Until We Burn
"I know your secret." Ochako whispers and Izuku feels his breath still, stomach twisting into knots as he finds her gaze. There shouldn't be anyone who knows of what his quirk is, especially in knowing what it can do to others. And yet Ochako knows, but isn't afraid at all…(AU).
Chapter 1: Adrenaline Rush
Izuku
"I've told you it before already, though you still can't seem to get it through your head. You should jump right off the rooftop; wasting all your fucking time studying quirks knowing you'll never have one!" Katsuki sneers and Izuku can only watch as he carelessly tosses his hero analysis notebook straight into the fountain, ink and paper staining the water a mix of grays and blacks.
This has been his same daily routine for years now, reminded of his place in the world surrounding by those who have quirks while he has...nothing.
"It would've been better if you had burned it to a crisp Bakugo! Midoriya would have to start all over from the beginning then!" Keita snickers beside him, manipulating the water further with his quirk pushing his booklet further out of reach.
Their laughter permeates through the air and Izuku restrains the urge to coil his fists, to give away any sign his anger is starting to fester…
He's always been able to keep his emotions in check and not let this ache get to him not matter how much their words sting, blend himself perfectly into the background out of sight from his peers and their taunts.
His eyes watch the rhythm of Keita's nasally laugh, gritting his teeth not to speak and make this situation all the more worse for himself. But the thoughts are there, a cold and piercing idea slicing through braver than anything he could ever dare say aloud.
'I want his nose to break.'
And just as soon as the thought passes does he see Keita abruptly reach up to his nose, a trickle of blood dripping down to his lips staining them a vibrant scarlet.
"What the hell is going on with your nose Keita?!" Rei questions in alarm stepping back from him at seeing a puddle of crimson forming across his hand as more blood trickles to the ground while Keita grips his nose in widening fright and shock. A swelling of harsh violets and reds forms at his now slanted nose.
"I don't know; it wasn't like this a minute ago!" Keita states, voice coming out broken and stuffy. He winces as pain rips through him, tears pricking at the end of his eyes he harshly blinks away.
Katsuki rolls his eyes, twisting on his heel to go. "Go get your damn nose checked out by the nurse. I'm heading home."
He fixes one last glare at Izuku before he goes, smirking at his trembling form just from crackling his fists. The sooner he realized his place in the world as a quirkless nobody, the better.
It isn't until he's alone though after salvaging what he could of his notebook can Izuku bring himself to gaze at his still quivering palms, frowning as his mind whirred and replayed over what had just occurred minutes ago.
'Did I do that?'
-X-
It had to be a coincidence, there was no other explanation. Did quirks manifest out of extreme stress? And if so, why did his turn out like this?
'That injury came out of thin air, I'm sure Keita hadn't been hurt before then.' Izuku rationalizes before wincing as another cold compress stings at his hands.
"Stay still dear, you know it will hurt more if you keep squirming!" Inko lightly admonishes her son, peering at the new range of bruises and cuts aligning his arms and legs.
"Honestly, are you sure you don't want me to just talk to the Principal or speak with Mitsuki? She should know what her son has been up to especially when it comes to continued incidents like this." Inko relates, sighing at Izuku's rapid shake of his head.
He never wanted to report any of these episodes even if it seemed like they were only getting worse the older he got.
"I'm fine Mom; really! This is nothing anyways if I'm going to be a Pro-Hero!" He boosts himself up, hoping she doesn't hear the strain or cracking of his voice.
It really has been a long day...
Inko's frown only deepens for a second before pushing on a smile for him, closing up the first aid kit. Her gaze absently roams towards his plate, dinner barely touched. "Alright, however if anything is ever troubling you can always talk to me; you know that right?"
Izuku only nods, growing silent. His mother has always been his biggest supporter despite his circumstances...
'I'm sorry Mom; I can't tell you about this. Not until I gain more information on it...'
And Inko bites down her concerns at this growing silence between them, this lingering fear as she watches Izuku trek back into his room.
It's still adorned with all his favorite All Might figurines and posters; the man her boy looks so much up to that he can never be…
'What happened earlier might've been just a fluke incident, though the only way to know for sure is to try and test it out again.' Izuku considered, rubbing his forehead at feeling the thrumming of a migraine coming. The memory was playing over and over on loop, distracting him from properly focusing on anything else.
He switches off his lights, room falling back into darkness. A patch of moonlight crawls through the slits in his blinds, All Might's gleaming smile shining silver back at him.
And Izuku manages a faint grin then back at the poster, hope blooming that his dreams may not be completely crushed yet.
"Have you all decided on which high schools you'll be putting in applications for?" Mr. Sato asks during homeroom class the next day, though it's obvious most of his students want to go to UA high school despite its known difficulty to get in.
'Keita's nose has already healed like the injury never happened at all. The effects then must be temporary?' Izuku wonders, peering at him discreetly a few seats ahead of him. He was laughing away at joke Rei had made, no cares at all once again.
So far he had spent most of the morning testing out his budding theory of how exactly this quirk worked, the further away he was the less of an effect he seemed to have as noticed by the tiny paper cuts Rei had sustained when he thought about his skin tearing.
'Is this a quirk? It isn't like anyone's I've seen or heard of before.' Izuku frowned.
"Sensei, I'm in a class of my own in comparison to this weaklings!" Bakugo boasts aloud to Mr. Sato before he can further explain entrance examinations and study materials, snapping his attention to Midoriya with a vicious grin making him fidget.
"I've heard rumors that even you've put in an application for UA. Did you forget you don't even have a quirk; just how fucking stupid are you?" He hisses, hands crackling with fire.
Their classmates only egg him on, laughter and taunting rising from all sides that such a goal for him is impossible.
"There's nothing wrong with me applying as well." Izuku whispers out meekly, voice swallowed by the rising commotion.
Scarlet eyes narrow, Katsuki raising a tightened fist up at having clearly heard him. "That's where you're wrong, UA would never accept a weakling like you."
His heartbeat pounds into his ears, drowning everything else out as Katsuki's wound hand approaches preparing to unleash a blast of flames or knock him straight to the ground.
Fear and anger mix, rushing to the forefront of his mind before clenching his eyes shut. He was so tired of being his target, the source of his glee that always made him feel so small...
Weak.
'Break his right hand.'
Said hand never reaches, a hush falling over the class. Izuku barely cracking one eye open only to see Katsuki now motionless, peering down at his now twisted hand.
He grits his teeth nearly threatening to crack them, glaring back to the rest of the class equally shocked. "Which one of you did this?!"
Nobody speaks and cursing, Katsuki steps back unleashing a blaze of smoke and fire from his left hand.
"Damn it, one of you fess up!" He snaps.
Mr. Sato points him in the direction of the nurse's office before he can cause any further destruction to the class, Izuku watching on in horror.
It wasn't just his right hand that was crushed. The damage extended up to his elbow and despite Katsuki appearing unfazed by the injury, he could tell he was stunned by the sudden damage his arm had taken, blood traveling in thin rivulets down to his fingers.
'Kacchan…'
He hadn't wanted to hurt him to such an extent, only stop him from jabbing his fist straight into his face.
And while whispers fell around him questioning who was the cause behind the attack he feels the return of another migraine coming tenfold.
For years he had desired a quirk to finally be on the same level as his peers, to be the hero others could look to as so many did for All Might.
His mind reels back to Keita and Rei, to Katsuki and all the times he's bullied or told him he was worthless.
This wasn't a fluke or coincidence; he had inflicted that pain in thinking about how to hurt them back. No matter how much they had tortured him physically and verbally, they were still just civilians and ordinary students like him.
People who wanted to be heroes like him.
Izuku straightened out his trembling his hands, evening out his breathing.
'Is this a quirk or a curse?'
-X-
Ochako
'Lotion, soap, deodorant, and toothbrush. Check, check, check…and check!' And I already looked over my backpack so that means I have everything!' Ochako beams, zipping everything up. She slips the last of her luggage into the family car, committing the faint scents of wood dust and paint to memory. The smells lingered within in the car no matter how they had tried to get rid of it over the years, a sign of a hard day's work completed or a restock up of supplies to deliver to a new construction site.
"Now once you go and become a big hot-shot Pro-Hero don't forget about your dear old Mom and Dad!" Her father laughs behind her making her twist around.
"Of course, I'm not going to forget either of you!" She reprimands him gently with a playful shove back as he ruffles up her chestnut hair.
'I'm doing this for you both after all…'
Business was slower, they were dipping far too much into their retirement savings these days just to not need to take out another loan from the bank.
And despite trying to hide such circumstances from her, she could tell from their worn expressions at skipping meals down to the longer hours they put in not coming home from the construction fields until dusk how bad things truly were getting.
She swallowed down a forming knot in her throat, no crying.
It's finally the day she's been prepping herself weeks for now, leaving for U.A. high.
A majority of the money she would earn from her internship courses she would send back their way and in time hopefully they could live a comfortable life soon without worrying so often over how they would get their next meal or keep the lights on.
They were getting close to the train station now, familiar green hills awash in ambers and reds. It'd take a while to get used to not seeing this view any longer, to no longer venture into the forests after a rainstorm or take in the salty ocean air of the coastlines. Her only views soon would be towering skylines and congested streets.
It was why she waited until very end of the day, the last ticket out.
"Call us as soon as you arrive." Her mother notes and Ochako nods, gesturing with her phone it will be the first thing she does. The train's whistle for final call blasts overhead, squeezing her parents for one last hug before moving on ahead to the boarding platform.
'This is for them, don't forget.' Ochako reminds herself as she watches her parents disappear further and further from view until they are only dark specks on the horizon, clutching her carry-on backpack close.
What were her fellow classmates going to be like? U.A. was one of the most elite schools in Japan after all, far and away grander than her small hometown schools. It was an exciting feat to be the first in her neighborhood attending the prestigious school having gone the extra mile in taking and luckily passing during the first date the entrance exam became available. So now she too was heading down the same road so many past Heroes had done before, to graduate and make their mark on society.
It was indeed where the best of the best trained, would her quirk be able to stick out?
'Will I make any friends?' Another part of her considered, gazing at her reflection in the window before shaking her head and pushing on a smile.
Strengthened her abilities came first, everything else could wait.
-X-
Izuku
'Does this quirk only cause others pain? Do my emotions play a role at the extent of damage the target takes? How long do the effects last for?' Izuku mulled it all over, listing out how each scenario had occurred over the past few days on a scrap sheet of paper he kept in the back of his desk drawer.
Katsuki hadn't isolated him in retaliation after the classroom incident, as if it the incident never happened he was deciding for now to treat him as a ghost or someone invisible he couldn't be bothered to notice.
But he wouldn't forget his reaction because for that brief second Katsuki had no idea what was going on, what had triggered the sudden injury of his hand. He'd gotten a taste of the fear he so often gave others, even if he was now all healed up.
It wasn't the super strength or speed that All Might had, but it was something. That was good, right?
A light tapping at his door jolts him from thoughts, the sleepy voice of his Mom coming through.
"Finishing up homework? It's almost 9:30 pm. You should get some sleep dear." Inko advises with a soft smile.
Izuku moves to open the door, seeing for himself the dark bags that rest under her eyes. He's created so much stress for his Mom in terms of hiding his bullying, his aspirations that are constantly mocked, and even his loneliness at losing all his friends knowing he couldn't join them in quirk related games as the years went on.
He wouldn't add this sudden development to her plate.
"I'll be done in 10 minutes max! Get some rest yourself too Mom, you have a day off tomorrow after all so you can sleep in late if you'd like."
Inko simply yawns in response, waving off his concern. "A mother never rests, you know that!"
The grin slips from his face as soon as her bedroom door clicks shut, returning back to his desk. Just as he picks up his pen does the low buzz of his phone make him stop, white glow illuminating his dark room.
A news alert.
'Warning: A duo of B-class villains have been spotted attacking trains along the Shinkansen Nozomi and Kintetsu Nagoya rail lines. Avoid train stations if at all possible during this time or engaging with these individuals; please call the police or locate the nearest Hero station if you see either of these men.' He read.
The background image showed the electrical sparks of a railway before it went up in flames, ribbons and bursts of orange and reds blooming out from billows of ash. They operated using nightfall it seemed, creating confusion and panic in citizens weary from a long day of work or travel before disappearing into the crowds before they could properly be apprehended.
Izuku peered towards his window then, the night was clear. In the quiet of the house he can hear the soft snores of Mom, unaware of what's now brewing in his mind...
Would they attack again tonight?
He studied their pictures again, memorizing the jagged scars along the first man's chin to the distinct burn mark on the second man's neck.
It was one thing to test this quirk out on his classmates, another to try it out on known criminals.
'Wait, what am I thinking?! I don't even know what quirks these two men have!' Izuku reminded himself.
The description from the news report only stated they seemed to use a possible mix fire or electric based quirks, reminding him of Katsuki...
Still, it couldn't hurt to take notes on which heroes came to the scene though. It may even involve the debut of a hero he hadn't seen yet in action if he was lucky.
The train station is only about a 10 minute walk away, pausing at the sight of a crowd already forming near the entrance.
They were already here.
Strips of yellow police tape run across the entryway in zigzags, flickers of cameras going off trying to capture what's unfolding inside.
"We need all bystanders to vacate this area, the two suspects at large have highly acidic and combustion related quirks that can cause extreme injury even from a distance!" A policeman warns, brows furrowed at the lack of dissipating of the growing crowd.
And Izuku manages to get closer through a gap in the horde, green eyes resting upon the mass of two dark figures right by the platforms. He sees the bright white of the lights of the first train coming down the tunnel, a scream rippling through the air when the first man slams a fist against the tracks, shattering glass as he booms out a warning of their approach before launching out a blast of sticky fluid eating at the metal to derail them.
Goosebumps prickle his skin as the second man unleashes a torrent of fire, passengers and onlookers alike paralyzed in fear as the train goes dark and still.
'Where...where are the heroes?!' Izuku considers in shock, he knows one of them must be on their way if not already within the parameter of the inside, but the situation was worsening by the second. There was a very high risk of innocent lives being lost before the night was over...
His feet take him forward into the tunnel before he can rationalize his decision; the outcome.
Cries and yelling surrounding him fall to silence, keeping his gaze steady on the duo.
'Break their bones, all of them before it's too late!'
Sharp ice-blue orbs of the first taller man of the pair lock onto him with a twisted grin asking him if he wants to join the other passengers in being smothered into ash, freezing in place before he can step forward.
"What the hell is wrong with you Eiji?!" His partner beside him questions before stiffening up as well.
Crackles ripple through the air as they both abruptly collapse to the ground, faces taking on a bluish hue.
'What, why are they choking?!' Izuku panics, stepping back in alarm. It clicks then quickly, every bone...
Including the ones in their necks.
He only wanted them stop their assault, not kill them.
Can they recover from this; will this also be temporary like the past incidents?
Or permanent?
The little he managed to get down from dinner burns at the back of his throat seeing the mix of blood and spit, of what he's caused and he heaves onto his shoes and the pavement. He hears the snapping and flicker of cameras going off once more, all directed on him now.
'This isn't good.'
-X-
Ochako
"All passengers please remain seated, it has come to our attention an unforeseen circumstance is occurring at the station. We will keep you updated as soon as we get more news; thank you for your patience." The intercom buzzes out.
A wave of groans circles as soon as they are in silence once more, Ochako stretching out the cricks in her shoulders.
The delay didn't matter too much to her, there wasn't anywhere important she needed to be just yet until the morning. Though it's unnerving how little the train management team is telling them, already most people have read the news reports on their phones...
A team of B-rank villains are on the loose.
And they're all stuck until a hero can arrive.
Dull florescent lights flicker overhead before plunging them into darkness, the smell of fire invading her nostrils a second later.
"If you don't want to come to us, we can just come to you!" A sharp voice suddenly booms from up ahead; they were going to attack from a distance.
'Oh no, it's already happening.'
"Shit, one of them is already here! We're going to die in here!" A man shrieks in alarm, Ochako biting her lip, tapping the man floating him out of the way of any possible incoming projectiles at hearing the distinct crackling of glass. A woman lights up her hands providing a makeshift flashlight allowing them to see another barrage of glass and metal coming towards them.
She feels a tug on her left arm as passengers duck and cry out scrambling for safety, the elderly woman who had been her seatmate for the majority of this journey frowning. It was her who had helped keep her anxiety and sadness at bay at seeing dried tears stains along her cheeks, regaling her with stories of her youth and of the grandchildren she planned to visit in the city for a week long vacation.
Those plans now seem so far away...
"Dear, it's hard for me to see in the dark. What's going on; did we make it into the station yet?" She questions and Ochako manages a weak grin, squeezing back at the hand gripping her own.
"There's been an attack by some villains it seems like. Don't worry though, I'll get you out of here safely." Ochako promises.
The promise feels sour on her tongue, how can she protect another when she can already feel the sting of where the jagged pieces of glass have scratched and cut into her skin?
A few minutes pass before the train manages to screech to an emergency stop, Ochako turning towards the new light pouring in through the broken windows. They haven't completely derailed or been caught in an explosion of inescapable smoke and fire.
They arrived.
And the two apparent perpetrators lay quivering on the ground, police and heroes surrounding the men handcuffing them. Another group is circling a boy who looks to be around her age looking just as worse for wear as her fellow passengers.
'Who is that?'
Is he another hero too? His quirk must've been something for all this attention to be on him and she wishes she could've seen it too just to get a taste of how much more she's going to need to train in order to become recognizable.
"Will you help me get out of here Dear, my legs aren't as strong as they used to be despite how much my head thinks otherwise!" The old woman beside her jokes, shaking her out of her thoughts.
As medical personnel assess them over and rush away those with extreme injuries who took the brunt force of the attack, Ochako finally sees it.
Familiar red and blue attire.
'All might.'
She murmurs his name out under her breathe, following as his eyes too go to the enigmatic boy in the crowd.
-X-
All Might
"And you're sure you've never seen this boy before?" He repeats to the chief officer Akito Nakamura.
Akito shakes his head, lips curled in a grimace. "I can assure you this is my first time laying eyes on the kid, though I'm having my team look into his background at this very second.
They needed to quickly clear a path before they lost him in the crowds, sighing at the long night ahead he had of paperwork.
Toshinori simply nods, rubbing his chin thoughtfully as some of the crowd turned to him in awe. That wasn't an ordinary quirk or behavior watching him rush into utter danger like that with no particular outstanding features to him. It wasn't until he saw the way his verdant eyes sharpened and seemed to glow fixing on the criminal duo with them a moment later suddenly crumpling to the ground in a mix of pain and confusion that he realized he had caused some effect on them.
Now he would just needed to figure out the 'what' he actually did.
So before the night was over, he'd find out this boy's identity.
-x-
I've been really excited to write an Izuku x Ochako story which has been buzzing in my head for weeks; first My Hero Academia Story! I don't think I've ever seen anybody use this type of quirk/ability with Izuku. I'm interested to know you guy's thoughts on it all starting out!
Enjoy. Review. Favorite. Follow!