Chapter Text
"Mommy, mommy," you bug, tugging on your mother's hands. The sun has a softer glow today, the winter breeze crisp as wind whips your hair around. She looks down at your small frame, dressed in winter attire slightly too big for your 4-year old self. "Yes, baby?" She says with a hum, her hair flowing much more softly than yours as you both walk away from a scene of a few popular heroes taking down a villain.
Looking up with big eyes, you stop in your tracks, and point to the slowly dying commotion not that far off. Your mouth parts as you answer; "Do you think I can be a hero like them someday?"
—
You were four years old when you uttered that question. Your parents brushed it off at the start, gently laughing and thinking this was a temporary little dream of a four year old with too much imagination for her little head. Even when you started playing heroes with them, they didn't pay much attention to that either. They didn't get the fact that you were dead set on achieving your dream.
Your quirk hadn't manifested yet. Usually, kids get their quirk by the time they turn 4 years old. If they didn't, they'd be assumed quirkless until checked by a quirk specialist. You weren't phased, you didn't cry either. It's not like there were any signs, no, your quirk was nowhere to be seen, that much was true. But both your parents had quirks, so you were optimistic. Your parents, on the other hand, had already accepted the worst. They told you that it was okay to be quirkless. They tried letting you down gently by telling you that you were special, that only 20% of the population didn't have a quirk. They told you, that you still had a chance of getting one. That last sentence, you held onto. You knew it would come. You had heard of some kids in the neighborhood who had developed their quirks a little later. It would come within due time.
If not? You can always find a new dream. No big deal. (It was, in fact, a big deal)
Regardless of your hopes and beliefs, however, you couldn't escape the cruelty of children, and had gotten teased at daycare. Often, in fact. When you told people you hadn't gotten your quirk yet, it made a lot of heads turn. 'Quirkless!', prideful boys called you. Some girls picked on you too, telling you that you would make a great cleaner. Didn't they know that adults say janitor instead of cleaner? They didn't know anything, your 4 year old self thought. Your friends would tell you it's okay, and you didn't know if they were trying to reassure you or let you down gently like your parents did. The daycare attendants were much more honest, they told you that being a hero was dangerous, and that it's not the right fit for everybody. There was only so much cruelty your tiny self could face. Unsurprisingly, you cried later that day at home.
When your parents found out what was going on and being said during your time in daycare, they asked a lot of questions. You didn't know why they were so curious, you were just so sad about it. You answered them all and your mom later on told you she was going to have a friendly chat with the attendants.
You have no idea what the chat was about, but you didn't return to daycare after that day.
—
"[Name]?"
You turn your head. The sun casting a soft glow across your childish features. The swing your seated on came to an unfortunate stop. "Yes Touya??"
"It's time to go now, your mom wants that I bring you home," the 12 year old boy says while turning and walking off, expecting you to catch up.
.
Your parents split not long ago. Your father worked as a social media manager for the beauty industry. Unlike your mother, his job allowed him to work from home and therefore spend more time taking care of you when you were with him on his assigned days.
Your mother, on the other hand, had given birth a month ago to who was now your little brother. She worked as a receptionist in a small hero agency, and she would take side jobs on the weekends when she could. When you had your mother, she would hire a nanny to take care of you. So you didn't spend a lot of time with her.
That's how you met Touya.
.
"Okay!!! I'm coming!!!" You said, hopping off the swings and running to him as fast as your little legs could take you. You reached to grab his hand and he reluctantly let you, using the other to grab onto the stroller where your little brother was.
You've had plenty of babysitters by now. Most of them were sweet, and some of them were really strict. Touya was one of your more interesting babysitters. You liked him because he was a big kid who looked tough, you suppose that's why your mom liked him too. He wasn't an adult like the others and apperently had some siblings too. He seemed to have a lot of freedom from his parents, and honestly, if not for the siblings portion, you sometimes wondered if he had no family. He would watch over you on very late nights when your mom went out to restaurants with her friends, and very early mornings when she had to attend to emergencies at the hero agency she was working at. He said he had been trying to get to know the community more, apperently, and that's why he was offering the job. He never told you that the real reason he did the job was because he was avoiding his home, and his little brother who was praised above all for being a 'masterpiece'.
Sometimes, he had a short temper, and you could tell he was angry or impatient. He's become a bit more angry the past few months, too. You didn't understand why, since you were usually always praised for being an easy kid. However, with times like right now, he was really nice.
Waiting for the light to turn green on the crosswalk, you look up at him when he talks. "Your birthday's soon," he states. Not like he's congratulating you, just stating a fact.
"Yeah! I'm excited!" You say with a big smile, your eyes disappearing as you do and your chubby cheeks puffing out. He lets out a huff sounding suspiciously close to a laugh as you walk across the street, your brother sleeping in the stroller. "Your turning five. Still waiting for your quirk?" He asks.
You nod happily. And he gives you a half-hearted glance before muttering a small 'good' under his breath. You all turn a block and continue walking. There's silence for the next minute. "How's it like being the oldest sibling?" He asks suddenly. You don't think much of it.
"It's good! [B/N] is so cute!! I love him! I take care of him a lot," you say proudly. You miss the way his expression shifts. "That's nice," he says a bit bitter. You reach your home and he fumbles for the keys before entering and slipping off his shoes. "Just," he starts before thinking over his next words, "watch out okay? Don't let him steal all the attention," he says before gently ruffling your hair before walking off inside the house.
You don't understand what he means, not really, but you smile like the sun shines at the rare display of affection and run along after him. "Okay!"
You have no idea how much that smile means when it's directed towards him.
—
It's been a week, and your birthday is here. You're finally turning 5 years old. You have a lineup of friends celebrating with you at your mom's place. Your mom is at work, as usual, so Touya was called in and is helping with games and activities. You could tell he looked kind of annoyed, but you were just immensely grateful that he pretended otherwise in front of your friends.
"Make a wish! Make a wish!" Your friends chanted, all seated around you as Touya set down your cake. Your friends all let out 'oooohs' and 'waooo' when the cake came out. They all sung happy birthday, and you felt like the luckiest girl in the world. You missed the way Touya stopped singing, you missed the way his expression softened, and you definetely missed the way he settled into a bittersweet smile. You closed your eyes when they were done, ready to make a wish.
I wish..
To be a hero that can save everyone.
"What did you wish for?!?!" All your friends ask, the second you blow out the candles and open your eyes.
"Did you wish for money??"
"Who would wish for that? She probably wished for unicorns!!!"
"No you idiots!! You can't say your wish or it won't come true!!!"
"Did you wish something good?" Touya asks quietly from besides you. You smile at him.
"Yeah. I wished for something pretty amazing."
.
Hours go by, and it's late in the afternoon now and your final friend has just left. Touya closes the door and lets out a long sigh. You can imagine he's exhausted. Your friends love to run around, so do you, but you don't acknowledge that. You can't imagine a better person to host your birthday party, and the thought of him playing the role of mother for 3 hours straight fills you with joy and gratitude. You watch him as he washes the dishes and clean the countertop.
You walk up from behind and for the first time, you give Touya a hug. He's always been really iffy with physical touch, you've never known why. You do hold hands with him when you go outside, because your mother made it very clear that she didn't want you running off onto the street. Touya probably understood that too. You smush your face into the back of his shirt and hug him as tight as your tiny body can. You don't feel how his body stills, or how he drops the sponge he was cleaning with, or how he refuses to turn his head to look at you, or how red the tips of his ears are. "Thank you, Touya for making my birthday party the best birthday party ever!" You say, in a tone Touya has probably never heard from anyone at home. It's so loving, so grateful, so affectionate that he really doesn't understand it.
To Touya, your somewhat of an enigma. No, scratch that, you are an enigma to him. He's not a kid kind of guy at all. He normally finds them annoying, atleast, he knows he finds Shoto incredibly annoying. It was a mere coincident you two met. His dad had kicked him out while he was trying to show him a new move he could do with his quirk, but his attention was all on his little 'masterpiece' as usual. He hated being the oldest in the family. No one paid attention to him. He wanted to show his dad what he was capable of, since he's been training whenever he can, but he's always too absorbed in his youngest kid. He remembered sitting in a random sandbox on a playground that day he got kicked out, and poking at the sand furiously with a stick. Then you came along and complimented his drawing, which is not at all what he was trying to do, but kids have some unhinged level of delusion, he assumes. He thought he was being pretty obvious with his lack of response and body language when he wanted you to go away, but you started blabbering to him about your day almost the entire time. At some point you had mentioned your mom needed a babysitter and she was 'going cuckoo' over it. He doesn't really know why he offered to do it. He really didn't have anything else to do when all he knows he'll come back to at home is his dad training Shoto and not him. He finds a perfect idea later on, finding he can train in private while babysitting, so that then, when he's improved by a lot, his dad will turn his head to him and praise him instead of Shoto for once.
He feels you loosen your embrace, and for some reason he craves that warmth again, to have that something he's never had before. He hears your footsteps as you run to the living room, probably to play, he thinks, while he finishes the dishes.
There's a smile he can't quite take off the rest of the night. What a cute little enigma you are.
—
It happened a month later when you fell off of the monkey bars doing tricks.
You were a month into being 5 years old. Your dad was on a bench nearby with your brother besides him in the stroller as usual. He was reading a book. There were a few other kids in the park, and you fell on the woodchips, hard. Unsurprisingly, you cried, a lot, it hurt a little more than it should have. Your dad would've caught notice you fell if you had called for him, but you wanted to prove were a tough girl. You stood up and brushed off the woodchips, with only a single 'ow' muttered. You had a few cuts on your hands from the sharp woodchips, that looked like they were healing really slowly in real time. Your brain wouldn't have processed you had gotten your quirk until a kid who was nearby said; "Woah!! Your eyes are glowing!! Is that your quirk??? My quirk i—"
You remember running so fast to your dad, not paying mind to any of your injuries, or to the kid earlier. You ignored the cries of the kid calling after you as you ran away. "DADDYY!!!! I GOT MY QUIRK!" You had practically pounced on him, completely ignoring the mini heart attack you gave him when he saw you hurt yourself earlier. That concern was washed away when he saw them healing slowly and your gorgeous eyes glowing. "Congrats, love!!! We have to celebrate," he said. And celebrate you did.
.
"Ah, quite an interesting quirk there young lady," Dr. Garaki comments as he does a few more little tests on you and types on his computer.
"What is it doc?" Your mother asks from besides you. She had taken time off work when she heard about the manifestation of your quirk.
"Well Ms. [L/N]. [Name]'s quirk appears to be Pain Equilibrium. Her body will basically input pain in different levels and output it in the form of power. She may have a few physical altercations such as what her father described as her eyes glowing, or she might have an aura, or small things like that. Pain will basically make her incredibly physically strong. And while it's just a theory for now, psychological pain should make her stronger too."
You perk up a little bit, only picking out few things from his overly long explanation. "Does that mean I can be a hero now?"
The doctor lets out a hearty laugh and the unexpected question. Your mother sighs. "[N/N], not now, he's explaining your quirk okay? Listen," your mother straightens up in her seat and focuses her attention back onto the doctor while you spin around in your chair. "Apologies, will this have any affect on her behaviour? I've heard a few rare cases where it does." You completely miss the way her hands are wringed together tightly.
"No worries deary, this is quite a strong quirk so you can absolutely be a hero," the man smiles, a little too wide. And you stop spinning your chair, and then start jumping around the room excitedly. "YAYYY!!! I CAN BE A HERO!!!!" Your mother clears her throat. He turns his attention back to her. "I can't say for sure. She may be slightly more manic? If she wasn't before, since her body may crave pain in order to feel some sort of power. It's nothing to worry about," he says all too casually. There's a moment of silence between the two. One where you could hear a pin drop if it wasn't for your footsteps walking around inside the room, now tired of jumping and running. You hear your mother start to stand up and you skip to her side to hold her hand. Your little brother sleeping in his baby carrier strapped to your mom.
"Very well, we'll be off. Thank you. Come on baby," she says curtly as she leads you out the room with her hand. No one notices when the doctors eyes narrow when she leaves the room. Your mother's behaviour was strange the rest of that day.
.
You wanted to tell Touya the news about your quirk as soon as you found out. You had begged your mom so hard she ended up taking her phone and giving it to you unlocked, with Touya's number on the screen. You dialed immediately.
Ring
Ring
Ring
Your call has been forwarded. Please leave a message at the tone.
Beep.
Your mother sighs, as she takes back her phone. "He's probably busy, baby, we can try again later," your mom says as she gives you a kiss on your forehead before tending to your brother.
You did try again later. In fact, you tried again and again and again. He never responded.
For some reason, you never saw Touya again. It's a shame, really, because he was probably your favorite babysitter. You hope to see him again.
—
You're 6 years old now, in an elementary school nearby. You were really nervous, and fiddled with the straps of your My Little Pony backpack as your mom fixed your pigtails and adjusted your cute little school uniform. "There, perfect, say cheese!" You pulled you lips into a wobbly smile as she took a picture of you, your now 2 year old brother holding your hand and smiling too the frame. "Now have fun baby, okay? You tell me what happens," your mother says, taking your little brother's hand from you and giving you a big kiss. You watch them walk off nervously. Your teacher kindly taps your shoulder and gently leads you inside.
You all sit in a large circle and your teacher, Ms. Suzuki, apperently, stands in the middle. "Alright class let's introduce ourselves shall we? We'll go one by one! I'll go first, I'm Ms. Suzuki, and I love teaching children and watching them grow up. Any volunteers to start?" She asks sweetly. You see a pink haired girl raise her hand up high, she was your favorite color!! You decided that you already liked her.
"I'm Mina Ashido!! I like making new friends and playing hopscotch," she says with a bright smile. Your teacher looks at her with pride. "That's wonderful Ashido!" The person besides the girl, Ashido, goes next. And so does the person next to him, and so on. Eventually the circle reaches you and you speak shyly. "I'm [Last Name] [Name], I like taking care of my little brother and playing Octopus," you finish. Your teacher smiles gently at you and your class claps before moving on to the boy besides you, he has black hair, draping slightly over his red eyes. "I'm Ejirou Kirishima, I like the pro hero Crimson Riot!! I also like playing in bayblade tournaments," he finishes. You all clap. The teacher starts with slowly with the day, and gives you an activity where you draw an assigned letter from the ABCs and present the drawing to the class and say the sound, along with a word that matches it. You get paired up with Ejirou.
He turns to you, with a silly little grin and shark teeth you find cool. "[Name], right? Let's make the best drawing ever!" He says, quite enthusiastically you might add. You immediately smile as his positivity. "Yeah!!"
You both take turns and color your drawing of your assigned letter. You were tasked to draw the letter F. You loved drawing, Ejirou seemed pretty engrossed in the activity too. He was chatting and asking questions while you guys drew. When your presentation happened and came to an end, the whole class clapped and your teacher praised your art skills. You tackled Eijirou into a hug. "We made the best team ever Eiji!!! We did an amazing presentation!!!!" You said, so engrossed in the hug as Eijirou hugs you back shyly. When you pull back and both go back to your seats, you continue talking quietly to one another.
You didn't think anything of how pink his face was, or the stupidly big smile he had the rest of the day