Chapter Text
Chapter 1: The Rise.
/
In a world where 80% of the population are used to getting some kind of power, one would think that Midoriya Izuku would have fallen into that comfy 80% cushion like most of the world's population. That he would get some kind of Quirk, a combination of his parents Quirks, or even a mutation of some kind, he wasn't particularly picky about it. He just wanted something, so he can mean something in this world, so he can be a Hero just like All Might.
But… Sometimes fate, lady luck, or whoever decides people's destinies doesn't always give you what you want.
Izuku was born Quirkless. Or well… that's what he was lead to believe.
Once most of Izuku's classmates began to show, or have even gotten their Quirks, his mother Inko Midoriya decided to go to a specialist in order to determine when and what Izuku's Quirk would be and would appear. Izuku was very excited on the bus ride there, unable to keep himself still as his mother tried her best to reign him in. He saw many great and powerful Quirks today, both in Kindergarten and on the Internet. He couldn't wait to discover what his very own power would be. Once they arrived at the Hospital, a standard background check and examinations followed. After the final examination, which was the X-ray of his foot, he waited with his mother in the Doctors Office. He was giddy and hopeful that his Quirk was a strong one like Kacchan's!
The Doctor entered the room, a round and short old man with a bushy moustache, wearing some kind of weird goggles that Izuku thought looked kind of funny on him, and a plain white lab coat. The Doctor entered the room, in his hand a light beige, but large folder, where no doubt his X-ray would be. He opened it up and put the X-ray on the light box, opening the switch so that both him and his mum could see. The Doctor spent a couple of seconds looking at it with a confused frown, before turning over to his mother and saying.
"These results are very confusing, ma'am." He said, sitting down on his chair and crossing his leg.
Inko looked at her son, who in turn looked at her with an excited yet confused look on his face. Inko looked back at the Doctor.
"What is so confusing about it? Does my son have a Quirk or not?" She asked with a slightly worried look on her face.
He spent a couple of seconds looking at the X-ray again, maybe to see if he missed anything, but soon looked at Inko again and pointed at the X-ray.
"I can confirm that your son is not Quirkless for sure Mrs. Inko. But, looking at the rest of the results of the examination, I cannot unfortunately determine what his Quirk will be or when it'll appear. See the X-ray? Your son does not seem to have the extra pinky toe joint usually apparent in Quirkless individuals. But as I said, the rest of the examination results came back negative or blank. If I may ma'am, you're a Fourth Generation, correct? May I ask what your Quirk is?" The Doctor asked with a raised brow.
"Yes, my Quirk lets me pull small objects towards me, whilst my husband can breathe fire. Shouldn't Izuku have developed one of the two, or a combination?" She asked, demonstrating her Quirk by pulling her son's All Might Figurine towards herself, giving the toy back to Izuku once she was done.
"Usually that would be the case, but I cannot for the life of me understand what these results mean. If I were to say, it's as if like his Quirk is dormant, but the possibility of that is extremely low given that your son shouldn't have a sentient Quirk, given yours and your husband's Quirks. Truly bizarre…" He mumbled to himself, stroking one side of his bushy moustache.
Inko stayed silent, sparring a glace to her four year old son, then looking back at the doctor. "So, where does this put us? Do you want us to come in after a while again to see if anything changes?" She asked with a slight tilt to her head.
"In any case, that would be preferable. But unfortunately, due to the other test results from the examinations, I think it will be very unlikely for little Izuku here to get a Quirk." The Doctor said with a shake in his head.
Inko's eyes widened slightly, whilst Izuku turned white from shock.
"Are-Are you completely sure of that Doctor? You said yourself that the results don't really make sense. Maybe it's dormant like you said?" She asked, trying anything to spare her son the heartache of not having something he so desperately wanted.
"If you had a sentient Quirk, or even your husband, then that would have been a strong possibility. Unfortunately, neither of you have that type of Quirk, and as I said, it would be very unlikely a sentient Quirk would be dormant. From what we know about sentient Quirks, they tend to show signs from as early as three years old, and then fully make their first appearance once the child hits four, albeit maybe slightly later, depending of course on the type. Has Izuku ever mentioned of seeing anything strange out of the corner of his eye?" The Doctor asked, with Inko shaking her head.
"Then I'm afraid Izuku does not have a sentient type Quirk, and I very much doubt he'll have any type of Quirk if the results we have are anything to go by. I'm truly sorry ma'am, and I'm especially sorry to your son, but it's best to give up. Of course, I cannot stop you from getting a second opinion, from either a private Doctor or Quirk Specialist, or even another hospital, but I feel that would be a waste of your precious time and money." The Doctor said bluntly, writing something on his clipboard and removing the X-ray from the light box.
Inko stayed silent, looking at her son who was still white from shock. She gently, or as gentle as she could be given the situation, called out to her son only to get no response. Thus, she gently picked him up in her arms, quietly thanked the Doctor for his time, and promptly left the hospital. The bus ride home was very quiet.
/
/
Izuku was sitting on his bed, his All Might figurine in his hand as he stared holes into it, or well, he tried to. Not that he hated the man, or even his parents for that matter, this whole ordeal was his fault. It's his fault he didn't have a Quirk. It was his fault that his body wasn't strong enough to house a Quirk Factor.
It was his fault his parents were arguing in the next room.
"You don't need to say that Hisashi, we both know this is not his fault!" His mother's muffled shout was heard from the living room.
"This is both your fault! How in the ever loving hell, in a world where eighty percent of the world's population has a Quirk, do you make a son that falls in the twenty percent category?!" His father screamed.
"You know just as well as I do that you also had a hand in making our son, it wasn't just me pushing him out that led to this!"
"No one from my side of the family was Quirkless Inko! Hell, thinking about it, I doubt he is my son at this point!" Inko remained silent, the lack of noise only making Izuku curl in on himself even more.
"Hisashi Midoriya, just what exactly are you implying?" Inko asked in a low, but audible enough tone that sent shivers down Izuku's spine. He never heard his mother speak that way before.
"That… thing cannot be my son. When you told me what happened, I looked at it and felt disgusted by the mere sight of him. I felt like I wanted to throw up. I don't doubt that you fucked another man four years ago while I was working." Hisashi accused, speaking in the same tone as Inko.
"He has your freckles, Hisashi… the same wild fluffy hair you do… how can you even accuse me of cheating on you?" Inko asked in a hurt voice, shaky and heartbroken, which only broke Izuku's heart further.
"That bastard may have some features, but it will never make him my son. That thing does not deserve to live further than it has." Izuku could hear a pin drop at the silence, the only sound reaching his ears being the one of his own, fast heartbeat.
"You ever come close to my son with any intent to kill, and I will grab the sharpest knife I can find, slice your dick off, and shove it down your throat!" Inko said, starting low but finishing with a shout that shook the walls. Izuku grabbed his All Might themed blanket and covered himself with it. He was so scared, he didn't understand what was going on. He was just so scared. He could hear a few footsteps, whether it was someone walking away or close, he couldn't know.
"You can fucking try. We both know you aren't that type of person… Yet again, I'm not the type to kill a toddler either." Hisashi said lowly, turning around and picking up his wallet and a backpack.
"I'm leaving and staying in a nearby Motel. I will be booking the first plane to America I can find, and will be working abroad. I will be sending you half my paycheck every month so you can pay for yourself, and your son. But other than that, don't contact me, and I especially don't ever want to talk to that… thing. Consider us divorced, just not with the legalities. I hope the little bastard is worth it to you, Inko." Hisashi said, no emotion behind his words, simply turning around, opening the door and leaving, never to come back again.
Things were deafly silent in the little apartment, Izuku not even hearing his own rapid breathing. He didn't hear his mother's footsteps and his door opening, nor did he notice her arms wrapping around him in a hug.
"It's okay Izuku… Everything it's gonna be okay… Daddy is going away for a while, but he'll come back…" Inko said through her tears, voice shaky and unsteady.
Izuku mindlessly wrapped his tiny arms around his mother, trying to stifle his wail and sobs into his mother's shoulder, his body hiccuping with every sob. Inko continued to cry, rubbing her son's head and whispering in his ear that it'll be okay.
"M-Momma… C-C-Can I e-ever bec-come a H-H-H-Hero? J-Just like A-All M-Might?" He asked through tears and snot.
His question went unanswered, his mother only hugging him tighter and continuing to rub his hair.
Her silence were louder than any words she could have said, and that only made him cry louder.
/
/
The Doctor sat in his lab, typing away at his computer, his hands on autopilot, but his brain being elsewhere. He was quite frankly, weirded out by the results of the boy he examined in the afternoon, his mind trying to work things out, despite having come up with more questions than answers. It was very late, and his mind was beginning to tire out from all the theories and questions. Maybe he should forget about it today and come back to it another day? He didn't think it was that important anyway.
"Doctor Garaki, is there anything today you wish to report to me?" A voice asked from behind him.
Fully expecting him, Garaki turned and stared at the Demon Lord of the Underground with a calm expression.
"Nothing unusual, just the run of the mill basic Quirks. Nothing too interesting enough to steal or take notice of." He said, relaxing in his chair and crossing his leg.
All for One stayed silent for a bit, staring at the Doctor with an unreadable expression.
"I have a distinct feeling you're keeping something from me, old friend. Please do share. Anything you have to say could prove valuable for the future." All for One said, taking a nearby chair and sitting in it.
"How could you tell?"
"I've known you now for over two hundred years now. I think given that long amount of time, one would notice certain things. Also, having a multitude of Quirks at my disposal certainly helps my case. Now, out with it old friend." All For One said with a chuckle.
Garaki stayed silent for a few, contemplating on how to word what happened this afternoon to his master.
"Well, if you really wish to know, today there was this boy that came in today with his mother. Looking at the X-ray of the boy's foot, he in all intended purposes should have a Quirk by now. But, then looking at the other examinations we did, they all came back blank, which bothers me a lot more than it should." Garaki said with a sigh.
All for One hummed and rubbed his chin.
"Per chance is it a sentient Quirk? Do his parents or anyone from the family tree ever had one?"
"I took the liberty to check, and no, parents, nor any previous kin ever held a sentient Quirk before. And even if it was one, it would have shown signs, both to the boy and the results of our examinations. It's why it has me boggled up until now." Garaki said, opening the folder with Izuku's X-ray and the results of his other examinations.
He put the X-ray into the light box again and flipped the switch, illuminating the X-ray so All for One can clearly see it.
"See? No extra pinky toe joint. As far as everything we know about Quirks, the boy should have had a Quirk by now, and if it was a combination of his parent's Quirks, it would have been a pretty strong one too. Pyrokinesis would have been a good test to see if our Nomu could use such a power, but nonetheless, it wasn't and this is what we have." Garaki threw his hands in the air and pointing at the X-ray.
All for One focused on the X-ray, the grabbed the folder to see the rest of the results. He put his on his chin and adopted a thoughtful look.
"This is indeed very strange old friend. What did you tell his mother and father?"
"Just the mother, and I told them that it would be very unlikely for him to developed any kind of Quirk, but I also said that they are more than free to consult a second opinion if they so wished."
"Ah, so you went with the safe option."
"Yes. I'd rather not waste any valuable resources on the chance that it was a dud and nothing more. Surely you understand."
"I do, and I commend your approach to this. If anything does change, we shall monitor it from a distance, however unlikely that might be. Though if it's not a problem, I would like to take the folder and the X-ray with me for my own personal research. See if I can discover something from a different angle." All for One said, folder already in hand and standing up to remove the X-ray from the light box.
"You are free to do as you wish, but why the interest in what could be a dud?" Garaki asked with a raised brow.
"That will be for me to figure out. Just know I'm oddly compelled and interested in this, old friend. Keep doing a good job here, Doctor. I shall see you again next week for another update." He then promptly disappeared with the use of his teleportation Quirk.
Garaki sighed and leaned back in his chair, staring at the white hospital ceiling. It was strange for his friend to be interested in something that could be a waste of time, but then again, everything Garaki knows about Quirks came from All for One's mentoring. He had to admit that the man knew Quirks better than anyone he personally knew, so if anyone would have a chance at cracking this strange phenomenon, it would be him.
He had the distinct feeling that if the boy turned out to have a Quirk, it would be very interesting.
/
/
It's been about two weeks since Hisashi left them. To say things were difficult mentally for Inko would be an understatement, but she had to be strong for her son. She didn't doubt that he knew why Hisashi left them, just as she didn't doubt why she didn't answer his question when everything kicked off, her boy was very smart after all. But unfortunately, there was nothing she could say to her son so he could stop blaming himself for why his father left, nor could she pretend to encourage his dream. It would be too painful.
One of the toughest challenges was to get Izuku to sleep peacefully. He was always difficult to get to sleep before everything, but now it didn't matter how hard she tried, how many times she'd repeat the same lullaby her own mother sang to her as a baby, or however many times she rocked him back and forth, he just wouldn't be able to few times she was successful, he would always wake up a couple of hours after she finally put him to sleep, crying about a nightmare he saw. Getting him to sleep after that was impossible.
She had to say thank god for Mitsuki. When she told her about what happened, she offered any help she could, which was right after she vowed to tear her now former husband a new asshole. Made her smile a bit to know how much her friend cared. She offered to babysit Izuku on the weekends so she could have time to get some well earned rest, but she declined the offer for now. Putting Izuku in an unfamiliar environment wouldn't do him any good. Sure, Izuku was friends with Katsuki, and whenever she saw him Mitsuki always dotted on her son like the caring aunt she was, but for now she'd rather carry this trial on her lonesome.
Today happened to be one of the easier days, at least she liked to think so. Izuku was already asleep in bed, since thirty four minutes ago. She figured it was okay for her to at least try to sleep before Izuku woke her up with his screams. He made for an excellent alarm clock, she had to say.
She welcomed the for now peaceful lure of sleep.
…
…
…Is what she would have thought, if it weren't for the door knob jiggling a tad bit.
Instantly, her eyes snapped open at the sound, heart beating fast and loud in her ears. A thousand, no, a million thoughts are going through her head. She quickly checked her phone in the case it was Mitsuki.
There was no message or any recent phone call from her friend.
She could feel her panic settling in now. She quickly shook her head, no she needed to keep calm to protect her son. Without a second thought, she opened her phone and swiped at Mitsuki's name, hearing the phone dial. It was still somewhat early in the night, so she doubted she was asleep.
The call connected in a few seconds.
"Hey hon, how are you doing?" Mitsuki's voice came through the other line, causing Inko to let out an inward sigh of relief. It did nothing to help her anxiety as the knob continued to jiggle.
"Mitsuki, I think someone is trying to break into my apartment." She kept it short and sweet.
She could make out some shuffling and the scraping of a chair. She assumed her friend stood up from where she was sitting.
"Are you serious? Hon, why did you call me instead of the police?!" Her friend asked. It was a fair question. She should have called the police thinking about it.
"I know, I panicked and you were the first person to come to mind." She said, now fully standing up from her living room sofa.
"Okay, okay. Try to keep calm sweetheart. Oi, Masaru! Someone's trying to break into Inko's apartment, call the police now!" Mitsuki shouted from the other end to her Husband, who without any questions, pulled out his phone and dialed 119.
"Okay, Masaru is talking to the police. Is it just one person trying to break in?" Mitsuki asked.
"I don't know, I need to check through the peep hole." Without a second thought, she approached the door and put her eye against the tiny hole, seeing who was outside.
It was two men, wearing ski masks and thick black clothing. She couldn't make any characteristics, other than one of them, the one standing furthest away from the door was holding what seemed like…
Oh… it was a revolver.
"One of them has a gun Mitsuki…" She whispered lowly, unable to keep the shake out of her voice.
The only thing on her mind was the man holding the gun.
What was their plan?
Why were they here?
Are they going to kill her?
Are they going to kill her son?
She would NOT let them anywhere near.
As she came back crashing to reality, she could now hear Mitsuki screaming in her ear.
"INKO! Pull yourself together hon! I need you to talk to me!"
"I…I'm here. Sorry…"
"It's okay hon, but you need to listen. Go to your son, and hide somewhere with him. The police need about ten minutes to arrive to your location. You'll be okay sweetheart, you'll be okay." Mitsuki said to her in a rush.
Inko nodded, despite the action not being seen by her friend. Before she went to her son, she went by the kitchen and grabbed the sharpest knife she could find. She was going to protect her son, even if it costed her life. She power-walked to her son's bedroom, opening the door. She hated to wake him up so soon after she put him to bed, but in this case she had no other choice.
She shook her son awake, managing to cover his mouth before he could make out any type of yell or noise.
"Izuku, baby I need you to wake up now. We need to hide sweetie, some bad men are outside." She tried to sound calm for him, she wasn't sure if she did a good job.
She saw Izuku's eyes widen, then felt him start shaking. Small whimpers of fear escaped him, as his eyes started to tear up.
"Shhhh, it's going to be okay honey, the police are on their way, they'll be here so-" She was suddenly cut off with a loud crash, which made her worst fear come true.
They broke the door, they were no doubt walking into her home as she thought this.
No doubt Izuku heard this, if his shaking getting worse was any indication. So did Mitsuki, given the loud gasp that she heard from the other line. She needed to think. Her son was first priority. Think Inko, think…
The closet!
She put the knife on the floor, and picked Izuku up and carried him to his closet. She opened it with one hand, softly putting Izuku inside it, looking at her boy with as much love as she could muster in this moment.
"Honey, I want you to stay in here, don't come out no matter what you hear, okay? Pretend like we're playing hide and seek." She told him to reassure him, didn't matter how much or how little it worked.
She gave him a quick hug and kiss on the cheek, squeezing him as if it were the last time she'd see him. She hoped it wasn't the case. She quickly closed the closet door, picked the kitchen knife back up, then closed the door to Izuku's room, locking it. She didn't doubt the intruders heard the door closing, they would be here soon. She sat on her son's bed in a brief period of silence, slowly raising the phone back to her ear, her eyes never leaving the door.
"Mitsuki, I'm afraid I have to end the call. If everything turns out okay, I'll call you back after I give my statement to the police. But, if things don't go that way, I want you to know… that I appreciate you a lot Mitsuki. You and Masaru have stood next to me when I was at my lowest, and for that you both have my eternal gratitude. Thank you for everything. I love you, and I'll hopefully see you later." She didn't give her friend the time to respond, ending the call as soon as she finished.
She sighed, trying to calm herself as much as she could. She could hear the footsteps of the intruders coming closer and closer to Izuku's room. It was quiet for a couple of seconds, until…
The door slammed open and hit the wall, the wood cracking a bit in places from hitting the wall and the powerful kick. The two men walked into the room slowly, standing side by side. She still couldn't make any distinct characteristics, only that one man was slightly shorter than the other, not by much though.
Nobody said anything, neither her nor the two intruders. She didn't know how good her poker face was, she couldn't tell if her fear was visible. But she needed to be brave for her Izuku. So, that's what she did.
"Why are you here?" She asked, forcing herself to keep her voice steady and calm.
"... You don't need to know that. You're gonna die, you and that Quirkless little bastard." One man said.
She noted that he tried to make his voice deeper so that it wouldn't be recognizable, not that she would have known the guy if he used his actual voice. If this wasn't a serious situation, she would have laughed at how silly he sounded. Still, she had one thing she could do. Stall for time, keep them talking. Maybe if she could distract them enough, she could use her Quirk to pull the gun from the hands of the slightly taller man.
"Not going to tell a woman who apparently wants her dead?" She asked with a raise brow.
The taller man raised the gun and pointed it at her. She tried to ignore how fast her heart was beating, so fast that it hurt.
"You're stalling, aren't you?" He asked, his voice deep and natural, but menacing. It sent shivers of fear down her spine. Still, he was smart enough to figure out she was stalling. So, she figured she would be honest.
"Yes, I am. The police should be here shortly."
She heard the slightly shorter man let out a 'shit' under his breath, while the one with the gun growled. Still, she saw the slight distraction as an opportunity. So, she focused and used her Quirk, feeling the pull on the gun, so she pulled as hard she could. It didn't work. The man held the gun tighter than anticipated. He looked at her with a bored expression.
"Nice try bitch. We knew what your Quirk was, and we anticipated you'd try to use it." It was the only thing he said, raising the gun and-
And thus, Inko knew no more.
/
/
Izuku violently flinched and forced his jaw shut, so that no noise would come out after the gunshot. He was badly shaking, and he thinks he might have peed himself. But he couldn't worry about that at the moment. He needed, no, he HAD to know if mommy was okay.
He slightly pushed the closet door open a tad, only to be horrified at what he saw. He saw his mother, laying flat on her back on his bed, arms slightly spread open, and eyes opened wide and blank, staring at the bedroom ceiling. He could only see one of her eyes, and he noticed a single tear rolling down her cheek, mixing in with some of the blood on her cheek from the gunshot.
"Well, I guess that's that then for the mum. Wanna try lookin' for the kid?" The shorter man asked.
"We don't have the time. Police should be on their way, and if she was lying before about it, someone definitely heard the gunshot and called it in already. We have time to confirm the kill." The taller one with the gun said.
Izuku was paralyzed in fear. One one hand, two masked strangers were in his room, who he assuming were Villains, and on the other, his mommy was dead. He didn't know what to do. Mommy would know what to do. She would, she-
He noticed the knife. Inko, due to the shock of being shot, must have thrown in towards the closet he was hidden in, and now it was on the floor, very close to him.
He didn't know what compelled him to do this, as he slowly picked up the knife with as much stealth as a four year old come up with. Thankfully, or if you asked Izuku, horrifyingly, the two masked intruders were distracted with making sure his mommy was dead.
And thus, Izuku took his chance, and with a yell, he plunged the knife deep into the shorter man's eye, blood squirting everywhere as the shorter man fell to the floor with a loud scream of pure agony, clutching at where the knife was.
"Fuck! You Quirkless little…!" The taller man cut himself off, aiming the gun and firing. The bullet hit Izuku in the stomach, lifting his tiny body in the air and slamming him against the closet door, where he fell face first into the now bloodied carpet. The taller man went to check on his associate, only to stop once he heard the sirens blaring just outside. He cursed under his breath, the Police arrived. He needed to leave and now.
"Sorry bud, you're on your own." He mumbled under his breath as he went to exit the bedroom so he could escape, then get paid for a job well done.
Just as he was about to exit, all he could see was black. He blinked, not sure what was happening. He slowly turned around, and realized that everything was muted. He saw his associate still writhing on the now blackened floor in pain, yet his screams were muted.
He couldn't hear a thing. The sirens he heard a second ago, he couldn't hear them. The woman's body was gone. And the boy…
Oh. He was standing up. Slowly.
First, on his hands and knees, spitting out what looked like blood from his mouth, which disappeared when it mixed with the blackened void.
Then-
He was now in a kneeled position, and where a bullet hole should have been, it was now replaced with newly formed skin.
The boy planted one foot on the darkness, the shadows coiling and curling around his foot.
As he slowly pushed himself up, he let out a breath, black smoke coming out of his nose and mouth, which was pushed back and covered his entire face and body.
Was-Was he getting taller?
As the man who killed both the mother and child, now he could only stare as the boy got replaced by this… entity. He didn't know what was going on. From what he was told, the boy was Quirkless. This should not be poss-
He couldn't finish his thought, as the boy, if he could still call him that, fully turned his attention to him.
You know the saying that if you stared into the abyss, eventually it'll stare back at you? Well…
Masuku Kitai stared into the Abyss. And Death itself stared back.
This was his last ever thought, before he was engulfed into the abyss.
/
/
The Police entered the apartment. They looked into all the rooms, entering Izuku's room last, only to find the bloodied body of Midoriya Inko, laying on her sons bed, having died due to gunshot to the head. According to investigations, and DNA testing, some of the blood on the carpet belonged to a small time Villain named Shouji Yoshida. The blood near the bed and closet belonged to the dead mother's son, Midoriya Izuku. But, there was no body.
A few years later, Naomasa Tsukauchi would be looking into the Police Database, where he came across a cold case from eight years ago. It was a case where the police entered a broken in apartment, where they found the body of a young woman, but the crime scene showed from multiple DNA Samples that there should have been a few more bodies, especially that of the dead woman's son. But, alas there was nothing the police could do.
Tsukauchi looked at all the details in the cold case and sighed, rubbing his eyes. A murder case, which could also be a kidnapping. Fantastic. Bloody brilliant.