Chapter Text
Not all men are created equally.
This doctors' visit was supposed to be a good day for him. His mother offered a kind, but strained smile when he droned on in the car about the possibilities of his late quirk. Maybe it was a vocal quirk? one that made him talk rapidly?! or maybe it was an intelligence quirk!! his teachers have often praised his quick answers when they showed the study cards. He thought about all the potential reasons why his quirk was developing so late!
When they arrived, his mother was on the call with his father while Izuku preoccupied himself with his notebook that was getting filled with small little doddles, he was drawing stars, heroes, him and his family, everything that made him smile.
"It's best you give up."
As the doctor explained Izuku's circumstances to his mother, all little Izuku could do was stare blankly at the screen that showcased his pinky. A double joint.
The car ride was excruciating, Izuku felt suffocated by the silence, he knew his mother had expectations of his quirk, hoping that it would be something like his fathers' or maybe even a copy of hers, but he has.. nothing. Now.. Izuku, although young and optimistic, he wasn't stupid. He felt his mother's blank, but worried stares earlier. When they got home, he shakily asked her if he could still become a hero.
Inko couldn't reply.
.
Izuku stared at the pebble on the ground, he was hunched over in the bush, hoping to avoid Kacchan's friends before classes started, honestly if you asked him what it was like being quirkless? in general, nothing special would be his answer. It felt the same as before, well- HE felt the same, clearly the world decided he wasn't. A year and a half after his "diagnosis" he got treated like glass by teachers, and the students would result to giggling about him.
Kacchan had been.. very vocal about his opinion of his quirk(less) status. Izuku still wanted to hang out, like they used to- but unfortunately, Kacchan and his friends had been pushing Izuku into the villain roles, or even just opting to run away from him while laughing. Honestly, it hurt.
"Ha! Hiding like a villain on the run, aren't you Deku?"
Izuku froze, not wanting to look behind him, he was sure his hair had blended in with the bush? so why was- Oh. He heard their laughs moving farther along with their footsteps, so Kacchan was practicing lines with his friends.. The small green haired boy pouted as he recalled the times he and Kacchan would say heroic lines in front of a TV, it wasn't even long ago, well- actually it was a year ago, but stuff had changed quite early on.
Finally sure that he was safe, he let his body plop down on the ground, his chin comfortably laying on the grass as he stared at the pebble, sometimes he felt like a pebble. A little rock that can be kicked around. After his mom started taking more shifts at the hospital to support them, he noticed how empty his house truly was, as if his brain was deluding itself when he noticed his father stop coming home.
Maybe in a different world, he and his family were just one happy rock family. Izuku would be the happy little pebble while his father could be a mountain! or uh those road rocks that people put up for safe travels! (at least- I think that's what the book said they were for) and his mom could be a very pretty rock, oo maybe a gem! they count as rocks? right- uhh
By the time Izuku had finished his little rock daydreams, the bell rung, signifying the end of recess. He smiled tiredly, a hero could get through anything! a little hiding was nothing to him! haha! take that Kacchan! ahem.. uh, yea Izuku patted his shorts as he ran back to the building, not wanting to get fussed over for being late.
.
Izuku was grounded, his teacher had discussed his "behavioural" problems to his mother during the parent teacher conference, something about disrupting classes, Izuku didn't think that was the case, but what does he know. His mother was surely aware of the statistics surrounding quirkless kids, so to his benefit, he wasn't reprimanded for it, just grounded for a form of "protection" as his mother put it. Since apparently, if he wasn't allowed to go outside for a few weekends, maybe the kids playing outside would lessen their aggression... or something like that.
Izuku sat with his knees in hugged to his chest, recently, he'd been a little distrusting of his teachers, and even- his mom. A book he read in the community library called it skepticism, a theory that certain knowledge is impossible, or for relative terms, to doubt the "truth" Izuku thought about it a few times, but dismissed it as excuses for himself, now alone, he was doubting that. His mom was more protective of him, that's for sure, but she never answered his little inquiries about quirks anymore. His teachers were starting to move on from treating him like a fragile artifact, to more of a dirty inconvenience.
Was being quirkless really deserving of this treatment? surely it was? otherwise, why else would everyone act like this.
Izuku closed his eyes, children were supposed to be full of energy right? or at least, that's what the gym teacher said, so why was it that Izuku felt so sluggish when he thought about his own circumstances. It was a slump that not even his passion for heroics could pull him out of, not for a while.
After an hour or so, he could hear the front door unlocking, Izuku perked up, seemingly forgetting his previous turmoil as he got distracted by the presence of his mother. The boy immediately rushed over to help Inko put away groceries, even asking about how her day went, a small question that went unanswered verbally, but was given a small twinge of the lips. Still, Izuku smiled brightly, yeah whatever he was thinking of were just excuses for himself, he should be happy he had a caring mother, he knew not many quirkless kids had it the same as him.
.
Izuku nervously joined Kacchan and his group as they walked through the forest, Tsubasa, the winged one was cackling to himself, whispering to the long haired Tesaki something Izuku couldn't hear. With Hashiga by Kacchan's side, and the other two right behind them, Izuku was left alone at the very back of the group, following the whims of his ..friends(?)
Ah. Of course.
Izuku's eyes finally adjusted to the dim light of the forest, booming voices of the four boys he was following could only be heard if you focused hard enough, something Izuku couldn't do as his ears were still in the process of calming down. Kacchan's blasts were getting louder, or did he only consider it louder since it was closer...? Either way, Izuku felt his mouth twitch as tears started rolling down his cheeks.
He looked around as he cried. None of the trees looked familiar, they all looked like.. trees. Nothing special about them.
Izuku finally picked himself up, his tears blurring his vision as he clenched his fist in resolve. "No use.. in just crying" he muttered, picking one foot up and trudging along the forest, he was going to be a hero wasn't he? what hero gives up before trying!
He didn't know how long it took, but he finally arrived at a familiar river! Happy with the progress, he started picking up the pace, finally getting closer to an exit of the forest when- something caught his eye. Smoke.
It didn't seem to be the kind of smoke that came from an active source, but a residual smoke and soot that wafted through the forest, a blueish tint that intrigued the young boy. His eyes darted towards the faint fog, and the light coming from outside the forest.
His curiosity had always been a flaw of his-
His red shoes created loud crunches of broken twigs and leaves as he followed the small trail of blue residue. His next obstacle was a particularly stubborn bush that seemed to blend in with the trees, creating a sort of wall. Bulldozing through, his small arms with faint scarring, from excessive heat that were finally healing, were getting scratched by the bush as he pushed his small body through the wall of greenery.
Falling through the bush, into a less painful- shrub, he rolls into a clearing, a circular portion of the forest where the ground was filled with grass, mushrooms, and flowers. The trees were high, the top covering the sky, as if this small section of the forest was a safe haven. A place he could definitely get used to- but breaking out of his thoughts, he saw the last faint puff of blue smoke, it lead him to the very middle, there was a lady.
Izuku crouched down, a dark purple hood that looked to be a mouth? with shark teeth was near her head, it was still attached to her outfit, but it was clearly not covering the woman. Looking at the woman, she has short blue hair that seemed to be dyed in some parts, a pale face with a pair of dark eyebags, faint markings that were rubbing off -despite the reluctance to clean it- which were almost covering blue cloud tattoos, and a set of colourfully decorated clothes.
Izuku carefully stayed out of the blue goop's range, which was evaporating with small sparks, but close enough to observe the lady. The tools surrounding her seem to be different types of machines? oh! support gear maybe? Izuku was trying to rack his brain to see if he remembered any new heroes that had any of her characteristics, but failed to come up with any.
Everything seemed so colourful, Izuku was drawn to it in some ways, they all looked marked with spray paint, but all with happy memories. Izuku sighed, looking back at the small hole he created in the bush, clearly carrying her out of here wasn't an option. Izuku could barely get through it without struggling, let alone try and carry someone through it? yeah no- He was better off looking for something to snack on while he waits for her to wake up.
He dusted his pants and set himself off on a new mission! Future Hero Izuku was on his way to find some berries around the field! He nodded to himself as he started looking around.
.
After a while, Izuku was munching on a few blackberries, when he heard slight movement. The lady was waking up!
"Isha..?"
Izuku shook his head, was she calling out for a doctor? or was it a name? whatever it was! Izuku started introducing himself, only for the lady to stare at him confused before trying to sit up. To which she failed- The lady started screaming in pain as she clutched the ground, Izuku immediately diving in to try and support her, latching on as he muttered encouragements.
Once the lady had settled down and only huffed, Izuku remembered the berries left in his pockets, he fished them out and held them out for her. The blue haired woman gave him a doubtful stare, before sighing and eating the berries in an exaggerated way, Izuku happy to see her swallowing the berries. Soon enough, Izuku started rambling questions happily (and worriedly), as she seemed to just stare back.
"The berries were good!! right? uh I'm glad you ate them! how do you feel? are you better now? that scream sounded like it hurt! what hurts?? You said Isha earlier- do you need a doctor or someone named Isha? What's your name? oh! are you a hero? what are those gadgets? are you spray painted based? like- your costume and theme? is it--"
He stopped himself when he realized she hadn't answered, or- even looked like she understood what he was trying to say, trying to recall any english classes, he only really had one other option- It's not like he learned any other language after all- well, English was worth a shot.
"He..llo? My name.. Izuku! You need.. isha? uh doctor?"
The lady coughed before pointing to herself, Izuku brightened up, she understood! okay! "Jinx. I am Jinx, you're-" her fingers were now pointed at him "Izuh-ku?" He nodded brightly, politely correcting how to pronounce his name, but happy that he found the language they can both communicate in. Somewhere in his brain, he was happy he obsessed over All Might, all those english interview viewing were coming in to help him, even by a bit.
They spent the next few hours conversing in broken english (he did- she was actively trying to decipher some of his incorrect grammar) Izuku was baffled to say the least! Jinx didn't know anything about quirks?! maybe she was hit with a memory altering quirk- or a time travel quirk! he expressed his ideas as the lady scratched her head, sighing as she pats his head. Izuku stopped talking, and stared at her with his mouth opened, Jinx seemingly noticed her small mishap and retracted her arm, only for Izuku to snatch it and ask if she could keep doing it.
Seeing how the forest was getting darker, Jinx offered to walk him back him, Izuku thought about it and decided she wasn't a stranger at this point and nodded. As they walked, Jinx joked about this hidden area of the forest becoming her new base, with Izuku's eyes shining at the thought and asked her if he could drop by from time to time, to which the lady nodded and ruffled his hair.
Izuku rambled a lot while they walk, and once he got back to his apartment complex, he bid his goodbye and sneaked up towards his unit, he opened the door and- a part of him wished his mother would scold him for being out so late, though reality disappointed him as she was no where to be seen. From the looks of the sticky note on the fridge, she was working overtime again, probably wouldn't be back until tomorrow morning. The boy sighed as he walked to his room.
As he plopped back on his bed, he couldn't help the smile across his face, he made a friend! the thought of this helped keep the trickling thoughts of doubt away, for once he was able to sleep rather quickly.