Chapter Text
“I don't think I follow,” Izuku’s mother repeats, glancing at her son next to her. Izuku is sitting on the wrinkled paper of the bench in the doctor's room. His fingers pick at each other anxiously; pieces of the skin around his nails flaking onto his lap. The words of the doctor are hard for him to understand.
“I thought-”
“Yeah so did we... it seems your son obtained a rare form of mutations.” The doctor flips the papers folded on the clipboard in front of him.
“Rare?” Tilting her head to the side, a brow raises in confusion. She remembers seeing her son run-up to her with claws instead of his usual stubby fingernails excitedly; seemingly normal on the lines mutation-wise.
“We don’t know the full extent of his power, since it manifested later than average and not to its full potential,” he clears his throat and adjusts the glasses perched on the bridge of his nose. “But it seems his mutation has a different chemical makeup. We ran some blood tests to see what kind of mutation we are exactly dealing with. The chemical found responsible for mutations is in there alright, and it's higher than it should be for just claws.”
Izuku looks up with worried eyes.
“Don’t worry bud, it's nothing to worry about,” the doctor chuckles “it just means the mutation is on the unpredictable side.”
His mom opens her mouth but is cut off.
“I know you are worried Mrs. Midoriya,” the doctor sighs. “Because mutations like this are seen to be unpredictable there is a small chance he will suffer complications we can’t predict, and its full potential might not come in for years,” He pauses to take a breath. “But, with practice and patience, a quirk like this can be formed into something fine.”
Izuku perks. A smile cracking on his face widely.
He barley registers the next words his doctor spews to his mother next. And he almost doesn’t feel the cold disinfectant wipe on his arm, prepping for his quirk shots.
Izuku is in his own little world.
He has a quirk
Izuku believed his quirk was interesting- undoubtedly any quirk was cool to the hero fanatic. But not everyone thought the same.
Laughter erupts when he sprouts minuscule claws from his hands in an attempt to show off his new discovery to his classmates.
“Wow Deku! It's more useless than I expected!” Bakugou- his “best friend” at the time- barks.
“I-I told you Kacchan, the doctor said it’s not done growing,” Izuku wines, retracting the new additions to his hands.
Bakugou snorts. “Yeah right, they probably just said that so you wouldn’t cry like a baby.”
The rest of the class giggles at the comment. Izuku only illustrates his emotions.
Uneven tears drip from his eyes and he turns his face to the side in shame.
“Like I said! That crybaby can’t go a day without crying!” Bakugou’s voice only amplifies more as the class’s snickering lowers to hushed whispering.
“Woah, are his whole eyes green?” One of the kids mumbles loud enough for Bakugou to catch. And with that, the short blonde stomps over to the teary greenette with curiosity.
“Ew, it's kind of creepy...”
“Doesn’t that hurt his eyes?”
“What does that even do?”
The children buzz with comments as they observe Izuku and his newly colored eyes. Bakugou only stares with his mouth gaping open. Leaning forward he clutches his stomach and lets out a raucous laugh.
“Oh-oh my god! Not only is his quirk useless, but he looks like a freak!”
“Freak!”
The class convulses with hysteria.
Izuku only hoped for the same gorgonizing awe he and his classmates showed for Bakugou and the brilliant sparks that sprung from his palms. But life isn’t fair to everyone.
All men are not created equal.
To the very core, everyone is human in some way. But with a growth of superhuman abilities, society discriminates and creates standards and labels not everyone can follow or appreciate.
In Izuku’s case, he can’t seem to keep up with the standards the world pre-determined for him.
Freak
Useless
Izuku was never really quite sure what the purpose of this quirk was. It doesn’t help that it never budged since five and it's not on the flashy side like his classmates. It’s boring, really.
The most his body shows is the pointy claws extended outward from his fingers, and the occasional colored eyes that appear when his emotions are unstable. It’s annoying more than anything.
He’s scribbling in his notebook, a nail scratching the table out of habit. Wood splinters crack from the surface from each stroke. At this point his mom will have to pay out of pocket for damaging school property; the desk is practically a safety hazard for someone’s hand. His hair is messy and untamed- green curls falling in front of his face as he looks down at the paper he’s writing on. He tries to keep his hair on the longer side in case his eyes change without him noticing.
His mother hates that he refuses to cut it shorter than the eyebrow. She always liked his eyes, but that never mattered to all the others who spit at the sight.
“Now that you mention it, isn’t Midoriya planning on applying to Yuuei as well?”
Izuku tunes into his teacher’s lecture at the wrong time, the question makes his hand sprout claws on all five fingers. He wants to slam his head on the desk and hope to god it knocks him out so he can avoid what comes next.
As expected, the classroom quickly erupts in ear-piercing laughter. Great.
Izuku grumbles and sinks into his chair, trying to ignore the cackles of his classmates.
“Really?! Is he asking to get killed?” He hears comments chime in among the mocking laughs of his classmates. “They will take one look at his creepy eyes and say no.” Izuku places a hand on his forehead and leans an elbow on the tabletop. He really doesn’t know why they even give a shit, it’s not like he’s ever actively bothered them in the first place. He’s just unlucky to be on the bad side of society’s bantering.
“Are you kidding me?!” A voice triumphantly booms over the rest of the chatter. God, and it makes Izuku want to vomit. He tries- desperately tries- to keep his gaze focussed on the chalkboard facing him at the front of the room. “Do you seriously think a quirk like that can even be considered?” A faint sizzle emerges from Bakugou’s glowing palms as he stomps over to Izuku’s tattered desk. Izuku is rolling his eyes internally at Bakugou’s shrewd comment.
His eyes stay facing forward habitually, undoubtedly pissing off the blonde further. “No one from this shitty school is allowed to get into Yuuei, but me,” Bakugou growls, “Especially you, you freak.”
A palm-sized explosion crashes in front of him, he’s too used to this to flinch. It isn’t strong enough to add damage to the already mangled desk, but it’s enough to leave behind a foul smell and soot on the edges of his notebook. Izuku clenches his fist, scraping nails against the splintered wood in a screech.
Izuku can feel the heat emitting from Bakugou’s hands as his palms crack and pop. Heartbeat rising to his throat. He swallows it down.
Bakugou looks down at Izuku’s trembling fist and barks a laugh.
“You gonna do something? Huh?” Grabbing Izuku’s wrist with a sweaty hand, Bakugou yanks Izuku closer to him causing his ribs to jolt into his desk painfully. Izuku just looks at him nonchalantly.
“To your seat Bakugou..” The teacher says with mild annoyance in his voice. Bakugou grunts, letting go of his wrist aggressively and walking back to his seat with a scowl. Izuku only sighs and brings his gaze back down to his notebook.
Class comes to a close shortly after and before Izuku has the chance to grab his bag and bolt, with haste, he is slammed back down into his seat with a rough hand.
A long sigh is pushed out of his lips and he lets his eyes slip to the side to glare at his classmate. Bakugou is fuming .
“If I see your ass at the entrance exam, you’re dead.” Leaning forward Bakugou’s breath huffs in a ticked manner. At this point, the blonde is starting to sound monotonous.
He is way too close for comfort. Izuku finds his hand starting to shake as a couple of nails pressed against the desk form points. “It’s just a school. Why do you care?” He says bitterly, grabbing his notebook and attempting to shove it into his backpack. But, of course, it is snatched from his hands.
Waving it in his hand, Bakugou leans in closer. “Let’s get one thing clear, Deku,” Bakugou snaps, eyes narrowing. “You will never be on my level, and certainly not with that fucking poor excuse of a quirk.” His palms clap together releasing a puff of sparks, catching the notebook’s papers on fire. The smell of scorched ink and paper stains Izuku’s nostrils. He makes a strangled yelp as all his work is promptly ruined. His chest tightens and squeezes as he inhales the rancid smell. “God, you really don’t know when to stop do you?” Izuku rolls off his tongue without thinking.
He counts in his head a number of ways he will die in the hands of Bakugou. There are a lot.
Let's be real, he's fucked. He realizes he crossed the line this time.
Sure enough, his book is hurled out the open window across the classroom. Izuku sees red as his emotions crack. He desperately wants to fight back, but even he knows he could never win. He can’t yell, he can’t kick, bite, scratch, fight; no matter what he does his future is sealed, and so is his notebook’s. He just has to sit and take it until the blonde gets bored and makes his leave.
“I will stop when you get it in your thick skull,” Bakugou grumbles.
Just because of a predetermined power he can’t change, people can’t seem to accept him as a part of the strong. Bakugou especially. It’s hard to pay no mind to.
Izuku wants to scream. Sitting in his chair, he looks at the blonde coldly. He doesn’t speak, but his eyes tell plenty. A hand grabs his shoulder, hot and blistering. His uniform releases a trail of smoke from under the hand that keeps strangling his shoulder. He goes dead-still. His skin is sweltering, begging him to rip off the ruined clothing.
“Learn something for once, quit trying. You might as well just fucking off yourself now, It’ll save the embarrassment from when they reject your sorry ass.”
To put things clearly: Izuku is done with Bakugou’s shit.
But understandably he had to come to the harsh reality that he can’t exactly stand up to Bakugou. That’s how the world works- the weak cower under the socially acceptable strong. And nothing can be done about it.
Izuku makes his way to the stone koi fish pond, where his notebook is seen bobbing up and down in the water. The fish are nibbling at its scorched corners, letting pieces flake off and disperse. Plucking it from the surface of the pond, he shakes off the liquid dripping from the pages and walks away. The soggy notebook still clasped in his hand.
The ripened cherry blossom trees greet him as his wobbly legs carry him down the street. The breeze shakes off a few pedals, landing in front of his feet. He doesn’t notice. His head is stuffed with too many thoughts he can handle; the grip on his notebook only tightens.
Attempting to switch the notebook around in his hands, he realizes he is stuck. Being overwhelmed and on edge, his claws extended and dug into the moist cover of the book while he was walking. Frustrated, he attempts to rip the book from his grip but fails. He shakes his hand as a cat stuck in sticky paper, but the book doesn’t budge.
“Damn it!” He shouts loudly. Reaching a small stone bridge he groans and shakes his hand harder. No longer having patience inside, he grabs the book with his other hand and pulls. The still wet book tears in half.
Something bursts inside him. Taking the torn journal he hucks it at the wall of the bridge with a wet splat. Ripping the remaining paper off his nails he belts out a frustrated yell.
“What is the point of this quirk!” He lets out an annoyed hiss. “You useless! Fucking-” he takes his bag off his shoulder and thrusts it at the same spot his poor excuse of a book landed. “GAH!” If there were people around, his sanity would be questioned without a doubt.
“Hey, kid.” An unfamiliar voice catches his attention and he whips around.
“What!?” His annoyance is cut short when his eyes meet a grotesque creature of slime crawling out of the manhole in front of him.
He feels his heart plummet to his stomach as his body freezes.
It’s body twisting and flowing out of the crevice like a scene from a horror movie. Green goo drips and splashes on the pavement.
“Your quirk isn’t that powerful, but your vessel will blend it quite nicely .” It’s voice gurgles with each word. Bulging eyes poke from the mess of sewage.
“Wha-”
He doesn’t even get a chance to run, the slime is already upon his still body. It shoves itself onto his mouth, oozing and dripping onto his clothes. With a whimper he claws in a panic, feeling the breath leave his lungs like the burn of a cigarette. Slime merges under his nails, sticky and sickeningly wet. He can feel his eyes shifting colors.
“Creepy..” the creature has the audacity to say that. Izuku curses in his head at the comment.
He can’t do anything. His vision blurs, feeling his limbs start to lose strength. Suffocating slowly, and alone under the overpass. Something in his head is screaming at him, growling, snarling, and banging on the sides of his skull in hysteria. Almost like a lion was caged in his brain and its gnawing at the bars in desperation. It feels weird and unfamiliar, almost like a second quirk manifestation, only more ugly and aggressive. He has never felt this before and out of panic, he inhales the slime faster.
It howls. A low growl escapes from Izuku’s chest, rumbling in his vocal cords. The caged beast is losing its mind. Something doesn’t feel right inside his body, it feels like something is trying to push itself out and onto his skin to join the slime. Limbs trembling, head pounding, the claws on his hands growing painfully.
“What the hell?” He hears the sludge say confusingly.
There is an explosion of pain down his spine, and he screams in agony.
Out of nervousness from how Izuku is suddenly behaving, the slime releases its hold, dropping Izuku to the ground. On all fours, he heaves and coughs, feeling sharp fangs poke at his lips.
Izuku’s head is on fire. His entire body feels wrong, almost like it's misplacing itself like a broken puzzle.
“What the hell are you?” He hears the slime monster say. It’s pressing itself against the cold stone of the underpass, quivering. It flattened its body in fear like a piece of gum on a shoe.
The screaming never left his head, it's only gotten louder and louder. It hurts, it hurts so bad. Izuku lets out a pained yell, only it comes out twisted. Hunching his back like a feral cat he presses his clawed hands onto the pavement.
Sucking in breaths through his teeth, Izuku sounds like a mentally insane maniac. And all at once, his body is assaulted by a wave of unbearable pain. Bile shoots up his esophagus and chokes out of his mouth. It’s hot, hotter than usual. Heaving, he looks at the ground and sees a sizzling neon green substance on the ground. Boiling liquid flows from his eyes and onto the ground, blinding his vision.
What is going on!?
Looking at the horrified sludge he reaches out a shaking hand. “H-help, please h-help,” Izuku chokes out and with a sharp gasp, he feels the worst of the worst excruciating pain down his spinal cord.
Belting a strangled inhuman screech, Izuku feels his limbs changing.
The sludge villain takes its chance to make its ‘I’m getting the fuck outta here’ leave, shoving itself back in the manhole to his left.
Arching his back, Izuku lets out a gut-wrenching wail, and his vision turns to a splotchy white.
Izuku wakes up under the same underpass he was under, the pain in his body calmed to palpitations of concentrated aches. There is a twinge in his head, causing a quick wince out of his mouth. He tries to lift himself from the ground, but something is wrong. He can’t stand on his legs like normal, and the bridge he was under is smaller than it was when he blacked out.
Looking down, he sees his phone cracked on the cement. Moving closer, his reflection sends ice through his veins. He starts to lose it.
Standing with trembling legs he absconds from the bridge clumsily. Not used to the new arrangements on his limbs, it's a struggle to walk straight.
Help
Someone help
Izuku can’t speak, he tries but his attempted pushes of words turn into gargled hissing.
He stumbles down the road quicker, searching desperately for someone to help him. There is no one to be found.
Around the corner, something explodes violently. Accompanying the new blast, there is a sound of screaming and glass shattering. Mistakenly, Izuku makes his way towards the sound, hoping he can find a pro hero or anyone to help him.
There is a group of citizens clumped together in a mess, staring at something.
As he gets closer, people notice his presence and let out horrified screams. Some scurry like rats, bumping into each other in manic discombobulation.
No no help! Please help
Awkwardly trotting closer he makes it to where the crowd stood. To the right, fire blazes uncontrollably, charring the road and the buildings. Izuku’s eyes focus and his blood boils to a temperature he can’t control. Red, hot, anger takes full control of his fear, and he runs into the blazing inferno.
Katsuski feels his consciousness fade away as more and more thick solvent is forced into his airways. It’s been minutes, translating to hours in the blonde's brain. The feeling of suffocation drives him mad.
Why are they just staring at me?!
The heroes haven’t budged from their spot by the crowd of civilians. They can’t touch the thing without hurting Katsuki, and it infuriates him.
Cowards!
“ Back! Everyone stay back!” The sludge villain bellows in fear. It sounds frazzled, like taking Katsuki was a last-minute decision and it is trying to work with it.
Thoughts in his head turn fuzzy as the oxygen he stored in his lungs is burning up. He can feel his eyes roll into the back of his head, beginning to lose consciousness almost completely.
There is a horrendous screech. It starts high and flows to a bellowing, painful growl. Its bloodcurdling inhumanness snaps him awake.
Looking in the direction of the scream his eyes find the crowd and ice shoots through his veins. People are scrambling like rats while yelling in spurts of panic; trying to get away from something more concerning than the villain trapping Katsuki.
In the middle of the crowd, there is something very much not human standing right in front of him.
Hunched over on all fours a large beast is heaving and snarling. Its eyes are venomous green, and they are angry.
The atmosphere thins as the killing intent of the thing leaves everyone fighting to breathe.
Its colossal stance topples over the heroes when it comes to height. It has to be taller than All Might. It looks like a hell hound gone wrong, wheezing in pain and trembling with every step. Messy black fur covers its body in a matted, thick nature, accompanied by overwhelming claws digging into the pavement below.
The sight of it leaves Katsuki in discomfort, skin-crawling, and lumps stuck in his throat. It is disgustingly nauseating.
It appears to have two rib cages, one on the inside, and the other poking out of its skin like uneven jail cell bars. The bones from its spine are poking out of the back in razors; a rattling sound can be heard as it breathes in and out. It’s long tail sticks out horizontally, a jittering sound joining as it swishes. There are spines sticking out of the top part of its back and tail accompanying the sharp vertebrae- almost like porcupine quills.
Cocking its head to the side in discomfort, its mouth is opened to reveal rows of large teeth. It chokes out gargled hissing as a neon green substance starts pooling from its eye sockets and open mouth like vomit.
It appears hot, and almost magma like, as it lands on the ground and burns a hole through the asphalt with a sizzle.
It wasn’t its size that made it such a source of all panic—not that, nor the dog face with its pointed ears, acidic eyes, wet nose, and drooling maw. It wasn’t the weaponized claws nor the sickly stature nor the teeth poking at its lips—none of these, though any one of them might well have driven anyone to madness.
It was the feeling of death and decay that flared from its body.
What the hell is that thing?!
As it inches forward, Katsuki feels more and more distress down his spine, and he can sense the slime monster that’s holding him feel the same.
A choked growl spits out of its throat, and it's tormented limping and pain shifts to a sudden lurching run.
Hysteria consumes the blonde, even he knows he is fucked with the situation he is in. His lungs are being suffocated, the sound of claws scratching the ground ring in his ears. He is completely. Utterly. Fucked.
He braces for the animal to sink its teeth, puncture vital organs, spill his blood or gruesomely display his intestines on the street. Right as the monster grows close, he hears the sludge villain beg for mercy as if the creature were an omnipotent god.
“Nononono please! I’m sorry, I’m sorry-” the beast propels its unstable body from the ground and opens its jaw wide. In one snap, its gripping on what might be considered the slime creature's head, teeth skewering its vulnerable eyeballs. The boiling liquid melts the slime in contact, and Katsuki hears it howl in pain.
Quivering, the sewage tries to wrap itself around the creature in desperation. The wild dog releases its hold on its “head” and slams its snout into the center of its body, right where Katsuki is located.
Katsuki feels something grab his torso and yank. In one motion he is ripped from the clutches of the sticky liquid, gasping for air. His torso is in the middle of the mouth of a feral animal, and all it would take to end it all in one clean bite, slicing him in half.
But, it never comes.
The slime villain cowers in absolute horror- begging, pleading, backing away from the pissed-off monster holding Katsuki.
Katsuki is still breathing sharply, restoring his lungs from the oxygen depletion. Teeth poke at his skin as his chest rises and falls in each breath.
He still waits for the bite to come, for his life to end before starting his high school career.
His heart is beating in his throat, anticipating the moment.
Again, it doesn’t come.
What is it waiting for?
He can feel the hot breath on his body, the magma pouring out of its mouth is barely missing him. His head turns to face the eyes of what is holding him surprisingly gently.
It droops its head, dropping Katsuki to the ground. Landing on his ass with a thump. He doesn’t run, nor does he scream. He just gazes at the face of the revolting horror that saved his life.
It looks at Katsuki with a deadly glare, almost as if it was angry for having to save him. Before the information is processed in his brain, the monster takes off in an ungainly run and leaps onto the cowering sludge.
Everyone is deathly still, including the heroes, and the police officers shielding the rest of the public.
There is a bubbling sound as the acid in the monster's mouth melts the sludge to a diluted degree. Biting, ripping, gnarling, and tearing, the wolf creature destroys the sludge that no one was able to even touch moments ago. The sludge is in hysteria; screaming, begging, trying to escape the pain of the massive jaws clamped over its eyeballs and mouth.
Katsuki watches the creature rip at the villain like a feral dog. But as he watches, he notices bulging tears joining the radioactive green.
The air is uncharacteristically quiet.
Before anyone has the chance to break their limbs from the frozen trance, it completely disintegrates the sludge villain's entire head, leaving the villain still and cold, and in a puddle of green.
All Might is really fucking late. Like, atypically late for the hero.
He barges through the crowd and freezes at the now stone cold dead sludge villain on the ground. Katsuki watches as the hero shakes his head and moves towards the wolf with an authoritative strut. Avoiding the flames bursting from each direction.
Turning its head, the wolf lets out a whimper; burnt sludge dripping from its jowls. There are tears streaming down its face, almost like it's terrified of the actions it just acted on. It backs up as All Might grows close. A stream of sweat drips down Katsuki’s forehead.
Katsuki can feel the overwhelming presence of the hero as All Might passes him, shooting Katsuki a toothy grin and a thumbs up.
Tripping on its own feet, the wolf scuttles quicker.
“State your business villain!” All Might shouts, sending ice into the last word.
The creature’s eyes bulge wide, petrified of the way All Might just spoke to him. It opens its mouth and only lets out a low gurgle, hacking on the acid collected in its throat.
“Fine.”
Before Katsuki can blink, All Might is already in the monster's face, delivering a bone-cracking blow to its jaw.
Flying backward, the wolf skids on the pavement; bones on its back scraping against the rough surface.
Getting up with trembling legs it whimpers louder, sounding afraid. Its ears are pinned to the sides anxiously, accompanied by its spined tail tucked between its legs.
Again, All Might nails it in the face.
This time it doesn’t get up.
All Might walks over to the monster and puts a bulking hand on the back of its hairy neck, holding it down.
It doesn’t struggle, it just goes limp under his touch.
Police cars and vans blast through the barricades, slamming to a stop in a circle around All Might and the monster. Sirens blaring and piercing Katsuki’s ears.
A police officer touches Katsuki’s shoulder, making him jump. He doesn’t hear what the officer says to him, because as he makes eye contact with the wolf sprawled on the ground, it whispers something very faint.
HeLp mE, pPlEASe
And it passes out.
Izuku wakes on the surface of what looks and feels like a tar pit. Eternal darkness swallowing the atmosphere, suffocating and cold. He is no longer at the scene of the hostage situation, but somewhere wrong. It's a personalized room from hell.
His insides twist, feeling absolute terror from the unknowingness of his surroundings. Belly cramping from the foggy memories in his head.
Where is Kach-Bakugou?
A flash of his classmate pinned under rows of fangs churns his stomach
The heroes?
Trembling bodies fear soaked eyes.
The feeling of All Might's fist connecting with his face returns
Bile creeps up his esophagus.
Me?
He can still feel the acid on his face and the sludge villains body stuck in his teeth
Izuku just might puke.
Something skitters.
Turning his head to the side, his eyes match with green. Angry, sour green.
The monster he once felt moments ago in his skin is snarling with teeth bared, fur on end.
It barrels towards him as he did to the slime monster. The floor slushes with each step. Izuku opens his mouth to scream, only letting out a squeak.
His lungs are tight, pressing, pushing, desperately attempting to release a yell. Twisting his body he scrambles, clawing at the liquid floor in desperation to getaway. A tangled mess of slick tar and limbs; he isn’t fast enough. The loose floor only negates his attempt to escape.
He waits for it to open its massive mouth over his body and clamp tight, for his blood to spill and his organs to fail. It runs past him. Turning around, Izuku finds an exact copy of himself, only it stands completely still with absolute numbness. And in an instant, the beat lurches its body towards him.
It grabs his twin and chomps onto his belly, spraying blood everywhere.
It is horrific.
With boney claws, it perches over the split body in a crouch, gnawing on his liver as a child that nibbles at fresh candy. He can hear its teeth sinking into each piece of flesh, squishing and ripping.
Izuku can only watch as his blood paints the maw of the beast, he can only watch his intestines be ripped in half like licorice. He is being eaten alive. Being replaced by something he doesn’t recognize. And Izuku can only
watch
Izuku jolts awake to a very violent jerk.
It was only a dream.
Only when he opens his eyes fully, he realizes all of it wasn’t a dream.
He’s sitting in a metal box..or the back of a car? Something jerks him again.
Yeah, it's a vehicle of some sort.
It’s light metal walls and floor make his skin shiver. Looking down, he notices his body is still shifted in that monstrous form.
What happened?
Memories are shoved in his brain all at once. Panic flushes over him as he realizes the extent of the situation he’s in. Looking around, Izuku searches for a way out of this. It must be one of the police vans, only it's more massive to compensate for Izuku’s size.
Standing up, he sniffs the area. It's cramped once he stands, spines and bones touching the roof of the van. His fur stands on end from the anxiety whispering in his body. He doesn’t know where he is or how fast the van is going.
Muffled voices come from the front, grabbing Izuku’s attention. Pressing a pointed ear to the wall, Izuku scoots closer and listens.
“Man, what a monster ,” the first voice states, it seems to be from a male.
“I know right, the thing really tore into that sludge villain,” the second voice replies, also male.
Izuku feels tears welling up in his eyes as he listens. He really doesn’t want to remember that.
“Man, I can’t believe we have to take it there .”
“Well.. they didn’t wanna risk a normal jail cell…”
“It's crazy that it’s not even getting a trial. Just straight to Tartarus.”
“It doesn’t even speak. It’ll be easier for everyone if we just throw it in there and move on with our day.”
Ripping his ear from the wall, he stumbled back and slams into the back of the van.
Tartarus!?
More and more panic and terror-stricken thoughts fill his head, blocking all cognitive thoughts. He flips around and tries clawing at the back door, biting, slamming against it with all his weight. Nothing is working. He slams, again, and again, and again. His breathing becomes rapid and uncontrollable. The side of his body aches from the hard blows. As a caged animal would, he does everything he can to escape. He flops to the side in defeat after the metal doesn’t budge, throwing the van to the side in the process.
“Hey! Quit moving around back there!”
An idea dings in his head. It’s not a very good idea, let's be real, but it's an idea. Standing again, he backs up to the left as far as space will allow, and he launches his body with full force into the right side.
Tires squeal and the vehicle shakes and wobbles. It makes Izuku dizzy.
“Shit!” He hears one of the voices yell before the entire van flips onto its side and slides on the pavement with a harsh screech. Izuku is thrown around like a rag doll in the back of the van as it collapses.
Tires of other cars skid to stops.
Now’s my chance
With the rest of the physical strength he can muster, he winds one of his clawed paws back and swings. Piercing the metal with success, he yanks, tearing the metal like a tuna can.
Squeezing his massive body through the space; wiggling and grunting like a fish out of water. Izuku slips out and scampers down the road, winding between cars and pedestrians. People shriek, and he can hear others calling 119. His claws dig into the asphalt, propelling him forward faster and faster.
Izuku’s bright green eyes dart around, searching for anything that can hide or protect him from the public. An alleyway to his left catches his eye, and taking a sharp turn he leaps over a faded yellow Taxi and canters down the dark path.
Panting, his breath grows hot as acid pools out, splattering on the brick walls he passes. There is no plan, all Izuku is doing is blindly running for his life.
“Hey!”
Ears rising in alarm, he looks around to try and identify the voice. His running doesn’t slow as he searches.
“Kid, up here!” the voice repeats.
Throwing his head upwards towards the roofs of the buildings caging him in, he spots a woman booking it at the same pace as him on the roof tiles.
“Police are on your tail! I have a place you can hide, follow me!”
At this point, he has no choice- It's either Tartarus prison or a woman running on a roof. Izuku hounds the slender woman quickly. It’s not like he has any better options. She leaps rooftop to rooftop, leading him through a maze of alleyways. His body begins creaking with agony the longer he runs. Muscles feeling torn from using his new limbs so much.
The woman calls for Izuku to climb to the roof, leaning over the edge and patting at the wall.
Say what now.
Izuku looks at her dumbfoundedly, does she really think he can just climb up a brick wall like a spider?
“We don't have time! Use your claws as a grip!” the woman yells, trying to coax him into complying.
Well, he might as well try. Crouching down, he jumps upward vertically. Surprised by how high he jumped, he almost forgets to hook to the wall and smacks his snout into it before clinging on.
Crawling up the slick wall, he feels himself slipping. Nails scratching like nails on a chalkboard, his body is descending from the wall. Abruptly, the woman grabs his scruff and pulls upward. The sudden motion gets Izuku to accelerate up the wall and practically crash into the woman. Izuku almost impales her with the vertebrae poking out of his back as he falls.
Shooting up, the woman grabs him again and leads him to the stairwell of the building. It seems he climbed onto an apartment complex. He towers over the woman by at least three feet, making her seem tiny to him.
Thankfully, Izuku fit through the door of the stairwell and down the stairs- thanking internally whoever manufactured this building.
As Izuku is led through the building, his nose burns from the smell of mold and rusty pipes. The building seems practically abandoned currently, and his highly sensitive nose is suffering.
Shoving Izuku through a splintered door hanging on its hinges by a thread-he literally had to be shoved in because of how big he is- the woman slams the door and locks it.
Letting the situation sink through his core, Izuku’s legs shake and he collapses to the floor in complete exhaustion; floor shaking from the action. Every organ in his body, especially his lungs, feels like failing. Izuku feels his consciousness fade as his head droops to the cold comforting wood floor.
“Ok I think we are sa- shit man don’t pass out on me right now-”
He passes out.
Waking up (again), Izuku moves his body to find its back to normal. Skin smooth to the touch, the fur and spines no longer shooting from his body, and his stubby fingernails greet him once again. Izuku’s green messy curls flop over his eyes as he moves his head.
He sits in an unfamiliar place. With shaky hands and slow breaths, he feels around, finding he's sitting on some sort of cot. A scratchy blanket is wrapped around his exposed body. There is a line of sweat on his forehead, looking practically sickly. As he breathes, he catches the smell of putrid mold and mildew again.
He must still be in that apartment. A shiver goes down his spine with fear, trying to grasp the situation at hand. His eyes slowly begin to dart around the room. Not knowing how to describe the feeling in his head, he sticks with ‘I am so fucked when I get home’.
“Good, you're awake.”
He turns his head. The lanky woman from before is standing at the doorway, legs and arms crossed, leaning against the splintered frame. Honestly, this isn't the weirdest thing he’s experienced recently, but it’s still up there.
“Uhm..”
“You were in a pretty nasty situation there kid,” sighing, she walks closer to him. “You don’t see very many quirks like that around anymore.”
Long, dull black hair brushes her hips as her legs carry her.
Izuku analyzes her appearance internally. “Do I-”
“No. You don’t. Hopefully not at least,” the woman says. Her eyes are tired, grey irises relaxed in a sort of half squint. “If you could, I would like to see if you are able to stand.”
Confused, he flips the blanket off. Legs shaky but stable, he lifts himself from the small cot. He isn’t wearing a shirt, but a pair of large grey sweatpants too big for him. That is a question for later.
The woman nods. “You can sit again if you’d like, usually after large physical alterations like yours, it's only natural for your body to not cooperate.” He watches her lips through each word. There is a nasty scar sliced through the corner of her lips, cutting down to her pale neck.
He obeys, sitting back down on the stiff cot below him. Not knowing how to grab the words and questions from his head, attentive eyes speak for him.
“What’s your name kid?”
“M-midoriya Izuku.”
“How old are you?”
“I'm uh 14,” Izuku says.
“Son of a bitch-” she whispers harshly, pinching the bridge of her nose. “You are pretty young to be having the police after ya, Midoriya,” Her voice is on the rough side, but the way she speaks to him is understanding and somewhat soft. In a way, its nature calms his nerves. “It seems you are pretty new to your quirk, was it some sort of late manifestation?” she asks.
Gulping, Izuku gazes at the woman standing in front of him. “Yeah..uh..my quirk wasn’t that extreme until today.”
“How so, kid?”
It feels strange talking to this woman. She isn’t scared of him at all. The woman is just standing and listening to him with a gentle, relaxed face.
Izuku takes a long breath. “Well, ever since I was five, I had a very weak mutation quirk where my eyes glowed green and I sprouted these little claws from my fingernails,” Izuku says, demonstrating the minuscule claws on one of his hands weakly.
“Okay..” the woman says, placing a finger on her chin in thought.
“And uh after school today, I was attacked by that sludge villain in an underpass,” Izuku continues.
The woman hums, stopping Izuku. “Forced quirk manifestation through stress.”
“Huh?”
“Forced quirk manifestation,” she repeats, ”I can tell that experience was scary and stressful for you, kid. Typically when a quirk manifests under stress, it is extremely painful and puts a person under massive amounts of panic.” She turns around and walks to a rusty stove with a kettle on it. There is a faint whistle escaping from the tip of the faded pot, screaming to be taken off the heat. “Tea?” she asks.
Izuku stares at the two cups she pulled from a cabinet that's door is hanging off its hinges. Tea sounds good. The warmth and comfort is something he needs at the moment. He nods at her, leading to her pouring liquid into the cups.
“It seems your quirk didn’t have enough stress build up to manifest itself when you were younger,” she gaits towards him, holding the steaming cups. “Did your doctor say anything in particular when it came in?” she asks, handing him the warm liquid. Her hand is soft and gentle; silver rings litter each finger in decoration.
“I mean, he said it could take years to fully develop. But ten years?” He grips the cup with both hands, letting its warmth travel up his arms and into his chest.
The woman sighs, grabbing a small crate from next to the cot and pulling it under her. “Quirks aren’t easy to understand, even after two centuries.” Sitting on the weak crate, the woman places the cup to her lips slowly. “Every power has its own individuality and personality, even if it’s as simple as a fire quirk,” she says.
“Okay..” he doesn’t know where she is going with this.
“That means, every power grows differently too. Considering how painful that was for you, thankfully it didn’t happen when you were little, because the pain could have easily killed you.” She sips her tea again.
Yikes.
“I-I still don’t understand why this is happening to me,” Izuky says, bringing his own up to his lips anxiously.
“And I don't think even a professional could tell you,” she says, shrugging, “that is just the upsetting reality of the world’s unfairness.”
Izuku nods, moving his gaze to the ground in an overthrow of emotions. Hands still grip the cup, the heat slowly dying down from the distribution through his skin.
It really isn’t fair. It never can be fair, and Izuku realizes that, but that doesn’t mean it hurts any less.
“Your life has chosen to throw you a curveball Midoriya, but that doesn’t mean you let it hit you.” The woman's long eyelashes flutter as she stares at Izuku. “You aren’t allowed to be scared of yourself or your future, not when there are worse things to fear.” Izuku sees her shutter, unsettling him a bit.
“Why did you help me?” A question long overdue.
She smiles, letting the scar crease with her lips. “I could tell you were young and scared when I saw All Might beat the shit out of you. Someone who is still growing mentally should never experience fear like yours. I’m tired of seeing people lose their fights against the world’s standards. There are too many young criminals out here.”
For some reason, that last statement makes Izuku’s heart crumble. The memory of the sludge villain being torn to bits pops in his head like a flashbang.
A lump lodged itself in his throat and Izuku fights the urge to break down in tears. Izuku can still feel the slime lodges in his teeth, the screams stuck in his head.
Body trembling, he puts his cup down and combes a hand into his messy curls.
“It wasn’t your fault.”
It's very faint, but Izuku hears it. He ignores it though, letting panicked breathing take over his once controlled. A hiccup escaped his mouth as he tried to force his tears away.
“Kid, it wasn’t your fault.”
“I-I killed it, I-I-”
“Look at me.”
Izuku snaps his eyes up at the woman. She is now crouched on the ground, closer to him. Two hands grab his shoulders and squeeze.
“Midoriya, you were very, very scared and panicking. You saw a criminal that once almost killed you, hurting someone else,” her voice is soft and sad, sounding on the brink of tears herself.
“You didn’t do it on purpose, it's ok, kid it’s ok.”
The wells inside his tear ducts crack in half. Tears spill out of his eyes and he chokes a sob, melting into the touch of the woman's hands on his arms.
“I-I’m not a bad person,” Izuku cries out, “I-I can’t-”
“And you aren’t . You aren’t, Midoriya, and you never will be.”
"I'm a monster!"