Promises
Our First Promise
''
"Mom! Someday, I'll be a really super strong super hero! The best anyone's ever seen," the four-year-old announced jumping up and down on his bed. His mother smiled at him. Her kind, dark brown eyes glanced at the digital clock by his bed.
"Yes, Izuku, but first you have to sleep. You won't be able to become big and strong if you don't sleep properly," she lectured handing him his pajamas. Needless to say the young child didn't pay attention.
"I'll save everyone," he waved his arms around him as he continued. "Just like All Might does! Just you wait mom, I'll be fighting evil villains and helping everyone." His mother just smiled as she helped him out of his clothes and into his pajamas.
"What about Katsuki," she asked as she tucked him into bed. His unruly black and green hair splayed out around his head, and his eyes gleamed with excitement.
"Of course, Katsuki will be there with me," his tone implied it had been obvious all along. He had never made plans that didn't somehow include his best friend; his mother should have known that by now.
"Okay, well, go to sleep now, Izuku," she said sternly.
"But, mom, I'm not done telling you about my plans," Izuku wailed. She just sighed and kissed his forehead before waving her hand in the direction of the light switch. It flipped and the lights went out.
"Good night, Izuku," she said waving the door closed behind her. Her son could be so stubborn if he wanted to.
Izuku hummed to himself as he hugged the All Might plush toy closer to himself. He could still visualize the first time he had even seen All Might on television. It was his first memory. Izuku would always remember how brave his favorite hero was when he ran straight into the burning building and subsequent debris to carry out five people at a time, saving their lives. He was the town's number one hero. The hero every hero and young children wished to be. He embodied the spirit of selfless need; placing himself in danger on another's behalf. All Might fought against evil and encouraged citizens to help others as well. Basically, All Might was the greatest, and Izuku couldn't wait until he could stand next to him as a professional hero.
Throughout the years, people developed superpowers, which they called quirks. Mostly everyone had one and each quirk usually manifested around the age of four. People thought it was the next step in human evolution, and prided themselves in being part of a family with a long history of its members having quirks. Every teenager at the crossroads dreamed of attending the prestigious Hero Academy in order to obtain their professional Hero license. Everyone without a quirk was left to do the other jobs in society. Sure, there were other heroic professions such as being part of the police force or a firefighter, but only Heroes could defeat villains whenever they appeared. Without these individuals the world would have plummeted into despair as quirks weren't given only to righteous people.
Izumi couldn't wait for his quirk to manifest itself. Maybe he would be telekinetic like his mother or be able to control water like his father. He would have preferred super strength. That way he would be even more like All Might, but he knew that usually children inherited the quirk from one of their parents or a mixture of both. His best friend, Katsuki, had already manifested his. He was so envious when it had happened.
"Katsuki! You shouldn't climb so high," Izuku yelled up at his friend. Unlike him, Katsuki was adventurous. If there was a competition, no matter the age limit or task, one could be sure that his blond friend would be there vying for the number one spot.
"Don't be such a stick in the mud," Katsuki yelled down at him from high up in the tree. "Come up here, Izuku! Look what I found." Izuku nervously looked around hoping for someone to stop him. Unfortunately, the park they usually played in was deserted at the moment.
"No worries, Izuku. If Katsuki was able to climb that high, you'll be fine," he said trying to talk himself into climbing the free. "Besides, he can't be that high-" he was interrupted by a loud crack and he froze. Katsuki screamed as he fell through the branches. Just as his head was about to hit the ground he turned his hand towards the ground. The temperature around them rose significantly as bright red flames erupted from his hand to scorch the ground below and cushion his fall. During the commotion, Izuku had fallen backwards and he stared wide eyes at Katsuki who was shaking while lying down on his back.
"OH MY GOD, IZUKU. DID YOU SEE THAT," Katsuki yelled, quickly standing up.
"THAT WAS SO COOL," Izuku yelled back having already recovered from the shock. Needless to say, he had lost his eyebrows to the combustion as he had been standing too close. Izuku giggled at the memory despite also remembering how the two had gotten thoroughly scolded by their mothers that day when they came home with charred clothes. Hopefully, I'll get my quirk soon, Izuku thought as he slipped into his dreams.
"Izuku, wake up!" He groggily opened his eyes. His mother was looming over him; a frown graced her features. "You'll be late for kindergarten if you don't hurry, young man." Instead of being alarmed the now four-year-old sleepily rubbed his eyes in an attempt to fully wake up. It had been a year since Katsuki had manifested his quirk, yet Izuku still hadn't. When he told his mother that all the kids in his kindergarten class had already manifested their quirks, she told him not to worry; that he was most likely a late bloomer. His quirk would manifest soon, she had assured him countless times, but it never settled his nerves. The other kids would point at him and whisper none too quietly that he was the boy who still didn't have a quirk.
"How unfortunate," he had heard one of his classmates' fathers say when he had passed them at the front of the school. Izuku ran home and locked himself in his room that day. He wouldn't come out even when Katsuki had come over. Izuku sighed as he changed into his uniform and reached for the bright yellow hat that hung from the headrest. He hated wearing it because he thought that the bright yellow made him stand out despite the fact that every other kindergartener had to wear one as well. He quietly made his way out of his room and down towards the dining room.
"I wouldn't worry, dear. He'll most likely manifest his quirk in the next couple of months," he heard his father's words from the dining room. He stopped dead in his tracks right outside the door. His tiny heart pounding as fast as it had been when he thought Katsuki was going to die from falling off the free.
"I know, dear. I'm just anxious for what the doctor will say," his mother sighed as she wrung the kitchen towel in her hands.
"I'm sure the doctor will just say that he's fine. That he'll have a quirk," to Izuku it seemed that his father was trying to convince himself as well. He grits his teeth as he entered the kitchen.
"Oh, Izuku, we have scrambled eggs and toast-"
"I'm not really hungry. Can I just have toast and a glass of juice, please," he felt bad for cutting his mother off. He hung his head down as he climbed up the seat.
"Of course you may," she replied almost too sweetly. Inko had known how disturbed her son had been that he wasn't manifesting his quirk. He would spend hours watching online videos of All Might.
"So, Izuku, what have you been doing in kinder," his father said placing the newspaper he had been reading down on the table next to his half eaten food.
"We're reading about All Might and quirks," he responded emptily.
"Oh. What about Katsuki? You haven't talked about him in a while," his father tried to lighten the mood. Inko placed a plate of toast and glass filled with orange juice in front of Izuku and sat down to eat her breakfast.
"He plays with the other kids that have quirks a lot more now," he furrowed his brows, "but he's still my best friend. He always helps me out." Izuku didn't reveal with what it was that Katsuki helped him with. He didn't want his parents to know that some of the older kids would pick on him because he was still quirkless. They were all afraid of Katsuki, so they left him alone for the most part after Katsuki had blown up quite literally at them.
"That's good," his father looked at his mother, "later you have an appointment with your doctor so your mother will be picking you up from school today." Izuku nodded and quickly finished the rest of the toast before excusing himself to walk to school. He liked the quiet a lot more these days as there sure wasn't anyone whispering behind his back as he walked or a worried mother constantly telling him that everything would be fine when she was just as unsure as he was. The day passed by in a blur for him. Surprisingly, Katsuki stayed with him all throughout the school day, which helped at keeping the other children away. Before leaving with his mother at the end of the day Katsuki reached out to him.
"…Izuku…Never mind. I'll see you tomorrow." His friend ran off without looking back. He looked awfully conflicted, Izuku thought, but shrugged it off. His mother was waving him over.
"Do you want to grab a bite to eat," she asked as he climbed into the car. He shrugged. He wasn't hungry; he hadn't been hungry the whole day. Izuku just wanted to know what the doctor would tell him. Surely, he's just going to tell them that they had nothing to worry about. That Izuku could still become a professional Hero like he had always planned. Absolutely nothing to worry about.
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Midoriya. Your son will likely never manifest a quirk." The doctor grimly looked straight at his mother. The man couldn't bring himself to look at Izuku. "There have been instances where the child, born of two parents that have quirks, doesn't develop a quirk. Unfortunately, this is one of those cases." Izuku broke. He sat there while his mother and the doctor further discussed the subject even though there was nothing to discuss.
"Mom is I true that I will never be able to become a hero," Izuku asked after having watched his first every clip of All Might dozens of times that evening after they had gotten back from the doctor's office. He sat staring at the paused screen showing his favorite hero smiling right back at him.
"I'm so sorry, Izuku," his mother sobbed as she hugged him. He would never develop a quirk. He would never be able to defeat any villains alongside Katsuki. Izuku Midoriya would never become a hero like All Might.
Izuku Modoriya would later be involved in a car accident, and as the world continued to move around, he laid still on a hospital bed.