Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Izuku glanced around his classroom, taking in the whispers of conversation before his homeroom teacher entered the room. People were organising afterschool plans, chatting about assignments or sharing gossip from last weeks incident with class 2C. He saw Katsuki tapping his pen against his desk, waiting impatiently for the class to start.

The door opened with a resounding slam and he almost flinched out of his chair. Fighting to ignore the snickers around him, he hunched over he notebooks.

“Now that you’re all third years, its time to start thinking about your future aspirations.”

Izuku looked out from behind his curtain of hair, cautiously eyeing the career aptitude forms in his teacher’s hand. The class started an excited murmur.

“Who am I kidding, you all want to be Heroes!”

The room exploded with noise. Flashy quirks sparking around him and cheers echoing through the air as Izuku tried to make himself even smaller, eyes flicking nervously to an increasingly irritated teacher as he attempted to quiet the class.

“Oh shut up, losers, like any of you extras could even dream of entering Heroics,” Called out Katsuki from his desk as he lent back in his chair. “You dumbasses aren’t even in the same league as me.” Predictably, the class exploded in protest again as Katsuki let out bright sparking explosions in response.

“Well, you have good grades, you might make it into UA after all.” Chiming in the teacher.

“UA?” Someone called from the back.

“Their acceptance rate is stupid low.”

“The national school? Really?”

Katsuki bristled at the accusations and Izuku prepared himself for another instance of his friend starting a full-on fist fight in the classroom before the teacher spoke up again.

“Oh, Midoriya, aren’t you applying to UA as well?”

Izuku’s heart stopped.

Raucous laughter broke out from the class.

“Deku? That quirkless loser? Yeah right.”

“They wouldn’t even let him in through the front door!”

His heartbeat thundered in his ears, and it felt like his throat was closing up. He wanted to protest, wanted to respond, but he could hardly hear the commotion around him. A voice cut through the haze.

“Deku might be quirkless but at least he has a functioning brain, you didn’t even fucking pass art Tankana. Who the fuck fails art?”

Izuku could have cried tears of joy at Katsuki redirection, mocking tones turning to a gentler teasing of a flustered Tanaka. He caught his friend’s eye and tried to convey his gratitude through a look, giving a shaky smile as Katsuki pulled a face at him.

The rest of the school day passed in a haze, snickers and quiet jeers whispered at him as he took his shaky notes, balls of paper thrown at the back of his head. As the bell rang he frantically crammed his books into his bag, almost tripping over the legs of his chair in his haste just to get out of the suffocating room. Glancing up, he felt ice fill his veins. Tanaka and his two goons stood around him, blocking his exit. The rest of his class scampered out, not paying a second glance to his plight.

“You think you’re better than me, you quirkless rat?” Tanaka sneered, grabbing Izuku by the loose fabric of his uniform.

“No – I”

“You gonna cry to your m-m-mummy?” one of the goons asked with a mocking stutter. His mosquito nose quirk made his voice nasal and grating and they pressed in closer.

“As if being quirkless weren’t bad enough, your fucked-up hands make me wanna gag just looking at them.” Izuku flinched, pulling his scarred hands close to his chest. While most of the scarring was covered by the black fingerless gloves he wore, his fingers were still visibly twisted.

A hand fell on his shoulder.

“You wanna fuck right off? Pick on someone your own size, jackass.”

The smell of caramel met his nose and his relaxed minutely. His friend's hand slipped off his shoulder as he let his quirk spark menacingly. Izuku fought not to flinch at the loud popping near his ears, trying to look a little braver than he felt.

“Whatever, see if you’re so tough without that rabid attack dog of your's,” Tanaka growled as he and his friends began backing out of the class. Katsuki growled lowly but stayed put. It was too close to entrance exams to risk a black mark for no reason and they knew it.

“Oh, and Deku? If you want to be a hero so bad, take a drive off the roof and hope you aren’t as useless in your next life.”

Tanaka slammed the door shut, narrowly avoiding getting hit by the textbook Katsuki launched at him. Izuku ran a hand through his hair, tugging some long green strands from the tight bun he pulled it into every morning. His fringe was starting to curl back up in the humidity, he just hoped he wouldn’t need to straighten it again. Katsuki was seething at his side, snarling incoherently at the door Tanaka had slammed in their faces.

“Thanks, Kacchan.” Izuku murmured, nervously brushing stray hairs behind his ears.

“That bastard thinks he's hot shit but he's last in like every subject, the fucking loser. Has like two friends and its only because daddies got money. Not enough money to send him to a half decent fucking school apparently.” Katsuki punched the desk, still seething as he pulled his bag over his shoulder. “Anyway,” he ground out, trying to look less like rage personified when he turned to his friend. It wasn’t exactly working, but Izuku appreciated the effort. “We walking home together or not?” The two of them lived in the same apartment block, same floor, two doors down and had for years.

“Can’t” Izuku sighed, fumbling with his phone to show Katsuki a string of texts from his mother. “She wants me home right now.” Katsuki sighed.

“You taking the shortcut?”

“Yeah, have to.”

“Just,” Katsuki sighed again, running his hands through his hair as the started to walk to the door, pulling it open. “Good luck with your hag. Heard her go off at you this morning.”

Izuku smiled dully.

“Thanks, Kacchan.”

The shortcut to the apartment complex was dirty, damp and depressing. The underpass had been a hotspot for the sale of drugs like trigger for a while, and Izuku just hoped no one would be selling anything this early in the afternoon. He heard his breaths and footsteps echo through the tunnel as the jogged through, the musty smell making him curl his lip.

A creeping, wet noise made him pause. From under the manhole in front of him, a dark green viscous goo oozed out. Swallowing this unease, the tried to jog around it, only to hit the ground with a jolt that clicked his teeth together. He could feel something twisting around his ankle, and his look back only confirmed the mass twisting around his leg and creeping up his calf.

“A bit frail looking, but you’ll do.” Came a wheezing, disjointed voice. Creeping its way up from the manhole cover was a pair of rolling eyes and a sneering mouth. Heart in his mouth, he tried to scramble backwards, but the slime held tight, rising up his body faster and faster.

He didn’t cry out. He couldn’t, breath hitching with fear as he desperately clawed at the slime rising up his neck. His hands ached, his eyes burned as silent tears slipped down his face. The green mass pried at his lips; pressed into his eyes and ears and began to flow up his nose. The sudden intrusion made him retch, opening his mouth just fair enough to the slime to begin to pour in in earnest.

“Its ok kid, it’ll only hurt for 45 seconds. You’ll be my hero.” The words dripped with false gratitude and Izuku let out a silent sob around the villain. His world began to grey out as he heard another faint sound from the depts of the tunnel.

Cursing, All Might pulled himself from the manhole. The villain he had been chasing was forcing its way down the throat of a small middle schooler. Suppressing his rage, he threw an attack at the villain, cursing when it didn’t dislodge all of him. After passing his quirk to young Mirio a month ago, he’d had to readjust to its constantly falling power. It seemed he wasn’t compensating enough. Mentally ratcheting up the power of his blows he threw another punch, almost sighing in relief as the sludge flew off and hit the ground with a satisfying splat.

Seeing the villain wasn’t moving any time soon, he rushed over to the child’s side. While they were small and lithe with long hair in what was probably once a neat bun, they were dressed in the male school uniform, and, assumedly male. Gently tipping the kid on their side to allow the remaining sludge to flow from their mouth, he debated the merits of calling an ambulance against simply rushing the child to a hospital himself. He had little time left, but ensuring the safety of a child was a valuable way to use it. Just as he started wondering in earnest, he heard a hacking cough from beside him.

The kid hauled himself into a sitting position, coughing up chunks of disgusting looking slime. Casting his gaze around, he finally landed on All Might, upon which his gaze brightened considerably.

“All Might?” He murmured, metaphorical stars in his eyes.

“Worry not, for I am here!” All Might said gently, helping the boy to his feet. He seemed to stumble to speak before simply shyly holding out a notebook for him to sign. A shy fan huh? All Might smiled widely and signed the back cover with a flourish, noting with some intrigue that he seemed to be signing a hero analysis notebook. “Now who are you, young man?”

“Midoriya, Midoriya Izuku.” He said quietly. “Thank you so much, sir!”

“Nonsense, if I’d done my job a little better, he never would have run into you.” The kid shook his head stubbornly. “If you’re sure, young Midoriya. I’d best be off now, make sure you go to a clinic on your way home!” All Might turned to bound off. Keeping this form was beginning to strain him, and he didn’t want to push his luck today.

“Wait!” All Might startled at the first loud noise to come out of the boy since he’d awoken.

There was something about the look in his eyes that kept All Might rooted to the spot, some desperation in the kid’s eyes stopping him from leaving.

“I, I have to know, please. Could I be a hero, even without using a quirk?”

All Might paused, unable to think of a response. He didn’t want to crush this kid’s dream, knowing how rough he’d had it growing up quirkless himself. But still, heroics is dangerous. He didn’t want this kid’s blood on his hands.

Apparently, the hesitation had shown on his face, because the kid smiled sadly.

“Its ok sir, thank you for your time. I hope you have a nice day!”

Before he could get a word out, the kid had run from the tunnel. He released the transformation in a cloud of steam, sighing softly to himself. Casting his eyes around for the defeated villain, his heart sank as he realised it was nowhere to be seen and had likely slunk back down the sewers. Cursing himself, he paced back and forth, trying to work out what to do. He didn’t have the time left to go chasing it through the sewers again, but he felt guilty for being unable to stop the villain he’d been after all morning. It had already almost killed a child.

Pulling out his phone, he left a location alert for the Musutafu/Tatooin districts the Heroics Network, along with a quick summary of the villain’s quirk. Not a moment after he’d finished typing the report, he heard a faint chorus of explosions echo through the tunnel. Praying it wasn’t the villain the thought it was, he started off towards them.

Izuku picked up the pace. As much as he wanted to sit and mope, if he wasn’t home soon he’d have hell to pay. Mentally running through his excuses for being late, the sound of a faint explosion caught his attention and he slowed to a walk.

It couldn’t be.

Another explosion, louder now, but no closer. He could almost hear yelling.
Izuku dithered on the spot for a second, weighing up his options. It didn’t take more than a moment for him to realize he’d much rather take punishment than leave someone who might be Katsuki to fight someone alone. Turning on the spot, he began to run towards the sound.

It didn’t take long for him to reach a throng of people pushing against a barrier he couldn’t see. Swallowing his discomfort, he pushed his way through the crowds until he reached the front. The heat of the flames licked at his face uncomfortably, dust swirled through the air and clogged his nose. Still, he looked around desperately; hoping he had been wrong.
There, in the centre of a rolling mass of noxious sludge, was Katsuki. Weakening explosions sparked from his hands as he clawed desperately at the sludge over his mouth and nose.

They locked eyes.

Throwing himself over the barrier, Izuku ignored the shouts of other civilians and heroes and ran forwards, slinging his bag at the villains face. Katsuki was shouting something at him, but he couldn’t hear anymore. Not over the pounding static in his ears. He clawed at his slime holding his friend, cursing as he made little headway.

Izuku took a deep breath and shook out his shaking hands. He thought he saw Katsuki’s eyes widen slightly but his friend was quickly swallowed by sludge again. He didn’t have time to think this through.

For the first time in 11 years, he let his quirk flare and pulled.

Chapter Text

Eleven years ago

“Kacchan! Wait up!” Katsuki ignored Izuku as he fought to run up the stairs after him.

“I’m not waiting for a lying Deku!” he said, quirk sparking as he tried not to yell. His mum had already gone after him for yelling in the apartment complex, he didn’t need that again.
“I’m not lying Kacchan, I promise!” Katsuki paused at the landing, allowing Izuku to catch up to him. His long hair was puffing up around his face as he took heavy breaths and Katsuki had to fight not to laugh at it. He was mad, damn it!

“Oh yeah?” He huffed, crossing his arms and glaring at Izuku. “Show me then, show me your stupid quirk!”

“Shh! Not so loud Kacchan” Izuku shrunk in on himself, pressing his fingers frantically to his lips. “Mama doesn’t like it when I walk about it.”

“Your quirk?” Katsuki presses, a little quieter this time. “Why doesn’t she like you talking about it?”

“I’m not sure,” Izuku mutters, bitting at his fingers in a way Katsuki had seen Auntie Inko tell him off for thousands of times, “I think it reminds her of Daddy.” Katsuki scowled at the mention of Izuku’s father. Neither of them had ever met the man, but they’d both heard Inko’s and Mitsuki’s colourful commentary about the man. In fact, that’s where Katsuki had learnt the majority of his curses.

He turned back into the conversation to hear the tail end of what had probably been one of Izuku’s classic mumble sprees. “- Maybe it's ok if nobody else sees? That should be ok, right?” Nodding to himself, Izuku smiled and took Katsuki’s hand, dragging him to his door.

“Deku, what the hell are you doing?”

Izuku slowed, then smiled brightly. “I'm taking you to my place, I’ll show you my quirk!”

“Really?”

“Yeah! Mama can’t be angry if no one else sees, right?” The two of them rushed down the hall, Izuku standing on his tiptoes to turn the doorknob and let them both in. “Ok ok shhh!” Izuku whispered as Katsuki sat himself down expectantly on the floor, trying not to bounce with excitement.

Izuku’s eyes lit up with a faint green glow as a small mass of pillows and books moved towards him. “See! Look!” Katsuki looked on with excitement.

“Tell me about it!” He demanded, prodding at one of the floating books near his head. It wobbled in the air but didn’t move forwards or backwards. Izuku bounced with happiness and the objects fell to the ground as he let go of his quirk.

“I call it Push and Pull! It’s like Mama’s quirk, but I can push stuff too! I can use it on anything smaller than me, so it’ll get stronger when I get bigger!”
“You’ll need to get big then Deku, you wouldn’t be able to move a kitten now!” Izukus eyes sparkled mischievously and Katsuki had enough time to feel a vague sense of regret before he fell face first onto the pile of cushions Izuku had just pulled over. “I don’t gotta move the villains silly! I just pulled your shirt and you fell straight over.” He started giggling as Katsuki grumbled, yelping as he was yanked down to the floor to join his victim.

“Show me again!” Katsuki demanded, looking intently at the objects dancing clumsily in the air.

“Can’t do it for too long Kacchan,” Izuku yawned. “I get sleepy.”

“We’ve just gotta train then, right? My explosions will get bigger, and you’ll be able to use your quirk longer and we’ll be the best hero duo ever!” Katsuki cheered, jumping to try and tap the books as Izuku laughed and danced them out of his reach.

The shattering of glass caused both boys to jump, books hitting the ground with a few dull thumps. Auntie Inko was glaring at him and Izuku, looking angrier than Katsuki had ever seen her. She roughly grabbed his wrist and hauled him out the front door, slamming it in his face. “I’m sorry, let me back in, it's not Deku’s fault!” He shouted, pounding on the door with useless fists.

“What did I tell you?” He heard through the door and over Deku’s hitching sobs. “What did I tell you!? You don’t use that disgusting thing. You are quirkless and weak and pathetic and you will do as Mama says, remember?” Katsuki continued to pound on the door, as he heard his friend stutter out apologies.

A sharp smacking sound made him flinch away from the door, but he quickly pressed his ear back against it. “Mama’s going to make sure you can’t use the terrible thing anymore, ok dear? It's for your own good.” Katsuki was puzzled, wondering how she was going to take Izuku’s quirk away. It's not like the doctor could take them back, was it?

A loud bang, a crack and a sickening screech met his ears. Izuku was screaming, so loud it felt like there wasn’t a door at all.

Again, and again he heard the cracking and the screaming until his friend stopped screaming and started to softly cry. It felt like hours and no time at all by the time he’d fallen completely silent.
Gentle words Katsuki couldn’t hear fell from Auntie’s mouth.

The door swung open.

“Oh dear me, Katsuki.” Inko cooed, brushing away tears he hadn’t realized had fallen. “The bookshelf fell on poor little Izuku’s hands, could you look after him while I go get your mother?” Katsuki nodded dumbly, stumbling through the entryway and into the kitchen.

He threw up.

Just hanging over the counter enough for him to see was a small hammer, sticky blood and chunks of something white and gritty clung to the end. That wasn’t what made him sick though.
Crumpled in the corner, pressed up against a kitchen cupboard was Izuku, shoulders shaking as he held bloodied hands to his chest. Katsuki scrambled over to his friend, kneeling next to him as he tried to comprehend what was going on.

Izuku’s hands looked wrong. His little fingers were sticky and red and the smell made Katsuki feel like he was going to be sick again, but he forced himself to look. It was then he realised what looked so wrong about them. Each finger was swollen and misshapen, bent at the wrong angles. His wrists were just as swollen, dark bruises had already begun to form.

“Deku?” Katsuki whispered, unsure where he could put his hands. “… Izuku?” His friend let out a loud sob and buried his face into Katsuki’s neck, shoulders hitching and quaking as he tried to stay quiet. Katsuki let out a sob in turn and balled his hands into the back of Izuku’s shirt, not wanting to let him go even for a second. Two sets of footsteps sped into the kitchen, and he tried to curl himself tighter around his smaller friend.

“The boys were playing rough, I don’t know Mitsuki-chan, I looked away for one second and my poor little Izuku!” Auntie let out a sob, and Katsuki didn’t understand. He hadn’t done this, she had. So why was she so upset?

His mother quickly pried him away from Izuku and took him out to the lounge room, gently smoothing down his hair as he sobbed into her chest. “It’s ok Katsuki, accidents happen. I’m sure Izuku will be right as rain soon, ok?” Katsuki just shook his head, trying to pull away from his mother. He had to keep Izuku safe from Auntie before she hurt him worse. His mum just held him tighter and quickly left the house, setting him down only when they reached his room. He still hadn’t managed to stop crying, quickly latching on to an All Might toy his mother handed him as she rushed to get his father; likely to drive Izuku to the hospital.

Katsuki held the All Might plush up to his face, voice shaking as he looked it in the eyes. “I’m gonna be a hero, ok? I’m gonna be a better hero than are you and Deku’s never gonna get hurt again. And Deku’s gonna be a better hero than you too, and we’re gonna be heroes together so I can keep him safe, ok?” He roughly scrubbed his face, angry that he couldn’t stop crying already. He wasn’t a baby anymore.

“She’s never gonna hurt him again.”

Chapter Text

Izuku took a deep breath and shook out his shaking hands. He thought he saw Katsuki’s eyes widen slightly but his friend was quickly swallowed by sludge again. He didn’t have time to think this through.

For the first time in 11 years, he let his quirk flare and pulled.

Katsuki was yanked forwards, uniform straining as it tried to pull him free from the sludge. With a ripping sound, he was torn free, scraps of his uniform left behind in the noxious mass. Allowing the momentum to carry his friend further, he left go of his quirk as Katsuki skidded to a stop behind him. Shaking and pale, it was all he could do to throw himself between him and the villain, hoping it would go after him first.

A sudden burst of wind whistled around him and stole the breath from his lungs. The sludge villain was blown back from where it had been bearing down on them, and was now littered across the alley way. The villain was defeated, rain slowly beginning to fall from the sky.

So why couldn’t he breathe?

His field of vision was suddenly full of the number one hero, blurred and distorted around what might have been tears. All Might may have been talking to him but he couldn’t hear a word. Everything felt far away, like he was still swimming through sludge trying to reach it. A warm hand gripped his chilled shoulder and shook him slightly. Katsuki was saying something, but he couldn’t process a thing. His hand gripped one of his from where it lay limp on the ground and pressed it too his chest to feel the over exaggerated breathing motions.

Was that what Katsuki wanted him to do? Izuku tried to take a breath and broke off into a shuddering cough. With that, it felt like the bubble around his head popped. Everything had gone from too quiet to too loud. Katsuki’s brash attempts at talking to him as he tried to hide his shaking voice, the indistinct murmur of the crowd, the chatter of the heroes as they called emergency personel and the roar of fire around him felt like it would drown him. He resisted the urge to hide his face in Katsuki, instead letting his head drop onto his friends shoulder as he took shuddering breaths. 

In no time at all the heroes descended on them like ants, pulling them towards the waiting paramedics. Izuku was too drained to protest, but Katsuki wasn’t apparently, he could hear hoarse but insistent protests coming from the blonde as the all but hauled him over.

“You really shouldn’t have done that, young man, it was incredibly dangerous. Not to mention illegal to use your quirk like that without a licence!”

The dam finally broke.

Huge gasping sobs ripped from Izuku’s throat, feeling like the were torn from his throat. He though he saw Katsuki look over in concern, but his vision was quickly obscured by fat tears that dripped down his face. He curled as tightly into a ball as he could, hiding his face in his hands.

“Oh shut up, the kids been through enough, ain’t he?” A large hand fell on his head, gently ruffling his hair. He tilted his face up to see the hero Death Arms giving him a tired smile. He skin crawled at the contact but he forced himself not to squirm away from the hero’s hand. “That’s some quirk you’ve got kid, I’d say you know not to try that again huh?” Izuku nodded, ignoring the bile in his throat. Death Arms gave him a quirk pat on the back and helped him off the stretcher. “You’re free ‘ta go kid, your buddy’ll taken for observation, but he’ll be right soon.” Izuku nodded again, grabbing his backpack from the civilian who had brought it over, all but running from the paramedics.

As soon he was out of sight, he really did run, not stopping until the nausea began to claw up his throat. Stumbling, he emptied his stomach in a nearby trash bin, hands shaking violently. He had to get home, he had to get home. She couldn’t see him use it, she couldn’t. He scrubbed him mouth with the back of his hand and took off again, only stopping when he almost ran face first into the number one hero for the second time that day.

“Young- Young Midoriya!” Izuku scrambles backwards, stuttering out half formed apologies. “Young man, I wanted to thank you.” The hero looks around for a moment, before being ingulfed in steam.

“All Might-“ Izuku let out a soft gasp as the steam began to clear, and the painfully thin form of a man replaced the mountain of a hero that had stood before him. “What happened to you?” The hero smiled melancholically, sitting down on the edge of someone’s brick wall.

“A long time ago a villain hurt me, hurt me badly enough that I couldn’t recover. The surgeries took my strength, to the point that can only hold that larger form for a short time each day. I’m actually going to retire to teaching soon, and the thought of that was making me feel a bit down on myself. But seeing you, a small boy who had only just escaped that villain throwing himself back into the fray to save a friend reminded me.” Izuku felt lost, and it must have shown on his face because All Might chuckled slightly. “It reminded me that being a hero isn’t just a job, its who you are. And you, my boy, are a hero through and through.”

The tears Izuku had only just stopped began anew, a blinding smile engulfing his face.

“You want to be a hero don’t you, young man?”

“More than anything.”

“Well, would you do this old pro the courtesy of being part of your origin story?”

Izuku’s brain froze. He left like he was a computer fighting to load a webpage. “What- what do you mean?”

“My boy, would you be willing to let me train you?”

“I-“

“It’s alright if you’re unsure, I don’t need an answer right now-“

“Please,” Izuku whispered, looking up to his hero with equal parts awe and terror. “What ever you want, I’ll do it. I swear.” He was looking at All Might the the kind of fervid need that would send a lesser man running in terror, but the hero only nodded and smiled.

“You’ll make a wonderful hero, kid.” Izuku let his tears slip down his face, hugging his arms against his chest. He wanted to scream, he wanted to explode. He was so scared, he knew this was a mistake that could cost him everything. He couldn’t even dream of what his mother would do were she to find out he was in the hero course. But he had to try. All Might reached out a hand, aborting the motion when Izuku couldn’t supress his violent flinch backward, turning it into an awkward fixing of his bangs.

“My boy,” All Might started, voice so much softer than his hero form, but still carrying the feeling of warmth and safety he always seemed to bring. “I’m very sorry to pry, but when you asked about being a hero, you asked about being one without a quirk- so I assumed-“ He shook his head. “I thought I saw you use a form of telekinesis to save that boy?”

Izuku felt his breath catch on something in his throat and he had to forcibly stop the way his breath wanted to hitch and heave, making his vision waver as his body screamed it was suffocating with more than enough air in his lungs. His hero seemed taken aback by his adverse response and made countless half motions, as if going to comfort him but remembering the adverse reaction he’d had before.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry I used it-“

All Might bent down to his level, looking him in the eyes. Slowly and gently, over telegraphing his motion, he placed a large, bony hand on Izuku’s shoulder. It felt warm and grounding. Like Kacchan. He breathed.

“My boy, look at me.” His eyes flickered to his eyes face, darting around as he couldn’t bare to meet the man’s eyes. “While what you did wasn’t safe, it was incredibly heroic. You saved a life today, you don’t need to be sorry for that.” Izuku tried to nod, but he felt like a jittery bobblehead. Evidently it was enough, as the tall hero smiled gently.

“When I was little-“ Izuku started, then stopped. He couldn’t. They’d take him away and no one would want him. He’d never see Kacchan or go to UA or being anything other than Useless. All Might looked at him, gently nodding as if urging him to continue. He resigned to carefully pick his words.

“Something happened when- when I was little.” He carefully pulled a glove from his left hand and resolutely looked at his twisted fingers, fighting to ignore the pro in front of him. “I hadn’t tried since. I- well I wasn’t sure- you know- if- if- if it would work? I’m- I’m sorry it’s so- so ugly.” All Might knelt to look him in the eyes, but his hero’s face was distorted. Oh, he was crying again. He’d cried a lot today.

Mum would-

Best not think about that.

“Young Midoriya,” The hero said gently, hand resting again on his shoulder. “I said you were brave before, but I now realize that was an understatement. What you did today was extraordinary.” The hero stepped back from him and gave him a wry smile, showing him the knotted scar in his side. “And you aren’t only one with scars, my boy.”

Izuku just nodded tearfully, a small smile creeping its way onto his face. All Might grinned brightly, then carefully wrote his number down on a tiny slip of paper that Izuku reverently slipped into his notebook. The hero waved him off as he headed home.

Dread mounted with every step.

He knew he’d pay for this. For chasing his dream his mother had tried to beat out of him. But he had to. Anything less and he didn’t know what would get him through each day.

Still, that was a worry for later. Right now he had to face the fact he was 2 hours late.

He could only hope she hadn’t watched the news.

Chapter Text

The quiet chiming of his alarm sent Izuku shooting out of bed, shutting off the alarm in a reflexive panic. The bright screen showed him the time, mocking his tired eyes. 5am? Why had he set the alarm so early?

A happy buzz of realisation washed through him as he scrambled out of bed, tugging on the gloves he left on his nightstand. Ignoring the way his vision greyed at the edges, he fished around in his closet for anything approaching activewear. He glared contemplatively at the leggings crammed in the back. As much as he hated how girly they made him look, they were likely his best bet. Sighing, he grabbed the least flowery pair and a light cotton shirt, trying to put them on and tie his hair at the same time. He was only somewhat successful but elected to ignore the strands of hair sticking to his face.

He slowly crept through the house, shooting a longing look at the loaf of bread resting on the counter. His mother hadn’t been watching this news, so thankfully all he’d been punished for was being late. No dinner and he was pretty sure if she caught him eating anything until she offered it he’d seriously regret it. Ignoring the growling in his stomach, he shakily scrawled a note explaining that he was going out and that he’d pick up if she called. Leaving the house without permission after he’d been late was pushing it but there was no way he was missing this morning. Hopefully, he’d be back before she woke up.

As soon as he exited the house, he broke into a jog, grinning broadly. He was going to be training with All Might. All Might thought he could be a hero! He wasn’t 100% convinced it was real, but he was going to ride the high while it lasted.

It didn’t take long to arrive at the address All Might had given him, nor did it take long to spot the man himself. Fighting the sudden irrational spike of panic, he walked over.

“My boy!” Explained the hero happily, waving him over. “So sorry I called you out this early, but I felt we should go over what you’ll be doing!”

“N- No! Not at all! It’s, it’s nice to get up early!” All Might laughed.

“I’m not sure many people share that sentiment my boy.” They walked together a little way, coming to a rest on a set of stairs leading down to Dagobah beach. The stench of rust, salt and seaweed made his eyes water, but he did his best to ignore it. “It's not a pretty sight is it?” All Might sighed, gesturing to the trash. “It is, however, pretty private, so it gives us space to work with.”

“Um- All Might?” Said Izuku quietly, wringing his gloved hands. “My friend- Kacchan- the other boy from yesterday?” All Might nodded encouragingly. “Would, would it be ok if he, he wants to be a hero too, if he came to train too?” The hero smiled brightly.

“Of course! I was going to ask if you’d be ok with a - well he’s a kind of protégée of mine -joining us for some training down here. He recently discovered a new aspect of his quirk and he’s not very good at controlling it yet.” Izuku relaxed, nodding happily.

From there they sat, painstakingly creating a workout plan to improve Izuku’s rather lacking stamina. When All Might made mention of a diet plan Izuku awkwardly interjected.

“My mother, she’s- she’s pretty particular about the food she- she doesn’t like to-“ He stammered.

“A meal plan would be optimal, but I’m sure we’ll be ok without one.” Izuku was so relieved he missed the worry in the hero’s tone. “My boy, would you be able to give a demonstration of your quirk? It would be good to see its limits”

A sick feeling settled in the pit of Izuku’s stomach, but he nodded. Carefully, he lifted the iron knuckled grip he had on his quirk, allowing it to flare. A foreign awareness of the individual objects around him flared with it. Each piece of sand, chunk of steel, hidden rock, all vaguely mapped out before him, becoming less and less clear the further away it was. Taking a deep breath, he lifted his shaking hands.

He felt ill. He could feel how his bones were scared and misshapen, chips of bone left to grind against twisted tendons. Each malformed piece of bone was screaming at him in a way he couldn’t ignore.

Suddenly violently nauseous, he slammed back down on his quirk, but it wasn’t enough. Imaged of mangled fingers, chips of shiny white bone and pouring blood overlayed itself over his gloved hands. He folded inwards, eyes screwed shut against the images – the memories. In the edges of his awareness he sensed another person beside him. Cold, sinking fear flared through him and he jerked away.

“I’m sorry - I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to use it – I – please stop.”

Rushing blood was all he could hear, curled tight away from danger. He chest spasmed and heaved as he fought to draw breath his lungs didn’t want to give. The presence drew closer and Izuku’s instincts screamed at him to run, to hide, to apologise. But he was frozen, limbs locked and shivering.

A hand pressed itself to his shoulder. The sudden sensation drew his attention with a snap. The hand was gentle but firm. Large, bony and cold, unlike the dainty hands of his mother. The difference allowed just a touch of the terror to uncurl itself from his heart.

“Shit, Midoriya? My boy, I’m so sorry-“ Izuku curled a shaking hand around the one on his shoulder, fighting to ground himself with the physical sensation. He wasn’t unused to panic attacks, but someone seeing them, someone other than Kacchan- he didn’t like it. “Can you hear me?” A shaking nod. “In and out my boy, can you do that for me?”

Izuku followed All Might’s lead, chest gradually loosening enough to draw regular breaths. “You’re doing so well my boy, just keep breathing.” Izuku nodded shakily, scrubbing his face with his free hand. A few stubborn tears still slipped down his face.

“I’m sorry.” He croaked, remaining hunched over.

“My boy you have nothing to be sorry for, you told me you had a traumatic experience around the onset of your quirk and I still asked you to use it- and so recently after you’d discovered you could use it, in a rather traumatic experience. As a matter of fact, I’m sorry.” Izuku fought back a hitching sob, raising his head. He couldn’t look the hero in his eyes, but his face was sincere; if concerned.

“What- what if it can’t, All Might?” The hero’s frowned.

“What do you mean?”

“What if-“ He took a deep breath, fighting to keep tears from his eyes, “what if I can’t use it. My-“ his voice caught, “I can’t be a hero. I’m so- so pathetic, just like- like she-“ He pressed his lips shut, tears blurring his vision. He fought to keep them from falling.

“My boy,” The hero’s voice was so soft, filled with an emotion Izuku couldn’t place. He sounded a little choked up himself- but he couldn’t be. No one would cry for him. “of course you’ll be able to use your quirk. It might take a little time, but I have no doubt.”

“But what if I can’t? What if- if it’s just as broken as me?” His words weren’t much louder than a whisper. All Might’s hand shook slightly from where it still rested on his shoulder.

“My boy, you are one of the most instinctually heroic people I’ve ever met. Quirk or no quirk, you’ll find a way to be a hero. Of that I have no doubt.” A sob tore itself from Izuku’s throat. “May I- may I give you a hug?” He nodded shakily, sinking into the thin hero’s embrace. For just a moment, a fleeting moment, he felt safe. After a long moment, Izuku reluctantly pulled away. All Might let him go.

“I’m sorry All Might.” He muttered, wiping his damp cheeks.

“It’s ok my boy,” replied the hero, voice strangely wet, “let's just hope our next training session isn’t so fraught, I think your friend might set me on fire with his quirk.” Izuku laughed softly, nodding sagely.

“I think he’d take any excuse, he usually does.”

Jogging home from the beach, Izuku felt strangely light. He carefully dusted the sand from his clothes before he set foot in the elevator. He’d only been out for a little over an hour, so he still had a good chance his mother hadn’t woken up yet. He walked quickly along the corridor, casting a quick glance to the Bakugo’s door just a few apartments down. He grinned to himself at the good news he had for Kacchan but figured he should probably wait until the other boy was more likely to be awake.

He carefully twisted the door open, being careful not to let it click. He breathed a faint sigh of relief upon seeing the apartment still dark, no food smell or shower sounds to indicate his mother had woken up. He slipped off his shoes, padding inside and slipping the note of paper he’d left for his mother back into his pocket. No need for her to know he’d left.

He retreated to his room, content to wait until his mother had woken up to leave. He spent time carefully brushing the salt and sand from his hair and pulling into a neat plait. Not for the first time he ached to just cut it all off, but he forced the impulse down. His mother liked his hair long. So long it stayed.

It didn’t take long for him to hear the faint sounds of his mother moving around in her bedroom. Wandering to the kitchen, he turned on the kettle. Humming silently to himself, he pulled his mother's favourite cup, and the slightly too cutesy mug she’d bought for him. As wrong as the pink bubbly shapes rubbed him, the smiling faces of the Wild Wild Pussy Cats always made him happy. It was one of the very few pieces of hero merch he was allowed to own

“Good morning Izuku!” His mother chimed from across the kitchen counter. He hadn’t noticed her come in.

“Good morning mum!” The kettle whistled so he made his way over, pouring the boiling water into his mother’s cup, then his own. Tea bags added, he handed hers to her before clutching his. The hot water warmed the cup, and in turn his frozen fingers.

“Oh Izuku, you look so lovely today! I’m glad you like those legging I bought you, I thought you’d look adorable in them.” His mother smiled warmly, and twin embarrassment and warmth warred in Izuku’s gut. He didn’t want to be ‘adorable’, but he should make his mother happy, right?

“Thanks mum.” He settled for, leaning against the counter top. His mother seated himself across from him, sipping at her tea.

“What would you like for breakfast? I’m feeling in a cooking mood today.” Izuku’s face lit up. He never got to pick breakfast, in fact, it was rare they made it in the first place.

“Would- would pancakes be ok?” The cup in his hands kept him from wringing them.

“If you insist, but you’ve got to help me, I don’t want to do all the work myself.”

“Of course- thank you!” He chirped. His mother smiled at him, taking delicate sips from her cup.

“You’re such a good kid Izuku, always helping mummy, aren’t you? What a sweet boy.” Something in Izuku rankled at being talked to like that, but he pushed it back. It was his mother, and he was thanking him. What was wrong with him?