Chapter 2

(Unwanted) Change

He felt like he was floating, as if he was lounging in a cloud. It would almost be soothing if it weren't for the fact with the floating came an immense numbing and tingling feeling, as if his body was internally shifting. Eyes burning, stomach churning, ears ringing, head aching, but worst of all was the feeling in his back. It felt like his back was internally getting torn apart, like something was digging a hole through his back, specifically near his waist, the area seemed like it was boiling and he felt extremely drained.

Even while he was sure his senses had numbed completely, he could still vaguely hear something, someone calling his name? He couldn't tell; it sounded muffled, as if the other person was yelling at him while he was underwater. He couldn't be bothered to actually strain himself to discern who or what was calling out to him, he just wanted peace, so he could bear through the uncomfortable pain he was going through.

His wish was denied, he could suddenly hear shouting even louder than it had been before, but these were different. These cries were filled with utter pain and terror, what shook Izuku Midoriya the most though was that he recognized that voice. It was his friend, and he was shouting for help.

Izuku felt something he had never truly felt before: The desire to truly hurt someone, what came with it surprised him even more though. It was an unfamiliar hunger, for what exactly he did not know. Before he knew his body began to stir. He lost control as the Mindspace he subconsciously imagined himself in turned red.

There was only one goal on his mind, Make whoever is hurting Kacchan pay.

Izuku slowly rouse from his slumber, his breathing was shallow and his nose felt stuffy, forcing him to breathe through his mouth, his ears also felt plugged. He took a moment to fully wake before he tried to move, he noted he was lying in a bed that was rather comfortable, he would honestly rather not move at all and risk losing that comfort but he knew he had to. Thus he opened his eyes, which took much more effort than he had thought it would. His eyelids felt almost glued together, however with some effort he managed to force them open.

He really wished he hadn't though, as the moment his eyes opened everything seemed extremely bright and he could feel his eyes instantly start to sting. OWOWOW that hurts that hurts! Make it stop!

He instantly tried to shut his eyes but felt he could not, he started to silently panic as he struggled to shut his eyes. The struggle was ended abruptly however as he could suddenly feel a weird sensation, as if his eyes were shifting and changing internally and his ears were popping, somewhat like gears that were stuck finally clicking into place. And he was finally able to close his eyes.

What the hell just happened? I… I definitely couldn't control myself just now, do I… do I even want to try opening my eyes again? He considered, still reeling from the previous pain he felt in his now closed eyes. I can't keep my eyes closed forever, I'll just have to try again... I can only hope the pain will be less if I brace myself for it.

He gulped as he steeled himself for the pain he would have to endure, and opened his eyes. To his surprise (and glee) his eyes didn't feel like they were being stabbed by a dozen needles and he could open them just fine, taking a sigh of relief and calming himself down a little he decided he wanted to take a look at his surroundings. Which he realized he couldn't really do in the position he was currently in; lying down flat on his back, so he decided to sit up straight. As he moved his arms to push himself up though he felt he couldn't move his left arm, puzzled Izuku slowly turned his head awkwardly to look at the cause of the immobility.

To his surprise he found none other than his friend 'sitting' next to him, he was more or less hanging onto the bed barely while he's seated on the chair. It looked rather uncomfortable but Katsuki still seemed to be sleeping through the awkward position just fine as he was firmly holding his friend's left hand with both of his own, which Izuku concernedly noticed were bandaged up quite extensively.

He could only frown at the sight and decided to ask his friend what happened to his hands after he had woken up. Why is he here though? Where is 'here' anyway? He pondered, deciding to sit up the best he could while only using his right arm to support his weight he finally managed to get into a better position. He tried to move Katsuki as little as possible but the sleeping boy still stirred a little as Izuku moved.

Now being properly seated Izuku examined the room he was in as confusion filled him, around him were multiple machines, drawers and shelves, some filled with what looked like documents while others seemed to have bottles that he could only imagine carried medicine. It was obvious now, he was in a hospital, It all looked pearly white -like all hospitals do- but his nose also picked up a few odd odors other than the signature sterile smell hospitals have, he had never smelled anything like this before but his nose was still stuffy so he couldn't discern what exactly it was, for some reason however it made his stomach grumble.

When he looked to his right he saw an IV drip that was attached to his right arm, he hadn't noticed it before, and he honestly wanted to get it off of him as the thought of it being in his arm made him feel squeamish, he knew better not to though.

When he finally felt he had seen everything the room had to offer he couldn't help but feel even more unsatisfied and anxious. Why am I in a hospital? Why is Kacchan here and why are his hands all bandaged up? The questions seemed to pile up even more as the bedridden boy racked his brain for answers, while beside him the sleeping boy finally started to wake up, perhaps unconsciously reacting to izuku's growing distress.

Katsuki slowly opened his eyes, still rather delirious from having just woken up, he blinked drowsily as he lifted himself off the bed slightly to rub at his eyes. This all went unnoticed by Izuku as he was now audibly muttering to himself anxiously as to why he was here and what he should do.

''Wh- what do I do? I mean I guess I shouldn't be doing anything but shouldn't a nurse have arrived already by now? or am I supposed to get up and go myselfbutthenwhydidnttheypu- oof!'' He was roughly interrupted from his in-speed-increasing ramblings as Katsuki tackled him in what he would only later realize was a hug. Now seeing as his friend was hugging him rather firmly (uncharacteristically so) he could tell something was definitely off. Kacchan probably knows why we are in a hospital, I should just ask him. Now having decided on his course of action Izuku spoke up- ''K-kacchan, are you oka-''

''You are actually asking if I'm the one who's okay?!'' -only to be immediately interrupted by a now angry Katsuki. The blonde didn't look sleepy at all anymore. Izuku could've sworn he saw tears form in his friends eyes but couldn't see well from how tightly he was being held. ''After what you did? Are you actually stupid?!'' He seemed to finally catch on to how loud he was yelling and how tightly he was holding Izuku considering his grip was now loosening, the emotion on his face didn't seem to falter at all however.

''You- you're such a nitwit you know, you shouldn't have done something so- so stupid…'' he berated, now talking in a lower volume. He looked like he wanted to continue his tirade but paused abruptly, regarding Izuku wide eyed as if he'd only now understood something. ''Wait. Is your head really okay? you still remember that silly nickname but do you remember who you are?'' He got off the bed, now a lot more careful with his movements.

''What's your full name? what's your mom's name and what's your birthday?'' Katsuki looked at him, waiting for him to answer, Izuku couldn't help but deadpan at his friend though.

''What are you talking about Kacchan?'' He turned in the bed to look at him properly. ''I remember everything just fine. My name is Midoriya Izuku, my mom's name is Midoriya Inko and my birthday is July 15th. We both know that Katsuki, why would I suddenly forget any of this? Stop acting so weird, you're scaring me'' He decided to use Katsuki's given name near the end for emphasis. However it was now the blonde boy's turn to look at his friend as if he was stupid, something seemed to click for him though as he suddenly turned around and started to rummage through the desk behind him.

''They should have at least one of them around here somewhere…'' He murmured more to himself than anyone else, Izuku could only look on dumbfoundedly as his friend continued to scavenge most of the drawers, until he stopped. ''Found it.'' He said suddenly, slight pride evident in his voice, still with his back to Izuku.

''Found what?'' He hadn't seen what his friend had pulled out of the desk and didn't know if he was even allowed to go through their stuff, but the curiosity got the better of him. Katsuki turned around and Izuku could finally see what his friend had been looking for; a pocket mirror was being held awkwardly by Katsuki with his bandaged hands as he walked back to the bed with a small smirk.

''Why would you go looking for a mirror?'' Izuku asked confusedly, shifting his legs to hang over the edge of the side of the bed, he noted he was wearing one of those hospital gowns and suddenly felt a little cold. Katsuki acknowledged his change in position and sat next to him on the bed, handing him the mirror with both his hands. ''Take a look yourself, I'd figured you wouldn't notice it till you saw it'' Izuku looked a little unsure at that. What's he talking about?

''Just take it already darn it'' Slight annoyance now clear in his voice as he shoved the small mirror into his hands. ''Look at your head and you tell me if there's something different mister know-it-all''

Slowly Izuku decided to listen to his friend for once and lifted the mirror to his face. He gasped as he realized what Katsuki had meant, his head was covered in bandages. But that wasn't all, his face looked terrible in general, his skin was rather pale and his cheeks were sunken in, he had noticeable bags under his eyes, his eyes looked rather irritated and swollen and not to mention his nose was red and he could see the snot start to leak out, thankfully Katsuki didn't fail to notice and got him a tissue, not bothering to hide how gross he thought it looked, to izuku's dismay.

As he took in his disheveled appearance some more and cleaning his nose he turned to Katsuki, who made sure to take multiple steps away during the nose cleaning, giving him a nasty look all the while. Izuku looked at him annoyedly and contemplated throwing the now used tissue at his friend, but decided against it, for now.

''Okay, I look like crap. But why is my head wrapped in bandages?'' He pointed at his head. ''While I do remember everything else I really can't remember what could've caused this. And what happened to your hands?''

Katsuki looked at him pensively for a second before looking away in thought. ''So you forgot what happened back then huh, I think that's the 'best case scenario'. Or whatever it is the doctor had called it.'' He finally sat back down on the bed and showed Izuku his bandaged hands. ''This is important though, do you remember my quirk?'' He looked at his friend patiently, indicating it was fine if Izuku took his time recalling. Quirk… I definitely remember Kacchan showing me, I was pretty excited… as he thought about it he looked at his friends hands, until something came to him.

''Look Izu-kun, I got my quirk yesterday, the doctor said it's called explosion! Isn't that cool?''

''R-really Kacchan?! That's awesome! Just think about all the thi-''

''It's explosion, or at least has something to do with that right?'' Izuku thought out loud, looking to his friend for confirmation, which he instantly got as Katsuki smiled and nodded, he looked relieved. ''Phew, that's good then'' His smile now turning into a more mischievous one. ''I was afraid I'd have to deal with your excitement of telling you my quirk again, you can be such a hyperactive baby when it's about quirks you know.'' Izuku wanted to retort but before he had the chance they could hear the door open, Katsuki looked a little annoyed as he started to get off the bed.

Through the door came a man wearing a typical white doctor coat with a black and blue tie, he wore red rimmed glasses and seemed to be average height, his face radiated kindness even though he looked rather panicked as he walked into the room. The man seemed to calm down considerably when he saw the two boys however, the man nodded at Izuku politely most likely asking him to wait a little and then beckoned for Katsuki to follow him to the door, it seemed the doctor was getting ready to chide the boy as they stepped outside the room.

What they were about to talk about was obviously not meant to be heard by Izuku, but he strangely was able to hear more of what they were saying than he had expected himself to considering they were now also separated by the door. Curiosity got to him and he strained his ears, and managed to catch a part of the conversation.

''-ought I told you to come get me the moment he woke up Bakugou-kun… That was the entire reason we allowed you to stay with him.'' The doctor whispered a little heatedly, but not unkindly. ''And yet just now a nurse came to me because she heard shouting coming from this room.'' He now looked at Katsuki, obviously expecting him to explain himself.

Katsuki only huffed in response though, looking at him with childish defiance clear on his face. ''Yeah well I was planning to, Kanou- san'' So that must be the doctors name. Izuku thought to himself while wincing at how rude his friend was being to the doctor, he was leaning in more to listen while hopefully staying unnoticed.

''But since I'm his best friend I decided I'd test myself whether or not he forgot anything, if anyone would be able to tell it would be me'' He puffed out his chest proudly, as he pointed his thumb at himself. ''And so I did, and now I know that he's basically fine.'' At that Kanou-san looked absolutely bewildered, Katsuki could clearly see the shock on the doctors face as he opened the door to find Izuku standing near the bed.

Now having been caught eavesdropping Izuku turned a little red as he sat back down on the bed, Katsuki just gave him a dirty look as he also stepped through the door. Doctor Kanou simply gave him a wry look, but looked pensive shortly after.

''Midoriya-kun, were you able to hear what we were saying from there?'' he asked inquisitively, more out of interest rather than anger for catching him in the act. Izuku couldn't help but look down. ''Y-yes…'' he admitted before quickly putting his hands up in a bit of a panic. ''B-but I swear I didn't really mean to! It's just that you two were talking pretty loudly so I just got curious and well…'' The panic was quickly replaced with embarrassment.

Katsuki looked at him weirdly though. Talking loudly? I'm pretty sure we were both whispering, and the door was definitely closed. Is he bluffing? That's unlikely though, he's a terrible liar, and seems honest… Katsuki reasoned with himself, he looked at the doctor to see if the man had noticed the discrepancy in his friend's statement too and was proven to be right. Doctor Kanou also had his brows furrowed and seemed to be considering what Izuku had just said. Before seemingly shaking out of his thinking as he smiled sheepishly.

''Ah, well lets forget about that for now, I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Tsubasa Kanou, as you could probably tell I'm a doctor in this hospital. And I guess you could say I was tasked with checking on your health and making sure you stayed stable during your three day rest.'' The doctor seemed to want to continue but stopped when he saw the bewildered look on Izuku's face before he nodded in understanding.

''Oh right, how stupid of me. You are probably still confused as to what the reason is for your stay here, I'll be sure to tell you now. But before we get to that…'' Doctor Kanou turned to Bakugou and started reaching into one of his coat pockets before he pulled out a piece of paper and a card. ''You, Bakugou-kun, are going to call his mom for me, you probably already know her number since you seem so smart but I'll still give it to you just in case.'' Katsuki turned red at that but didn't say anything as he grasped the number with his bandaged hand.

''As for this card, you just need to show it to the reception and tell them I sent you to make a personal call.'' He said with finality to his voice. ''Oh and while you are there call your parents to come pick you up, I trust I won't have to give you their number.'' He added as an after thought.

Katsuki was fine with calling izuku's mom, but he was not being sent away, before he could give a say in the matter however he was pushed out of the door by the doctor. ''You can take your time coming back, I'll see you then Bakugou-kun.'' He said quickly before he shut the door and locked it before the boy could try anything to block the door.

After twisting the lock and waiting for Katsuki to actually walk away from the door (with a curse) he let out a sigh. ''That kid can really be a handful.'' He turned to Izuku and sat down on the chair Katsuki had previously been sleeping in, pulling what looked like a tablet out of his coat. ''How can you even be friends with someone so rowdy? You two seem like polar opposites.'' Izuku only smiled in response, he wasn't wrong.

''That's true, but we've practically known each other since we were born, we might as well be brothers at this point. I guess you could compare it to how you can't dislike your sibling no matter how different they are from you.'' Izuku looked up as the doctor nodded intently. ''Besides, we aren't that different, we both absolutely love heroes and want to become one when grow up!'' excitement was now leaking through his voice, as he started talking about his favorite subject. ''We both want to be just like All might! To Protect everyone with a smile. Now that Kacchan has his quirk we just need to wait until I get mine and we can start designing our costumes and I will write the analysis while Kacchan does all the-''

''Woah woah, calm down Midoriya-kun, I understand you are very excited about becoming a hero, but you are still unwell so please don't overexert yourself too much.'' Doctor Kanou interjected Izuku kindly, now grabbing a stylus from his pocket while Izuku was rubbing his bandaged head sheepishly. ''And I can now see that you truly haven't suffered severe amnesia like Bakugou-kun had said, though I have to ask, I heard you saying your quirk still hasn't developed?'' He now looked down at his tablet, absentmindedly tapping the stylus on the bezel in as he prepared to write.

Izuku gulped a little at the seemingly normal question, he had always been a little insecure about the prospect of his quirk. He and Katsuki had both been somewhat late bloomers, with them both nearly turning 5 in a few months, the difference was that Katsuki now had already developed a quirk, and a really cool one at that.

He was now secretly fearing he would be left behind if his quirk didn't develop soon, his classmates were also becoming somewhat impatient considering most had already developed theirs. Even though he could vaguely remember them being rather impressed by Katsuki's quirk, it would only mean their expectations for Izuku would be higher considering the two were constantly stuck together.

He decided to push the pessimistic thoughts away for now when he realized he was making the doctor wait. ''Uh- um yeah I don't really have a quirk yet, my mom and I were planning on going to a specialist if it hadn't developed after my fifth birthday.'' He muttered nervously, the doctor looked perplexed though. ''You mean you really hadn't developed your quirk yet? You're absolutely positive?'' Izuku was caught off guard by the doctors confusion of his lack of a quirk, it certainly didn't make him feel much better about his situation and he could almost feel tears prick at his eyes.

''Why i-is that so hard to believe? I would know if my quirk had developed beforehand, how is this important now anyways?'' Izuku was just trying to change the subject at this point, he was not particularly fond of talking about his shortcomings, especially to someone who seemed insistent it was odd for him to be that way.

At the shaky tone in the kid's voice Doctor Kanou realized he was being a little too pushy with the child. I need to take it slow, as interesting as this scenario is I'm still talking to a toddler. He mentally berated himself. The doctor coughed into his hand as he shifted a little in his seat. ''Please forgive me if I am being a little pushy on this subject, but this is actually more important than you think. I suppose for you to understand the importance of the matter I need to tell you what caused you to be here to begin with. Let me ask once again before I start though, do you truly not recall what happened three days ago in the classroom?''

If he could remember? He honestly couldn't remember much apart from small fragments. Izuku tried to rack his brain but couldn't come up with anything apart from Katsuki briefly showcasing his quirk and some uncomfortable tingling sensation and feeling rather angry suddenly. ''Nothing really… just Kacchan showing me his quirk and a weird tingling feeling all over my body. I also remember being angry at some point, but that might just have been a dream.''

Doctor Kanou seemed to mulling his answer over as he wrote it all down, before setting the tablet and stylus down on the desk next to the bed. ''Alright, if that's truly everything you remember then I'll just tell you everything, or at least everything important to this situation.''

And so the doctor told Izuku of what had happened in those fateful 5 minutes, while the boy stayed quiet for most of the retelling the emotions were clear on his face, from disbelief to fear, it was like an open book. Until his face went unreadable after he told him of how Izuku had managed to attack Misaki viciously even after he'd been knocked out, to defend Katsuki. The doctor hurried to finish the story after that.

''And then the first aid brought you here, and here we are.'' He finished solemnly. He left some details out concerning his stay in the hospital but that wasn't as important now, he just had to give the child some time to process this. So he sat and waited for the kid to respond. ''Are Kacchan's hands going to be okay?'' He asked in an almost whisper.

This somewhat impressed the doctor. Remarkable, after everything I just told him his main concern is his friend's well being, I could truly see this kid become a hero. He has the heart at least. Doctor Kanou smiled kindly at the boy who's face remained unreadable. ''Don't worry, he's still young so his hands won't scar except for maybe one or two marks on some of his fingers. They should fade over time though, I'll go into a little more detail later.'' The man was relieved to see the boy seemed to ease up at that, his eyes regaining some life as his posture went a little more slack.

Kanou grabbed his tablet and stylus once again as he pushed up his glasses, looking at Izuku a little more seriously now. ''While I do find it noble you're worried about Bakugou-kun, you should be more concerned about your own health. You are the one who was knocked out for three days, not him after all.'' Izuku panicked at that, finally realizing that he had indeed been knocked out cold for three whole days. ''Wh-what do you mean? Is there something wrong with me? You said I was fine right? I didn't need any surgery so-''

''Yes you're correct'' Doctor Kanou decided to cut him off, saving them both time and energy. ''But that's exactly what the problem is, you are almost perfectly fine. Abnormally so for a child who was hit on the head by an estimated 20 kg (44 lbs.) vase, not only that but you even got up shortly after what should have been a lethal blow to the head and proceeded to bite the man with enough strength to tear skin.'' The doctor seemed almost excited now, as he was rapidly tapping the stylus on the armrest of the chair.

''Here's the absolute kicker though, by the time you were brought to the hospital, the scans showed you had almost healed the entirety of the wound. I have no idea what that vase was made of but your teacher had said it had had a rather thick underside, meaning the impact might as well have been that of a heavy rock falling on the back of your head. I can't stress this enough, but Midoriya-kun, theoretically speaking you should've died on the spot the moment the vase impacted with your skull. And yet here you are, maybe not the healthiest you've ever been but definitely alive.''

Kanou calmed down as he ended his exposition, now twirling the stylus in his hand as he patiently waited for Izuku to process the information as if he hadn't just dumped it all on him in an instant. It only now occurred to the man that the child had frozen up and had started shaking. Sh-shit, I got too excited again and told a child he should be dead, I'm such an idiot! Accidentally dropping the stylus as his mind raced for how to salvage the situation he only barely heard what the child had whimpered as he quickly reached for it on the floor.

''Does- does that mean,'' Izuku had whimpered almost in disbelief. ''That my- my quirk developed?'' Tears were starting to form in his eyes, Kanou regarded him softly. Becoming a hero must mean a lot to him, from what I've gathered so far he doesn't seem like the most confident type. He was probably starting to doubt himself for not having a quirk yet, Midoriya-kun would've most likely been devastated if he ended up quirkless…

Kanou had seen it more often than he would like, the look of a kid's dreams slipping away right in front of his eyes as they are told they are quirkless, it made him hate the new world they lived in. He had read countless books about the era before quirks had manifested in mankind, and he had come to find that bullying had also been present back then. However back then people were nearly always born equal, there were exceptions with some people being born with birth defects but those were incredibly rare, and even then it was socially looked down upon to maliciously target those people, instead it was encouraged to help them as much as possible.

Bullying during that era occurred most often because of either jealousy or mild forms of xenophobia towards people different from what's considered to be the standard. In a nutshell the bullying had been only a slight problem, victims of it were unhappy but the bullying often didn't last too long and was only in select cases extreme. Since it wasn't like their lives were doomed from the start, they could still turn it around with help.

This new age is different however, with the sudden appearance of quirks also came a monumental shift in social balance. Now people could be born with powers that could be objectively stronger than other's and with the increase in the need for heroes stronger quirks are more idolized. Those with weaker quirks are not looked down upon or rejected as much, but that's only because they are naturally the majority, since the stronger quirks are more rare society has decided to treat those with more care. Making sure they will be able to grow into strong heroes rather than strong villains, to the point it could be considered unfairly picking favorites.

In this all lies one major outlier however: The quirkless, people born without a quirk. Where in the old era people could be bullied for weighing more or looking different, most of it was temporary. One could often lose weight, dress differently or simply find an environment more accepting. That isn't the case for the quirkless, being only 20% of the population they are a huge minority in this world where quirks are considered to be what makes someone special. In this era being quirkless is like having a stamp on your back, marking you to be doomed for the rest of your life. People with weak or useless quirks are only accepted because they are the majority, and they often support each other.

The quirkless however do not have numbers to fall back upon. The lack of a quirk might as well be considered being severely disabled. It's no wonder the percentage is going down so quickly, the life expectancy of a quirkless person is often not more than 30. He thought bitterly, not realizing how long he was making Izuku wait with his inner monologue.

Turning out to be quirkless is something he wouldn't wish upon anyone, coming out of the womb with what used to be a perfectly healthy body, with the only thing lacking a freakish power, is now considered being handicapped. Kanou cursed the people that had allowed for this social inequality to root itself so deeply in society, and cause the child in front of him to fear he wasn't born correctly. As he finally broke out of his thoughts to turn to Izuku, who was now waiting for him with bated breath.

''Yes, Midoriya-kun. The only possible explanation is that your quirk awakened right then and there.''

Y-yes.

f-finally.

Izuku could barely process the information, he had heard it loud and clear, and yet he felt he was dreaming. This was the day he had been hoping for since he knew quirks manifested around the age of four, to finally get his own, to be able to become a hero. To be able to walk alongside his friend proudly without having to worry about what others thought, because he had a quirk. Tears started freely streaming down his face and he could feel his nose unclog, his gown and face rapidly became a gross mixture of the two liquids as he cried his eyes out.

He didn't know why he reacted to the news like this but he had an idea; he had been afraid, even if he tried to deny it he had been afraid that he or Kacchan wouldn't get their quirk and wouldn't be able to become a hero. When Katsuki had showed him his quirk he remembered he had been happy and scared at the same time, scared of being left in the dust by his friend.

He wouldn't have to worry anymore though, he really had a quirk now. Just like Katsuki, just like every other kid in his class. He blinked at that thought however, Kanou-san said I have quirk, but what is it? I hope it's not just regeneration… That would be kinda lame.

He quickly berated himself for thinking that though. Wh-what am I saying? I should be happy I have a quirk at all, beggars can't be choosers or whatever mom always says… He looked down, noticing the mess he made as doctor finally spoke up again. ''W-well… you've made a little bit of a mess now haven't you.''

He looked at him wryly, at which Izuku wanted to cringe out of existence. He probably looked absolutely disgusting and had cried like a little baby too. ''Don't worry about it though, it's natural to be happy after hearing you have a quirk. Especially such a mysterious one.'' He said cryptically.

Mysterious? Does even Kanou-san not know what it is? Izuku wondered. ''What do you mean by mysterious? Is there something wrong with it?'' He really hoped that wasn't the case, he had heard about cases where quirks could backfire on the user and were better off being not used. Like one villain who was constantly hungry until he went insane. Or a kid who had an incredibly strong lightning quirk that exploded with energy every time it was triggered, to the point it was unusable. Kanou started twirling with the stylus again as he thought about it before responding. ''Don't worry too much, it's not like your quirk will snap you out of existence or anything.''

Izuku couldn't help but think that was a little too specific, before he could state his worries the doctor continued however. ''It's more that your quirk is a bit of an enigma is all, that's not a bad thing, but in this case it might influence your lifestyle a little more than we expected.''

''Sir, you're still being a little cryptic, what do you mean?'' Izuku found himself blurting out, only afterwards realizing it had come across kind of rude. ''I didn't me-mean that in a bad way!'' He moved his arms placatingly, the doctor simply chuckled at the boy's antics.

''You're right, I guess I'm beating around the bush a little extensively. I'll explain why your quirk is a bit of a mysterious mystery.'' He said a little playfully, trying to ease Izuku's worries a little. He grabbed his tablet and tapped on it a few times, seemingly opening a report as he started to explain.

''Like I had just said when you were brought in we immediately hooked you up to one of our scanners, we were surprised to see your wound had practically closed up and was healing slowly. You were relatively stable, so we made sure to disinfect what we could and bandage your head to leave it to heal itself. Then we just hooked you to an IV drip and let you rest, your mother and Mitsuki-san had arrived meanwhile, I can now see the crying runs through the family.'' Izuku blushed at that. ''This would all be well and good if your quirk was just a simple regeneration factor, but it's not''

''After we had put you to rest I went on to treat Bakugou-kun's hands, he didn't have much more than skin level second degree burns from forcing his quirk to produce a heat his hands didn't have the appropriate level of heat resistance for, normally it would leave discoloration but considering he's still young and the resistance in his hands should increase as his quirk becomes stronger he should be fine. So you really won't have to worry about him, I'm getting off track again though.'' The doctor took a moment to read something on his tablet as he continued.

''Right, so after I treated Bakugou-kun's hands he told me something interesting: your eyes had apparently changed from your usual green to what he described as 'red pupils with the white of his eyes black'. You also seemed uncharacteristically aggressive and showed remarkable jaw strength when you attacked the assailant.'' The doctor crossed his legs as he leaned into his chair more.

''We can't be sure we can believe all the details he mentioned however, considering he also stated you actually ripped a considerable chunk of flesh after you were thrown off. The clean up crew couldn't find any evidence to prove that though, so I'm going to have to ask you. Did you notice anything when you woke up? Any reaction of the sorts?''

He now looked a up from the tablet, to gaze at Izuku somewhat hopefully. Izuku still had a hard time dealing with the fact he had actually done something so violent to begin with, but it would make sense if his quirk somehow acted up. So he took a moment to reconsider everything he could remember and that had happened that could be of importance. The doctor is right, some odd things have happened since I woke up. After mentally listing everything he could think of, he replied.

''Well, I can remember having a weird dream, it felt like I was floating and my whole body seemed to be…'' He tried to think of the right word to describe the odd feeling. ''Shifting? As if it was internally moving around or something.'' He now cupped his chin with his hand thoughtfully.

''I also remember being angry at something or someone, but after that everything just went red and I woke up in the bed. What was really weird is that when I tried to open my eyes they started to sting and really hurt, they also locked up or something because I couldn't close my eyes, I also think my ears might have popped at the same time but I barely felt that.''

Izuku tried to remember if he forgot to mention anything. ''And I guess I do feel pretty drained and tired, even though I slept three days, other than that I don't really know. 'Well I did think everything smelled weird, but that's probably just because I haven't really been in a hospital room for very long I think, that's all''

Doctor Kanou nodded as he wrote everything down, it seemed he was satisfied with what he had been told. ''Good, good. That's all very useful information, I think I have a good grasp of what your quirk is. And I also have the reason as to why you still feel and look so tired even after having slept 3 days, I'm afraid it's not so good news. It has to do with what I said about your quirk possibly affecting your lifestyle.''

At the mention of bad news Izuku could feel his heart beat in his throat. ''What… what do you mean?'' It had to be too good to be true, to finally get his quirk only to learn he might not even be able to use it, or worse…

The doctor noticed Izuku's rapid spike in nervousness and stifled a cough. ''As I mentioned before, when we placed you here to rest we connected you to an IV drip.'' He pointed to the tube attached to Izuku's right arm. ''As you may or may not know one thing IV drips are useful for is how they can directly inject the necessary nutrients, vitamins and medication into the bloodstream, that's how we make sure patients who are incapable of physically eating the food get the required energy they need to stay healthy and recover quickly. Sometimes patients may lose some weight if they are on the drip for a while simply because they are only getting the necessary nutrients to recover, but other than that they would not look much better or worse than when they came in.''

Izuku viewed the tube running from his arm with reservation, he disliked needles and hated the thought of it still being stuck in him. He didn't understand the problem though, what did this tube have anything to do with his lifestyle? It only delivers nutrients into his body to keep him health-

'But other than that they would not look much better or worse than when they came in.'

Oh.

He realized now, and it must have shown on his face, because Doctor Kanou regarded him with a knowing look in his eyes. ''You seem to have understood already, and your assumption is most likely correct.''

''When we connected you to the drip we started to notice it wasn't really working. While your wound was still healing your physical condition didn't seem to change for the better, eventually it even got worse, it seemed your body wasn't taking in any of the nutrients or simply couldn't convert them into energy.''

''It's still just a hypothesis however so we decided it would be best if we still left the drip connected just in case.'' He reached towards the tube in izuku's arm and carefully removed it, Izuku wincing nevertheless. ''You won't need it anymore now.'' He said as he left the tube to hang next to the drip and went to sit back down.

''This all has lead me to believe your quirk may have changed how your digestion and metabolism functions or how your body takes in energy, to what extent I still don't know, but I think I might have an idea as to what might be the 'key' if that really ends up being the case.'' He sounded almost ominous. ''We can't jump to any conclusions until you actually try eating actual food though but It's important your mother learns of this possible outcome, even if it's still mere speculation. ''He took a second to take off his glasses and rub at his eyes, he looked much older without them.

''I believe we should move on to a more positive topic for now.'' The doctor finally put the tablet down on the desk next to the bed as he stretched exhaustedly, taking a quick glance at Izuku to see the boy was lost in thought. Whether they were the good or the bad kind Kanou couldn't tell, but he decided it wise to take the boy's mind off the heavy topic for now with some good information concerning his quirk.

''It's not all bad though Midoriya-kun, I still haven't told you what your quirk actually is, it's actually quite promising. You do want to hear it, right?'' He told the lost-in-thought Izuku incitingly, hoping the boy would respond.

Luckily it worked, the kid quickly perked up at the mention of his quirk potentially being promising, and glanced at the doctor expectantly. ''What is it? It has to be more than just regeneration right? Because I read somewhere th-''

''You are right.'' Kanou cut him off. Interrupting the boy's ramblings had become somewhat routine at this point the doctor wryly noted. ''It's more than just a mere regeneration quirk, I think it's a lot more versatile than that.''

''You might personally not have noticed much difference but I can tell, your senses have improved greatly haven't they?. He asked somewhat rhetorically. ''You said it before as well; that you could smell something you never have before in the room. Not to mention the fact you could hear me and Bakugou-kun whispering to each other even while the door was closed, those doors while not sound proof, would definitely block the sound of us whispering. Normally someone would have to put their ears to the door to hear something that quiet through the door, yet you had no problem catching the conversation from where you were standing, which was still relatively far removed from the door.''

Izuku looked perplexed. That's true isn't it? Even now I can almost hear the people talking outside, and a weird smell coming from Kanou-san, hand sanitizer? I wasn't able to hear or smell that good before… ''That's… wow.'' He uttered, at a loss for words at the new developments he only now realized his body had made.

''There's more though, I think what Bakugou-kun had said about your eyes turning 'red and black' and that weird pain you suffered when you opened your eyes has a correlation. My theory is that your eyes did actually undergo a change of sorts at that moment, it's possible that your eyes stung so much when you opened them is because your eyes had to readjust since the last time had been during the incident.'' He pointed at his own eyes. ''Perhaps your eyes shifting in color is more than just that an aesthetic change, it's likely it also increases your visual prowess in some ways.''

Excitement started to bubble from the child now. ''R-really? That's so cool!'' He pumped his fists. ''Are there any more cool things my quirk can do?'' He was already content with what he had learned so far, but more would always be appreciated especially considering his quirk already seemed to be feature-packed.

Kanou chuckled at Izuku's excitement. ''It's good you're excited, you should be, you have a very peculiar quirk. Not only does it increase you senses but I think it also made your body a tad bit more durable, when we tried to insert the IV drip we actually had some trouble getting the needle in; your skin was rather tough. We needed to utilize a semi reinforced needle, we normally use those in case we need to inject someone with a grade one skin hardening quirk, which isn't the toughest hardening there is but is still pretty impressive considering there is still a lot we don't know about your quirk''

As he took some time to process all the information he had just received, Izuku's smile grew almost tenfold. ''Awesome! I never would have thought my quirk would end up being so cool, I have to tell Kacchan as soon as possible!'' He was positively beaming now, almost jumping with glee.

Kanou looked a little more hesitant though. ''Now now, calm down. There's still something that might be of importance I'll have to tell you abou-''

For the umpteenth time that day, someone was interrupted mid-speech. As Izuku jumped up at the sound of the door handle being turned rather desperately, startled by the loud noise that ringed through his enhanced ears. Kanou took no time at all to stand up and instantly head for the door to see for himself who could be the cause for the rattling of the door.

Once he looked through the blinds he nodded curtly at whoever stood behind the door, and turned the lock, opening the door. Once he did, Izuku was spooked once more as a loud cry sounded through the room as the cause of the noise stormed through the door-

''MY IZUKUUUUU''

-and he was enveloped in a tight sloppy hug from his mother.

''I guess it can wait.'' Kanou said softly as he looked at the pair, both now crying as they embraced each other tightly.

The rest went by rather quick, Izuku learned Katsuki's mom had already arrived and taken Katsuki home (Not that the boy hadn't tried his darndest to stay) which bummed Izuku out a little. That disappointment soon vanished however as the doctor told his mom about his newly developed quirk, and how versatile it was.

Inko had been somewhat surprised to learn that her son's quirk was radically different from her or her husband's, but was still incredibly happy for her child after the doctor explained it was nothing to worry about, and that it was possible for a child's quirk to not resemble that of their parent's on occasion, if not a bit rare.

Her mood dampened considerably however when she was told about the possible change in izuku's metabolism, the fact it was a hypothesis did not really help in this case, it simply made her more nervous for dinner, since it was now becoming rather late. Kanou had advised that Izuku be given food he liked, to test if his metabolism had truly changed. And to report to him if that doesn't or does unfortunately end up being the case, he had given Inko his number shortly after.

Izuku then got changed into clothes his mother brought with her and headed off, Kanou seeing them to the door. ''Do not try to force down the food if you can tell it's making you feel bad, Midoriya-kun, you'll just get sick otherwise. Call me immediately after dinner, hopefully with good news'' The doctor had added kindly before they stepped into Inko's car, Kanou waving them off as they drove away.

The street lights turned on, indicating it was becoming late. And Izuku could feel himself fall into a sleepy daze as he followed the passing lights, his mom quickly took notice though, it'd be troublesome if he fell asleep now.

''Isn't it great Izuku? You finally got your quirk! Do you remember asking for one last Christmas? It looks like Santa didn't have to deliver you one after all.'' She joked, Izuku turned a bright red at the embarrassing memory though and instantly went to respond, drowsiness nowhere to be found.

Izuku had really tried everything to get his quirk to develop as quickly as possible. He had tried to persuade her multiple times to put all types of junk in his food to allow him to get his quirk early, none of the advice he found was real, with it all just being jokes made by people on the web with nothing better to do. He spent a lot of time on the internet looking up all types of quirk related stuff, from heroes to new discoveries, she was confident he'd seen it all at this point.

Not to mention the amount of views he must have added to one of those All Might videos just by himself. He had really been desperate for a quirk, and Inko was starting to worry when his fifth birthday was nearing and it still hadn't come. Especially for what it would've done to her son, for his dreams to be squashed like that, and for him to have to suffer through life while quirkless, which might as well be a death sentence these days.

Inko did not want to think about that.

But now with the news that his quirk might actually affect his digestion to the point he may not be able to eat normal food was extremely worrying to her. That would be incredibly troublesome and might mean death for her son if he by some tragedy ended up not being able to eat anything at all. Even if that did end up being the case however, she wasn't sure she could wish the quirk hadn't developed. It was because of it her boy was still breathing now after all, and hadn't died on that day.

Truth to be told, her heart had almost stopped when she had heard the news three days ago. She had been at work with Mitsuki when her phone had gone off, it had been one of Izuku's teachers; Teruko-something if she remembered correctly. He had told her what had happened to Izuku and Bakugou, and she instantly dragged Mitsuki to the car, work be damned. Her friend had been confused but didn't protest when she saw how serious Inko was.

Inko Midoriya was often a crybaby, but would always hold herself together when her baby was in danger, Mitsuki knew that very well, and was proven right when Inko finally told her what happened during their rush to see if their kids were alright. When they finally arrived at the hospital she was happy to see Katsuki was fine, but she wanted to see her baby. Mitsuki naturally chose to stay with her boy to calm him down after what had happened, and went to call her husband to inform him.

When doctor Kanou told her what happened to Izuku and how he was magically still alive she was both hopelessly happy somewhat proud at the same time, happy for the fact her son was magically okay and wouldn't be left with any lasting damage. And proud that he had jumped in to save his friend, she had truly raised a little hero. She then decided she wouldn't be angry at Izuku for putting himself in harm's way like he had.

She would've done the same had Mitsuki been in that scenario after all.

And now they were parked in front of their house, having had a healthy discussion during the trip back, over whether Izuku may or may not have wished for the power to grow blonde hair and a monkey tail last Christmas. They stepped out of the car and headed for their house.

''Mooom I didn't ask for the tail, it just comes with it! And it's not just blonde hair! You grow stronger! It's to go even further beyond-''

''Plus ultra sweetie, I get it. But I've never seen someone who can turn blonde with a tail, that is also capable of blowing up planets. Actually it would be rather troublesome if you could, I didn't raise a delinquent after all.'' She cut him off playfully, looking in her purse for the door keys as Izuku trailed after her.

''Ugh'' He huffed, a typical childish pout on his round face. ''You wouldn't get it anyways, I don't understand how old people can be old and not know about the old series at the same time, it's only about one hundred fifty years old, two hundred tops! And it's even getting a reboot next year!''

Inko shot him a motherly glare indicating he was in trouble. ''What did you call me, sweetie?'' Her voice tinged with an icy edge as she pushed open the door with a little more force than usual. Izuku realized he would be in mortal danger if he didn't scram ASAP.

He efficiently threw off his shoes and switched to his slippers as he dashed pas his mom into the house. ''N-n-n-Nothing! I'm gonna take a quick shower okay? Okay!'' He rushed off, fearing for his life.

An angry Inko is something you should truly fear, those close to her knew that well.

Though she couldn't help but smile at seeing her child back in the house, she had visited the hospital as much as she could the past few days, and was happy Katsuki had volunteered to stay with her child for as much as Mitsuki allowed him (That boy could be such a sweetheart when he didn't involve Izuku in some grand prank.) But it was nothing compared to truly having her child with her in the house, she had missed her baby so much.

Following her son into the house she put her coat and purse on the rack and headed to the kitchen. The doctor had said to make something he likes, Katsudon then. She decided, grabbing the necessary ingredients for the dish. She honestly didn't know what she would do if he really couldn't eat it, at this point she could only hope that wasn't the case and they could just have a nice dinner again after three days.

But she had to be ready for the worst. She could hear the water in the shower turn on, and went on to preparing the food.

After a while she could hear the shower door opening, indicating Izuku had finished showering, he walked into the living room as Inko was placing their bowls on the table. ''Katsudon! Thanks mom.'' He said happily across the room.

This was met with a confused look from Inko, who was surprised Izuku could discern the meal when the only thing she had put on the table were the bowls, she quickly understood that he must have smelled if from all the way across the room though. ''Y-yes sweetie, very sharp of you.'' She said uncertainly. It would definitely take some time to get used to her son's enhanced senses, she realized.

''It smells different from usual though…'' He looked to be in thought as he sat down on his usual chair, right across from his mother. Inko didn't know if that comment was a good or a bad sign, but just brushed it off to him having to get used to his new sense of smell.

She filled their bowls and prepared to eat. This was the moment they would know for sure.

''Al-alright Izuku, dig in now.'' She couldn't stop her nervousness from leaking out as she stuttered a little. ''And don't forget what the doctor said, don't force it if you don't feel you can eat it.'' She added quickly, it would be bad if he pretended to be able to eat the food after all.

''Ri-right mom'' The nervousness was now reciprocated by the boy, as he lifted the chopsticks to eat his favorite dish. ''Th-thanks for the food, time to dig in…''

He efficiently moved his chopsticks and lifted a piece of the rice-meat combo between the two sticks, and placed them in his mouth. He started to chew.

It tastes… it tastes like-

He was about to swallow the bite and tell his mom how good it tasted, that there was absolutely nothing wrong with it and that everything was fine.

But his body heavily disagreed, he could feel himself choking out the food as the taste of it in his throat and tongue almost burned yet felt very slimy at the same time to make a repulsive combination.

It was disgusting and he could feel his stomach turn, making an effort to make sure he puked it all out.

He pushed the sensation down as he resorted to sloppily heaving the food out, as he hung over the table coughing up a storm. Inko seemed to realize what was happening and reached for the roll of paper they keep on the table and gave him a few he could barf in. While steadily patting him on the back, she could feel her heart sink, it was obvious what this meant and there was no denying it at this point.

Izuku seemed to calm down, having spat out all the food in the now filthy paper towel he had used to catch the 'food' in, his breathing was labored and he was still shaking slightly. She noticed he was crying, but not normal tears.

She turned the boy so she could properly look at his face and let out a gasp, when she looked him in the eyes she wasn't met with the forest green orbs he had been born with. No, they were a deep crimson contrasted by his now black sclera, when she looked closer she could see what seemed like thin red veins run from his pupil to the ridge of his eyes. What shook her the most though were his now red tears, it looked like blood was seeping out of his eyes, but after taking a quick sniff she noted they didn't smell like blood.

Even with this change, she didn't hesitate to pull him into a tight hug. As a dam broke and Izuku burst out in crimson tears, she could hear him whimpering. ''I-I'm sorry mommy. I'm so-sorry…''

Inko's heart broke a little, she wanted to cry just as much as her son; wallow in how unfortunate this is. But she had to be strong, for the both of them. She decided the day he got hurt she would make sure she never failed him, she would help her son through this.

''It's fine dear, there's nothing to be sorry for.'' She whispered reassuringly.

This went on for a while: Inko telling her son it was okay and it would be alright, and Izuku crying his now crimson eyes out. Until half an hour later the boy had fallen asleep in her arms, the fatigue of barfing out his food and crying for an extended time finally catching up to him, as he rested in his mothers loving hug.

Inko was glad she had stayed somewhat in shape as she had to carry her son up the stairs to his room, tucking him in and kissing him goodnight as she wiped away his red tears.

With a heavy heart, she wiped away a tear as she grabbed the house phone, dialed the number she had received that day, and pressed call.

(A/N)

Holy crap, first of all I want to apologize for this chapter being a little late. I had been planning on releasing it last Thursday since that would be a week since the last one, but I realized that would be impossible considering how much I still felt I had to write before ending the chapter properly.

I had been aiming for maybe around 7k words, and not nearly 11K. Making this the most I might've written. Ever (also making the proofreading much longer than I had expected). English isn't even my first language so that's certainly an accomplishment for me.

Since this is my first large chapter (nearly twice the size of the last one) I also had some trouble writing it, I'm still actually not sure if I should've shortened it out a little or if It's kind of a drag to read through and if the pacing is not too slow or fast. this chapter was a lot more dialogue heavy than i had initially expected, i really enjoyed it though (i guess its as fun to write as it is to read huh)

But I hope you enjoyed this jam-packed chapter nonetheless, and would appreciate feedback or your thoughts on it, so I can improve my writing and am able to write the chapters more efficiently.

I don't want to drag this authors note on for too much longer, but I feel I should explain a few things.

You may or may not have noticed at this point, but Izuku's quirk is that he's basically a ghoul. Specifically the type of ghouls in Tokyo Ghoul. I recommend watching a video on what a ghoul is, reading the wiki or even better; maybe read the manga, which is by some regarded as a masterpiece. (the anime is actually garbage don't bother with it) if you are unfamiliar with the series.

This doesn't mean you will need to have watched or read Tokyo ghoul to be able to enjoy this story however, this story is not a crossover for a reason. while I will be taking the concept of a ghoul from the series and will be applying it in this story, I will not directly include any characters from that series or anything like that. I might give slight nods or references (doctor Kanou) but those will stay that way; only references, which means that if they share a name they won't be carbon copies or even have to share much similarities. So don't expect Kaneki to show up or something, but maybe do expect a timid boy who just so happens to be called Kaneki but has no further connections to Kaneki Ken.

Also, Izuku will not be a typical ghoul like those in Tokyo Ghoul, I will be changing how his ghoul physiology works to better fit this story and to make it more interesting and realistic for the setting the story takes place in.

What I'm trying to say is that for those who have viewed Tokyo ghoul there will be some references here and there and the obvious knowledge about ghouls. But for those who haven't, you can just view this as Izuku having some type of vampire/ghoul quirk that gives him some powers and drawbacks and explore the quirk with the characters. But if you end up curious enough you could check out the Tokyo ghoul wiki page on ghouls, either is fine though. I will be explaining how his quirk works and stuff anyways since I'll be altering a decent amount of it, so it'll be somewhat new to anyone; both in the know and not. (everyone happy)

I also thank everyone who reviewed and Favorited/followed the story so far! I appreciate the support and knowing people enjoyed it enough to follow is a great motivation to write and do better at writing. Also this story has a cover image now! My friend (thanks a lot if you're reading this) managed to edit a picture to basically illustrate what Izuku might look like later, I don't own and didn't make the original picture though, so credit to whoever drew it. (its good art)

I've made this authors note a tad too long now (yet again). I hope you enjoyed, follow and favorite if you'd like and I'll see you in the next one. (which should be out in about a week, 2 tops)