That was how Midoriya Inko found her son, lying face first on the ground, an arm stretched out towards the street outside. He was not moving, and for one horrible heart-stopping moment, she feared the worst.

But then, she saw it—-barest tremble of his shoulders, which was followed up by a faint sad sob that broke free into the air, before it was choked off. Despite the fact that something was clearly wrong still, she breathed a small sigh of relief for the fact that at least it was not her worst nightmares come to life.

Nonetheless, she could not stop the panic and the nerves, as she wondered exactly what had happened. Quickly approaching him and kneeling down to help him up, she asked as gently as she could while worry had her wrapped in a vice, "Izuku, dear, what's wrong?"

He didn't answer immediately, or respond to her help, but he did not resist it either, and soon, he was sitting upright at least. A look-over revealed no obvious injuries, though his clothes were slightly scuffed and dirtied from being on the ground.

Haltingly, he began to speak, lip trembling, "M-my q-q-quirk…"

-o-

It took a while for Izuku to explain the situation, through his hiccupping and stuttering, but really, all he needed to do was show his mother the way he could no longer stand and walk properly, before his body was suddenly no longer flesh and bone, but some weird rubbery material. And while Inko didn't exactly punch him to test his new ability to take damage, even simply poking him gently produced a similar effect.

Needless to say, she was about as shocked as he first was—-and still was, to be completely honest—but, faced with the fact that her son was clearly distraught over this situation, she forced herself to strangle down the panic so she could remain calm and take over.

(She had no way of knowing that however much Izuku was worried over his sudden change, and the fact that his body was not responding like it used to, he was perhaps even more worried about the constant state of flux that was his relationship with Bakugou instead.

Really though, after the way the other boy had simply left him behind without another, after helping him and giving him a piggyback ride, who could blame him for being confused and disappointed?)

In any case, Inko quickly took charge of the situation, getting out her phone to call a taxi so they could head to a hospital. While he didn't seem to be in life threatening danger from what she could see, a quirk suddenly changing was unheard of, and she had no idea what the effects actually were. They needed to make sure everything was alright.

-o-

By the time a taxi arrived, Izuku was pulled out of his thoughts and reminded of his current situation, especially as Inko gently nudged him towards the car. He attempted to walk himself. It was a slow process, but he mostly managed it, feeling slightly embarrassed by the way he had to hold his mother's hand to do it. Still, it was better than having her carry him.

Izuku wasn't a little kid, after all. He was five years old already.

(He was so young, then. So, so young. Still just a dumb little kid who had no idea what was about to happen.)

-o-

But he still didn't let go of his mother's hand, even once he was safely inside of the car, with little danger of tripping over his own feet.

With his strange new rubbery body, he could barely feel the sensation of his hand in hers. Yet even the faint sensation was enough of a comfort, a reminder, that he wasn't alone, and she was there.

-o-

The receptionist hadn't seemed to impressed when they explained what happened. Mostly, she seemed to think they were lying about it all. But she made the appointment and told them to wait all the same.

-o-

Eventually, they were taken to a doctor specializing in quirks.

He wasn't half as skeptical as the receptionist, and seemed to believe their story almost immediately. It probably helped that he had the medical records on hand clearly stating Izuku's quirk was supposed to be simple Bioluminescence, even though he was now demonstrably unable to glow, and instead, seemed to have an altogether different quirk instead.

The doctor called it Rubber Body, and as the name implied, it made it so that his entire body has the properties of rubber.

This meant that any kind of blow or touch against him either sunk into his skin or bounced off, depending on how light it was. Because of the rubbery quality of his skin, he couldn't feel sensations half as well as he used to either, as holding his mother's hand has proved, and, after some testing—which involved holding a hot compress and some ice cubes, alternately—it seemed he couldn't feel temperatures too much either. Though he could still tell when something was hot or cold, to him, it was more like it was merely mildly warm or cool, instead. He probably wouldn't need to bundle up so much during winters, at least.

If that wasn't enough, it turned out that his body could also stretch itself like rubber too. Though it was initially done by the doctor literally pulling his finger as far as it could go—which turned out to be quite far—Izuku realized he could do it himself too, though it took much more effort and conscious thought. He just wasn't to being able to stretch himself that much. It was like using muscles he never realized existed.

After another series of tests conducted by the doctor, it was concluded that he was able to stretch his limbs up to a maximum length of about two meters, but he could not hold them there for long, only for a few seconds at most. He could hold position at shorter distances more easily. None of it actually hurt him, though he did begin to feel a certain strain if he tried going further than his maximum distance.

Even so, Izuku could hardly believe it. His worry had slowly become replaced with excitement, as each new test revealed a new incredible facet to his new quirk, which was truly amazing!

-o-

Midoriya Izuku had always dreamed of being a hero like All Might.

-o-

With his new quirk, it was more than possible.

Indeed, the possibilities were nearly as flexible as his new rubbery body, because he could absorb any villain's blows, and he could stretch his limbs to punch them back from a distance. He could use his body like a shield for helpless civilians or even fellow heroes. He could stretch himself taller and climb to greater heights.

-o-

He could be a hero.

-o-

Even though it definitely had its drawbacks—like the fact that he still had trouble walking if he did it above a snail's pace—there were more than enough benefits to outweigh it.

The doctor assured that his issues with his quirk would fade with time and practice too, and that the only reason he was having trouble walking was because he wasn't used to having his body be like this.

A problem he wouldn't have had, if this quirk had appeared when it was actually supposed to. Namely, as soon as he was born. Because his new quirk couldn't be turned off, it meant it was a mutation type. That usually meant they were present at birth.

Yet, somehow, his wasn't.

Instead, he'd been born with no visible quirks at all, and had only developed his quirk—Glowing Skin—-recently.

-o-

Yeah, Midoriya had no idea how that worked.

Neither did the doctor, it seemed.

-o-

"A quirk changing-it's unprecedented!" His round glasses seemed to shine, and his tone was excited, intrigued. It was, frankly, more than a little intimidating, and Midoriya shrunk back from his attentions almost immediately.

His mother curled a hand around his shoulder, before asking, with a clear sense of worry, "So you don't know what happened?"

The man tsked audibly, wagging his finger as he corrected, "Now, now, I did not say that. I have some theories, of course. However, I do not wish to colour your perceptions or give you any wrong impressions, so I hold off on sharing them until they can be confirmed as the absolute truth."

"I… see." Inko answered slowly, looking rather like she wished to know these theories anyway, but she didn't say anything more, not with her son next to her.

The doctor continued on, "For the moment, I believe it would be best for your son to simply get adjust to your new quirk, so that he will be able to move around with his previous ease. I recommend consulting with a physical therapist to create a program that will maximize this."

He wrote the contact information for his recommended colleague down on a slip of paper and gave it to Inko, who felt more relieved at this. Though the mystery of the circumstances worried her, the most important thing was the knowledge that her son would be fine. She gave a reassuring smile at him, which he returned, one tinged with a cautious hope.

They left, then, with the doctor's parting words for them being, "Please, contact me again if there are any other issues and continue to observe your quirk for any other changes."

-o-

(Later, Izuku would think of the strange emphasis the doctor had placed on the word, and would realize, even then, he'd known, or at least, suspected, what his real quirk actually was.

Really, he should've realized it himself sooner, considering there were signs everywhere, when he thought it over. But hindsight was always 20/20, after all, and frankly, who would've even considered that a quirk like his could've existed?

It was unprecedented, after all.)

-o-

Midoriya took about a week off from school, after that, seeing as he couldn't really move around properly yet, and spent most of his time getting used to his quirk. They had consulted the therapist as recommended, and given a list of exercises he could do at home to help his recovery.

It was slow going, but it was working, he thought.

It was also really, really weird.

-o-

(He'd get that feeling a lot over the years. It was never easy adjusting to a completely new quirk, and even when he found quirks with a lot of similarities, there was always just enough differences to make the entire experience feel a little weird, anyway.)

-o-

Embarrassingly enough, it was a lot like he was a baby again and just learning how to walk for the first time. That was a blow to his self-esteem. But on the plus side, he was also discovering just how helpful his quirk could be too.

Such as the fact that he could now grab the cookies his mother kept hidden on the top shelf all by himself, anytime, which was perhaps the most amazing thing of all.

In any case, by the end of the week, he could mostly walk and move around without tripping over himself. Of course, he still couldn't run very fast, or he'd trip again, but he was getting better and more used to it, bit by bit.

It was enough that he could return to class again, at least.

-o-

Midoriya Izuku had never been very popular or well-known amongst his classmates. He didn't really have any friends besides Kacchan, and most times, it was hard to count the boy as one, even if he didn't like to think of it that way.

But on the day of his return, his entire class, as well as a crowd of teachers and staff, all crowded around him.

It was the most eyes and attention Midoriya had ever had on him, and he was rather quickly overwhelmed.

-o-

(Midoriya never really got used to it, not even as the number one Pro Hero. Certainly, he had learned how to fake it a little better, at least, so that his nervousness wasn't completely obvious to everyone even from a telescopic distance.

But in his heart, he had never stopped being the shy four-year-old who no one ever paid any attention to because there was little interesting about him.)

-o-

His classmates didn't know what to think of his sudden new quirk. At least, he didn't actually have to say anything about it, seeing as what happened had long spread through his entire school. Of course, there were plenty who didn't believe said rumours. It didn't help that the story had gotten more convoluted the more it got shared, and by now, there was everything ranging from him getting kidnapped and experimented on by villains that changed his quirk, to him getting bitten by a radioactive glowing spider that gave him the ability to shoot rubber bands from his hands.

And those were the just the snippets he could here. Every second it felt like there were ten more.

"What happened?"

Izuku opened his mouth to try to explain, but he couldn't even start when someone else piped up.

"Did you really die and come back to life as a mannequin?"

Wait, what? His brows furrowed in disbelief and confusion. He denied firmly, "N-no!"

"So you don't glow anymore?"

Izuku simply shook his head at that one, a brief twinge in his heart at the thought, but it was all too easy to ignore it when there were so many other things taking up his attention at the moment.

"You're lying!"

"No one can just change quirks like that."

"Yeah. If it really changed, then prove it!"

"Show us your new quirk!"

The crowd seemed to reach a consensus at that, and looking around at everyone's expectant gazes, Izuku felt his heart race nervously. Forcing himself to calm down and remember what he'd practice, he slowly stretched his legs as far as they could go, until he was towering over all his other classmates, and then, even taller than many of the adults. From his new height, he could see everyone clearly, and the way they were all looking up at him in shock and awe.

From here, he could also see Bakugou in one corner, away from the crowd, an unreadable expression on his face.

Abruptly, he found himself snapping back to his old height, the suddenness of his action causing him to stumble into one of his classmates. "S-sorry," he apologized instinctively, but his thoughts were still on Kacchan, and he felt his stomach twist nervously at the thought of the other boy.

What did he think about all this?

Deku.

Was he still useless with his new quirk, that could now take any punch or kick from him without any effort?

He didn't have much time to linger on such thoughts though, because everyone was soon on him again, a sea of questions and exclamations, all talking about how cool and awesome his new quirk was.

It was the kind of thing he'd dreamed about, when he was still a quirkless boy, waiting for his turn to be special.

Though he was still overwhelmed and unused to the attention, he found that he liked it. His heart warmed at all the words of praise, and he smiled nervously at them all, stuttering out his thank yous with a shyness that made the adults coo over how cute he was.

-o-

Alone, in one corner, Bakugou frowned harder.

-o-

Things changed after that.

Izuku had never been particularly popular or had many friends, but for the first few weeks back, he was what most people talked about. He'd been invited to play and eat more times in the past week alone than he had his entire life. It was a strange and disconcerting feeling. Not entirely unpleasant, but it was definitely weird.

The weirdest of all, was the fact that throughout it all, Kacchan did not speak a single word to him.

Oh, he would talk about him, like when some brave and possibly stupid soul had told him that Izuku could not beat him in a find since none of his blows could land, Bakugou would growl and say that a Deku would always be a Deku, no matter his quirk.

That hurt.

Because, no matter how many other people wanted to be his friend now, the one person he'd always wanted, he'd continued to consider his friend despite all the things he said and did-the other boy didn't feel the same way he did.

-o-

(It would take years and years, and a more mature Bakugou, and entirely too much alcohol to help loosen lips before he would ever admit something even close to it to Izuku's face. The entire speech had been shockingly sentimental and the both of them had been in tears by the end of it, hugging it out in a way they pretty much hadn't done since they were both tiny toddler who didn't know anything.

Thankfully, someone-probably Ochako and/or Kirishima-had managed to get the entire confession on film, so that it would be immortalized forever.

Bakugou would burn the tape as soon as possible, of course, but soft copies were forever, especially once they got circulated on the internet under the hashtag #BakugouHasAHeartAfterAll. The video itself would accumulated nearly a billion views and half a million likes, and would forever be immortalized in Pro Hero fandom history.

Izuku had his own copy tucked away in a secret folder for him to view anytime Bakugou was being particularly frustrating, annoying or hurtful, to remind himself that the big jerk was actually a good guy and friend underneath it all.

Sometimes, he also just liked to watch it for a laugh. Few things were as funny as a tearfully sentimental Bakugou Katsuki who had snot dripping from his nose, after all)

-o-

But the the more things changed, the more things stayed the same. Or, maybe it was simply that some things never changed.

Either way, despite his new quirk and the newfound popularity it brought him, and even with all the ways Bakugou continued to insult and ignore him, Midoriya continued to follow Bakugou around like he'd always did.

And if there was a certain new tension now underneath it all, then, maybe that was just part of growing up.

-o-

When Bakugou led, Midoriya followed without question, eyes forever wide with admiration.

-o-

Then, one day, Bakugou slipped.

And Midoriya reached out-grabbing desperately onto his hand with his stretched out arms.

For a moment, they'd stopped there, Bakugou dangling over the edge with only Midoriya to keep him from falling.

For a moment, Midoriya had thought he would let go-that the blonde would rather fall than allow himself to be helped by a Deku like him.

But then, his lips twitched into something that might've been a smirk on his face, before he grabbed tighter onto Midoriya's arms and spoken to him for the first time since he'd returned, "Well, what're you waiting for? Pull me up already."

So, he did, and in the end, Bakugou had looked at him, another unreadable expression on his space, before he scoffed, and there was something like approval in his tone as he told him, "Hmph. Maybe you such aren't Deku after all."

-o-

(If Midoriya had hoped not to be saddled with the name anymore after that, well, it was a lost hope.

Bakugou would continue to forever call him Deku, but it wasn't the insult it used to be anymore, not when it was no longer followed up by rants about he was never going to be a hero with his pointless quirk.

Over the years, it had just become another nickname, one that he used out of habit, more than anything. It was Bakugou's mark of affection, honestly, tsundere that he was. Especially since he was the only one allowed to use it. Well, aside from Urakara. But then, she was a special case, after all, and really, even Bakugou was a little wary of going up against her.)

-o-

Things weren't quite like how they used to, before they developed their quirks, back when they were still innocent, unknowing children who both loved heroes and All Might. It was impossible to go back to that, after everything they'd been through, but it was… closer than it had been in ages.

That wasn't to say the blonde was suddenly nice to him, or anyone else. Kacchan was still Kacchan, after all. In fact, he was more physically violent with Izuku than ever, taking advantage of the fact that he couldn't really be hurt, and turning him essentially into a training dummy.

The green-haired boy didn't mind too much, since it was good training for both of them. Izuku learned that there was an upper limit to how much he could absorb until he started to feel it, for one.

Even if he did sometimes wish Kacchan wouldn't be quite so eager to test this upper limit of his, it made the other boy happy, and, really, that was enough.

What were friends for, right?

-o-

(His friendship with Kacchan had always been a complicated one.

It could probably be better described as an unhealthy one. In truth, neither of them had ever had much experience with friendships until they arrived in U.A., so maybe it wasn't really their fault that they'd had no idea how to unpack their issues with each other to not let their friendship fester into something toxic.

Everyone else liked to just blame Bakugou for being a bully and a jerk, but, really, Midoriya had always enabled him, had never once to stood up for himself or fought back. In fact, he'd always been the one to follow the blonde around, even when it was clear that he wasn't exactly wanted.

Neither of them had really known what they were doing, when it came to friendship, and boy, did it show. All relationships were a two-way street, after all.)

-o-

In the end, the only lasting change his new quirk brought to his personal relationships seemed to be with Bakugou, because after a few weeks, everyone got used to his new quirk. Midoriya didn't completely fade into the background again, but he was certainly no longer subject to constant stares and whispers. Gossip was always travelling at light speed and children had short attention spans. Izuku's new quirk was quickly old news.

Soon enough, after a few more months, everyone graduated from kindergarten to elementary school, and most people seemed to forget that he ever had a different quirk at all. Many of his old classmates went to different schools, and Kacchan certainly didn't mention it.

In time, it almost felt like he'd had this quirk all along.

Some days, Izuku could almost forget about it, about his first quirk, and the fact that he'd once been able to glow bright as a star, in the darkness. It was all too easy to believe he'd always had this new rubbery body, once he got used to it.

-o-

Maybe this was how it was supposed to be.

His first quirk was some weird mistake. So, this was life or fate or whoever was in charge of these things, correcting that mistake.

It hurt, of course, to think of his old quirk as a mistake, to think of the warmth, the light, and think of it as wrong.

But what else could he do?

When his new was clearly right.

-o-

Midoriya Izuku had always dreamed of being a hero like All Might.

-o-

His new quirk was super cool, after all.

He could stretch his arms out and reach far away things without getting up, and he could stretch out his legs so he was almost as tall as an adult!

He couldn't be physically hurt anymore, at least, not by punches or kicks, or against table corners.

Still, Midoriya could be a hero now. With his amazing new quirk, fit for a hero.

Even Kacchan didn't disagree anymore. He stopped telling him his quirk was stupid and useless, that his dream of being a hero was impossible. Instead, he told him that maybe he could even be his sidekick or something!

-o-

It was all he had ever hoped for.

And if he sometimes missed his glow, especially when he was lying in bed at night in the dark, where every shadow seemed to jump out at him, then it was fine.

If he sometimes missed being able to feel things in a way he didn't, now that he was all rubbery, that was fine too.

Because Izuku was going to become a hero like All Might, and so, he smiled too.

-o-

But all good things come to an end.

-o-

One day, nearly nine months after the day Izuku suddenly lost his ability to glow and gained a new rubber body, he found his entire world turned upside down for the second time, because his quirk changed again.