Chapter Text
In a world full of superpowers, full of heroes and villains, things most could only dream of ,a little boy named Izuku was bouncing on his heels, excitement radiating throughout him. His Momma had said they were going to find out what his quirk was. Hopefully, he'd get something cool like his Papa's, who can breathe fire. Whenever Izuku sees him use it he feels likes he's just seen the most beautiful thing in the world. His Papa can melt marshmallows without even needing the campfire! Or maybe he'd get something like Momma's, who can bring objects towards her! That'd be nice. There are so many amazing uses for that, like you can pull weapons and tools to yourself if you lose them , or you can burn through any material if you need a silent entrance into a villain's hideout!
He's heard Momma and Papa talking about something called pyrokinetics or pyrokinesis, he thinks it's something to do with controlling fire or bringing it to you since they kept mentioning that Momma and Papa's quirks could make that. Izuku thinks that sounds really cool too, and it would be similar to Kachan's! Kachan can make explosions in his palms. It's amazing for hero work, well their teachers and parents say that but ,truly, Izuku finds it scary. Still Kachan's going to be a great hero, just like All Might!
Although, when Momma and Papa were talking last night, Izuku heard Papa saying he wouldn't have his son have a "villains quirk", whatever that meant. He didn't believe such a thing existed, every quirk is awesome and will be amazing for helping people. But he doesn't want to disappoint his Papa so he'll make sure he gets an incredible quirk that he's proud of. Though, Izuku doesn't think his parents knew he was listening to them, since he should've been asleep, but he's glad they didn't, he thinks they wouldn't have spoken so freely if he was there.
"Izuku!" Momma called from the doorway, "Hurry up, we'll be late if we don't leave soon."
"C-coming Momma!" Little Izuku called, sprinting from his room straight into his mother's legs and then dashing out the door once it was unlocked.
The child couldn't stay still, when he was in the car he was bouncing up and down in his car seat, when they finally arrived at the doctors he kept running around the waiting room. Well at least until his mother called him over and ordered him to stay in his seat. Giving him his all might figure, praying it will distract the little boy until their name was called.
"Midoriya." The name was called into the room and Izuku perked up immediately, tugging at his mums cardigan trying to pull her up by himself. The woman chuckled, her eyes warming at the sight of her son.
It was cold in the doctors office and smelled like antiseptics but none of the occupants seemed to mind -the little boy swinging his legs on the stool, playing with his hero figurine, his mother gently gripping at her pants as the doctor looked over the test results that had been presented- all sat patiently unknowing of what the day may bring.
Inko was worried for her child, if he got a bad quirk she doesn't know what her husband would do, but if he got a good quirk..., either way he was doomed. That small child-with a head of fluffy green hair and a light in his eyes, that she hasn't seen in herself for a while- would either be hated by his own father or raised to be a hero, exactly like all the men in his bloodline. She couldn't bear the thought of her baby being hurt, so she prayed; she prayed he would get a heroic power, she prayed his father wouldn't be that strict about training. But never did she consider the possibility of her child, her own blood, not having a power at all. Never did she expect her son to be useless.
"He's quirkless." Dr Tsubasa drawled, his voice cold and metallic, as though he was stating that the boy had a simple cold. Truthfully, he had just ruined a child's life with those two simple words.
Inko dropped her purse as those words left the doctors mouth. Her eyes widening as she processed the new information attached to her child. He was a quirkless, her child didn't even have a power at all!
"Surely there's a mistake in the records, Izuku can't be quirkless." She breathed, her voice shaking more with each word. "My whole family have quirks, so does his father's. He must have a quirk"
The pitying look she got from the doctor was too much for her, his apology blending into the background noise of the machines as he explained the x-ray they had taken of Izuku's foot. Proof was there, it existed, but her heart refused to believe it. Refused to listen to the nonsense that old man was saying. If her child was powerless, that meant he was useless. She would have to provide for him her whole life. Yes, Inko's heard the horror stories of mum's having to care for their quirkless child until they died. Luckily, they seem to die early, human trafficking, bullying, suicide, whichever way, they died. But she didn't want that for her baby. Did she? No. Her baby must live, no matter the cost, he will live. She'll make him strong enough to live. Teach him the cruelties of the world before it found him. Izuku , she decided, will have to burden her all her life and she will bear it. She will be able to bear it. As long as she had her husband by her side, nothing was too great of a problem.
With that in mind, she realized what was wrong with the doctor. He must be senile, he shouldn't even have his job, calling her baby quirkless, like he'll never make it past 14. It's impossible and she will not sit here any longer and let this nonsense infect her only child.
Momma grabbed his arm really tightly, apologising to the doctor about having an errand to run, and dragged him out of the doctor's office. He didn't really understand what was going on. What did quirkless mean? Both adults acted like it was something bad, so he guessed that must be true, but he still didn't understand what it truly meant. Well, he knows what a quirk is, it's a power that you get at 5 years old. His hasn't come in yet, that's why him and Momma were going to the doctor- because it was late. And 'less' in that context probably means to not have something, so 'quirkless' probably means he doesn't have a quirk, but that was obvious. That's why he was at the doctors in the first place. So it could mean he was never going to get a quirk, as impossible as that seemed it was the only conclusion his childish mind came to, so he asked his mother.
"Momma?" He tentatively asked, reaching a hand to try and release his wrist.
"What, Izuku" Cold, Momma's tone was deathly cold and Izuku felt it in the way she tightened her grip. It made him scared to ask his question, but Momma had always answered his questions with a smile so he ploughed on anyway.
"What does 'q-quirkless' mean?"
Skidding to a stop in front of him, his mother turned around so quickly it gave him whiplash. The young boy stumbled a couple steps back but couldn't get far. Momma's breathing was rapid, her eyes locked onto him in a way that made him feel like he was some deer waiting to be killed. When she replied her voice was loud and firm but moved quick, saying that she'd tell him when they get home, that it would be useless to have this conversation anywhere else.
Again, Izuku didn't really understand her hesitation but followed along anyway, not wanting to anger his mother any further. She didn't get mad often, but when she does it's terrifying. His Momma wasn't like Papa, who shouted and screamed when he was mad, instead she stayed quiet, she scolded you in a muted, unmoving tone that made you feel like you were being crushed by a bus. She had a look she used when she was mad and Izuku hated it, it was a cold look that conveyed nothing but concealed anger and disappointment. So he tended to avoid it, but if this 'quirklessness' was something permanent, maybe Momma would hate him forever. Izuku didn't think he could handle just Papa in his life, it would be boring to be alone all day while he's out on parole. Although, the stories he brings home are fun- whether it be ones of villains he caught that day, or other heroes he got to work with, Izuku's father is always careful to make them entertaining enough to hold his child's attention.
When the two got home his mother sat the little boy down on the couch, her expression softening just that tiny bit at her son's expression.
"Izuku, being quirkless means you don't have a quirk" She explained, taking his hand and squeezing it tight.
The young boy chuckled at his mother, questioning whether she had lost her memory: that's why they were going to the doctors in the first place, he didn't have a quirk yet. So he told her that.
"No, Izuku" His Momma interrupted "You are never getting a power." When Inko said this, her voice like ice, it sounded like she didn't care for her own child at all. Like she was speaking to a stranger.
Still, Izuku didn't understand. If he didn't get a quirk, then he couldn't be a hero. If he couldn't be a hero, how would he help people? How could he be like All Might if he didn't have a power at all? Tears glossed over his large eyes, his lip quivering the more his mother talked. Although, Inko seemed to be growing tired of this display, because when the tears finally started fall she pushed herself up from her position on the floor, huffing and rolling her eyes as she stalked off to the kitchen.
His Momma didn't call him for lunch that day. She probably forgot, Izuku reasoned with himself ,when he realized what time it was, stepping out of his room and heading towards the kitchen. Although, to his surprise, his Momma wasn't there, she wasn't cooking, she wasn't even in the living room. Izuku knew that his Papa was coming home soon, and he always liked to have meals ready to eat when he gets back from a day shift so Momma would surely be cooking by now. But she wasn't. She wasn't anywhere to be found, the only place Izuku hadn't checked was her bedroom and that's because he's not allowed in there. Everyone needs privacy, his Momma would say when he asked her about it.
The jingling of keys in the door jumpstarted Izuku into action, the little boy rushing towards his mother's room to frantically knock on the door. Calling to her that Papa was home and she hadn't even made food yet. A sharp pain in his face caused him to stumble back, eyes darting around for anything that could've done it, what hit him ,though, was none other than his mother's door. She hadn't checked if he was still out there when she opened it, maybe she just forgot , the boy reasoned again, she seems to be doing that a lot lately. But when he called her name to tell her he was there, she didn't even spare him a second glance, looking at him once and then turning away. Izuku looked down, why was she acting like this? He hadn't done anything wrong. Had he? No, he thought, Momma must just be in a bad mood.
The boy felt so assured that was the cause for his mother's lack of care towards him, that he was baffled when Inko greeted Hisashi with a smile and a kiss on the cheek. So he had done something wrong, that's the only reason she would be acting this way towards Izuku. With that in mind, the green haired child pondered over what he could've done, but the only thing that came to mind is learning that he was quirkless, and that's what he realized it was. Izuku recognized that his Momma was mad that he didn't get a cool power like all the other kids, that she was disappointed in him for it. The only problem was that the child couldn't do anything about it, and he still had to tell his father. Would he react the same or would he be okay with it? Would he get mad and scream at the boy? Truly, there was only one way to find out, and that was to tell him.
Pushing himself up from the hardwood floor, Izuku stumbled towards the kitchen ,where his Momma had started cooking, and approached his father, a hand reaching out to tug on his hero costume. Before he could do so ,however, Hisashi spun around, grabbing his wrist before it reached the fabric on his legs.
"Hey Izu" The man smiled, his tone laced with a fake sweetness even a 6 year old could sniff out, "Want to tell me what happened at the doctors today?" This time, when he opened his eyes a fire blazed in them, not something warm, not something loving, but a fire that promised pain if he said the wrong answer. A fire that held the fury of a thousand suns and the hatred of a million people.
The little boy shook his head, trying -and failing- to back up a few steps, but that was the wrong answer. His father's grip tightened, sending a jolt of pain through the boy that stopped him in his tracks. A pit formed in his stomach, realising that he'll have to tell his father what Doctor Tsubasa had said. Izuku tried to swallow around the clot in his throat but failed, only managing to send himself into a coughing fit , something that his father seemed to hate more than not being answered. One deep breath later and the child was forcing a sentence out of his throat and into the space between he and his father.
"Doctor, T-Tsubasa said I was q-quirkless" The words were rushed, barely intelligible, but that was enough for Hisashi. All he had wanted was the boy's confession, and he got it.
As quick as it had came, his father's grip on his wrist was gone and he was being shoved back down the hallway.
"Get out of my sight." His father seethed, teeth grinding together as Izuku began stumbling through the simple question of if he was going to have any lunch. Of course, the answer was no. If the boy was going to be useless, he may as well not waste any of their food either.
Weeks went by of Izuku having to sneak around the house for things as simple as food or needing to go to the toilet. He had learnt one too many times that if he was caught outside his room it wouldn't be pretty and he didn't want to anger his father anymore. Especially since he began to drink more and more in the days following Izuku's diagnosis. Now he was nearly always drunk, even going as far as working through paroles intoxicated. When Izuku was spotted, his father went on rampages screaming of how Izuku 'ruined the family tradition' and that he's 'betrayed his own father'. Hisashi would throw things at the young boy, often mainly being beer bottles and ashtrays- if he was smoking as well that day-, and scream until his voice was hoarse. Unsurprisingly, the neighbours didn't report anything, so scared of what a high ranked hero may do to them that they ignored the needs of a child. Although, to make sure they did keep quiet, every so often Hisashi would send letters to the other occupants of the apartment building with threats of everything his power would allow him to do in regards to them or their families
This carried on until one day Hisashi returned early from a parole, drunk and fuming. He was screaming about anything and everything, even going as far as slapping Inko when she tried to ask him what happened. Unfortunately, Izuku made the mistake of worrying for his mother and cautiously peeking around the corner of the hallway to see what the commotion was. This was when he was spotted by his father, all that anger turning towards a child barely even 3 feet tall.
"YOU!" The man shouted, storming over to his child with the fury of a blackhole surrounding him. "You just cost me my job, you ungrateful, useless brat!"
Hisashi kept shouting insults towards Izuku as he stalked over to him, the man's throat beginning to glow a faint orange the more heated his words became. When he reached the cowering boy, who's eyes were wide with fear and already stained with tears yet to come, his hand shot out faster than anyone had seen him move before, catching Izuku’s hair in a firm grip before the child even knew what was going on.
The ground seemed to drift further away as his father pulled him up to meet his face, if there was one thing Izuku hated it was heat and that was all that was emanating from his father right then. A burning fury that seemed to become more physical with each word thrown the boy's way, an anger that was too real to be ignored, too much to be passed as drunk mood swings. So Izuku searched for anything else to focus on, his mother, the family pictures hung on the walls from the days they were happy. From the days before the doctors visit that ripped his life from beneath him. The 6 year old reminisced on the memories of him smiling and giggling as his father held him towards the sky, or the times where his mother would show him how to bake -always letting him test the batter before it was cooked. And ,oh, how he missed those times, while they were ,truthfully, not that far in the past, it feels like an eternity since he had his parents love. Soon though, the child's attention was brought to his father's throat. The throat that kept glowing and brightening into a simmering orange that seemed to radiate it owns heat.
Horror filled Izuku's brain as he realised what that heat was, what his father was about to do. Whether Hisashi was conscious of what was happening or not, Izuku knew it couldn't be stopped. But he still tried. First he began kicking his feet, aiming anywhere that might shock his father enough to drop him. Except he was too short, he couldn't reach any vulnerable part of the body and the incessant kicking only served to anger his father even more. As the boy kept kicking and flailing, he tried to push his father away with his hands, scrambling for any purchase he could get to escape from the heat.
Inko just sat there through all of this, clutching her cheek and staring as her child was hurt and screamed at. She wanted to help. Really, she did. But she couldn't lose her husband, he was the only thing keeping her afloat after all these years and if he left... Either way, why should she help a quirkless anyway- even if it was her own blood, that didn't mean anything, helping someone like that gets you blacklisted. Her social life was more important than a child who wouldn't live past his teens, so she watched. She stared as Izuku's wide, green eyes bore into hers, begging for a help she'll never be able to give. She watched as her husband activated his quirk and she stood by as her child scrambled for anything to get himself away from the inevitable pain that was sure to come.
When Izuku didn't stop trying to get away, his father seemed to be angered more. Whether it be by the boy's resistance or the fact that he was being kicked repeatedly was unknown. But, in the long run, that didn't matter and Izuku only seemed to recognise this when the heat that seemed to encircle the two began to sear.
An agonized scream was all to be heard ,as a boy barely older than 6 kicked and punched and pushed desperately trying to get away from the searing pain of fire being blasted into his face. Izuku could feel the skin burn and melt from his hand to his face, smell the stench of burning flesh and taste the heat of fire created by the one who was supposed to protect him.
The last thing Izuku saw was his mother. She was stood there, hands clamped over her mouth, as her son was in excruciating pain. Doing nothing. Not even lifting a finger to help. Glossy eyes locked onto hers and for the first time in a long time, Izuku saw love and horror on his mother's face. For the first time, she seemed to care for him.
This was all he was granted to see ,though, before the world faded to black, his father becoming nothing more than a fragmented figure.