Trigger Warnings: This story contains the following: Child abuse, references of alcohol and substance abuse, murder, gore, self harm, suicide, violence, and various forms of torture. You have been warned.

As the alarm clock next to his bed struck Twelve, he closed his eyes. The excitement was pulsating through his body. Finally, he would find out if he had a quirk. He had been so excited, ever since he first saw his favorite hero, All Might, on the television, he knew that's what he wanted to do. Sitting on his bed, waiting, hoping. At that point, it was all he knew how to do. He focused as hard as he could. He could hear the crickets chirping outside. He could hear the water from the ocean, as it wasn't too far from his home. He could hear the trees rustling in the wind, and he could hear his own breathing. He opened his eyes and looked back to the clock. 12:01. He began to freak out.

What if I don't get a quirk? he asked himself. What if I end up quirkless? His lips began to quiver as tears started to well up. For as long as this little five-year-old could remember, he had always wanted a quirk. But now? Now he was losing hope. Right as he was about to give up and go back to sleep, he felt something. Some sort of rush of energy throughout his brain. Was this his quirk that he felt? He closed his eyes and wiped away his tears. He could feel it. He knew he had his quirk. But what was it? He focused, harder, and harder. Nothing. But why? He could feel the power there. He knew he had a quirk. So why? Why wasn't it showing? He tried focusing it on his brain since that was where he could feel the most energy. As he was doing so, he felt a rumble.

Dang it, he thought. Why now, tummy? As he got up off his All Might-themed bed, he looked around. He looked from poster to poster, all of which had a picture of All Might. He looked at the clock. 12:07. Too late to go get something to eat.

I'll just get some milk from the fridge, he told himself. That shouldn't be too hard.

He felt the power in his brain begin to grow like somehow, his quirk was activating. He started thinking to himself different ways he could get to the fridge without being caught, leaving no information out of mind.

With his mother's quirk, she would be a threat, as she could easily levitate him up off the ground and back to bed if she were to be woken up. He knew that he couldn't wake her up, no matter what. Then he considered the layout of the house. He could sneak through the hallway, but he'd have to keep socks on, so as to minimize the sound of his feet on the hardwood floor. He'd need a way to get up to the cabinet to get a cup. Maybe climbing on the drawer handles? His weight wouldn't be a problem. Cabinet it is then! But how would he get the milk out of the fridge? He had no idea how much was left, how heavy the jug was, or if there was any milk left at all.

Wait a minute, he thought. This is my quirk! Strategy!

It had been a few days, and since he found out what his quirk was, Izuku had been trying to explain it to his mother, but to no avail. She always acted like he was making it up or like he was telling one of his fake stories. So, she took him to the hospital. After doing a couple of brain scans, he was told that there were signs of a quirk, but there wasn't any way they could confirm. So for now, more waiting. It was lunchtime, and he was sitting in the kitchen eating his sandwich when his mother walked in from the living room. Just a few minutes ago, she was on the phone, and she looked rather upset. She had that same disappointed look on her face as she sat down next to her son.

"Izuku, I need to talk to you about something," she said with a sigh in her voice. Izuku put his half-eaten sandwich back on his plate and swallowed what was in his mouth.

"What's wrong, Mamma?" he asked, pure innocence in his eyes. She looked at him with what seemed like motherly instinct.

"Tomorrow, we're picking your father up from the airport-"

"Really?!" Izuku interrupted. "I get to meet Daddy tomorrow?!" he asked, a smile on his face spanning from ear to ear.

"Y-yeah..." she answered. "But you have to promise me something."

"Hm?" he tilted his head in curiosity.

"You have to promise me you won't let him hurt you, no matter what."

Izuku grabbed his favorite All Might toy from his room and ran to the living room, excitement filling every inch of his body. He joined his mother at the door and sat down on the floor to put his shoes on. After struggling to pull them onto his feet, Inko bent down to help him tie them. She had an uncomfortable look on her face, and all morning, Izuku noticed how uneasy she looked.

"Aren't you excited to see Daddy?" Izuku asked as she tied his shoes. She released a sigh.

"N-not really."

"Why not?"

"Adult things, sweetie. Nothing you need to worry about," she said, placing her hand on his cheek. She kissed his forehead and stood back up. She opened the door and led Izuku to their car. As she buckled him into his car seat, he began making whooshing sounds, making it sound like flying noises, whilst waving his All Might toy in the air. She gave him a smile and closed the door. She started up the car, buckled her own seatbelt, and closed the door, placing her purse between the driver seat and shotgun seat.

As they drove through the streets of Musutafu, Japan, Izuku watched all the trees and buildings passing by. He was so lost in thought. What was his father like? Was he nice? If so, then why did his mother seem so scared of the thought of him coming back? All these questions boggled and bugged him until they got to the airport. Eventually, they got to the gate where his father was supposed to get off, and they were seated in the waiting area. After around ten minutes, the doors to the gate opened, and people came flooding through. A muscular man with black hair and green eyes made his way over to Izuku and his mother. He seemed intimidating. The man lifted Izuku up out of the chair and held him up to his face.

"Izuku, my boy! I haven't seen you since you were a year old!" he said, a smile across his face. Izuku stared at him in wonder, but when he looked back at his mother, she seemed rather tense, almost as if she were uncomfortable with her husband holding him.

"It's, uh, good to see you again, Hisashi," she said with a small stutter in her voice. Hisashi put Izuku back down and walked over to her, wrapping his arm around her, and landing a small peck on the cheek. This seemed to make her even more uncomfortable, so she stepped away from him. "Why don't we head home now?" she said, trying to make her voice sound pleasant.

Once Izuku was back in his room, he put his All Might toy on his bed. He looked at the clock. 6:50. Almost dinner time. He walked over to his door to head to the kitchen when he heard shouting from the living room.

"Why'd you have to bring the little brat, huh? I thought I made it clear that I didn't want him there!" Hisashi yelled.

"Well, I couldn't find any babysitters! It's a lot harder than you think! Especially when all of them go over your budget!" Inko yelled back with a shaky voice. Izuku quietly made his way out to the end of the hallway, hiding behind the wall so he wouldn't be seen. "If you don't want to see him, then why did you even come back?! I thought I made it clear that I wanted a divorce years ago! But now that Izuku is in the picture, I can't do that!"

"Well, where is the brat? I can change that if you want me to," he said threateningly. He was holding his arms in front of him, punching an open palm as if to say 'I'm gonna beat him'. Izuku flinched at what his father said. Inko grabbed one of his wrists and squeezed it as tight as she could.

"DON'T YOU DARE LAY A FINGER ON HIM, YOU HEAR ME?!" she screamed, her throat stuck with tears at times. Izuku decided to turn around and sneak back to his room when he heard a loud thud. His father had pushed her down to the ground. The thud made Izuku jump, causing him to fall.

"Woah- mph!"

Hisashi turned his head towards the hallway, letting out a small chuckle. Izuku struggled to get up, slipping in his socks on the hardwood floor. After a few seconds, he finally got to his bedroom door. As he grabbed a hold of the handle, Hisashi had made it halfway down the hallway. Izuku slammed the door shut and ran to crawl under his bed. Not two seconds after he was hidden, Hisashi burst into the room. Inko ran down the hallway in an effort to stop him.

"DID YOU HEAR ME? DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HIM!" she yelled. He ignored her and bent down onto the floor to look under the bed. There, Izuku was curled up into a ball and lying on his side. He was covering his eyes, and when he uncovered them, he found Hisashi staring at him. Izuku quickly covered his eyes again and started crying. He tried to talk, but all that managed to escape his vocal cords was a feeble whimper. Hisashi reached his hand under the bed, grabbed Izuku's arm, and pulled him out from under the bed. Inko had stopped at the doorway, helpless as to what her options were. Hisashi stood up, holding Izuku by the collar of his t-shirt. Hisashi brought Izuku close enough to his face to the point where they were almost touching noses. He glared into Izuku's eyes, his breaths wisps of fire.

"Let this be a warning, boy," he started in his deep raspy voice. "If you ever try to get in my way, I'll make you wish you were never born. Understand?" he said in a threatening tone. Izuku simply nodded helplessly. "Good." he dropped Izuku, causing him to fall on top of his arm. He winced in pain as Hisashi turned to face Inko. She had her hands over her mouth, her green hair in a messy bun, and tears streaming down her face, mixing in with the blood from her nose. He walked up to her and pushed her out of the way, causing her to fall. He walked out of the door and back to the living room, where he sat down and turned on the television. Inko crawled over to Izuku and helped him into a sitting position. He was holding his arm, and tears were running down his cheeks.

"Mamma, it hurts..." he said with a shaky voice, petrified of everything he just witnessed. Inko pulled him into a hug, her body convulsing with sobs.

"I'm so sorry, Izuku..."

This wasn't what he wanted. He wanted a nice dad. Someone who would help him up when he fell off his bike. Someone who would make him laugh when he was upset. He didn't want this. He didn't like it at all.