Chapter Text
With envy written across his features, Izuku watches on as kids show off their new Quirks in the school playground. Three months had passed since he had turned four years old, and there had been no sight of a Quirk thus far.
It made him scared, left him anxious at the thought that he could wind up different from everyone else. The signs were already showing, people being less willing to talk with him as the days flew by. He could hear the whispers, feel their stares.
"It'll come soon." He reassures himself, sat alone on a bench with a notebook in his hand. "It has to. I know it will."
And with that, Izuku goes back to scribbling down every thought that comes to his mind, endless theories about the applications of his fellow classmates Quirks. The more he thinks of their Quirks, the less he has to think about the lack of his own.
The days pass by in this exact cycle, weeks turning to months in the blink of an eye. Seasons change, Hero Rankings stay the same, and Izuku Midoriya sits there on his fifth birthday, unable to muster a smile.
His mother, Inko, rubs a hand softly against his shoulder, nudging him toward the cake she had made for him. His father, Hisashi, sits across the table with a small grimace on his face.
They both knew something was wrong by now. Neither of them wanted to say anything, afraid that speaking the words aloud would curse their son forever. Several conversations had been had with doctors across the country, desperate for answers, but they'd all come back the same.
"We just don't know." They said, pointing to the same X-Ray the Midoriya's had seen hundreds of times. "His blood shows traces of Quirk Factors, but his pinky toe has a second joint. I'm just as concerned as you are."
Inko sighed and looked back at her son, unwilling to lose herself in memories again. Her baby boy was special to her, and that's what mattered in the moment. She'd do everything in her power to make sure he know just how loved he was.
"Izuku, you forgetting something?" Hisashi asks, noticing that the boy still hadn't blown out his candles yet. No response.
"Hey, you okay kiddo?" He follows up softly. For a few minutes, there's nothing, until finally Izuku looks back up and meets his dad's eyes, smiling slightly.
"Yeah. I'm fine, Dad. Thank you." With little more said after that, Izuku sits up in his chair, placing his hands on the table and leaning forward to blow his candles.
And then the table explodes.
Shards of wood are violently flung outwards from what was once the table, embedding in every surface within the kitchen. The cake falls to the floor unceremoniously, cutlery following soon afterwards. In spite of the damage, nobody in the room can move.
"D-did I...?" Izuku feels tears welling in his eyes, relief flooding through his system at the warm feeling in his hands. "I think that was my Quirk." He says aloud afterwards.
Izuku's voice barely registers in the ears of his parents, both of whom are far too transfixed on the disappearance of their table and Izuku's exposed hands.
Without missing a beat, Hisashi darts out of the room, quickly finding a pair of gloves and placing them on Izuku's hands shortly after. Moments after the gloves are put on, Hisashi shouts in joy and lifts Izuku in his arms spinning them around with a smile on his face as tufts of smoke spill from his nose.
"My boy's got a Quirk! My little boy's gonna be a Hero!" Izuku is quickly swept up in the festivities, laughing and crying as his mother watches on fondly.
In spite of the happy moment, she looks back at what was once their table and feels a frown tugging at her lips, countless thoughts flowing into her head unbidden.
If that had been one of us... She doesn't dare continue. Instead, she books an appointment with the Quirk Registration Association and spends the night celebrating.
The next day, Izuku Midoriya spends three hours exploring everything his Quirk was capable of, and despite the small grimace on the Specialist's lips, Izuku never stops smiling. When the time comes to name his Quirk, Izuku finds the name coming to his head instantly.
Overhaul. The power to destroy and reshape matter to the user's whims.
Dr Teruka, the Specialist, makes sure to stress the importance of wearing gloves from now on, and reminds Izuku just how dangerous his Quirk could be if used incorrectly.
"I understand." He says, watching as Dr Teruka slips the white cotton gloves onto his hands, a far tighter pair than his fathers initially had been.
"Good. Now, if you don't mind, little Izuku, I'd like to speak with your parents alone for a moment." The Doctor ushers his family into another room a moment later, leaving Izuku to sit with his eyes glued to his outstretched hands, humming softly.
"I can be a Hero." He whispers to himself, body shaking at the mere thought. "I can be a Hero!" He shouts to the open room.
The thought follows him the entire way home.