On the flight to Okinawa- Late Morning

"We will be arriving at Naha Airport in approximately 30 minutes. Repeat, we will be arriving at Naha Airport in approximately 30 minutes."

Finally.

Kiryu groaned, the sound of his joints popping while he stretched his back almost soothing.

He both loved and hated these flights from Tokyo to Okinawa.

Loved them, because they were essentially two hours to sit back and relax.

Hated them, because everything after the first half-hour of nothing happening without a drink or a smoke was about as entertaining as watching paint dry.

But at least those two are enjoying themselves.

He smiled slightly as he looked to his right, seeing Izuku and Haruka chatting happily without a care in the world.

Well, to be more accurate, Izuku was doing most of the chatting while Haruka smiled softly at him and nodded, interjecting every once in a while when the young boy needed help with a word or happened to start muttering rapidly.

Kiryu and Majima had decided to introduce the two, seeing as they would be living together for the better part of a month, and they hit it off.

Izuku absolutely adored Haruka, and Haruka found Izuku absolutely adorable. Whenever their uncles would meet up, the two children would be nigh-inseparable.

Kiryu was glad that Izuku so far was proving to be almost nothing like his uncle, who he was sure would've tried to start at least five different fights with him by now (and likely succeeded, due to the aforementioned boredom. He really should've brought a book with him.).

If he were to be completely honest, he had warmed up to the boy pretty quickly, himself. He was earnest, polite, and genuinely cared about other people. He really hoped the other kids felt that way, as well.

Morning Glory Road- Afternoon

The excitement was fading.

No, it wasn't just fading. It was being violently punched out of his chest, dripping, and hardening into a ball of dread in his stomach with every single step that he took towards the building that he was supposed to stay for the next few weeks.

Holding Haruka's hand as she told him about the kids that he was about to meet, he felt a chill creeping up his spine. It was so weird, he was walking right next to a beach on a sunny day, he shouldn't have chills. He tried to ignore it, he really did, but he just couldn't.

Izuku was smart for his age.

Anyone who had spoken with him for more than ten minutes could say that with certainty. He spoke well, using proper grammar usually, and he picked up on new words and phrases quickly. His uncle was proudly shocked when he heard Izuku utter the words, "[Oh, shit!]" in English when he tripped while they were walking home from the junkyard the week before. He had immediately been reprimanded afterward and told to never say it around his mother, but the point had been made. Majima had only said that particular phrase in English twice around the boy.

So yes, Izuku was smart. Smart enough to realize that he was weird. Smart enough to realize that he was weird for being normal.

It had only been a few weeks since he had been diagnosed as quirkless, and he noticed how the other kids wouldn't play with him. He wasn't popular before, not in any sense of the word, but the other kids, at least, still included him in things.

They invited him to tag along when they went to play in the woods, even if he couldn't keep up all that well.

They let him play on the hero side sometimes when they played 'Heroes and Villains', even if he wasn't all that strong.

They didn't just sit back and watch Kacchan when he got a bit rough while playing, and if they couldn't do anything to help, they'd at least ask if he was okay.

But when it came out that he was quirkless, it all changed.

They never asked if he wanted to come into the woods with them when they wanted to play.

The times that they'd let him play 'Heroes and Villains' with them, he'd be the only villain in the game. And then he'd get pummeled.

And when Kacchan got too rough, they didn't try to stop him. They didn't ask if he was okay afterward. They'd ignore him.

Sometimes… they would join in.

Kids are cruel. Not due to any malice in their hearts, it's just how things are. They're cruel until they're taught to be kind. But they're never taught to be kind to something unnatural or freakish.

And Izuku, being as normal as he was in a world of quirks, was the most unnatural, freakish thing those kids had ever come across.

So yes, Izuku was weird. It wasn't fair. It didn't make sense, but it was just the way the world worked.

And so, Izuku was scared.

He knew how the world worked for people like him. He knew that as much as he wished for people to be kind like Haruka-neechan, or funny like Goro-Jiji, or gentle like his mom, that it was just that. A dream.

He wanted to brace for it. Square his shoulders and cover up his face like he did when Kacchan would let off an explosion in front of his eyes.

He wanted to hide. Curl up in a ball somewhere and stay there where no one could find him.

He wanted to run. He knew he wouldn't get far. He never did. But he wanted to try.

He wanted-

"Izu-Kun?"

He hadn't even realized that he had let go of Haruka-neechan's hand and stopped in his tracks. He could see her looking at him worriedly, the sign next to her head said 'Morning' something.

Looking down at his side, he noticed that his hands were curled into shaking fists and he couldn't figure out why everything looked so warped and wavy.

And then, a few drops of water fell and hit the sandy road.

But why? It wasn't raining.

Ah, that was it. He was crying.

Haruka-neechan probably thought he was a loser now.

A weirdo.

A freak.

He should've stayed home. With mom. With Goro-Jiji.

He was such a-

"Izuku."

A firm hand landed on his shoulder. He looked up to see whose it was and found himself staring into warm brown eyes.

"You must be nervous. Don't worry, we all get that way sometimes. Even me."

Izuku highly doubted that Kiryu-san, of all people, broke down into tears at the thought of meeting new people and being seen as a freak, but he kept his mouth shut and let the man speak.

"Everyone in there'll be happy to see you. It's not often that we get new faces around here, especially from Tokyo."

Aren't Kiryu-san and Haruka-neechan from Tokyo, though?

"And definitely not a hero from Musutafu."

"But I'm not a hero. I'm just a quirkless weirdo."

"No. You're Izuku Midoriya. Goro Majima's nephew, and soon-to-be first quirkless hero."

"But-"

"Izu-kun."

Turning towards where Haruka-neechan's voice came from, Izuku was unprepared for the pleasant sensation of a tender hand and soft cloth on his cheeks.

He could feel her rubbing at the tear tracks on his face. Looking forward again, he saw another pair of kind brown eyes.

"Honestly, I expected you to cry at some point, but I expected it to be after you had some of Uncle Kaz's 'specialty' curry."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing! And… All done! There you go, Izu-Kun. All cleaned up." She pulled her hands back and gave him a bright and toothy smile.

"Huh?" He reached up towards his face, feeling his cheeks, which were wet with tears just a moment before, and was shocked to find them completely dry.

"Can't have you meeting the other kids with tears on your cheeks, can we? They might think you don't like them."

"But-"

"Izuku, it'll be fine. Trust us."

And at that moment, with the honest and kind smiles on both of their faces, he decided that he would.

And thus, with his hand in Haruka-neechan's hand once more and Kiryu-san leading the way, Izuku Midoriya took his first steps into Morning Glory Orphanage.

Morning Glory Orphanage- Afternoon

"Uncle Kaz!"

"Uncle Kaz!"

"Haruka!"

"Guys! Uncle Kaz and Haruka are home!"

And suddenly, they were confronted by eight children of varying ages and sizes, with at least half trying to speak to Kiryu-san at once.

The one who had called out first, a brown-haired boy in a blue shirt, was about a head taller than Izuku and didn't seem to notice him as he chattered on about some baseball-related news to Kiryu-san.

The second one who had spoken up, a rather tanned and stout boy in a red shirt, attempted to draw Kiryu-san's attention away from the first boy with something about wrestling or wrestler. He didn't notice Izuku either.

The third person, a girl in green with black hair in two braids, happened to look down as she spoke to Haruka and spotted a small head of green locks peeking out from behind the older girl's legs.

"Hm? Who's this, Haruka?"

Izuku tried to hide further behind Haruka-neechan, not feeling quite ready to meet the new people yet, but was gently ushered forward.

"It's okay, Izu-Kun. Ayako's really nice. Go on, introduce yourself. She won't bite."

"..."

Ayako, seeing that the young boy was clearly uncomfortable in his current situation, decided that she oughta grease the wheels a little bit. Leaning forward slightly, she smiled and said,

"Hey there, I'm Ayako. What's your name."

"I-Izuku."

"It's nice to meet you, Izuku. Where are you from?"

"M-Musutafu."

"Oh, I've heard of that place! That's where that big hero school is, right? What was it called? Umm…"

"U-U.A. High."

"Ah, that's it! Thank you, Izuku-Kun. You're so smart! How old are you?"

"Four. I- I just turned four."

"And you're already speaking so well? You must be some kind of genius!"

"N-no, I'm not..."

At this point, the other seven children had taken note of the young child who had come in with their caretaker and adoptive older sister. They were going to go over and see what was up but were collectively stopped with a hand from the one adult currently present.

He explained that Izuku would be staying with them for the next few weeks as a favor for a friend of his.

He told them that he was pretty shy around new people, so it would be best if they waited for Ayako to finish talking to him.

They listened and watched as Izuku slowly, but surely, detached himself from Haruka's leg.

They observed as he began to speak more and more animatedly, his stutter disappearing as he began to chat excitedly with the older girls.

After a minute or so of that, Kiryu gave the children the okay to go over and introduce themselves while he went inside and made lunch.

They did and began to rush over to where the small boy and the two oldest girls at Morning Glory were talking.

Their hastened arrival startled Izuku slightly, but he had been made comfortable enough to not bolt or hide behind Haruka or Ayako when they came running at the three of them.

He looked at them, swallowed around the slight lump in his throat(he was still, at least, a little nervous), and introduced himself.

Whatever he feared would come afterward, never did. The other kids all just responded in kind.

The brown-haired boy in the blue t-shirt introduced himself as Koji.

The stout boy in the red said his name was Taichi.

A dark-skinned boy in a green polo told him to call him Mitsuo, one could only assume that that was because it was his name.

A bespectacled boy with a bowl-cut and a yellow hoodie quietly said his name was Shiro.

A girl in a long-sleeved pink shirt, a little younger than Haruka and Ayako, told him that her name was Riona.

Next up, a young girl who was seemingly the same age as Riona in a bluish-green polo, said that her name was Eri.

And finally, likely the youngest of the eight, came up and told him that her name was Izumi.

After introductions were finished, they all sat down at a table to the side and fell into a bit of polite conversation, getting to know each other, while Haruka went inside to help Kiryu prepare lunch.

They asked if Izuku played baseball.

If he liked wrestling.

What manga he liked to read.

It was a fun time.

And then, Koji asked, "Hey, if you come from Musutafu and wanna be a hero, you must have a pretty awesome quirk, right? So what is it?"

Izuku could feel his heart drop to his stomach. Here it comes, the moment he was dreading. He was really having fun. He might as well just get it over quickly.

"I… don't have one. I'm quirkless."

Silence overtook the previously loud and rowdy table.

"You're…" Koji.

"Quirkless?" Taichi.

"And you still wanna be a hero?" Mitsuo.

"That's…" Riona.

Here it comes.

"Amazing!" Eri.

"Yeah, that's so cool!" Taichi spoke again.

"Yeah man, that's awesome." Koji chimed in.

"You really are a special one, Izuku-Kun," Ayako added her two cents.

"It's pretty manly. I have to admit. I might end falling for you when you get older if you keep being so cool." Riona added.

They all just kept piling on the praise. Izuku honestly had no idea what to do.

"You… don't think it's dumb?"

"Dumb?" Izumi.

"Why would we think that? " Riona.

"It's pretty amazing. None of us could do that."Shiro.

"Huh, whaddya mean?"

"We're all quirkless. Uncle Kaz and Haruka are too. Most people in Okinawa are. None of us have ever thought about trying to be heroes. So the fact that you are, and you're so much younger than all of us is really amazing." Ayako explained this all with a smile.

Izuku could feel that ball of dread in his stomach pop and float away, while the warm, fuzzy feeling came rushing back in full force. Working its way up from his toes, up his legs, through his stomach, and settling in his chest.

In the end, he didn't know what he was worried about, as he sat and laughed and joked with his new friends. He was going to enjoy his time at Morning Glory. He could feel it.

And as Kiryu and Haruka watched from the door, they both felt the same way. It was gonna be nice having Izuku Midoriya at Morning Glory Orphanage. They would both bet on it.