His legs ached from having been curled up for so long, but he stayed as still and as quiet as he could, just like momma had asked. The dull roar that he originally thought was from his dad's Quirk had been growing louder, even louder than when he'd started a fire on their last camping trip. After a few seconds, he tentatively pushed his way out from under the bathroom sink and tiptoed towards the door to his parent's bedroom.
"M-momma," he called out quietly before reaching out to push open the door. A wave of hot air spilled into the bathroom, accompanied by the thick smell of smoke. He began to cough as the smoke hit his lungs, then called out a little louder, "Momma? Daddy?"
Fear began to set in when neither of his parents replied. Rubbing his eyes, the boy made his way across the large bedroom and out into the hallway as the smoke in the air slowly got thicker and thicker. He could now clearly hear the dull roar of a fire coming from down the hall, smoke leaking out around his bedroom door. 'Is daddy there?' he wondered to himself, holding his arm across his mouth and nose as he moved closer. "Daddy!"
He reached up with his left hand and turned the handle, barely registering the searing pain on his palm as he pushed the door in. Black smoke poured from the room, burning his eyes and lungs. The little boy gagged and coughed violently, turning his back away from the cloud and doubling over as he tried to clear his lungs. Moments later, a deafening roar filled his ears as orange flames engulfed his body.
Izuku jolted awake, heart pounding and breathing ragged. He rolled onto his stomach and pressed his face against his pillow, forcing himself to take long, deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself. As he did so, he slowly became aware that someone was hugging him, a small arm wrapped across his back.
"You had a scary dream again."
The teen nodded slowly, not trusting himself to say anything just yet as his emotions would surely get the best of him. Letting Kaede see him cry was the last thing he wanted.
"I tried to wake you up…"
Keeping his face in his pillow, Izuku shifted slightly onto his side, moving his right arm to return the girl's embrace and to let her cuddle closer against him. The simple contact did wonders in helping him calm down and he could feel his tension begin to melt away, even as exhaustion began to once more settle in. After a few more deep, steadying breaths, he rolled fully onto his side, hugging his sister tighter against his chest. "Thank you," he mumbled softly, closing his eyes and letting himself again drift off to sleep.
Several hours passed before Kaede's voice cut through his mind, rousing him from unconsciousness. "Izu! You gotta get up!" she whisper-yelled, shaking him as she bounced up and down next to him on the bed. "Caitlyn's making a yummy breakfast!"
Sure enough, as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes, Izuku caught a distinct whiff of something baking downstairs. After a stretch and long yawn, the teen pushed himself to a sitting position and gave his sister a smile. "Tell her I'll be right down," he said, reaching up to try and straighten out her messy hair a little. Kaede put on a face and pulled away from his hand before climbing off the bed and rushing out, yelling to Caitlyn before even leaving the bedroom. Izuku chuckled softly to himself as he reached over to preemptively shut off his normal weekend alarm before fully climbing out of bed, making sure to pull the sheets and covers back up.
The smell of baked goods grew stronger as he made his way down the stairs, causing his mouth to water in anticipation. "Smells delicious," he said a little tiredly, stifling yet another yawn as he padded his way into the small kitchen.
"It's about to smell a lot better." Caitlyn's grin was clearly audible in her voice as she opened up the oven, letting the scent of fresh banana nut muffins fill the room. Kaede and Izuku both took deep breaths of the aroma before humming contentedly in unison, causing Caitlyn's smile to broaden even further. She set the muffin pan on the stove top before gingerly starting to pull the muffins out, moving them to the wire rack on the counter so they could cool faster.
Excitedly, Kaede rushed the counter almost immediately, grabbing one of the muffins after an 'ok' nod from Caitlyn. Since they were still hot, she also made sure to get a paper towel to act as insulation so she didn't burn her hands. Izuku followed suit after the woman picked one out for herself, then took a seat next to his sister at the small kitchen table. It was hardly a surprise to him that by the time he'd so much as taken his first bite, the little girl had already finished her first muffin and was getting up for another one. "That's your last one for now," Caitlyn said with a bit of a giggle. "Once you finish, you need to go get dressed, ok? We'll need to get going pretty soon."
It barely took another minute for the girl to finish the second muffin. After swallowing her last bite, Kaede leaned back in her chair and let out a contented sigh. "That was tasty."
Caitlyn grinned at her words, then reached over and poked her on the shoulder. "Now go get dressed. We don't want to be late."
The girl grumbled softly as she pulled herself out of her chair and trotted off down the hallway towards the stairs. Izuku couldn't help but chuckle a little at his sister's antics, turning back towards the table and picking up a second muffin for himself. Caitlyn simply shook her head and glanced towards the sink, then at the clock. "I really hate leaving such a mess for you," she said softly as she opened up her bag, rummaging inside it for a moment.
Izuku simply waved off her concern with a smile, setting his muffin down and stretching. "I don't mind it. Besides, I was able to get most of my homework done at school yesterday, so it'll be nice to have something else to do while you two are out."
As he spoke, he pushed his chair back from the table and picked up the wire rack, waiting for Caitlyn to grab one more muffin before carrying the rest of them over to the counter. After a bit of rummaging through one of the cabinets, he found a plastic container that was just the right size to fit the rest of the muffins. Once they were put away, he started up the sink to start cleaning off the various bowls and measuring cups Caitlyn had used to make the breakfast. Before long, Kaede had made her way back downstairs and she and Caitlyn headed out the front door, Izuku giving them a quick wave as they left.
The sounds of a car engine with a squealing timing belt grabbed Mei's attention as she sat on the cool concrete of her family's garage, taking a brief rest from her homework. She poked her head out of the structure, watching her neighbor's car make its way down the short street before turning out of view. With her current lack of projects, she made a mental note to go and ask them if they'd let her fix up their car free of charge once they got back from wherever they were headed. As she did so, however, she figured it would probably be best to make the note a physical one, considering her tendency to forget things as trivial as this.
Pushing herself to her feet, the girl skipped over to the workbench and grabbed a sticky note and pencil to make a reminder for herself. In the process, she noticed another note written earlier that morning, reminding her of the pot of coffee she had started brewing well over an hour ago. Mei took the new sticky note and stuck it onto her backpack—somewhere she knew she would look more frequently than the side of the air compressor tank—before hurrying into the house to retrieve her liquid energy.
The coffee was still hot, though the pot was a little less than half full compared to how much she'd initially started brewing. After a quick check to make sure her cat was in fact still alive, she decided the lack of coffee was just from her dad having filled up his travel cup before heading to work for the day. With a shrug, the pink-haired girl filled up her own thermos with nearly the entire rest of the pot before adding a few heaping spoonfulls of sugar and stirring it in. Sludge in hand, she made her way back out into the garage to continue her work.
If he wasn't out walking, studying, or doing homework, Izuku preferred to spend a majority of his spare time in the basement, which was where he'd decided to go once the last of the dishes were washed and put away. While a majority of the space was used for miscellaneous storage, Caitlyn also had a small array of workout equipment: a treadmill, a rack of dumbbells, and even a heavy punching bag hanging from one of the overhead beams. The latter was the most recent addition, something Caitlyn had bought specifically for Izuku after his therapist had suggested giving him a way to physically let out any negative emotions.
At first, that was his only reason to come down here, specifically after having a vivid nightmare or a school day where he was bullied more than usual. As the years went by, however, these impromptu workout sessions shifted from being therapeutic in nature to becoming more of a hobby, eventually leading to Izuku researching workout routines and basic martial art techniques. While his anomalous nature worked wonders in helping him avoid most physical confrontation, the fact that he was Quirkless meant he was at a massive disadvantage when things did escalate. He wanted some way to be able to protect himself if worse came to worst, and if Kaede was ever in danger, he needed to be sure he could come to her rescue.
Drops of sweat trickled down his face and neck as he neared the end of his workout routine, deciding to take his cooldown jog outside rather than on the treadmill this time. He took a moment to set the weights he'd used in their respective slots on the rack before pulling on his running shoes, taking a long drink of water from his water bottle, and making his way upstairs and out the front door. After taking a moment to double check that he had indeed locked the door behind him, Izuku took off at a leisurely pace, already mapping out a suitable route in his mind. No sooner had he reached the end of his street than the darkening clouds overhead decided to open up and began to rain. It wasn't an outright downpour by any means, but all of his clothes were soaked through well before he reached the halfway point he'd had in mind. Izuku welcomed the rain, though, especially with how refreshing it felt as it helped rinse him free of some of the sweat that had accumulated from his work out.
Before too long, Izuku had made it back around to his house, the time having flown by as he'd let himself be lost in the nature around him as he jogged. He took a few moments to shed his running shoes and wipe off as much excess water as he could, then opened up the front door and hurried upstairs to the bathroom. Only after he had the shower running did he begin to shed his soaked workout clothing. "Guess tomorrow's laundry day now," he muttered to himself, wringing out his clothes one by one into the sink before hanging them haphazardly on the towel rod to dry. Finally, after pulling out a fresh towel and setting it on the counter by the sink and double checking the state of his hair dye in the mirror, he climbed into the shower.
With Caitlyn and Kaede likely on their way home by now, Izuku wasted no time in rinsing the rest of the rainwater from off his skin and out of his hair. It was times like this where he was especially grateful for having a three-in-one shampoo, conditioner, and body wash combo at his disposal. He made sure his hair was fully lathered before getting to work washing the rest of his body, taking extra care to be thorough with the knotted, silk-textured scar that covered his back and left side. With a quick rinse and shave to rid his neck and cheeks of stubble, he shut the water off and reached around the curtain for his towel just in time to hear the telltale sound of Caitlyn's squealing car pull up in front of the house.
"Izu! We're home!" Kaede's bright voice rang up the stairs less than a minute later, followed by the sound of rustling bags and the front door closing shut.
"Welcome back," Izuku called out in reply, holding the towel around his waist as he made his way to the bedroom to grab a fresh set of clothes. "I'll be down in just a moment." Once clothed, he made one last stop in the bathroom to dry his hair just a bit more before making his way downstairs. Before heading into the kitchen, Izuku stopped briefly to grab the box he'd hidden in the entry closet, smiling softly to himself.
The moment he stepped into the kitchen, Kaede rushed up to him, pointing enthusiastically to the set of colorful band aids now adorning her upper arm. "Look, Izu! I told you I'd be a good girl for the doctor!"
"That she was," Caitlyn confirmed, looking back over her shoulder with a warm smile as she tossed the plastic bag she'd been emptying into the trash can. "And she was very brave, too."
Kaede nodded vigorously as Izuku lowered himself to be at eye level with her. "I knew you could do it," he chuckled, bringing the box around from behind his back and holding it out to her. "Go ahead and open it."
An excited smile split across the girl's face as she took the box, looking back and forth between it and her brother before slowly pulling off the lid. She let out an excited gasp, pulling out the Thirteen plushie and letting the box drop to the floor before hugging it tight to her chest. "I love it!" the girl cried out before throwing her arm around Izuku's shoulders, a gesture he happily returned. "You're the best, Izu!"
The boy chuckled softly, hugging his sister for a long moment before she eventually loosened her grip. "And you're the best sister, Kaede. Now let's help Caitlyn get lunch ready so we can start celebrating."
The rain kept coming down all through the afternoon and into the early evening hours, even picking up a little by the time Mei remembered her plan to ask her neighbors about fixing their car. It may not have been the most exciting prospect in the world, but she would take working on an engine over studying English any day.
"Dad, I'll be back in a bit," she called out, not waiting for an answer as she stepped out the front door and shut it behind her. A part of her idly wondered if she should have brought a jacket, but she immediately dismissed that thought as soon as she felt how warm the rain was. She could just dry off in the garage once she got home.
As she got closer to her neighbors' house, one of her questions about this project was quickly answered as soon as she got a better look at their car. She was about ninety percent certain she did not currently have the belt needed for their car, but knew she could easily get her hands on one. All that was needed now was the ok to do the repair. Simple enough. With her usual grin on her face, Mei made her way up the short walkway to the front door and knocked as politely as she could. After a few moments, she began to feel a growing sense of unease and mild discomfort. While a normal person would likely have decided to just leave, the feeling was so foreign to the girl that she decided she had to know what was causing it. After all, being an inventor first and foremost meant she was certainly a scientist second; 'normal person' was a very distant seventh.
The door opened and she found herself face to face with the boy she'd seen jogging earlier that day. Mei realized two things simultaneously in that moment. First was that his physique, which she'd had such a good view of earlier, was now hidden behind plain dry clothes. Second, and equally as disturbing, this boy was without a doubt the source of the feeling of unease that had been building inside her. 'Am I afraid of him? No, that can't be right, because this morning I'm pretty sure I was thinking about—'
"Can—uh, can I help you?" The boy's words pulled Mei out of her train of thought and she shifted her gaze up to meet his. "Hatsume, right?"
'What was I gonna ask again? Oh, right!' "Yeah, I'm Mei Hatsume." She felt her grin falter a little as she tried to push through the odd discomfort and… wrongness she was feeling. "I, um, heard your car earlier. Sounds like a timing belt problem. I wanted to ask to fix it for you." She gave herself a mental pat on the back for what she was certain was a normal way to offer help. She'd been practicing.
The boy raised his eyebrows in what Mei could only interpret as surprise. "Oh, yeah, it probably does need that. Uh, let me go ask Caitlyn."
As he left the front door, heading further back into the house, she could feel the discomfort fading quite rapidly. The phenomenon was just too perplexing to let go, especially considering she'd never once heard about a Quirk that simply made people feel uncomfortable. Was he doing it on purpose? She didn't get much more time to mull over the possibilities as the boy, and the uneasy feeling, quickly returned, this time carrying a frosted cupcake on a napkin.
"She… she said that should be fine. Also, here." He held out the cupcake to her, which she stared at for a moment before accepting it from him. "My sister just turned five, so we made cupcakes. It's, uh… it's chocolate."
"Alright! I'll look into getting the part you'll need." Mei felt her grin grow as she looked back up at the boy, who's face had grown a little red. After a brief silence, she figured she should probably thank him for the cupcake as well before leaving. "And thanks for the cupcake. I really like chocolate."
A bit of a smile formed on the boy's face at that, and she gave herself another silent congratulations. Smiling was a good sign. Finally, she remembered why he'd even given her a cupcake in the first place and she mentally slapped herself. "I should… probably leave you to your sister's birthday. I'll let you know when I have the new part."
"Yeah that—that sounds good. Thanks again for offering to help!" Mei was pretty sure she saw the boy's eyes move downwards from her face a little, probably to the cupcake. "I-I'm Izuku Midoriya, by the way. Nice to finally meet you, Hatsume."
It took a moment for Mei to notice his outstretched hand, but once she did she shook it, maybe a bit more enthusiastically than she'd meant to. "Nice to meet you, too, Midoriya. I'll see you around." She barely registered his reply as she turned and began making her way back home.