Chapter Text
The woman’s breath was ragged as she turned the corner, tucking the lump in her arms closer to her. She knew that her plan went through without a hitch. However that did not stop her from sending paranoid looks over her shoulder every so often. One did not betray the boogie man of the underground and get away with it often. Or perhaps never would be a wiser choice of words.
Trudging slowly up to the door she tried to get her rapid breathing under control. Raising her hand to knock ended up being a fruitless effort considering the door swung wide open before she made contact with the wood.
A burly man with warm brown eyes and grey stubble stood at the entrance,”Did it work?” he was almost frantic sounding.
The lady just raised an impertinent eyebrow, ”Do you think I’d be here right now if it didn’t?”
He let out a weak chuckle, the tension in his body evidently fading. Leaving the doorway he gestured for the woman to follow,”I could really do without the sass Takemi.” She snorted following him into the kitchen,
”Yea well, you could also do without the grey hairs and we both know that’s not happening anytime soon.”
His shaggy hair shook with his head as he cast her an amused glance,”You and I both know that the majority of these are your fault.” Takemi just shrugged knowing that it was a fair assessment. The young lady took a seat at the counter, shifting the swaddle in her arms into a more comfortable position.
”So, do you have it?” Takemi’s voice had a nervous edge to it.
”Of course.”
The man walked next to the couch where what looked like a file cabinet sat. It looked small in comparison to his overly large frame. The lock clicked back into place as he took a folder out and slid it over to his companion.
Her shoulders went slack, clearly relieved at whatever the folder contained. She gingerly set it down and started looking through her new identity. The sound of a plastic bag being set down next to her is the only thing that broke her out of the trance.
”I also bought the hair dye and clothing you requested,” his hand swept through his hair in a nervous gesture before admitting,”there also happens to be a large stack of money and a lease to a small apartment in Musutafu.”
Takemi glared at him and opened her mouth but he simply held a hand out,”And before you argue with me! I already paid for it so you can’t say no and if you try to return the money I will light it on fire just to spite you.”
She closed her mouth but the glare stayed and the man just sighed,”C’mon just let me do this one nice thing for you?”
Her gaze softened,”You already do far too much for me Hayato-san.”
”In return for my wonderful favors just do one thing for me?” Hayato looked at her pleadingly and she nodded,”Live peacefully.”
She smiled and he knew he had won. “So,” Hayato cleared his throat,”Do you know what you’re going to name him?” He gestured to the newly born baby in her arms.
The woman’s green eyes softened as she gazed upon her sleeping child,”I think so.”
”His name will be Izuku.”
_____
”Izuku!” The tone was almost shrill,”You get your butt over here right now young man!!”
The little boy giggled and paid her no mind, jumping from their coffee table to the couch without a glance in her direction. Inko sighed before lifting him from the air,”If you don’t change into normal clothing to go to your appointment there will be no play dates with Katsuki this week.”
Izuku gasped and looked down mournfully at his allmight onesie. Five minutes later he was at the door getting his shoes on, no pajamas in sight.
The mother shooed him out the door and into the car as quickly as possible. Her nerves were clearly on edge and her young child’s chaos was surely not helping matters.
They arrived at the doctors office slightly late but honestly that was the least of Inko’s worries at the moment. She kept glancing at Izuku anxiously, and while most people probably wouldn’t be able to tell Izuku was a perceptive kid and quickly picked up on it.
”What’s wrong Mama?” He had brought his face closer to her so that he could whisper it to her.
Inko shook her head thoughtfully,”Nothing my love,” she patted his hair in efforts to appease him,”Nothing.”
Izuku gave her a look but before he could say anything else the doctor came in and his attention was quickly diverted. He rocked in his chair, brimming with energy. Izuku couldn’t help but wonder what his quirk could be?Would it be as cool as Kacchans? Maybe not that amazing but he was sure it would still be exciting!
The doctor took several tests and scans swiftly and efficiently. Before pulling up all the data onto his computer.
Inko grew more weary as the doctors face looked more amazed and confused as he gazed at the screen. Swiveling his chair to face them the doctor didn’t even get to finish his sentence,”This is- I mean, a miracle honestly, it seems as if Izuku-“
Inko had crept behind the doctor without him noticing and grazed the top of his head with her lips.
His body suddenly went rigid and his eyes were glazed. Izuku looked on in confusion and turned to his mother for answers. Inko’s eyes were hard and cold. Where green typically resides was now a steel gray.
“Erase any information you got today and mark down his results as inconclusive.” His moms voice was as cold as her gaze.Izuku couldn’t help but shiver at her tone as she walked back over to her seat next to him. He was eternally grateful she had never talked like that to him.
The doctors arms moved robotically to obey her commands. After completing his task he turned back to Inko to await more instructions. Instead her eyes turned back to green and the man abruptly snapped out of it.
Shaking his head he looked from the computer screen back to Izuku and his mother and attempted to regain composure,”Ah- What was I saying?” He adjusted his jacket and continued,”Right. Well it seems that Izuku will eventually develop his quirk considering his bone structure. It most likely needs certain requirements to be activated.”
Inko smiled warmly at the doctor,”Thank you Doctor, we’ll be sure to look out for it.”
Soon the son and mother duo were back in the car driving home. Izuku thankfully kept his curiosity to himself until he was strapped into his carseat and they were driving away,“Mama what just happened?”
Inko glanced at her son in the rearview,”We can talk about it once we get home, okay sweetie?”
They did not, in fact talk about it once they got home considering Izuku fell asleep in the car. His mother carried him to his bed for sprawling onto the couch.
”Oh Izuku,” Inko sighed,”What am I going to do with you?”
_____
The next morning Izuku was woken up by his mom earlier than he was used to. His small legs trudged to where she was already waiting for him at the breakfast table.
He hopped into his chair and looked at her with a questioning gaze,”What’s this about Mama?”
He asked but he already had a feeling he knew what this was about. His mother had acted far from normal at the doctors appointment yesterday. That’s not even mentioning the fact that he thought his mother only had a mild telekinetic quirk, not whatever brainwashing thing she had pulled yesterday.
“We’re going to finish our conversation from yesterday in the car.” Inko leaned over the table to put more food on his plate before retreating to her chair.
She folded her hands and Izuku had a feeling that this was going to be a difficult topic for his four year old brain. This was the look Inko gave him when she wasn’t sure if he was going to understand something.
”First of all Izuku I need you to promise that what we are discussing is going to be our little secret. You can’t tell anyone what we’re about to talk about.”
“Not even Kacchan?”
”Not even Katsuki.”
Izuku nodded his head and made his face make what he hoped was a serious look. This just reminded Inko how young he truly was and she wanted to cry.
”Well baby, you are a very special person.” Inko paused like she wasn’t sure how to continue,”Because you’re so special there are people who would try to take you from me and use your powers. You are very powerful and it’s my job to protect you from those who want to harm you because of that.”
Izuku was very confused, he wasn’t sure how he could be powerful.
“Mommy is a very special person too, and since I didn’t want to be taken away from my sweet boy I cover up my powers. I only use part of it. Now Izuku I’m going to ask you something very difficult and I need you to understand that it’s for your safety. Can you do something for me?”
His head nodded swiftly, not sure what she needed from him. However he knew that his mother loved him and anything she asked of him was truly needed.
Inko knew that this next part was going to be difficult for Izuku, who was so caught up in the hero’s and their flashy displays of power,”I need you to be like Mommy and hide parts of your powers when they come.”
As she expected his mouth opened immediately to argue,”But Mom I wanna be like Allmight!”
She sighed for what felt like the millionth time that morning,”I know Izuku, but if you aren’t protected you can’t protect anyone else. If you don’t do this it makes you unprotected. That means that you wouldn’t be able to be a hero.”
Inko waited for another argument and when none came she continued,”Now I’m going to try and get through this quickly so I need you to let me talk and then you can ask questions at the end okay?”
When her son nodded once more she moved on before he could change his mind and start asking questions.
“You are probably going to get more than one quirk eventually.” The sound of Izuku almost falling out of his chair made Inko pause for a moment before moving on,”And you can’t show anyone. I’m going to train you to fake a quirk and we’re going to register you with a quirk called ‘second sight’. This quirk means that you know things about people that you shouldn’t.”
Inko spent all night wondering what fake quirk she would train Izuku to have. It needed to be something she was capable of training and something he was able to learn. Luckily Izuku was already a very perceptive kid. It also needed to be something mundane enough that no one would be overly interested in but interesting enough that no one would pick on him.
Izuku now needed to fly under the radar being perfectly average until he was old enough to control his powers and then others would be unable to hurt him.
For now they would act like he was a late bloomer and teach him how to read people until he’s so good at it that it might as well be a super power.
_____
The couple of years were rough for Izuku but necessary. Even though his mom has said that he was super powerful and will eventually get lots of quirks he still hadn’t even gotten one. All his classmates had gotten theirs by now and he couldn’t help but envy them.
The day after “The Talk” with his mom Izuku had gone back to school and was immediately bombarded by Kacchans questions of wether or not he figured out what his quirk was.
Izuku just kept repeating what his mom had ingrained into his head which was,”The Doctor said that I’ll get it eventually.” That had worked for awhile but as everyone else in his class had already gained their quirks Kacchan had started to look at Izuku with disdain.
He had dubbed Izuku with the nickname “Deku” no matter how many times Izuku insisted that he wasn’t useless. He had gone home crying that day.
The only part of his life that was going good was his training. Izuku’s brain soaked up the lessons like a sponge. For now Inko was just training his brain to notice things about people. The last lesson was based on noticing the differences.
”Okay Izuku you can open your eyes now.” His mothers soothing voice called out to him and he listened to her request. He scanned her taking in everything that had changed since the last time he had opened his eyes,”You took one of your earrings out, your shirt is untucked, you wiped off your lipstick, and your bracelet in upside down.”
Inko’s smile was radiant as she ran to Izuku and picked him up in a crushing hug,”Good job Zuku!!”
She had also taken to reading him psychology books every night before bed;
“If a person looks down, it often indicates nervousness or submissiveness. Also, check for dilated pupils to determine if someone is responding favorably toward you. Pupils dilate when cognitive effort increases, so if someone is focused on someone or something they like, their pupils will automatically dilate. Pupil dilation can be difficult to detect, but under the right conditions you should be able to spot it. A person’s blinking rate can also speak volumes about what is going on internally. Blinking rate increases when people are thinking more or are stressed. In some cases, increased blinking rate indicates lying –“
Inko looked down in her lap to find her 4 year old son still wide awake at past 11 at night and she closed her book with a sigh. Izuku instantly complained,”Aw but Mama I’m not even tired.” Not even a full five seconds after he said it he was yawning.
She chuckled lifting Izuku into her arms and kissing his forehead, sending an image of field of wildflowers and rabbits into his brain. He always said that was his favorite dream.
The psychology lessons did not stop at night though. Inko would randomly quiz him on it during the day whenever she had the chance.
As she bustled around the kitchen making breakfast she tested Izuku on what they went over the night before,”If someone’s pursing their lips what does that indicate?”
“Distaste, disapproval, or distrust.”
”What about if they bite their lip?”
”Worried, anxious, or stressed.”
Inko ruffled his hair with a smile before handing him his breakfast. After breakfast while she was getting his clothes on for school she tested him more,”Open palms mean?”
”A sense of trust.”
She nodded while trying to tame his curls into something more presentable. It was getting close to the time she had to dye their hair, she could see his silver roots growing out.
This process continued, getting more challenging as it went on. Of course Izuku had his limits considering he was only four. However overall Inko knew that he would be ready for revealing his “new quirk” by the time he turned eight. She had really been hoping that it’d be feasible to introduce at six or seven but it just wasn’t possible. Inko really wished he wasn’t getting picked on though.
She wasn’t blind and the fact that Izuku came home in soaking wet clothes. Or the fact that Katsuki had not come over since then. Or the fact that his clothes were singed and his skin bruised. Inko would have to teach him self defense soon.
However that wasn’t the only thing making her nervous. Izuku still hadn’t activated his actual quirk. While she knew that Izuku’s activation would probably be different than his fathers it still didn’t make her any less nervous. How was she supposed to help when she was just as much in the unknown as her son?
Inko just focused on what she could help him with. She would deal with that problem whenever it surfaced.
Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, Izuku’s quirk didn’t develop even at the age of six. At this point Inko was half convinced that he didn’t inherit his fathers quirk after all. That didn’t stop her from teaching him all she could.
As Izuku grew so did his lessons. His mother taught him how to lie without flinching and had even taught him some martial arts. Sadly Inko didn’t have enough money to enroll him in actual classes but she remembered enough to teach him. He was basically being trained as a child soldier.
Inko’s mental health was rapidly depleting. She couldn’t help but think she would never be rid of bad luck invading her life. That she would never be rid of him. She grew paranoid and frantic in the way she taught Izuku.
Izuku knew that he was loved. Sometimes though, he wasn’t sure if the love would last. He decided that he would separate the two versions of his mother in his mind. It was easier that way. He had a teacher and he had a mother. The two didn’t overlap.
His teacher was ruthless and cold. Told him the best ways to kill a man twice his size. Taught him where a knife would hurt the most and what words would make a person hurt even more. What lies he should weave if he was ever in a bad position. She taught him that actions had consequences.
His mother was kind and loving. Taught him how to cook. Ruffled his hair and played all night with him. She hugged him when he cried and laughed with him when he was joyful. She put him to bed and left him with the peaceful image of running in beautiful meadows.
By the time he was seven Izuku was fundamentally different than the other kids his age. Nobody noticed. Nobody except Bakugou Katsuki.
Even after their friendship had dissolved Katsuki had never taken his eyes off of Deku. The blonde couldn’t ever figure out what Deku was thinking anymore. That unsettled him greatly. The Izuku he had known was an open book that almost anyone could get a read on. He couldn’t lie to save his life and cried an unhealthy amount. The Deku he saw at school everyday was not the same boy he once knew and he wanted to know why.
Katsuki shoved the notebooks Deku always carried with him to the ground. Green eyes stared up at him from where the smaller boy was sitting at his desk. Katsuki could see the fire, the anger in his eyes. However instead of getting angry Deku smiled at him,”Did you need something Kacchan?”
God, it infuriated him. What was wrong with the nerd? He could see his anger for almost a second before it was covered by some damned smile. What the fuck was he hiding from Katsuki?
“Yea I need you to stop staring at me with those creepy as fuck eyes.”
Whenever Deku was staring at him he always felt like the boy was seeing more than he should. That he was seeing through Katsuki and learning secrets he shouldn’t know. Then he’d frantically start writing in his little stalker notebooks. It really fucking pissed him off.
Katsuki felt like smirking when he saw the irritation flash in his eyes once again. Didn’t matter how much Izuku had changed, the nerd still hated cussing.
Izuku just tilted his head with an innocent look on his face. Then he proceeded to lie,”I wasn’t looking at you.” Like the fucking liar he had apparently turned into,”Also you really should cuss Kacchan.”
Katsuki just reached down to pick up the notebook he had shoved down.
”Oh yea? What the fuck were you scribbling in here Deku?”
He saw the boy stiffen and this time he really did smirk. Whatever Deku had been writing in here, he really didn’t want Katsuki to see it if he had a reaction that he wasn’t able to hide. However before he could open the notebook it was ripped out of his hands.
Explosions popped out of Katsuki’s hands. He was so done with Deku’s bullshit. Leaning over into the freckled boys space he set his crackling palms on desk. The blonde was practically seething,
”Give me the book Deku.”
It wasn’t a request, it was a demand. Deku’s eyes just filled with tears. Katsuki scoffed. Fucking faker. Katsuki knew what real sadness looked like on the boys face and it was not that.
“K-Kacchan please don’t. It’s j-just personal okay? Mama said I can’t show it because it could get me in trouble.”
Katsuki was taken aback by the truth in those words. Deku might’ve been exaggerating, but that didn’t make it any less true. He should probably leave the nerd alone if it was really that personal.
•••
Yea, fuck that. A nicer person might’ve left Deku alone but Katsuki wasn’t nice. He wasn’t nice but that was okay because he was strong. He could be the best without being nice. If he really was the best he would be able to get Deku’s stalker notebook with no trouble.
So despite knowing that he probably shouldn’t Katsuki reached across the table with the intention of grabbing the notebook.
He snatched it out of Deku’s hand and ignored the boys sounds of distress. Katsuki flipped it open, about to read the first page and then…
”KACCHAN NO! It’s about my crush!!!!”
Izuku just blurted out whatever he could think of to dissuade Kacchan from prying any further. Grabbing onto one of Katsuki’s arms as if prepared to physically stop him if he try’s to open it anymore.
Turns out he didn’t need to be worried about that though. Kacchan froze and looked at Izuku with wide eyes. Then he exploded the notebook.
”Gah! Kacchan!!!” Izuku cried out.
He had spent so long analyzing all his classmates and it was all destroyed with one quick explosion. Last month Inko had given him an assignment to do a full delve into every classmate. The notebook was full of secrets and weaknesses.
Izuku’s tears from earlier might’ve been fake, but if he had to go home and tell his ‘teacher’ that the assignment was incomplete the tears would be very real. All because Kacchan couldn’t keep his stupid hands to himself!
Green eyes glared up at the blonde. As Izuku expected Kacchan’s face turned red from rage. Katsuki’s mouth opened, most likely to spit insults as usual.
However Izuku had come to the wrong conclusion. Katsuki was red in the face wondering what the fuck was wrong with the nerd. Why the hell did he have a crush on Katsuki?? The blonde tried to push the words out, any words would do really. Preferably inquiring on Deku’s current mental state. Instead Katsuki just couldn’t bring himself to say anything. He just opened and closed his mouth like a fucking idiot.
God, this was embarrassing! What was worse is that Deku was glaring at him. Was he really that mad because Katsuki had blown up what was most likely poems and shit?? About him?! What the fuck ever. It’s not his fault Izuku is sappy. And it’s not like he blew it up on purpose. Not that he was going to tell him that.
So like a very valiant person, Katsuki brushed off Izuku’s arm and stomped out of the room with his dignity (barely) intact.
Izuku was just very confused honestly. Also worried. Very worried on what he was going to tell his mom.
_____
Izuku was starting to grow uncomfortable. The park bench was cold and digging into his back as he leaned against it. His eight year old brain was bored of sitting and waiting. He stayed anyways. He dreaded what would happen if he disobeyed more than he could ever dread the growing sense of pain growing in his backside.
Despite Inko not being currently next to him he knew his teacher was hiding in plain sight somewhere near him. Watching. His final exam was beginning.
Izuku saw a man approaching him in the corner of his vision and promptly burst into tears. The man became frantic in his steps towards the boy and Izuku almost grinned. Almost. Instead he took a glance at the man through the hands that covered his face. Izuku scanned him quickly and efficiently taking notice of the tan line from a wedding ring. Either recently divorced or dead partner. Keychain hanging out of his pocket made of bright and childish designs. Definitely had a kid.
Before Izuku could make anymore observations the man placed a hand on his shoulder gently shaking him,”Are you okay there kid?”
His voice was gentle, kind. Like it was attuned to dealing with children. Izuku took the hands off his face in favor of taking a look at the man’s hands. Un-calloused. His job definitely didn’t require any strenuous work.
“I-I’m o-okay Sir.”
It really wasn’t difficult for Izuku to fake a stutter considering he used to have one when he was younger. It really just added to the defenseless child act he had going on. Izuku tilted his head and rubbed his tears off and got a whiff of latex coming off the man’s hand that was still resting on Izuku’s shoulder. A nurse or doctor maybe?
“I-It’s just t-that my p-parents…”
Izuku paused wanting the man to push him to continue. And just as the boy expected, “What about them?”
The man looked genuinely worried and scanned Izuku from head to toe looking for signs of injury. Well that certainly adds to the idea of him being a nurse.
”T-they just t-told me t-they’re getting d-divorced.”
Izuku broke into more borderline hysterical sobs and watched for any reactions the man could have to the word “divorced”. Sure enough, just as Izuku expected the man’s hands clenched slightly and his face muscles tensed. Bingo.
”How did your kid deal with your divorce?”
The man didn’t respond. Izuku was terrified. So scared he got it wrong. So scared that he didn’t pass, that he never would and that his mom would come out of wherever she was hiding and-
“How?” The man swallowed before continuing, “How did you know about that?”
Izuku suddenly felt the urge to shed real tears as he was overcome with immense relief.
“S-Sorry it’s my q-quirk.” He sniffled.
The man above him relaxed and let out a sigh,”You’re okay kid. That’s a pretty cool quirk though! What can it do?” The bench creaked slightly as the man took a seat next to Izuku. He was clearly trying to put the boy at ease.
“Erm, it’s called, um, s-second sight. I can just see flashes of people’s lives s-sometimes.” Izuku attempted to look sheepish and wiped at his tear covered cheek.
The man next to him responded enthusiastically to him,”Wow that’s awesome! Did you see anything else about me?” He asked, his eyes lit with amusement.
”Just a flash of your k-kid. D-do you think I could s-see a picture of them to m-make sure It’s who I s-saw?”
Izuku tried to look as pathetic and hopeful as possible and wished for the man to take pity on him. He was running out of information to go off of and hoped that this would give him more.
”Yea of course!”
The man readily pulled out his wallet and showed a picture of his son. Izuku tried to glean as much information from it as he could. They were outside of a bakery. His ID said his name was Haruto Abe, 29 years old. In the top pocket of his wallet a card that read Shizuoka Hospital. A picture of Abe was peeking out just where the wallet and card met. Perfect.
”Y-yea that’s who I s-saw!”
Izuku attempted to inject more hopefulness into his eyes. Covered any deviancy with a sheen of innocence.
”My q-quirk works better with c-contact. D-do you think I c-could try s-something?”
Haruto was clearly desperate to cheer this kid up. The young boy had freckles almost identical to his own son, and an innocence that was to be protected. That plus his empathy to the boys situation resulted in him giving in fairly quickly.
”Of course kid!”
Izuku wasted no time bringing his hands to Abe’s arm. He lowered his head acting as if he was concentrating extremely hard. The boy made a humming noise as if coming to some sort of revelation before lifting his head and saying,
”It’s n-nice to m-meet you Abe Haruto.” Izuku gave a small smile and Abe’s eyes widened in fascination.
”You w-work at Shizuoka’s general hospital as a n-nurse,” Abe’s quick intake of breath was indication that Izuku was correct,”And you j-just got off your s-shift.”
Izuku took his hands back and clutched his head as if he were suffering from a migraine,”T-that’s all I can g-get, sorry I get h-headaches.”
Abe assured him that it was fine and claimed that,”With a quirk like that you’re sure to go places kid!”
Even though his quirk was a lie. Even though he had done nothing but deceive this man. Izuku still couldn’t help but bask in the joy that Haruto’s words caused. For a kid who was always told he was useless and worthless for his lack of developed quirk, it was nice to hear differently.
”Zuku?!” His mom’s voice called out and he automatically whipped his head around to see where she emerged from the side of a building. She rushed over to her child as if just now seeing him,”Oh there you are honey, I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”
She turned to Haruto and while the adults conversed Izuku tuned them out. Choosing to focus on the cracks in the sidewalk and his mothers bruising grip instead.
Step on a crack, you’ll break your mothers back.
It was an American rythme that he had read about in a book his English teacher assigned him.
Izuku couldn’t help but wonder if it was true.
____
Maybe it was bad luck. Or a bad omen. Perhaps it was even all those cracks that Izuku had stepped on ever since he heard that American rythme. In the end it didn’t really matter what had caused it.
All that mattered was that Izuku’s apartment was burning from the inside out. And so was Inko.