been ‘Chako?” Her mother said.
“Been great!” Ochako eagerly said as her mother gave a kiss on her forehead.
Izuku smiled at the exchange. But strangely, a part of himself was telling himself something. Something that made him feel… empty. Like he was missing something. Or rather, something he needed to get back.
Noticing this, Ochako’s father tried to lighten the mood.
“So what, my darlin’s the only one who gets a lovely greetin’” Her father said.
“Don’t terrify my male guests, and next time you’ll get one.” Ochako spat.
“But speaking of guests, mama, we’ve got a bit of a problem.” Ochako said.
Ochako sat next to Izuku on the couch as her parents sat next to each other on another couch, before beginning another conversation.
“Ya know this guy’s Viridian, right?” Ochako said.
“He is?” Ochako’s mother said.
“…You didn’t know?!” Ochako shouted.
“Well we didn’ exactly recognize him with his mask off. Always so mysterious.” Ochako’s mother said.
“Anyway, what’s important is this.” Ochako said, pointing at Izuku to show his scar.
Izuku nodded and revealed his wound, a large mark radiating a small purple aura that matched the dagger from earlier.
“I recognize this Quirk. It’s called ‘Cursed Mark’. It inflicts a curse on the user, causing them to weaken over time, before eventually killing them about two months later.” Izuku said.
“How do we stop it?” Mrs. Uraraka asked.
“We can’t stop it only the wielder of the Quirk can. Problem is, Transmit, the guy who stole this Quirk, isn’t going to get turn it off anytime soon. The Hero who owns this Quirk, Shade Blade, was placed in a coma after a fight with Transmit.” Izuku added.
“Does this stuff happen, like, regularly to you?” Mr. Uraraka asked.
“I’m a magnet for trouble. Anyway, from the research I gathered, he should be awake in a few weeks, before this thing kills me.” Izuku said.
“It’s also generally best that I stay here. Moving around too much can make the Quirk hurt even worse, so it’s advised that I stay around her and stay out of Hero work… which is weird saying out loud.” Izuku said.
“So you’ll be stuck here for the next few weeks?” Mr. Uraraka asked, though not in a bewildering way.
“Sorta. I can leave, but it’s advised that I stay to lower the pain of the Quirk. And one more thing. Uraraka?” Izuku asked Ochako herself.
“Hm?” The young woman looked down.
“…You don’t mind helping me get around in that wheelchair do you?” Izuku nervously asked.
The group had a laugh, Izuku letting the levity of the situation to help with the pain. Though he didn’t realize it, staying at that place would end up being one of the best things that ever happened to him. Here he didn’t just recover from his physical pains, but his mental ones as well. Here he’d be recovering his life.
Here, he’d Learn to Live.