Chapter 2: Izuku's Quirk

Izuku awakened to the loud sound, his alarm blaring. In haste, he reached over and fumbled to turn it off. His eyes were still heavy with sleep. He rubbed his eyes. He took his time before he sat up, as he realized it was time to start his day. With a sigh, he swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up.Dragging his feet, Izuku made his way to the bathroom to freshen up. He splashed cold water on his face, attempting to shake off the remnants of sleep. The minty flavor of his toothpaste awakened his senses as he brushed his teeth in a methodical manner. He combed his unruly hair and glanced at the mirror. Adjusting his tie and straightening his school uniform.Feeling more awake, Izuku walked out of the bathroom and headed toward the living room. However, as he entered, he noticed something. His mother staring at a photo, lost in her thoughts and not moving. Izuku walked closer to her and saw that the photo was of them eleven years ago. Izuku never understood the photo. He only saw himself with four of his siblings and his mother having breakfast. He knew it meant something more to his mother, but he never knew what."Mom?" Izuku asked silently, looking at her. Her green eyes stared at the photo, her body not moving. She wasn't that tall, shorter than 160 cm. Izuku knew she was shorter than him when they stood together. She was on the chubbier side. She gained most of her weight due to stress and the fast food she would consume during work. Her hair was completely eye-catching green, a color that every child would inherit. That color would fade away as children grew older.As far as her attire was concerned, she was dressed appropriately for work. A light blue blouse with a skirt that is just above her knees. She wore a pair of black shoes with a slight heel. A bag hung over her shoulder and glasses rested on her nose. Despite being prepared for work, she was motionless."Mom?"There was a reply to Izuku's question upon asking again. She jerked her head. Her eyes looked at Izuku a few times, but she didn't recognize Izuku. She appeared dazed and unaware of her surroundings, possibly due to shock or being lost in thought."Mom, are you ok?" Izuku asked as he approached her, placing his hand on her shoulder. "It's fine to take a sick day and stay home."She still looked lost, she didn't move, didn't talk she just stood there still."I'm alright, sweetheart. Don't worry, I'm just a little tired. I'll be okay." Inko said, surprising Izuku as she turned towards him, hugged him, and exhaled. She tried to make Izuku feel better, but deep down, Izuku knew something was wrong."What are you doing here? Don't you have school?" She asked him what Izuku would guess at the exact moment, as she stopped daydreaming. ''Don't worry mom, Tomeo-sensei is sick, so there is no first period." Izuku answered. He knew his mother was concerned.After that interaction, he didn't know if it was smart to bring up Agatha. He was planning to stay silent about her. To think something up, but one thing is holding him down. He couldn't lie to his mother. So hesitantly he stated: "And I have classes with Agatha after school.""Oh, okay."That was the whole answer and Izuku didn't expect more.Izuku had nothing else to do, so he thought about preparing for classes. "Mom, it is 7:23. You need to hurry up if you want to catch a train on time." He said as he checked the time for himself as well.Izuku started walking towards his room until he heard his mother. "Izuku, what about your sister? If she doesn't have her first period, where is she? I didn't see her this morning." That made Izuku's blood boil. It didn't bother him that his mother was asking for his sister. What made his blood boil was the answer to where his sister was."She is over at Bakugo's. They are going to school together." Izuku answered, trying to hide his annoyance but failing miserably. 'What does she see in him?' Izuku thought to himself. 'He is a total asshole that likes to torment others for fun. Why do people like him at all?'"Oh, okay then!" Inko replied, returning Izuku back to reality. "Naoko and her husband should come for dinner tonight, so don't stay late at Agatha's." Izuku was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even notice that he walked away from his mother and that he was now in his room."I am going, and this time eat something." Inko called as he heard doors open. "Fine, mom!" Izuku managed to answer-shout before he heard doors closing.Izuku was one of those people that never goes hungry living on a few slices of bread every day. That is reflected in his body build. Other people usually say he looks like a few sticks thrown together. That offended him greatly, even if he knew it was the truth, however what offended him the most was when his mother said the same.He picked up an already-prepared backpack from last night. His uniform was washed yesterday, so it was ready. He checked his phone for messages from Yaoyorozu. There weren't any. He didn't need a train ticket or an app on his phone. He had the luxury of living close to middle school. In Japan, it is very rare to live close to any school. Usually, it takes a twenty-minute train ride to the nearest school.Izuku exited the house as well. It took him a few minutes, and he was already in front of the school. As he approached the school, he could hear the ring of the bell. Based on the time, Izuku assumed it signaled the end of the first period. He had five minutes to get to the classroom, but he wasn't in a hurry and he walked down the hall at a rather slow speed. The classroom was close, and he didn't care if he made it there on time."Izuku." The girl that called him approached. She was a little shorter than Izuku and quite athletic. She had an eye-catching green color at the end of her hair that nearly reached her waist. Green faded into brown when coming near the root of her hair. She had emerald eyes, the same as Izuku's. She looked like a healthier female version of Izuku."What do you want, Izuna?" Izuku asked. "Nothing much, just wanted to say hi to my brother," she replied."That's not true and we both know it. Spit it out."Izuna just groaned and threw back a smile. "I need homework." Izuku now was annoyed. This is a regular occurrence that she doesn't have homework. The reason is that Bakougo probably didn't find anyone who was 'willing' to give them their own. Izuku handed her a notebook. "Take a picture here," he said."Thank you." Izuna replied. "What is your next period? And where is Yao-momo?""Math, and she had some personal problems.""I have math as well, and what's the problem? You know you can trust me.""No, I can't trust you and even if I could, she didn't tell me." Izuku answered as both of them approached the appropriate classroom. "She's coming back to school at Thursday, that's all she said.""Oi, Deku!" The shout of his unwanted nickname came before a hand landed on his shoulder. Izuku knew to whom this hand belonged and why it was placed there. It was a reminder. Izuku could feel a grin coming from behind him, those red eyes dancing to a grin. He turned around to witness the grin he felt a moment before and dirty, messy blond hair that completed the person's appearance. Katsuki Bakugo."Kacchan, don't you have biology now?" Izuna questioned him. It is great that you know his schedule, but you are not ashamed to ask for your own brother's, Izuku thought to himself."Just wanted to say hi to Deku here." Bakogo said, faking his signature grin. "Izu is training today after school." Izuna looked at him, confused. "You could ask her that on the way to school." Izuku offered the same question that Izuna wanted to ask Bakogo. But he was faster.With that simple question, Bakogo's grin disappeared. "You know, I just remembered." Izuna looked at him for a minute and said: "Oh, okay." 'How dense and stupid could you possibly be, Izuna?'"Izu if you don't mind, can I have a word with your brother?" Bakugo asked, still playing a nice act with friendly eyes. But that act was beginning to fall apart."Sure!" Izuna replied simply as she started moving towards her seat.When Izuna moved away until she couldn't hear them anymore, Bakogo swung his arm around Izuku, again hitting the reminder spot. "Listen here shitty nerd, you know what happens when you cause problems and I always thought of you as a smart coward, so please don't make me remind you again." Bakugo whispered into his ear as he released minor explosions under his palm. Weak enough that wouldn't damage Izuku's uniform. Strong enough to intimidate Izuku. At least Bakugo thought so."Still putting on a nice guy act, come on Katsuki, show them who you are, why you are the best, future number 1 hero." Izuku whispered back mockingly."I'll kill you De-""Class is starting," said the figure behind them. The teacher's deep voice was familiar to both Izuku and Bakugo. "Class started, Midoriya. Why aren't you at your table and? Bakugo, why are you in this classroom?" The teacher asked them and both of them could feel the whole class looking at them and laughing."Bakugo-kun needed help with math lessons, so he politely asked me to explain something to him." Izuku started trying to use the best of the situation. "He didn't want to ask you because you seemed scary to him so he tried to ask me. I hope we didn't offend you in any way and we apologize for the disturbance." Izuku finished as he bowed and Bakugo followed. He was hot-headed, stubborn, and prideful, but at least he knew to show respect to the teacher."It is fine, now Midoriya to your seat and Bakugo to Mrs. Anazi's class. Tell her that you are late because of me." Mr. Oki said to Bakugo. With a lower tone, Mr. Oki said to Bakugo, "There is no need to be afraid of me.""Right." Both of them answered at the same time in a deep bow and Bakugo's face was red as a tomato. Izuku just chuckled to himself right now. His day became ten times better."I'll kill you," Bakugo growled-whispered and Izuku knew he would have more bruises after school. But to him, it was worth it, and he could always cast an invisibility spell to sneak out of school. He didn't master teleportation, so it was out of the question. Even though Agatha forbids both of them. She was very clear about using magic outside of their lessons without her permission. She would probably know if he used one, but one slight detention from her and a long lesson was worth it when it comes to these situations.Izuku sat down in his seat, trying to focus on the lesson. He kept his eyes on the teacher as if he was paying attention, but his mind was elsewhere. His mind was wandering outside the school, following his glance. He looked at children playing around, using their quirks, showing off their newfound abilities. A boy with pink hair emitted a colorful mist, which a red-haired girl shaped with a wind quirk. It reminded Izuku of so many things. Mainly those he wasn't fond of, and one of them was Izuku's quirk assessment test eleven years ago.Izuku tuned out everything. He didn't listen to the teacher or anybody in the room. In his head, he replayed a scene from before and nothing else."Mom, hurry up!" Izuku called his mother and proceeded to jump around the apartment.Inko chuckled to herself and asked, "You are not scared anymore, aren't you?"Izuku shot her a serious look and replied: "You said she was just messing around, didn't you?""Of course, sweetheart." Inko answered with a smile. "And we can't leave without your sister.""Izuna!" Izuku shot suddenly and ran into the apartment. Inko would guess to search for his sister.Izuku ran through the halls, shouting his sister's name until she answered from the toilet. It took him a few seconds. He usually wouldn't invade someone's privacy like this, but today he was impatient to find out about his quirk. "Izuna, hurry up, mom is waiting for you." Izuku yelled so Izuna could hear him through the door. 'A small lie can't hurt,' Izuku thought to himself."Only ten minutes," she said through the door.""Not fast enough," Izuku answered.Izuna didn't answer immediately. She just growled, signaling she was annoyed. "Izuku, leave." She answered after a few moments. 'And there is her angry response,' Izuku thought."Izuku, let her be. We won't be late, I promise." There was a calm response from his mother. Inko stood behind Izuku. She took his hand and led him to the hallway door where they had waited for Izuna."Izuku, that wasn't nice, what you did with Izuna." Inko didn't spare a moment. She started lecturing the moment they sat down on the small bench they had next to the shoe closet.Izuku looked down and shot an answer immediately. "No, but she took forever.""Izuku, I told you to be patient," Inko told Izuku. "And you are going to apologize to her when she comes or you are not going."Izuku looked down, not facing his mother for a second. He knew he was 'making faces' but did not want to get in more trouble. Izuku just said: "Fine." He waited for his mother to speak again, hoping she would say something, so he wasn't forced to apologize at the same moment when Izuna came.The situation became more awkward for Izuku as he felt his mother's stare pierce through his body. For Izuku, moments like this were scary because Inko wasn't strict. Rather, she was a calm and kind person."Are we going or what?" asked Izuna, standing next to Izuku and Inko, putting her shoes on. "And what are you doing?""We're leaving now. I'm making sure we don't forget something," Inko said."Izuku do you want to say something?""What could we forget? We are just going to the doctor," Izuna butted in, which gave Izuku a bit of relief. "The only thing you need is a patient." Even if it could be annoying, sometimes Izuku always loved Izuna's simple way of thinking. It saved him from many situations."For example, we need your document," Inko answered with a smile and the only thing that came from Izuna was a simple: "Oh." Inko acknowledged Izuna's answer but didn't pay much attention to it. She looked at Izuku. "Izuku?"There was no more stalling for Izuku. "Izuna, sorry," Izuku said quietly, loud enough to be heard but still not meeting Inko's standards. "What?" Izuna asked, puzzled. "Izuku, louder," Inko added. "Also apologize nicely, that wasn't enough.""Sorry, Izuna, for before!" Izuku shouted, blood rushing to his cheeks, and he blushed from embarrassment; the more he thought about the situation worse it felt."Where did that come from?" Izuna asked, not paying much attention to it or her brother. Inko lost the majority of her patience and just forced the kids out of the house. She lectured kids on the way there. Agatha's house isn't that far from Inko's, usually a fifteen-minute walk.When they arrived at their destination, they were met with an American-style house. All outside walls were a pale white color, window frames as well, while the roof was light brown. It had an impressive garden in front of the house. Many bushes trimmed in different shapes with two trees at each end. Both were taller than a two-story house and each covering the house a little bit. At the first glance, the short grass seemed soft, like the owner even took grass to perfection.Inko walked towards the door without hesitation, showing an obvious friendship, her kids dragging behind her. Inko rang the bell a few times until the doors opened, revealing the woman. She had a slow, calm yet powerful presence to her. She looked very young, maybe in her early twenties,' Izuku thought when he got his first glance at her. Her hair was midnight black, accompanied by a single white strand that began over her left eye, following the rest of her hair into a big bun at the end. Blue-piercing eyes watched the twins, who were amazed by the woman's beauty. She wore nothing special, a purple sweater and black pants, but it still looked perfect on her.Inko and Agatha talked about the past, their shared memories, and the way things had changed. As they followed, the twins listened with amazement to the stories Inko told Agatha told. Inko told Agatha about the twins' progress while Agatha gave her advice. As they walked, Inko and Agatha laughed and joked, reminiscing about their childhood.The twins were left in the living room while Inko and Agatha entered the room next door. They told the twins they would be with them in five minutes.Both Izuku and Izuna felt awkward in the situation. They were not touching anything. Not exchanging a word, just sitting in silence on the couch in the middle of the room.Agatha's living room was quite different from theirs. Midoriya's apartment had simple furniture and many photos that held meaningful memories. The living room was crowded and connected to the dining room. In Agatha's case, the living room had one of the biggest TVs twins ever saw. The decoration included vases, plants, and other interesting decor. The entire room was bigger than half of their apartment. No matter how hard Izuku tried, he couldn't find any family photos, or anything similar to one.Izuku and Izuna sat down in silence, hearing some sounds they interpreted as Inko and Agatha talking. However, the walls being too thick they couldn't understand them. It lasted a few minutes before they entered the same room."Kids, we are going to another room, if there are to be any quirk shenanigans," Agatha said softly as she placed her hand on Inko's back. "If you want, I can bring you some tea?" she asked Inko as they both walked toward the kids.The kids followed her in silence, their eyes wide open with curiosity, but both were hesitant to say something. Inko smiled and nodded at Agatha's offer."You can say something. I don't bite." Agatha said, as they walked through the hallway. They passed next to a few plain wooden doors until they came to one that Izuku couldn't decide what material it was made of. It had carvings and writing that Izuku didn't see often. It wasn't any of the three Japanese alphabets, it was western letters. However, they didn't spell anything in Japanese or in the little of English that Izuku knew."Hello?" Agatha asked again, but Izuku was lost in amazement. Izuna , being too scared to ask anything, jabbed him in his side with an elbow, and thankfully for her, it brought him back to reality.Still hesitant, Izuku broke the ice. "Agatha, not to be rude or anything, but what are those weird symbols on the doors?"Agatha's face lit up a little, but to Izuku, the reason was unknown. "So you can see them?" she asked and invaded Izuku's personal space, until she was face-to-face with him. And that answered Izuku's question about why she changed her facial expression so suddenly. She was excited for them to see the doors as they should.But Izuna got even more freaked out, and it didn't help that Agatha asked her the question in the same manner as she asked Izuku: "Do you see them as well?" To Izuna, it was too much, and she faced the floor and barely managed to utter: "Y-yes."For some reason, it lit up Agatha's face even more, and Izuku grew a bit suspicious and concerned. So he decided to ask: "Are we meant not to see them?"Agatha didn't answer that. If they were in a normal situation, Izuku would be annoyed, but silence scared him this time. Everyone felt fear creeping in, not just Izuku. Izuku could see Izuna shaking as she walked behind him, both following Agatha into the room before them.Through the door, there wasn't much to see, as it looked like a plain, patient room. However, to Izuku, it reminded him a bit of a basement from the movies."Do you have any expectations of what your quirk will be?" Agatha asked in a playful manner when they were all in the room.Izuna was in no state to answer, and Izuku was barely keeping his cool and gathering little pieces of courage. "I-I want a great quirk, o-one like All Might, no, like Endeavour, or l-like a Gang Orca!""So we are working with the future hero? How sweet," Agatha said with a flashing smile."But it seems like you don't understand how quirks work, do you?"'How embarrassing!' A single thought consumed Izuku's mind and made his face red. "No." Izuku muttered under his breath, looking straight down at the floor.Laughter. Izuku heard someone laughing and when he looked up, he saw Agatha with a wide grin on her face. But for Izuku, there was something wrong with her smile. It seemed like this was the first time she laughed in a long time. However, Izuku couldn't resist and he started chuckling as well and Izuna followed soon after."Do you want me to explain them to you?" Agatha asked after she stopping laughing."Yes!" Izuku replied before realizing what he had said."As you know quirks are supernatural abilities that humans possess- "Agatha started, but soon after she was interrupted by Izuna, who joined the conversation out of nowhere. "What does supernatural mean?" "It means to do something you can't do normally or naturally." Izuku answered Izuna and also threw a warning look at her. In a now polite tone, he continued, "Please Agatha-san, continue.""Now, Izuku, it is okay to ask questions. If you don't understand something, please ask," Agatha replied calmly. "Now where were we, right, quirks are supernatural abilities that humans possess. Quirks are divided into three main categories: emitter, mutation, and transformation. Emitter quirks don't affect the body of a user in the slightest when in use. While transformation quirk changes the body accordingly when using it. Mutation quirks couse pemenent changes to the bodey. In other words, it is like you are using your quirk every bit of the day." Agatha explained to them slowly, looking into their eyes that were lit with excitement. "There are many other categories like stockpile, temporary, sentient, and so on. Because quirks are genetic abilities, they are most likely similar to your parents. Sometimes it skips parents and quirks resemble that of grandparents. Also, because they are genetic abilities, they are an extension of your body. To improve your quirk you use them until failure, similar to muscles. When they are broken, they are reformed even stronger. Also, an important thing to know about quirks is that they can draw traits from many family members. This can be a combination of multiple quirks or you can inherit the same quirk from one of your parents," Agatha explained. "You can only possess one quirk or none. It is believed that the first quirk originated in China over three hundred years ago. Since then quirks have started spreading through humanity and currently, 80% of the population possesses a quirk.After she was done talking, Agatha decided to look at the twins to see if they understood all the things she explained to them. When she glanced over at them, they met her with two completely opposite reactions. Izuku looked at her with stars in his eyes, ready to hear more, while Izuna looked dumbfounded. It was a bit of an awkward situation for her. But after some time finding the appropriate words, Agatha decided to ask her. "Izuna honey, is there something you didn't understand?""Probably all of it."Before she could respond to Izuna, she got an unexpected answer from Izuku, who was met with a fist from Izuna."Shut up..." There was a slow reply while her eyes started reflecting light more than usual, indicating she was going to cry. 'Great, now we have to deal with her.' Izuku thought to himself, not daring to look at her, fearing that he would make the situation worse.Izuna, honey, there is no need to cry or to be upset." Agatha started looking at both of them, giving him warning stares, but not as a mother; she was way less hostile. "If you don't understand something, just say it to me, and I'll explain." It seemed that Agatha was able to calm her a little, enough to continue the conversation."Ok""Now, is there anything you want me to explain first?" Agatha asked, flashing her a smile."Genetic."Izuna muttered a simple word, and Agatha started explaining. It took her five minutes to explain what 'genetic' meant, and it wasn't that. There were a lot of other things that she didn't understand. When it reached a certain point, Izuku started zoning out, waiting to get to the actual topic of quirks."Izuku.""Izuku.""Izuku?"Agatha called to him a few times until he answered with a few sounds that were certainly not words. "Izuku, we are finished. It is time to check your quirks. I have an energy quirk that is able to resonate with other quirks, and after that, we will do some physical tests to see what your quirks are exactly." Agatha said this to the twins, who were both listening now.Agatha's hands started glowing with a purple light and a pattern that Izuku would describe as energy flowing. She placed both of them close to their bodies. When they came close enough, their bodies started glowing as well in places where Agatha's hands were close. Izuna's light was scarlet red, and Izuku's was light vintage blue. Both had the same pattern as Agatha's."Taking into consideration that both of you are four and there are no changes to your body, we can be sure that neither has a mutation quirk." Agatha started where Izuna continued right after she had a chance. "What does our age have to do with quirks?" Izuna looked at Agatha with light in her eyes, the same light that Izuku had when he talked about quirks. Now he was interested in what they were talking about."Izuna, a quirk develops until the age of four. There are some exceptions, but in those cases, the quirk has already developed enough at the age of four to be considered fully a quirk. And if it develops later in life, those are slight changes." Agatha explained.She walked to the table a few steps behind her, lifting two papers from the drawer. "We will first start with some tests that measure your parent's quirks; that would probably be the fastest way-""Midoriya!""Midoriya!""Midoriya!"There was a pain in the side of his right ribs that Izuku recognized pretty well; it was an elbow jab. It was dark before him until he realized that he had his eyes closed. When he opened them, he found himself in the classroom. 'It was a dream.' Izuku thought to himself when he realized that he had fallen asleep during class and dreamt about his 'quirk assessment test'. 'It would be horrible if I talked when I was asleep.' A quick realization passed through Izuku's head. 'Especially about quirk, people would think that I am pathetic,' Izuku paused for a moment. 'They already think I am pathetic; it would just make the situation worse.'"Had a nice nap, Midoriya?" Fukui-sensei asked Izuku when he woke up.Izuku didn't know what to say; he couldn't afford detention, so he needed to be careful with his words to not sound disrespectful. "Sorry Miss." Izuku answered as he looked at the ground. "Sorry doesn't cut it." Fukui-sensei stated that as she started walking towards Izuku, and she took his notebook and inspected it a bit. She turned a few pages back. "You didn't pay attention at all today." Izuku felt some anticipation in her voice. Like she was waiting for an opportunity to give him as much detention as possible. "Say, can you solve this problem on the board?" she asked when she was in front of a board once again. The math problem was an equation labeled '2-d'.Izuku took some time and answered after a few seconds: "X equals six.""Correct, but you still have detention on Friday." Izuku didn't answer that; he sat again in his seat. 'Talk about luck.' Izuku thought to himself as he started actually preparing for the class, just for the bell to notify him that the first period was over.The rest of the school day passed as normal, being quiet during different classes, with nuisances bothering him at lunch break. Trying to avoid Bakugo after school, and this day was completed.