Chapter Text
"Kill them! Kill them! Kill them!"
"I'm working on it!"
"Bomb!"
The three children were cuddled up on the couch for their weekend get-together. This time up at Hitoshi's apartment. They each held a game controller in their hands. Hitoshi on the far-right leisurely mashing the buttons to manoeuvre his character out from the explosion. It was easy given his charter was a speedy type. The others weren't so lucky. Shuichi was centre with a well-kitted red scarf around his neck. Being cold-blooded he could never deal too well in the cold, and it had been unusually chilly recently. So, his mama made him a lovely thick scarf. They worked kind of against them since he was getting heated during this gaming session. Like his character who was caught in the explosion and curtly on a sliver of held. Luckily and not so luckily, they had a healer. Himiko was happily moving her joysticks around. One problem. She had no idea how to use the character. Let alone how to heal. Only chose them because they were cute.
The last member of this group was over the other side of the open kitchen. Izuku was diligently writing in his notebook. Intensely with hyper-focused eyes, his pencil scribbled the page. His friends wanted to drag him with them, but he refused. Claiming that work to do. Which was weird coming from a child. Even if they were home-schooled.
With groans from a game over screen. Himiko skipped over to the lone boy. Ignoring the cries of the lizard boy next to her. They were so close to completing the level. If only the hand of a competent healer. At least Hitoshi was comforting them. If only hardheartedly. She soon wrapped her arms around their neck. "Don't you want to play, Izu?"
"No," Izuku denied again. He didn't like video games. Board games, puzzles and simple playground games were fine. However, taking a controller and staring into the screen. He lost interest in those things a long time ago. Even watching the gameplay was nauseating. It reminded him too much of someone he'd rather ignore. The feeling was surely mutual.
"Come on it will be fun." Himiko sang while trying to pry Izuku's notebook from him. If she could grab that maybe it would become a good bargaining chip. Then Izuku would have to play with them.
However, Izuku caught on to the scheme and firmly latched his hands on the end of the books. Pulling it away from her. "Himiko please don't ruin my notebook."
Pouting, Himiko's eyes then travelled to the open notebook. It looked to be two drawings. On one side it looked to be a mechanical mosquito with a glass tube as a body and a needle for a mouth. There were a bunch of notes she couldn't understand since they used a lot of big words. Arrows directed the notes across the pages and to the second drawing. It was a girl in a cute short dress costume. A belt of tubes formed along her hips with an oversize fanny pack beside her. The more she looked at it the more she noticed how familiar they were. "Is that me!" She exclaimed excitedly.
This then brought on the attention of the other two boys. They abandoned their game in favour of joining their other two friends. More so tease one of them.
Shuichi was first on the attack, snatching the notebook away and then rushed to the walls. His escape was made successful when he started claiming them like a gecko. Then hang onto the ceiling with his feet and one hand firmly in place. Using his free limp to hold the book, he skimmed through the pages. He had seen his first friend writing in these often but never knew exactly what they were about. They always said they were simply notes and were a little shy about showing them. Only allowing the adults full access when asked, but these were more than just notes. Even if he couldn't understand half of what it was saying the drawings were enough to put together. They were hero consumes deigns. There was even a page for himself. "Whoa, you're pretty good at drawing. Captured my snoot good," he complimented while trying to read through the difficult jargon.
Meanwhile, Izuku was below him on his tiptoes. Aimlessly, he reached as high as he could with tears in his eyes. "Give it back," he whimpered.
"Shuichi," Hitoshi cut in after seeing the mild teasing going a little too far. The second Shuichi responded with a 'huh', his eyes went blank. Nonchalantly, Hitoshi held on hand up and instructed the lizard boy to drop the book. They did and dropped the notebook in Hitoshi's awaited hands. Then he instructed them to poke themselves as hard as they could to snap out of the grip of his quirk. Luckily Himiko was ready to catch the soon-falling lizard boy. Meanwhile, Hitoshi flicked through the notes nodding with their details before handing them back to their owner. "You want to be a hero or something?"
Guilty, Izuku lowered his head. He held the book close to his chest. It was a subject that came up from time to time. Of course, all three of his friends wanted to be heroes. Shuichi because he thought they were cool, Hitoshi wished to prove his villain-like quirk could be used in heroics, and Himiko wanted to copy her dad who was a hero's sidekick. Well, soon to be. He swore to support them while dodging his own answer. It had always been a sore subject, but with the awaiting looks of the three of them, he couldn't doge this time.
"I can't," he admitted aloud. He knew it was true. Logically there was no way he could become a hero. "I'm quirkless. I can't transform, I can't mind control people or have cool lizard powers. I have nothing." He looked back at his notebook. He made a whole collection with notes about the heroes and people he observed over the years. He was told these notes would be helpful, but he never fully understood why. He knew his father used them to make the yearly progress reports for his sidekick. Arata often praised him for his eyes claiming they could help in any career path he chooses. They helped him stay sane in a kidnapped scenario. But none of that couldn't possibly help him be a hero.
"That's not true!" Shuichi wholeheartedly denied it while rushing up and hugging his friend. "You're really good a school and stuff. You've taught me so much, like how plants eat sunlight."
"I mean you're just a kid. You're already acting like some scientist or something with all these notes" Hitoshi added.
"And Izu can make cutes things like these," Himiko chimed holding out a little key ring with a cat head. The bargaining deal she got for that monopoly trade.
Izuku gazed at his small group of friends. They were trying to be supportive, but it didn't sit right with him. It wasn't enough. No amount of prise ever filled the void completely. An endless pit he had been trying to fill ever since he discovered his condition. I have to work harder. I need to do more. That's what he kept saying to himself. Study more. Read more. Write more. Even if you're tired. Something had to become of his hard work, right? He'll figure it out one day so long as he worked as hard as he can. Then his worst fears don't come to pass. "I can't be a Deku," he whispered.
"What's a Deku?" Himiko asked getting deep into Izuku's personal space.
The boy bit his tongue. He couldn't believe he was hearing that word again or that he brought it up himself. The word plagued the depth of his mind no matter how hard he tried to forget it. "A useless person."
"That's not Izu" Himiko protested and hugged her sad friend.
Shuichi quickly joined her forcing their faces to sandwich against Izuku. "Izuku's too cool."
"You're more useful than my dad," Hitoshi added while choosing not to suffocate the boy more. He was never the tactile type anyway.
Even so, it wasn't enough. The void was still there. Expanded deeper by doubts and fears. Ever since he was young, he could always remember those flames. He followed them so desperately. Doing whatever he could to get just a little closer. He knew it would be easy for him to become something simple. Like a businessman. Or something more complex like a scientist. However, he didn't just what to be anything.
"I want to stand by father and brother." Those lights he'd been chasing after. He wanted to be as close to them as possible. He didn't want to be stuck behind some desk forced to look on as the distance grew wider. He also knew he couldn't truly stand by them as a hero. Despite that, these pathways he was weren't close enough. There had to be some way he could at least get close enough to touch them at eth very least. "I don't know how."
"What about support?" The child looked up to see his older brother look down on him with a smile. He looked brutally mangled. His hair chopped up in odd angles. There was a bit of a blad spot and a couple of bruises around his body. Along with bandages. The oddest of all was that sand seemed to be falling out of his locks and cresses of his clothes. "You've pretty much taken over my hero consume. Designed Tenko's gloves too and helped with the whole cape thing." Then his eyes caught a glimpse of the notebook. "Looks like you've been working on more."
"Touya, what happened to you?" The child asked. Dusting away the sand that fell on him. The other children were curious too as they gathered around the older Todoroki. Did a villain beat him up?
"Arata happened." Touya groaned with a clear hiss in his voice. For years he thought the man's training was murder attempts. From chasing him down like a prey animal, to forcefully dropping him from the tallest branch. This was no different. Building a health hazard training course out of garbage and duct tape. They expected him to climb through it while having a dual. He nearly lost his head, and it wasn't from a sword. "Believe it or not, I got off the easiest. You should see what they're doing with Tenko."
There was a reason why they were both training like their life depended on it. The U.A sports festival was coming back in a matter of months and neither of them wanted an embarrassing repeat. In Touya's defence, he had other things on his mind. As for Tenko, he was never completely fit. They lagged behind when it came to physical training. Like when they started to do this muscle training All Might recommended, he couldn't keep up. Recover girl said the boy's body was too fragile after years of malnutrition. They needed to up the strengthen before even attempting All Might's regiment.
Since then, Tenko has been slowly building strength. He reached a point where he believed he was in a good spot to try again, but All Might have different plans. Along with what he originally suggested to do, the boy had to clean a beach. That was putting it kindly. The beach was more like a junkyard with every type of garbage imaginable. Cars, washing machines, beer bottles, rotten food etc. Some of that garbage was renovated into his hell of a training course. The rest of it Tenko had to clean. He got so frustrated since he barely made a dent, he started dusking everything in his path. It took a while for All Might to calm them down. Even with Arata's assistance.
Tenko's still there at the beach. Touya tried to be a supportive boyfriend but the death glare they gave him was enough to make him turn tail. So, he stopped by to see his little bro rather than anger his boyfriend. They were scary mad.
"So, how's about it, little bro. Support. It would suit you and you can be a part of the U.A alumni like me and dad." Touya further encouraged pinching their chubby cheeks playfully. "You'd look so cute in a U.A uniform."
"I can't." Izuku denied while gently prying his brother's hands away. He looked down at his twiddling fingers. "Father won't let me. It would be too dangerous." With all the heavy-duty equipment he'd be around it was easy for him to imagine his father's refusal. They always looked for his safety. It's not like he had a quirk to act like a welder. Or the strength to manger heavy objects. He'd be too fragile in such an industry.
Touya's playful smile dropped. This again. How annoying. "Have you actually tried to ask dad?" Seeing his little brother flinch at the question was enough of a tell. A growl escaped through his teeth. "Then why are you giving up so easily!"
His brother was angry again. He didn't like it when his brother was angry. Even his friends were scared, huddling together several steps away from them. He had to defuse the situation quickly. "It's ok, Touya." He said calmly with the brightest smile he could muster "I have a lot of time to think about it. I'm sure I'll figure out something I'm good at."
The smile annoyed Touya more than it soothed. It reminded him too much about their teacher who used to fake smile often as well as his lair ex. That type of an expression doesn't suit his brother at all. They were talented. Always praised for his detailed observations and analysis. He never understood why until he put them into practice. Those notes helped him get a better handle on his quirk, its limitations, and as much as he hated to admit it, Izuku's hero consume draft was superior to his own. Heck, the support students laughed at it when he showed them his original design. Pointing to the same flaws Izuku did. His brother was incredibly talented, so why do they constantly snipe themselves in the foot.
"What's going on here?" That's when Enji entered through the fire escape. It was nearly time for dinner and was about to bring them back down to their apartment. He didn't expect some sort of standoff with his eldest looming over his youngest with a dark look.
If Izuku won't fight for himself Touya would have to do it for him. He quickly stole Izuku's notebook and rushed to their father before they had the chance to stop him. He slammed the open book at the man's chest and demanded: "Let Izuku do support."
Enji was of course confused. What did he walk into? There was no time for questions as Touya shoved the book in their face. The man gave in and had a skim through the pages. They seemed to be Izuku's ordinary notes although his language improved considerably. However, there was something different about them. The drawings. They were improved to be more anatomically correct, but he has never seen these suits deigns. New heroes, he has never seen before? No. On closer inspection they were of the children. Ideas of what would suit their body type, skin colour and quirks.
Some lightweight armour to not weigh Shuichi down. All to increase his climbing better capabilities. A flowy short dress for Toga to keep with her desired cute aesthetic without mobility restrictions. There were even devices to enhance their quirks. Like a voice changer box for Hitoshi. The notes were all so detailed. He half expected the boy to be in the middle of making them. Yet that can't be possible.
His gaze switched to his youngest. "Izuku, did you design all these."
Shily Izuku ducked his head. "They're just ideas. I don't know if I can make them," he explained. Truthfully, he wasn't sure if he could make any of the stuff he wrote. With all the books he studied, he theoretically knew what to do. However, to put it into practice was another story. Still. "… I can try."
"You're too young." Enji rejected almost immediately and slammed the book shut. This caused his eldest to give him a death glare and his youngest to drop his head further. "Ask again when you're older."
Izuku was shocked. He looked up at his father. He half expected it to be a figment of his imagination. Did his father accept it?
"Just promise me you'll follow safety protocol," he warned roughing up the child's hair. The boy was talented, and talent needed to be narrated. Otherwise, he'll never hear the end of it from Arata and, from the dagger glaze he felt at his skull, Touya too. Just not now. The child was barely eight. What parent in their right mind would allow a child that age never power tools? He'll give him a few more years. At least the boy seemed to have found a goal to work toward. That's more than enough for now.
When it hit him, that his father was being serious, Izuku bowed, "I'll do my best." A pathway has opened up for him. Although it wasn't exactly what he wanted the decision will get him as close as he wanted to be. If he couldn't stand by them, he'll support them. That will be enough for him…right?