"My name is Izuku Midoriya and…I'm scared of my quirk."
This was his first time here; a Quirks Anonymous meeting at Mufasta City Center.
"Hi, Izuku." The others greeted.
He was not the youngest person in the room, thank goodness; there was another boy his age, 10 years old, with gravity defying blue hair and exhausted looking eyes. There was also a very tall woman who looked like a green mouse or horse with rabbit ears, a pretty and prim girl with a ponytail and cat like eyes, a girl with messy green hair and sharp teeth, a man with a scar on his forehead that was one second jittery and the next even more confidant that Ka-cha…Katsuki…..And finally, an older boy with a face that reminded him of the old Tintin comics his father read.
But even with such a cast, he stood out: Even under the bandages that covered his form, everyone could see he was covered in burns.
The host, an older man with a beard, calmly and warmly began to speak.
"Now, Izuku. Here is a safe space; unless your health is in grave danger, no one will say a word about what is said in this room. We usually go around the room with the newest member last, but if you'd like to begin?"
Izuku nodded; all eyes were on him, and while they were less judgmental than what he was used to, he wanted this done with sooner rather than later. Before that, he grabbed a cookie and a water bottle, took a deep breath, and began sharing.
"I guess the easiest way to explain my situation is to say…I'm an early bloomer?" Izuku explained. "But not exactly in the way you think; I did awaken my Quirk at the usual age, but…."
He paused, half trying to find the words and half pushing down the memories.
"Izuku, if I may interject?" The girl said before gasping. "Oh, sorry! My name is Momo Yayorozu, and I'm scared of my Quirk."
"Hi, Momo." The group responded before the host motioned her to continue.
"If you're not comfortable explaining what happened, this can wait."
"Thank you, Momo." Izuku said, genuinely meaning it. "But this happened years ago and…well it still hurts, but not as much…"
He took a bite of his cookie to calm himself and then continued with his story.
"My Quirk, Furnace, is basically a very specific 'Absorption and Release' Quirk; I can bring…"
He paused again, downing some water before hurriedly saying:
"I-can-take-flames-into-my-body-and-release-them-with-extra-strength!"
He swallowed the rest of his cookie and took a few breathes. The host moved to offer him more water but Izuku gently refused it, finding his words.
"My mom has a weaker telekinetic quirk and my dad has….breathing a certain element. So, my Quirk is a perfect fusion of theirs. The only downside is….when my Quirk awoke, my body wasn't ready."
Everyone in the room gasped, realizing what was going to be said before Izuku finished.
"I went into Pre-school expecting a normal day; hanging out with my friend…who used his Quirk a little too close to me."
"And this Quirk of his?" The beast woman asked.
"Explosion by nitroglycerin sweat." Izuku answered.
Everyone tensed.
"My quirk took his explosions in, but my body couldn't handle it and one of the caretakers accidentally used their empowering Quirk on us to try and negate the affects, and…"
Izuku opened his arms, showcasing his bandaged form and the room went silent for a full two minutes.
"And….your friend?" The host asked.
"Katsuki Bakugo. My only friend. What happened was ruled as an accident on his end but the caretaker was fired."
"What a horrid story. HECK YEAH, BADASS!" The Jittery man wept than hollered.
"Jin, what do we do when we want to say something?" The Host called out, sternly but warm.
"Sorry." Jin said. "You're all thinking it! My name is Jin, and I'm scared of my Quirk. I worship it!"
"Hi, Jin." Everyone said.
"Have you used your Quirk since then?" The host asked.
Izuku tensed and shook his head profusely.
"I was in the hospital for two weeks after that…and I can't even see fire on TV without my chest tightening, my head spinning and breathing become harder…At least with this Deternat Cooling Mummy suit, my burns don't bother me too much….And dad's at home with us now rather than travelling….My dad was a safety supervisor at Deternat before…now he runs the Mufasta branch."
A warm yet small smile crept on Izuku's face.
"My parents are amazing with all this…."
Memories filled his head; his mother helping clean up dead, flaky skin and preparing him delicious meals, his father overlooking his noes and applauding his attention for details; their anime and movie nights…Smiles soon covered the other's faces, especially the Tintin faced boy, who recalled his own father going to such lengths to help him as well.
"And how are things for you at school?" The host asked, growing worried when Izuku went silent for a moment.
"Fine." The boy hurriedly explained.
No one bought that for a second; he'd answered far too quickly, but everyone held their tongues. It was the kid's first night after all. He'd already shared more than they expected.
"Thank you for sharing, Izuku." The host said. "You can help yourself to another cookie before we get started."
Izuku did just that.
By the evening's end, Izuku had learned about his fellow Annoymous:
The boy his age, Hitoshi, had a brainwashing Quirk.
Jin had a clone Quirk that often confused him, explaining his personality shifts.
The first girl, Momo, could create ANYTHING she knew the molecular structure of….which learning such was both easy and overwhelming for her.
The second girl, Setsuna, could split her body into floating pieces, which she could often control but the sensation was still scary and spilt her focus, making it hard to direct.
The tall woman, Ippan Josei, was less afraid of her Quirk, but afraid of how people would react to her due to some past experiences with the Creature Rejection Clan.
And finally, the Middle School Senior, Mirio, had a Permeation Quirk and was constantly phasing into the ground, often losing his clothes.
Izuku sensed a bit of camaraderie in the younger members of the group; they all wanted to become heroes in their own rights. Hero; the most desired job in the world: Free use of your quirk, a cool costume and licensce to protect civilians and fight villains. Most kids wanted to be this when they grew up, and if your Quirk was grand enough, read; flashy, you often were pushed into that life.
Izuku had seen this happen to his former friend, Katsuki Bakugo; everyone claimed he could be the next All Might. And that praise had fed Katsuki's ego to unbearable levels…especially when he often led the teasing of him, the boy whose own Quirk hurt him. And the little explosions he used to intimidate Izuku. And the times he and his cronies had pulled away his Cool Mummy suit so that everyone could see his burns, partly on he orders of the gym coach.
It was a pain in the butt to hide the bullying but his parents were busy enough with him, so he wagered it was worth it.
Did Izuku want to be a hero himself? Yes. It had been his dream since toddlerhood; to take away the fears of others, sending villains running as he neared….
But that was before he was scarred and his Quirk awakened. To say nothing of the trauma: Izuku could no longer watch a grand deal of the Hero videos he'd loved as a toddler, due to them having flames or fire, which would remind him of that day in Pre-School….
He couldn't be a hero if he had such a fear, right? To say nothing of his disfigurement…
PPH-MHA
Eventually, the night came to a night and the Host bid everyone a goodbye, each of them taking a small bit of cookies, cocoa and water with them for the road.
Hisashi Midoriya was waiting for his son outside, worried. His son was a good boy who'd been dealt a cruel hand; he prayed this group would be nicer to him than the LAST help group he'd signed Izuku up for….Still had to pay back that idiot Miyashita for directing him there….!
So, you could imagine his relief and joy when his son came to the car with a tired smile and no tears or signs of harm, even wanting to come back next week and telling what he could about the members his age, while still holding back details.
Hisashi brought his son into the Midoriya apartment and helped his wife Inko get Izuku get out of his Cool Mummy Suit and into his Sleeping Sheath Suit, which not only soothed his burns and let him down, but lulled him to sleep with white noise.
It was an interesting life for the Midoriyas, but it was one they could and would handle.
PPH-MHA
What Izuku didn't know was that one of his fellow Anonymous was the adopted son of an underground hero. An underground hero who taught at UA and often would give what details he could get out of his son to his boss, Principal Nedzu.
To be continued…
Another odd yet interesting idea that popped into my head; what if our favorite hero in training had a crippling fear of a major recurring problem for heroes to overcome and was connected to his own quirk? More of a telling than showing chapter I realize, hopeful there'll be more showing throughout the rest of the story.
This chapter starts a good three years before the story starts, for a good reason. What is that? Hopefully you'll follow and wait to see in this story of growth and overcoming limits both body and mind.
The Quirks Anonymous sessions will be a recurring plot point, meant to show Izuku and his fellow strugglers are growing…or falling, in a case or two.
The main pairing has been decided, but as always, if you have suggestions I am glad to read and see if they can be incorporated.
With that said, keep safe and see you later!