Chapter 3
"Dude, this year is going to be awesome!" Eijiro cheered with Izuku walking next to him. Each had on their backpacks and were making their way to a new school. Well, new to Izuku. Eijiro had gone here before but had been absent for last year. Izuku's old school had been shut down given how much his mother hammered the law against them. She ended up getting a lot of money from it. While he didn't know how much it was enough to get him brand new clothes! No more thrift store clothes, hello more All Might t-shirts.
"Why is it going to be awesome?" Izuku asked. He knew it would be awesome with a best friend, but he also had the omnitrix. Who knew what new things he could learn while he was at school that helped him understand the device?
"Cause we're going to be in the same class!" Eijiro threw the classroom door open, startling some of the other kids.
"Hey everyone! I'm Kirihima EIjiro! And this is my best friend Midoriya Izuku, but I call him Izubro." He grinned his sharp teeth at them. The sun decided to hit them just right at that moment and glimmer of the pearly whites that amplified the gleaming light. One of the kids who had the head of a fish shielded his face.
"MY EYES!"
The teacher chose that moment to intervene, every child taking a seat and listening to the instructor as well as children could. Izuku would take every spare second he could and examine his classmates. Some of them had obvious mutations, the fish boy, the guy with phone cords in his arms, and a girl with no eyes but decided to glue googly eyes on where her eyes would be.
It was going to be so much fun examining their quirks!
He didn't want to examine their quirks so closely!
The day turned bad super fast when recess hit. Eijiro had attracted a lot of attention from his outgoing personality to his diamond sparkling skin. So far things looked good, until they introduced themselves and their quirks. Even with the reassurance from his friend that no one would treat him bad for being quirkless, Izuku was hesitant to reveal his status. Most were ok, but seemed to tolerate him being around or treated him like glass. A handful tried to pull Eijiro away to play with them instead. Eijiro insisted that Izuku be involved in everything he did, his own way of making sure his school life would be different.
One of the smarter kids suggested hide and seek and invited the two to play. Both were excited at first for both of them being asked to play, but once Eijiro was hidden, the game changed to seek and destroy. Izuku now was running to avoid three kids, one who could turn into a ball, one that could emit purple lines that he controlled, and the last one (fate was cruel today) had a quirk that could make anything a time bomb.
Izuku kept running and running, making sure to leap when the ball boy rolled to him to try and trip him, dodge when a line was sent his way, and outrun the last guy. He wasn't familiar with this school yet, so he didn't know all the little spots to duck and hide in, or the secret paths to escape. This was unfamiliar territory, and he was in a lion's den.
"Get over here! We need to tag you out!" The line boy said throwing another one.
Izuku ducked under it. "I thought this was hide and seek!"
Ball boy bounced against a tree and launched to try and trip Izuku again. "That's not how we play it here!"
"Then I don't wanna play anymore!" Izuku hopped to avoid getting his legs taken out.
"You don't get to quit mid game!" Bomber kid said grabbing a rock, making it glow, and tossing it forward.
Izuku saw the rock flying above him, about to land in front of him. He pushed a little more strength into his legs to outpace the object. With his legs stinging, his sweat starting to build up on his forehead, the rock came down and landed behind him. A second after it hit the ground it detonated in a small blast. It became incredibly smoky causing the boys to lose Izuku.
"Dang it! How are we gonna win?" Ball boy asked.
"Don't give up! That's how a hero wins!" Line kid said running through the smoke, accidentally inhaling smoke and coughing away.
The three kept their momentum, determined to find the quirkless kid. Izuku himself turned around a corner next to the school and halted before he hit a wall. His heart dropped, he ran right into a dead end. Maybe if he was fast enough he could-
"Come on! He can't keep running!"
Oh you have no idea long how he can run. But, he can't go back the way he came, and there's no windows he could reach. How was he supposed to get out of this?! He shouldn't have left Eijiro, he should have stayed by him.
He needed to get to him before the others found him.
Responding to his thoughts, the omnitrix beeped with a small flash on the screen.
"Teleport function activated."
He lifted his arm up to see what the omnitrix was doing, it had a map displayed with a series of numbers on it. Before he could think about having discovered a new feature the omnitrix started to generate a sphere of green light around it, expanding until it enveloped him entirely. Everything was bright, and he couldn't hear anything besides the high pitched noise coming from the watch. It died down before it got too bad, and Izuku found himself in a tree with Eijiro on a branch under him.
"Izubro! How did you do that?! Did you give yourself a teleporting quirk?"
Izuku looked back to the watch, willing it to display what function he just used. A holographic screen showed the history of functions he had used, and sure enough, listed just a second ago was a teleport from one side of the school grounds to the other.
How was he supposed to explain this?
After tons of questions from Eijiro about what happened after school, Izuku caved in and spilled on the three that chased him. Eijiro wanted to go back and bop em a good one but Izuku convinced him that it wasn't worth the trouble now that he could simply teleport away.
"Yeah, how did you do that? Was it the quirk watch or.."
"Yeah, it was the watch." Izuku avoided Eijiro's eyes, he hated to keep his friend in the dark about this. The omnitrix was a super secret thing that the man gave to him! He asked him to keep it safe. But, couldn't he tell his best friend? He was directly affected by it, so it was the least he could do.
"Eijiro, there's a secret I want to tell you."
The red headed boy noticed how serious Izuku got, and did his best to be respectful and not yell like he always did. "Yeah Izubro?"
"Well...about the watch..it's not from someone's quirk."
"But didn't the doctors say it was attached to you? What else could do that?"
Izuku put his hand over the omnitrix, fiddling with the dial. It was a habit he developed when he felt either cornered, anxious, or just weak. "It..was given to me by a stranger. He said it was super important and to keep it safe."
Eijiro nodded, showing he was listening. "Did he tell you what it was?"
"...yeah, he said it was-"
"Help!" A weak voice cried out. Before Izuku knew what he was doing he was already running to the source. It sounded like a girl their age, what if she was hurt? Should he use another part of the omnitrix to help? Why were his legs running!
"Wait up Izuku!" Eijiro charged right behind the boy, easily catching up. Both their little legs carried them next to an old building. There was a smaller, skinnier, and dirtier girl laying on her side. Both of them stopped right next to her, worried about what happened.
"Is she-" Eijiro swallowed the spit in his mouth. "Is she dead?"
Izuku didn't know, but she was staying incredibly still. The only reason he didn't believe she was dead was how her legs shivered a tiny bit. It must be cold for her. Her hair was messy and full of dirt but he could make out the silver blond underneath it. Izuku looked at Eijiro, making eye contact with his friend. With a brief nod both gained the courage to reach out to her to check on her well being.
*CHINK*
"Tsk." The girl had moved unbelievably fast and was in front of Eijiro. She didn't look very happy. Izuku was wondering where that noise came from, but then he saw what was in her hand. She had tried to slice his friend with a box cutter!
"Run!" Izuku tried to warn his friend but the girl changed her target from Eijiro to him. She lunged at Izuku, tackling him onto the ground harshly. She pushed his face against the rocky cement and brought up her broken box cutter. Eijiro grabbed her hand, hs fist becoming enveloped in red crystals.
"Get off him!" Eijiro, mustering the strength of a superpowered child picked up the girl and slammed her into a wall. The air ejected out of her lungs, followed by a little bit of stomach acid. While Izuku was still stunned from the display, the girl started to get up.
"Oh no you don't!" Eijiro grabbed each of the girl's arms and pinned her against the wall. His hands became more and more enveloped in the crimson diamond until they started to crawl along the girl's wrists digging into the wall behind her. She kept kicking the boy, thrashing against the inescapable grip. She even tried to bite him but regretted it when her teeth felt the diamond hard skin.
"Let me go!" She cried, still kicking away.
"Will you try and hurt us?" Eijiro hardened his eyes at her. He had failed to keep Izuku under his watch today, and he barely made sure he wasn't stabbed. No way was he letting this girl go until she promised.
"Fine, I'll get my meal somewhere else! Let me go let me go!" She continued to try kicking Eijiro's crotch, but he didn't react at all. Eijiro gave Izuku a questioning glance who nodded in responde.
Eijiro let his hands go and stepped back, ready to jump between her and-
"Let me go let me go! I already promised now let me go!" She continued to cry out, becoming more and more desperate the longer she was stuck. Izuku and Eijiro looked between the crystal boy's red hands and the crystalized restraints on the girl that kept her against the wall.
"Woah, I didn't know I could do that. What else could I do?" He asked aloud, Izuku's mind recalling all the different things he knew the alien DNA could do. He thought that the small amount of DNA wouldn't do much more than give Eijiro new durability. But the slightly enhanced strength, the rapid generation of taedenite, the self shifting, it was all the abilities. Maybe since they were still growing his powers would grow with him? Would he be as strong or are his powers dimmed down because he's still part human? He stillneededtoeatlikeanyotherhumanbut-
"Izuku, you're doing it again."
Oh, right, stabby girl pinned down. "Why did you attack us?" Izuku was genuinely curious, it wasn't everyday someone referred to them as a meal. Either old ladies did that or hunters, and this was no old lady.
"I just needed something to eat but my parents wouldn't get me food, now let me go I'm starving!" She struggled again, but was getting nowhere.
Eijiro just looked pissed. "Seriously?! Your parents wouldn't get you food?!"
She shook her head, now glaring at the two boys who trapped her. "They kept trying to feed me icky stuff that makes me sick after a while."
Eijiro looked appalled. "What kind of icky stuff?!"
"Bread, broccoli, lots of stuff they eat they try and force me to eat too."
That wasn't the answer Eijiro expected. "Isn't that, just normal food?"
She rolled her eyes. "Normal for them, but it makes me sick!"
Izuku stepped forward, a puzzle was right in front of him and he just needed a couple extra pieces to confirm it. "Are we food?"
Those yellow cat-like eyes confirmed it to him, she gave him a grin with her fangs exposed. "Yep, the tastiest."
That solved it for Izuku, she was just like a predator on those africa shows his mother had on occasionally. Her quirk must rely on blood, making her need it to either stay sane or stay alive. "I think I can help."
She lost her grin, looking at him suspiciously as he fiddled with his watch. "How?"
"Your quirk, it needs blood right? Without it you feel icky." Izuku set the omnitrix to the repair genetic damage function, rotating the dial to have it on human.
"Yeah, but no one likes it when I ask for it. Even my doctor kept giving me nasty pills that made me feel woozy and icky. When I asked my friends they all left me." She lowered her eyes to stare at her shoes. "No one wants to be friends with me."
"I'd be friends with you." Eijiro immediately said, making her look up questioningly.
"Really?"
"Yeah, you didn't pick your quirk." He said smiling. As the girl tried to figure out what might be hidden behind the earnest boy Izuku stepped up to her.
"I'm Izuku Midoriya, what's your name."
"...Himiko Toga."
"Toga, if you want, I can make it so you don't have to drink blood anymore, but you wouldn't have a quirk."
Eijiro grabbed Izuku's shoulder. "Woah wait, they said not to do that again!"
"If people can't give her blood, she's going to get hungry and hurt more people." He then turned back to her, ignoring his friend.
Izuku took in a deep breath and locked eyes with her. "It's your choice, being quirkless isn't fun, but if you show me you won't hurt anyone I can give you a new one."
Toga stared down the boy, trying to see if he was lying. He didn't look away, he didn't flinch, but she didn't believe anyone could do what he said. Maybe she'd play his game for fun. "Can I have a quirk that makes me turn into anyone without needing blood?"
A couple aliens came to mind for Izuku, but one seemed perfect for it. So he nodded.
Himiko smiled teasingly. "Sure, go ahead, I wanna see what you'd do."
"Ok, but you need to keep it secret, otherwise we'd both be in trouble."
"Fine."
Eijiro looked between Izuku and Toga. "Um, Izubro, I don't think she's-"
"Alright, here I go." Izuku placed his hand with the omnitrix over her head.
"Stabilizing Genetic Code."
*Skreeee*
The familiar light covered her for a few seconds before it vanished. Himiko blinked her eyes and looked at Izuku. He used his toy to make a flashy light, of course it wasn't real. But then she blinked again, her eyes, they felt weird. Maybe the light hurt them. She went to talk but then her tongue felt her teeth. Her fangs, her fangs were gone! She didn't believe he could actually do it!
"No, wait! I thought you were joking! I don't wanna lose my fangs! I don't wanna lose my eyes! I want my quirk back!" She started to cry, making Izuku immediately regret his actions. He should have been more clear that she understood, but he really wanted to help her.
"What's going on here?!" A man called out from the sidewalk. Izuku and Eijiro realized how bad it looked. Her trapped in Eijiro's crystals, the two of them probably looked like they were picking on her. The dirt and holes in her clothes didn't help either. But when he got closer they recognized each other.
"Midoriya?"
"Mister Detective?"
"I'm starting to think this kid is looking for trouble." Detective Tsukauchi leaned back in his car seat, looking over a report to submit in his hand. It was deeply concerning when he first came across the scene, but seeing Midoriya involved he knew he had to look into it. At first, their perspective seemed just fine. It was clear self defense against a girl who had an uncommon quirk that seemed to need blood. When he questioned the boys, they were hesitant to talk to him. At first he thought it was because Kirishima used his quirk, but he could easily sweep that under the rug. The girl though, didn't talk when he started asking questions.
It took a lot more effort to eventually get a name. The girl looked like she hadn't seen a shower in weeks, but her parents never reported her missing. There was clear neglect, possible abuse, and a hell of a lot more paperwork to make sure the girl was somewhere safe during all this. Looking at the quirk registry confirmed that she had an appetite that only blood could satisfy otherwise she would be feral. The odd part, was the photos and extra description. She didn't have the fangs, or the feline eyes, and when he was able to ask her about it she just curled up into a ball.
What happened to this girl?
*knock knock*
One of his officers was tapping at his window. Unrolling it he handed the detective a tablet. "The hospital the ambulance took her to let us know she's in perfect health. I got to say you work fast on those quirkless cases."
"Just because Midoriya ran into her doesn't mean it's a quirkless case."
The officer paused, giving him a puzzled look. "You didn't know?"
"Know what?"
He just chuckled and walked away. Detective Tsukauchi knew he was missing something big right then, but not immediately concerned according to the officer. He looked over the tablet, seeing what the hospital logged for her.
No diseases, minor scrapes and bruises, nothing a good bath couldn't solve. What was the guy talking abou-
Quirk factor: none
He held up the other document, the quirk registry. Both were Himiko Toga, both had the blond hair and same parents, but one of the files said she was quirkless, and unfortunately for him it was the most recent one. It was the worst case running through his mind, during the time this girl had ran away something happened that caused her to lose her quirk. Thank goodness for Midoirya's luck finding her, the girl would need a friend that shared her status. He should keep them out of this though, not letting them know she lost her quirk for good.
He'd try getting as far as he could on this, and if there was in any way a hint that menace was alive, then he would call in the big guns.
"Izuku Midoriya." Inko said sternly, shaking the boy to his bones. As soon as Inko got a call that Detective Tsukauchi had found her boy involved with a new case she raced over. Eijiro and Izuku were sitting next to each other as the detective and a female officer were talking with the girl involved. Izuku kept apologizing, saying he used the watch thinking it would help the girl. She wanted to be kind, to tell him he did the right thing, but she didn't know the whole story and needed Izuku to know this was serious.
"Why did you think it would help her?" She asked keeping a low and quiet tone so others couldn't eavesdrop.
"Um, ?" Eijiro raised his hand, but Inko put it down for the boy. It was between her and her son.
*sniff* Izuku tried not to cry, but he was failing as he tried to explain to his mother what happened. "She *sniff* needed blood *sniff* and was hurting people to get it. *sniff* I-I thought that if she didn't have her quirk than *sniff* then she wouldn't have to hurt anyone else."
As Inko's son started to hiccup, she tried to understand what he had told her. If she needed blood, why couldn't she just get it at a blood bank, or have people donate like her parents? Izuku hardly would have needed to do what he did if that was the case.
" , you're free to take your son and his friend home, but would it be alright if I talked to you just for a second?" Detective Tsukauchi asked. Inko hardly noticed his approach, but she grew nervous at what he might have discovered. Nodding hesitantly she followed the man into his office. How many times had she been here already?
"I have a large favor to ask, and it involves the girl."
A favor?
She nodded, waving him to go on. He pulled his chair from out of his desk and plopped into it, relieving his arm of the new heavy stack of papers in it. " , in no way are we going to punish those kids. They acted in self defense and caught her before she might have hurt more people. In her quirk registry it states that she needs blood for it to work and if given too long a period she might go feral. Simply put, her parents didn't give her that and neither did the local doctor despite it being listed as a medical need. Both are being looked into but the biggest thing is she ran away weeks ago."
Inko gasped. She would have been hysterical if Izuku was gone a day without letting her know. But, he said that her parents didn't give her something she needed. Something was strange about this. "Have they been told she's found?"
"We're thinking about it."
"Why haven't you told them yet?! They must be worried sick!"
"We had an officer stop by saying there was a lost girl that matched their daughter's description. You know what they said?" He pulled up his notepad. Inko was starting to go pale in shock about what the parents said.
"They said they didn't know anyone by that description, they also said they didn't have a daughter."
Inko wasn't one to swear in front of her son, but he wasn't here right now. "Those, bastards! Do they not care what happens to her?! Do they treat everyone who needs help like shit?! If I found out that my son was treated like that I would fuck their lives over with!-"
"-Before I'm legally required to record what you're saying, please hear me out." He leaned forward, rubbing his eyebrows at thinking about what he was asking.
"Her quirk, you could say.." He tried to find a way of wording it to cover it. "..Crashed..yeah, because she..um.."
He kept trying to string up a valid excuse, but the longer Inko stared at him showed she wasn't buying it. For a guy who specialized in detecting lies he really sucked at telling them. Inko raised an eyebrow at him, waiting impatiently for a real answer.
"Ok long story short she can't use her quirk anymore. Since you have experience raising a quirkless child I was wondering if you'd look after her until we get the ruling on her parents." He caved in, not completely but enough that satisfied Inko.
"So that's the favor?" She asked, easing up her intensity.
Tsukauchi nodded, unintentionally holding his breath waiting for her answer. Inko said nothing and looked out the window to where the kids were seated. Himiko Toga, Inko knew the truth and luckily the detective didn't connect Izuku to the quirklessness. She could see the Kirishima's boy, doing his best to try and lighten the mood by talking to the two of them. Izuku just kept glancing to Toga, guilt written all over his face.
It broke her heart to see him like that, he only ever wanted to help people and he tried doing that. But Toga, oh Toga, she looked the worst. It looked like she just had her entire life ripped from her. The only time she had ever seen that look on someone was her own son the day they found out he was quirkless. Inko made her choice. "I'll take care of her. How long until she can get a family?"
"Getting a warrant for the parents and the doctor, dealing with lawyers, launching an investigation into possible events that happened years ago, there's a lot that needs to go down. We're looking at somewhere between a couple of years at most.." He got up and looked to where he saw Inko smiling. Izuku and Eijiro got Toga to start coloring with them. Each one was taking turns drawing a hero that could beat the other kids'. Izuku was drawing strange mutation quirked ones that didn't look human at all, while Eijiro was drawing themselves with different costumes and powers. Toga, finally fed up with the weird creative ones decided she would draw a massive hero with spikes and lasers coming from him...on the wall…
"Or today." Detective Tsukauchi chuckled with Inko as one of the officers started chasing the kids through the hall.
Chapter 4
Himiko Toga, the girl that was obsessed with blood, the girl who loved to make people bleed, the girl who tended to be called a stalker by parents and teachers. Where did she go?
Himiko Midoriya was in front of the mirror in her pajamas, looking into her golden eyes reflecting back. They still looked weird to her with round pupils, and she couldn't see in the dark as well anymore. That was just one of the many things that died that day. Was she really the same person?
Grabbing a toothbrush she tried to ignore the constant questions that entered her head every time she saw a picture, a reflection, anything that reminded her that things were so different back then. The bristles against her now fangless teeth felt nice, actually managing to use them without her accidentally cutting them. It was so annoying to dig them out from her gums like a piece of popcorn.
Once again it was a reminder of what changed and the price of it. Before she was alone, fending for herself to survive. Her family, teachers, everyone wanted to stay away from her, and it was exhilarating to feel like she was on the hunt. Her favorite was blending in, taking on a new face and becoming a new person to hide amongst her prey waiting for a chance to strike. All this time she just thought it was who she was, and nothing was going to happen to change that.
But then she lost her quirk, she underestimated two kids her age and the roles of the hunter were switched on her.
Instead of being eaten, sold, beat into submission, or trained, they removed her quirk. Now she doesn't really know who Himiko Midoriya is. It was easy to remember who she once was, but so many natural instincts and desires died when her quirk was taken. With her confusion she had a new family that treated her well, loved her as their own despite knowing what she had done. Her past parents were locked up and almost everything went to her.
"Himiko! Would you help me with breakfast?" Inko, or should she call her Mom? She was much nicer than her last one.
"Sure thing!" She called back, even the way she talked was altered. But that could just be the toothpaste in her mouth.
Himiko washed out her mouth and placed her toothbrush away. Walking into the kitchen she could see Izuku sitting at the table coloring a new picture in his notebook. She thought it was heroes, but the ones in his book all were heavy mutant types and looked funny. Probably a video game or something, she should ask if she can try it out.
"Would you like to try cutting the chicken?" Inko asked, offering her a small knife. It was right there, it would be so easy to grab it and push it a little farther to enter her arm, to get the rivers of rich red to run out of the limb. Himiko shivered thinking about it more. Even if she could do it, there was nothing it would do to satisfy her anymore. And she would probably lose her chance to get a quirk from Izuku.
"Sure." She grabbed the knife, feeling the handle in the palm of her hand. Strange, it felt good still. Guess there were some things that didn't change. There was a chicken breast sitting on the cutting board, a piece of meat that hardly had any blood left to bleed. If holding a knife still felt nice, what if..
*Chock*
Inko turned to the sound. Himiko had just stabbed the chicken with the force that she could muster at eleven years old. The mother smiled and just patted Himiko's head. "Let me show you how to cut it up, ok?"
Himiko looked up at the woman confused. "Ok." Her new mom was weird, really weird. Even Himiko thought that giving a child a knife that had a history of violence that then proceeded to stab something dead would have resulted in some fear. Now she was showing her how to cut meat in a better way to preserve the knife and let the chicken retain its texture for cooking.
This taught her a few things, but one thing stood out to her. She still really liked to stab things.
She should cook with Mom more to get in even more stabbing.
"SLEEP OVER!" Eijiro jumped into the Midoriya household gripping the straps of his stuffed backpack.
"Sleep over!" Izuku cheered with less volume but equal energy. The two boys ran around the couch as Inko talked briefly with the red head's mother. Himiko was trying to watch tv getting annoyed by their noise, but after the third time Eijiro came around she jumped on his back to get him to stop. He just kept running barely hindered by the girl.
"Izuku! Get him to stop!" Himiko tried putting her thumbs in his ears.
"I'll stop when you take your fingers out of my ears!" Eijiro laughed as she tried harder to get him to feel something hinting to discomfort.
"You stop first!"
"I can't hear you!"
Himiko took her fingers out and was about to repeat herself, but Eijiro stopped abruptly sending her rolling off his shoulders and hitting the couch hard. "Oof!"
"HImiko! Are you ok?" Izuku ran to his adopted sister's side. Instead of crying, or whining, she started to laugh. Eijiro grinned and grabbed both Izuku and Himiko in his arms and ran with them. "Let's go to your room Izubro!"
"Only if I get to play on the computer!" Himiko's voice wobbled with each step that Eijiro took. Once the kids were away Inko and Kirishima's mother finally stopped watching the odd sight.
"You think they'll learn a little restraint?"
"We'd be lucky if it didn't get worse than this."
Izuku was sketching another drawing in his notebook as Eijiro drew another hero costume for himself. Both were sprawled out on Izuku's new larger bed in his room. When they had moved to their new house Inko had decided to spoil her son a little bit to make up for all the horrible things he went through unnoticed by her.
Himiko was sitting on the computer and clicking away at the keyboard, the only noise that filled the air besides the two boy's scribbling.
Eijiro broke the silence. "Hey Izuku, do you think I might have more powers?"
Izuku looked up from his notebook. "What do you mean?"
Eijiro sat up setting his paper on his lap. "I mean, I didn't know I could grow those crystals a while ago. Now I can make awesome tree forts if I wanted."
He coated his fists in red crystal. Izuku flipped a couple of pages in his notebook and landed on one with a man made of green diamonds similar to Eijiro's. After reading a couple lines he then spoke up to his friend. "I mean, it's possible you might be able to reflect certain types of energy, or control the crystals without touching them directly, but I don't know how much I gave yousoyoucoulddevelopthesameabilitiesbutinadilutedformbutit'spossibleaswellyoulackthesamepowersorhavenewonesnotrecordedduetoyoubeingmixedwithhuman-"
"Woah, wait, did you make that guy after my quirk?!" Eijiro pointed to the picture. Izuku started to fold the notebook but someone else snatched it away.
Himiko stood by the bed reading the notebook, then looked to Eijiro, then back at it. She held it at arms length and turned it around to get a better look at the drawing within.
"Himiko give it back." Izuku whined, but the girl tossed it to Eijiro.
"Speaking of quirks, what would you give me?"
Both boys went silent, remembering the fact that Izuku had offered her back her quirk a while ago. It had been plenty of time but she never brought it up. Eijiro turned to Izuku. "Wait, could you have given me an entirely different quirk?"
Himiko knocked on the diamond boy's head. "You mean this bad hairdo could have been avoided."
"Hey! My new hair rocks!"
"Yeah, only cause it's a literal rock."
Izuku took a deep breath. This whole time he kept the omnitrix secret, well the truth behind it secret. Now they came to him after so long of respecting his privacy. If anyone was going to know, it would be the two he was literally using the device's powers on. "Yeah, I could have given you different powers."
He gripped the watch with his other hand feeling vulnerable as he opened up. Eijrio and Himiko stopped their playful banter and looked to him. Izuku gently picked up the notebook and flipped through the pages on it to them. Several different drawings, monsters, and plenty of words on it were written. "I can give anyone powers similar to these guys, but I would have to erase their quirk to do it."
Eijiro scooted a little closer. "Wait, you mean anyone would lose their quirk if you used your watch on them?"
"Only if I change them, I can teleport with people just fine."
"You can teleport?!" Himiko shrieked but clamped her mouth shut. After waiting a few minutes for the mother figure to potentially barge in and want answers she spoke again. "Why did you keep it a secret? Didn't you want to be a hero?"
Izuku shook his head. "Yeah, but now I just want to help people. I'll always like heroes, but I need to make sure no one tries to take the watch."
Eijiro looked at said object. "True, imagine if a villain went around taking people's quirks. But isn't your watch, ya know, put there from someone's quirk."
Izuku lifted his arm to show the omnitrix better. "No, he gave it to me without a quirk. This was made by a really smart guy."
Himiko touched the faceplate on it, feeling the metal. "So why did he give it to a kid?"
Izuku wanted answers too about the creator, but he had never seen that man again. "I got it from the creator's friend, or someone who knew him. He told me to keep it safe so that's what I'm doing."
Getting up from the bed he went to his bookshelf. "I'm not sure about everything it can do, but I know that they did their best to make sure no one bad could get it."
Grabbing a stack on notebooks with the same symbol of the omnitrix on it he brought it to the bed. "This has a bunch of powers listed in it. If either of you want something just tell me, but it has to be from a single guy."
Himiko was first to grab one of them, already examining several of them from back to back. Eijiro had one as well, but didn't seem as invested as the girl.
"Are you ok Eijiro? I'm sorry if I upset you by not telling you sooner."
He waved Izuku's words off. "Don't worry about it, but I don't think changing my powers is a good idea. You gave me some that were already like my quirk so no one paid much attention."
The blond stopped reading. "Does this mean I have to pick a power like my old quirk?"
Izuku wanted to refute her, tell her she could have any of them, but his friend's words made too much sense. "Sorry, but Eijiro's right. People would notice if you got a different kind of quirk."
Himiko handed the notebook back to Izuku. "Can I think about it?"
Her brother nodded. "Of course, I don't want to do this without your permission."
A lot flooded back into her mind. Everything that she's learned about who she really isn't came from losing her quirk, and now she could get a new one? Before she dared to change her body, she needed to know who she was before taking that step. When she left, Izuku and Eijiro were left alone in the boy's room.
"How about we play some games, I want to try that All Might Infinite Smash game you were talking about." Eijiro changed the subject. Izuku was so glad to have him as a friend.
Himiko sat on her bed, looking page after page of all sorts of creatures that her step brother had made. But did he make them? He said that he could give her the powers of any one of the monsters listed. How did he know about all these things if he never even used the watch more than three times total to change people? There were so many questions she had about the watch, but Himiko didn't know if Izuku would want to answer them.
He already seemed really anxious about telling them it wasn't from a quirk. Izuku was the person in her life to make a change, a good change. Even if it cost Himiko everything she thought she was, life was so much better. She had a family, a nice family that took care of her. Even if she wanted so many answers to so many things, she didn't want to risk losing what she got. So, eventually, when Izuku was ready she would ask about it. Especially how each person in the pages had a homeworld.
Forget this, she wants to do something else now. Stabbing is still fun, but she can't stab people without getting in trouble. Maybe there was a game that involved stabbing?
Rolling off her bed, she went to find a source of entertainment. Outside her door she could hear her brother and his friend, who was her friend maybe, playing video games in the living room.
"That's it! You can't play All Might anymore!" Eijiro was mashing buttons trying to beat Izuku with the bunny themed hero.
"But he's my favorite."
"No! You've memorized every move he can do! Play someone you don't normally select."
"Ok, I'll use Endeavor next time."
"Awesome."
Himiko slid through the halls to get to Izuku's room. If they were playing out here then she could play on the computer again. Last time she tried going through and finding if his notes were from a game and found a couple fantasy ones to play. So, now opening his door to-
"Such detail for a child, he's certainly gone to further lengths you understand the aliens than Ben ever has."
Himiko stared at the strange man looking at one of Izuku's books. He had a big doctor coat with goggles around his neck. What was he doing in their house?! The man noticed her and gave her a smile.
"Hello young one, I was just popping in to see how Izuku was adjusting to life with the omnitrix. Yet it seems there's hardly a need to be worried."
She could stab people who broke into her brother's room right? Argh, she should carry knives on her more often. "Who are you, where did you come from?"
He seemed to brighten up at that question and showed her the notebook. "I think the proper question is, when did I come from. Don't worry, I'm just an old acquaintance of Izuku's. I see he has found marvelous use for the omnitrix, helping people without getting into fights. If only more thought that way, it would spare me the trouble."
Himiko's eyes widened. "You gave Izuku the watch!"
"Bingo! My name is Professor Paradox, I hope Izuku spoke fondly of me."
"He doesn't like talking about the watch."
He hummed grabbing his chin. "Maybe he's taking things more seriously than I expected. It's always good to have friends and family you can confide in. I hope you will be one of them, given your protective nature."
"I don't know what some of those words mean."
He chuckled. "I wouldn't worry too much about it, I was about to leave anyway." He pulled out his pocket watch and gave her one last look.
"Be good to your brother, and be there to listen for anything he trusts you with. Goodbye." He vanished in a flash of white light. Himiko shielded her eyes briefly and soon found herself in an empty room. The only thing that proved she wasn't crazy was one of Izuku's books laying open on his desk, just as the professor left it. Looking over into it she saw one of his many drawings on it, it was some kind of four limbed monster made of purple mud.
Reading over the powers, it could shapeshift to look like anyone or anything and use its body as weapons. Huh, she'll keep this one in mind.
And she did, for an entire year. It took a long time to finally figure it out, who she was and who she wanted to be. Being around Izuku and Eijiro so much helped her with that, it also helped that they knew who she was. During that time she never pressed Izuku about the watch, or omnitrix, and Eijiro agreed with her that he would open up when he felt he was ready.
Yet he never did, he didn't lie about anything, but he never seemed comfortable talking about it. Middle school was coming up, and to the family's shock Himiko wanted to be homeschooled. There was a chance that she would change again, and she didn't trust strangers to tell her who she was when she would ask Izuku for a quirk, or, powers really.
One night, when they were watching tv together, Himiko decided what she wanted.
"Izuku." She asked.
"Yeah?" He didn't seem to notice her tone, absorbed in the hero movie they rented and stuffing another handful of popcorn in his face.
"I'm ready."
"Ready for what sweety?" Inko asked beside her, both seemed oblivious to how serious she was trying to be.
"I'm ready for a new quirk."
Izuku's neck popped by the speed he turned it. Inko looked between the children in a mix of confusion and shock. "Izuku, can you do that whenever you want?"
If Izuku's sweating could speak it would tell his mother yes but I never told you. Instead he nodded his head. Inko paused the movie and knelt next to him. "Why didn't you tell me?"
He couldn't make eye contact with her. "Because it always made you stressed when we talked about the watch."
She sighed and grabbed his hands. "You're right, it does make me stressed to think about who would want to try and take my son. You have something that people want, and if they found out you can give and take quirks they would do much more to take you from us. But, you're still my baby, and I want to help you instead of you trying to shoulder everything on yourself."
Izuku nodded, showing he was listening. He held up the omnitrix and turned a dial to show holograms of the creatures she saw him write about. Inko was watching the watch in slight awe, her son demonstrating so much understanding of the mystery device.
"Is there one you had in mind?" He asked.
Inko just watched as Himiko went to grab a specific notebook she saw so long ago and looked over again and again. When she came back she had it opened to a specific page and pointed to it.
"This one, it's close enough to my old quirk that no one will notice."
Inko stood up, slightly worried. "Will it hurt her?"
Izuku shook his head. "No, but she may feel different. This one will make her body into a more liquid state, but she should get basic knowledge on how to use her new powers."
Twisting the omnitrix to display the alien, he mentally commanded the setting to change.
"DNA splicing active, selection, Lenopan."
"It's ready." Izuku said standing up to face his sister. She took in a deep breath and patted the wrinkles out of her clothes. Himiko didn't really know how to prepare for it, but she still did her best. She nodded, and Izuku took a step towards her and placed his hand on her head.
*SKREEE*
Inko shielded her eyes from the green light, when it died down she expected to see Himiko look different. But she didn't, she looked just like before. "Did it work?"
Himiko blinked, then looked at her hands. One of them rippled and turned into the purple mud depicted in the drawing, it then swirled and shifted as it became a knife. She smiled at Izuku and Inko. "It worked."
Chapter 5
"Izubro!"
At the classroom door was Eijiro, dressed in his middle school attire of a white button up shirt tucked into black slacks. His red crystal hair was less transparent, but still shimmered with every glimpse of sunlight. If he was ever separated from a group it would not take long for them to find him. He was bright as always, living up to the nickname given by peers "chandelier."
Izuku looked up from his notepad and was nearly blinded. If only he could wear sunglasses with how much he was around the reflective boy. "Hey Eijiro."
Mornings were not his favorite, especially if that morning involved nearly slipping on a pile of living mud on his floor. His sister had practically taken over his room to play on his computer late into the night, which resulted in many incidents. Izuku had offered to just move the computer to her room, but she refused the idea of him entering her room to use it when he needed it. While he had thought of using the omnitrix as a computer to surf the web, it didn't have that function.
Eijiro walked over and sat on the desk next to his best friend. "How come you keep coming to school so early? We live close enough that we could just walk together."
"I just need to get an early start on my work is all." Izuku halfheartedly replied, scooching his notebook over a sharpie smear. He was smart, smart enough to get all his work done in class and never have homework. But he needed to make sure his buddy didn't have to worry about him so much. He would have to look up the slur written on his desk, he never saw that one before.
Eijiro noticed, he always noticed, but he didn't say anything directly to Izuku. Instead he would track down who did it and give them some "hard" words. But if it was a girl, he couldn't do too much otherwise his ass would be smacked into oblivion by his mother. "Alright, but hey, if you want I don't mind waking up a little earlier...Unless you're taking a 'shortcut' to school."
"I only take shortcuts on nights Himiko streams."
"And how often does she stream?"
"...a few nights a week.."
Eijiro sighed and pulled out his phone to double check his memory. Checking the past video dates, he counted at least five every week. "So, you only walk to school every Monday?"
Izuku shrunk in shame. He wasn't the most active person, or active at all really. He only occasionally sprinted to get to the next hiding spot to teleport, and that had dimmed down within the first month starting school with Eijiro. He did a wonderful job keeping the worst off his back, even if he never asked for it.
The rockhead grabbed Izuku's arm, startling the teen. "What are you doing?!"
Eijiro ignored him, squishing the thin layer of meat on his buddy's arm. "Yeah, we're gonna fix this. Every morning we're going to jog to school, then back, then back to school."
Blood seemed to vanish from Izuku's face. Every morning? They were gonna run that far EVERY morning?! He appreciated the care that Eijiro had for him, but this was beyond fitness, this sounded like hell. "How am I supposed to keep up with you! You practically have unlimited stamina already."
"It only looks that way because you start getting light headed before anyone else starts to sweat in fitness class."
The truth hurt sometimes, and it always hurt Midoriya whenever they had to do physical exercise. He would rather spend that time trying to figure out how each person could be using their quirks if they were allowed to. When he had spare time, he would then write down the ideas he had for each of the aliens that had similar capabilities.
Wait, aliens were real in the other universe, could they exist in his? No reason for there not to be. He should probably listen to what his friend was saying.
"-then we'll finish our gym time with a cooldown period of-"
He regretted being born with ears.
Nevermore: Can you do Gang Orca next?
N01SHADOW: No! I want to see you do Wash again!
Nevermore: Stop ignoring me N01SHADOW we're in the same room.
N01SHADOW: You don't like my suggestions.
Nevermore: All you ever want to see her do is Wash
N01SHADOW: He's funny!
Nevermore: He only says one word.
N01SHADOW: That's why it's funny.
Himiko giggled seeing the two bicker in the chat box. While technically she couldn't stream her playing games since she was under eighteen, she found a loophole. With her new found powers given years ago she had been able to change her shape and voice to easily mimic anyone. Sure, it wasn't the same as her last quirk since she became them down to the bone, but she needed the person's blood and had a time limit. Now all she needed to do was watch a video or see them in person and she could replicate voice and appearance.
There were plenty of videos online of heroes, so she was able to study their mannerisms and speech habits. Everyone wanted more hero content, and she could be any hero. So now she had a service to provide. Play whatever games she liked while pretending to be a known hero. It was super easy money, and since she always had the appearance of adults she never got in trouble. At first she was worried about heroes getting angry at her and sending the cops to shut her down, but a couple of laws helped protect her. All she had to do, was put in her profile description and a little text at the bottom of the screen saying she had a mimic quirk and she was good.
Right now she was one of the wild wild pussy cats, Mandalay, teasing several people in the lobby of a shooter game. "Don't worry my kittens, we'll see our friendly hero Wash later. But I think Gang Orca wants a turn."
She spun in her chair, like a vase being sculpted on a potter's wheel she rapidly shifted into a much larger frame. Mutation quirks were more fun for her, hardly any of them were the same. Her eyes locked on the streaming camera, portraying the predatory gaze that she always saw on the aquatic hero.
"I'll devour you all like the shrimp you are." She threatened the other players in the lobby, her voice low with a slight growl echoing in her massive jaws. By the reaction of the people online she got the voice just right.
Good thing too, this was her first time trying to impersonate the terrifying hero.
Dying, his lungs felt like they were burning and drowning at the same time. He wobbly hopped from one leg to the next to try and keep his momentum. His head kept spinning and flopping with each thump against the concrete.
"On your left!"
Izuku barely made out the blurry image of his friend. He could hear the clacking of Eijiro's bare feet bringing him to pass by. He already went through his shoes faster than Ingenium could run, given his sharpened feet. So to avoid this whenever he knew he would run he took his shoes off. This had been routine, try and not die while he ran by him. Something that they found out very quickly was Eijiro was naturally handicapped when it came to speed, but he had massive endurance. His body didn't sweat, or need to regulate his temperature that much.
Izuku was kinda jealous, even tempted to try and use the omnitrix to alter his own DNA. But others would quickly notice if the quirkless weakling suddenly was able to keep up with them, so he couldn't take a shortcut. For now he would have to live side by side with near death as he built his body to be active.
But after two weeks, he didn't see much progress to lift his spirits.
"Come on man! Last block!"
Thank All Might he had Eijiro to do it for him.
Right as he passed the gate of their middle school he dropped. His lungs trying to give him enough oxygen to revive his frame. Cold hard hands grabbed him by the side and lobbed him over their shoulder. That was another thing, Eijiro was strong, easily able to lift twice his own body weight. They first thought that it was because he was made of things similar to diamond, but a quick check showed that a diamond cut to the shape of a person would be around the same weight, just depends on how much muscle the person has or how dense the diamond is.
Who knew.
"Can you stand?"
Izuku numbly nodded and felt the grip on him release. He slid off of Eijiro, letting the air hit his sweat soaked shirt. "I can stand, but I don't know if I can walk."
Eijiro laughed and smacked his buddy's back. "Don't worry, you should start feeling better next week. Your body just needs to obey your will and get used to it."
"I don't think it works like that."
"Sure it does, at least for me it does."
Izuku opened up his shoe locker and grabbed the non sweaty shirt. He needed to change before class started. "I think you're a special case Eijiro."
Said boy folded his arms. "And why is that?"
All he had to do was hold up the omnitrix, making Eijiro flinch. But he was still determined. "Ok Izubro, if you don't believe me, your best friend in the whole world, then ask anybody else."
Midoriya sighed before looking at his friend. "Ok, one, if All Might knew me personally you know he would take your spot for best friend."
"Fair."
"Two, I don't have anyone else to talk to about this."
"Wait, what about Himiko?"
"She's made of living mud, not a good example."
"You got me there, then what about your Mom?"
Izuku did a double take at that. "Are you suggesting I get workout advice from my Mom? I think I'd die of embarrassment"
"Ok then what about my Mom."
"Same thing."
Eijrio gripped his own head, repeatedly being stumped was not fun. "Fine, then what about my Dad? He's pretty healthy."
Hm, actually, that didn't sound too bad..except. "He would probably tell my Mom, then she would get involved."
That made Eijiro give up, slumping in defeat. "Fine, but I swear I will find someone you can talk to about this. Until we find someone to give you workout advice you're stuck with me."
Could Izuku handle years of physical torment under Eijiro's care? Probably not, but he was sure there was a failsafe in the omnitrix to keep him from dying, or at least warning him before he kills himself. Actually, could he use it like a fitbit? Glancing down, he mentally commanded it to give him a readout of his personal health. A holographic screen appeared showing his heart rate, height, weight, muscle density, body fat, blood type, blood sugar levels, everything.
"Woah, did you just find that out?" EIjiro peered over his shoulder to look at it.
"Yeah, guess I can see if your workout regime is working or not overtime."
"That's helpful."
Izuku nodded, this would be really helpful, and he could shove it in Eijiro's face when he proves that there's no way all these workouts were healthy. Glancing past his wrist and through the holographic screen lied a letter on the ground. Did it fall out of his locker when he grabbed his shirt?
His friend noticed where his eyes were and looked at the offending object. "Seriously? Do I need to talk to those guys again?"
"I don't know Eijiro, it doesn't look like the normal 'meet me here so I can beat you up' letters." Izuku bent down and picked it up, his stinging legs protesting the action. Flipping it over, there was a heart sticker sealing the envelope.
His fingers seemed to freeze as his face heated up. No way, no way would someone put a love letter in his locker! This has got to be a mistake, maybe someone else dropped it, or they got the wrong one. Eijrio on the other hand was grinning like a mad lad. "Dude! Nice going man!"
"W-we don't even know if it's for me!" His voice squeaked. Stupid puberty. If he could he would have skipped it entirely...maybe he should check if the omnitrix could do it.
"Turn it over then, prove me wrong." Eijiro snarckily replied, giving Izuku a little eyebrow wiggle.
"Alright, but as you see-"
IT HAD HIS NAME ON IT! SOMEONE GAVE HIM A LOVE LETTER IN FANCY PINK WRITING!
"OOOOOHHHH MAN! OPEN IT UP!" Eijiro was pumping his fists, absolutely psyched at someone noticing how awesome Izuku was. With shaky fingers, Izuku hesitantly opened the letter mixed with all the hormones raging in his body.
Izuku Midoriya
I've noticed you since the first day, but never had the courage to talk to you.
But finally I do, please meet me on the rooftop after school.
His brain shut down, it was a love letter, it was a completely genuine love letter. He would take Eijiro's workouts anyday over trying to think about what he held in his hands. Don't get him wrong he was excited, but scared out of his mind. He was sweaty, was she still around? Oh crap hopefully there was enough deodorant in his gym locker. He should use the showers, but that was a big hot spot for potential bullies. Maybe he could teleport home before-
"Dude! Are you going to go?!" Eijiro gripped Izuku's shoulders, shaking him with vigor.
"W-well, it would be r-rude not to go right?"
Screw you puberty! Wait, that was just his stuttering again. Curses.
Later that day, standing on the rooftop was a much cleaner Izuku. He ended up teleporting home to get properly cleaned up during lunch, avoiding his sister and his mother at all costs. No way was he going to share this with them. Eijiro insisted on waiting at the front gates to talk to him about how it went.
So, he waited for whoever wrote the letter here, alone, his nerves screaming in anxiousness.
And waited.
And waited.
Half an hour later he got a text. Checking it, he saw it was Eijiro. His picture was Crimson Riot standing with his arms crossed.
CrimsonRiot: Hey, did she show up yet?
AllMight: Not yet, I'm going to wait a little longer.
CrimsonRiot: K! Good luck man!
AllMight: Thanks.
He put his phone away and resumed his waiting. At first he watched the door, waiting for it to move an inch, but eventually he decided that might be too weird. Eventually he tried to lean against the fence to look cool, but he cringed at how he might be trying too hard. Maybe just looking off into the distance? NO! That also felt wrong. Trying different poses all over the rooftop he ended up falling into a rhythm of just pacing in circles trying to think of a way not to look weird.
He didn't have to worry, because after who knows how long a knock came at the door.
"Y-yes?!"
SCREW OFF PUBERTY!
The door handle squeaked, beginning to open.
This was happening, this was happening! Was his breath ok? He should have tried doing his hair, but his curls never obeyed him. ARGH he was sweating again! All he could do was lock his eyes on the opening door, gulping the excess spit gathered in his mouth. But his anxiety almost vanished when he saw who was behind the door.
"Eijiro? What are you doing here?"
"Dude...it's been two hours. Did she not show up?"
Izuku checked his phone for the time, two hours really did pass. Wow, he was really out of it. "No. B-but! I wasn't paying attention that well, so maybe she did come but I scared her off."
Wow, he really wasn't good at this. She probably saw him doing all those weird poses as well. Maybe he got the date wrong?! He only noticed the letter today, but maybe it was put there yesterday, or last week! It's also possible she got busy or forgot.
Eijiro got his attention by snapping in his face. "Hey man, not your fault. I'm sure she would understand. Maybe you'll get lucky and she'll put another letter in your shoe box."
Izuku blushed, thinking about if that someone did go through all the effort for him. "Ok."
"Cool. So you ready to get shredded?"
Well, he needed something to clear his head again.
The next day of school Izuku was much more attentive, turning down Eijiro's offer to carry his exhausted body to the lockers. There was just one thing on his mind.
The letter.
He wobbled over to his locker, opening it and looking for a sign that the mystery woman was still interested. He grabbed the spare shirt, unfolding it in case the letter was in there. It wasn't, guess he-
"Dude! Look! I told you!"
His eyes snapped to where Eijiro was pointing. In the back, behind where his shirt was, a letter sat there. The same style of heart sticker over the envelope. He reached for it gently, as if it was alive. By the way his heart pumped in his chest it felt like it might explode at any second, but that could also be how he just finished running.
Flipping it over, the pink penned handwriting spelled out his name.
Eijiro had enough of his dramatic speed. "Open it already!"
He nodded, and pulled open the flap and read the small notecard inside. "She says that she got nervous, I don't blame her. BUT she wants to try again today same place and time!"
Izuku was smiling at this, sharing his joy and relief with Eijiro who amplified it by a hundred.
"That's my boy! You want me to wait at the gate again?"
"If it's not too much trouble."
Classes felt like they were stretching longer than they had to. He kept rethinking how it could go over and over in his head, making sure that he didn't do anything stupid. At one point one of his more rude classmates tried to get his attention by throwing a pencil at him, but Eijiro was right there to swat it out of the air and yell at him when the teacher left.
Finally, he was back on the rooftop, waiting once again for the girl.
And waited.
And waited.
He checked the time twice every minute, making sure he wasn't zoning out in case he missed her coming up. After half an hour went by Eijiro sent another text.
CrimsonRiot: Did she show up?
AllMight: Not yet, I'm going to wait a little longer.
CrimsonRiot: K, let me know when you're coming down.
AllMight: Will do.
Izuku patiently waited, for two more hours he stood only to be interrupted by his phone again.
CrimsonRiot: Hey, just checking in. Are you busy making out or something?
He blushed madly. Just holding the girl's letters left him in a mess, thinking about kissing was beyond him.
AllMight: NO! She hasn't shown up yet. Maybe she was held up by something.
CrimsonRiot: Oh
CrimsonRiot: I don't mean to rush you but I don't think she's gonna show today.
AllMight: Fifteen more minutes, then I'll head down.
CrimsonRiot: K
After waiting the amount he said, she never came. But the next letter explained she was called home for a family emergency. It must have been to her phone, cause he didn't hear any announcements from the speakers. So he waited again that day, for two hours until Eijiro came up to get him.
It stopped being everyday he got a letter, but it happened at least three times a week. Everytime something came up, her grandpa died, she got grounded, her friend needed her, and Izuku would wait again and again. He felt hurt the first couple times, and there was a doubt about it at the back of his head saying she would never come, but on the off chance that she showed up he wanted to be there. If he wrote a letter and the girl was a no show, it would hurt, and he didn't want anyone to hurt from his inaction.
"Hehe"
Shoto Todoroki, a boy with a scar over his left face with red and white hair turned from his spot at the dinner table to look at his brother. He was looking at his phone, laughing at something. Shoto couldn't hear what it was since he wore headphones.
"Ha!"
His older sister was curious enough to ask. "Natsuo, what are you watching?"
Natsuo, the boy with white hair and silver eyes tried to talk through his laughter. "It's-heha!-It's this streamer that's dressed up as Dad. She-HAHAha-she really nailed him and is playing a horror game!"
That sounded boring to Shoto. To him streamers were just people who didn't want real jobs and play games all day. But, he was curious about her impersonating his shit father. "May I see?"
Toya just laughed in his seat and positioned himself for the others to see. Plucking his headphones out of his phone they all heard the voice of their father, screaming like a pansy at the sight of a little doll twitching.
"If you move again I swear I will burn you aliAAAH! DON'T DO THAT! No, stay away stay away shoo, if you're not important to winning then stay out of my way. I SAID GO AWAY DEMON SPAWN! Where's the button to murder without regret?!"
Holy shit she went there. Many reporters learned quickly not to confront their father about how he has used lethal force frequently against villains. He always got in their face, talking about how there was no other option and that he did not regret it. But she just referenced one of his huge flaws and pointed straight at it without hesitation. Even the part about his obsession with winning everything was on the mark. Even if it was obviously something Endeavor never said everyone was thinking it.
"Natsuo, how do I find their profile?"
His brother calmed down enough to reply. "I can text it, but I thought you didn't like watching stuff like this?"
"Anything that makes fun of Dad is good content."
"Shoto!" His sister tried to chastise, but a small hum of his phone showed his brother did what he said.
"Good point! He would be FUMING if he ever saw this!"
Shoto nodded, already watching the stream on his phone. A notification popped up with a little dancing character on it with a noise. Under it was a text line.
N01SHADOW: Do wash!
Whoever looked like his father paused the game. It was crazy how good those flames looked, but it was odd looking at the same time because they gave off no light.
"Alright, but I'm not changing every time you donate, understand?" Whoever disguised as his father spoke. In a swirl of purple mud they became said hero requested.
"Wash!"
Nevermore: Did you just spend my money again?!
N01SHADOW: I have rights!
Hm, so if you pay enough money to this person they would change to look like who you requested. Checking the description under the profile, this person had a quirk that could mimic people. Looks like she's done several heroes and occasional fictional characters. Even certain games you can request from a certain list already posted.
"Fuyumi?"
"Yes Shoto?"
"Where's Dad's credit card?"
"...why?"
Eijiro wasn't having a fun time with Izuku. It hurt to see this happen so often, and Izuku was just walking right into it everytime! He tried cornering the usual guys, but they didn't know anything about it. Someone, or someones, were writing fake letters to Izuku and he kept waiting for no one to show up. He tried several times to talk him out of it, reasoning they were fake, but he kept going up just in case it wasn't.
It was manly as hell, but whoever was writing the letters needed to stop and he couldn't find anymore guys to interrogate. Izuku also needed to stop having such a bleeding heart over this. It clearly was hurting him, each time she didn't show up a little more life left his best friend. He tried arriving earlier to school, to wait for whoever it was to show up and put the letter in his locker.
But Izuku found out and told him not to do it, he wanted to find out who she was himself. But he only waited around for her after school. Eijiro wished that watch could just track whoever wrote it down, it would be so easy.
It took two months, TWO WHOLE MONTHS, for Izuku to start giving into his advice. But the compromise was he would wait three more times and then stop. On the second day when there was a huge rainstorm, he waited through that. Eijiro was conflicted by how stupid and manly Izuku could be sometimes.
Finally, the third day was here. Izuku was standing on the roof with Eijiro hiding nearby per Izuku's request to not be waiting in the open. Eijiro played on his phone, scrolling through some new hero posts that showed up. Checking the time almost two hours had passed.
"Izuku."
"I know, but it's not time yet."
He sighed, smacking his hard head against the building. "Dude, she's not coming. She's probably not even real."
"There's still a chance."
"Yeah, and there's a chance that All Might is secretly a skinny old man in a muscle suit."
"There's no way-"
"And there's no way there's someone coming!" He got up to poke his head around to see Izuku. "I admire your drive, I really do, but they're just playing with you. Just like those guys who tried to throw you in a ditch said they were 'just playing'."
Izuku just checked the time again and put his phone away. "Not yet."
"Uuugh." Eijiro slid back down to the floor. "Two minutes, then never again."
He counted the seconds, each one ticking down to give relief to his bud. One hundred ten, one hundred eleven, one hundred twelve..Yeah, time to wrap it up.
"Time to go man." He got up, dusting his back. But looking at Izuku, he could see his friend didn't want to give up, he didn't want to just walk away.
"Just one more minu-"
"No! Even if she was real, which she isn't, they clearly don't care enough to show up."
It hurt to see Izuku turn his eyes away and at the ground. But he had to do this. "Bro, she's not com-"
*SLAM*
Someone had just opened the door. No way, no frickin way. He slid behind the entrance to the stairs and peeped to see who it was.
Izuku stood shocked, unsure if his eyes were deceiving him.
Right there, right now, was a girl, a REAL girl! Before either boy could comprehend what was happening she bowed before Midoirya.
"Please! Go out with me!"