"Yep, he has a quirk alright," the woman's voice croaks out.
A fuzzy, searing light fills Izuku's vision.
With a flashlight held inches from his eyes, the woman inspects the recent developments within the internal anatomy of Izuku's eyes.
"Never seen anything like it, such sudden shifts in such crucial organs. Usually quirks take time to develop, not one night," She adds on, turning her gaze towards Eraserhead.
Izuku had learned her name earlier that morning, after his ordeal in her bathroom had been discovered: Chiyo Shuzenji, more famously known as the "Youthful Heroine" Recovery Girl. Chiyo learned the boy's name quickly from his numerous, profuse apologies to her for his continuous accidental damages to her house.
Eraserhead, now formally introduced to Izuku as the scruffy Shoto Aizawa, sits in the armchair comfortably situated in the corner of the room. His nostrils leaking smoke, the escaping breath of yet another cigarette. His smoking has riddled the air with the stench of burning tobacco, much to Chiyo's chagrin.
After some time, Izuku had adapted to his eyes somewhat, at least in regards to handling the slow mannerisms of day to day life. His diamond-segmented vision allows for a complete and total analysis of even the most minute things - with some costs.
His body tingles and twitches with every little movement around him, sending goosebumps up his legs and chills up his spine. Aizawa was forced to turn to his cigarettes when tapping his fingers against the arm-rest of the chair proved too much for Izuku to handle.
Wrapped in fresh bandages, with gauze placed over his recovering bumps and bruises, Izuku looks remarkably better than the night before.
Chiyo's living room is one of quaint comfort, with its wooden, ornate features and brilliantly pink, poofy furniture. Small picture frames of relatives, close friends, and other heroes litter the walls, free of any miniscule mark of dust or soot. An antiquated television from the late 90's sits atop a wooden stand against the wall, occasionally invaded by the reckless frequencies of another channel. The white, plastered ceiling lay permanently marked by Izuku – small chunks of plaster torn off by his gripping fingertips.
Puffing from his cigarette, Aizawa calmly watches from behind the scenes as Chiyo analyzes the boy.
"What makes this even more peculiar is the number of traits altered – extreme tensile grip, adhesion to various surfaces, divided irises, the list goes on, with no seeming connection," Chiyo turns toward Aizawa, head hung over her shoulder, expressing a perplexed glance.
Aizawa slowly munches on the butt of the cigarette, leaning over himself while sitting in the hot pink armchair. Between the two, a coffee table sits, topped by two cups and the entire coffee kettle – unusually stained by more than a few brews in the last few hours.
"Oh! Are you even listening at all?" She questions, twisting her body to fully address the ratty man, placing her hands on her hips with a derisive tone. The beam from her flashlight, now placed against her hip, shines into the corner of the house.
Peering over at Chiyo with an exhausted expression, his munching comes to a slow, progressive stop. The cigarette sticks out from his lips, pointed upwards to the ceiling - a small trail of smoke floating from the chewed paper wrapping.
"Yes, Chiyo, I am. I'm just thinking. Looking for a connection," He responds with a sigh.
Coated in bandages, stitches, and patchwork gauze across his face and body after last night's fight, Aizawa looks undoubtedly awful.
Izuku, sitting behind Chiyo, raises his voice, cutting through the tension between the two 'friends' with his boyish tones, "S-So what you're saying is… I have multiple quirks?" His emerald irises dart between the two adults, studying their every movement.
"From what I can gather, yes. It might be the lack of sleep getting to me but I can barely comprehend them all!" Chiyo exclaims, the light still beaming from her flashlight.
Turning his head, Aizawa turns his gaze towards the corner of the room, illuminated by the flashlight. Chewing on the cigarette, he blankly stares.
"Hey, kid, can you repeat your… uh," he snaps his fingers, trying to remember the words, "repeat your symptoms."
Izuku looks down at his hands, inspecting his recent developments. The thin white strands of whatever sticky substance lines his fingertips and palms stands out from his pink skin, contrasting with the freckles that litter his body.
"Well, I can climb up vertical surfaces, and I guess some horizontal? But, like ceilings, which would mean my fingers would have to have a form of tensile grip, or perhaps a gravity repellant like Uraraka, or maybe it could b-" Izuku mutters off before being interrupted.
"Cut that out, be more precise. Try again," Aizawa snaps at him.
"Uh… I can clutch to and climb surfaces like walls and ceilings, my eyes have been divided into eight irises which form a total of four separate images that process at different speeds, and I adapted these… ports on my arms that can shoot a strong, silky strand when I push my fingers down on my hand a certain way," Izuku replies, mimicking the hand-motion, with an index finger and pinky finger extended out.
Hearing this, Aizawa turns his glance from the kid to the corner of the room.
"I think I found our connection," he answers, pointing a finger towards the corner. Chiyo and Izuku turn their heads, inspecting the illuminated corner.
Projecting a thick black shadow against the corner of the wall, a small spider sits atop a hastily constructed web. Can't have been there for more than a few hours.
"A spider…" Izuku comments while looking down at the ports on his arms.
"That… makes sense… They're spinnerets, they're constructing spider-silk in my body," Izuku processes the information.
These white strands must be webbing!
Turning to Aizawa, Chiyo adds on, "And that would explain his reaction-time. It's a result of his divided irises," she looks at Izuku, "you said each image processed at a different time?"
"Mhm, the top one goes first and the others follow suit, like a loading process," Izuku nods, rotating his index finger in a similar fashion.
"He reacts faster than the image processes because even if his eyes have morphed and adapted, they're all still connected to one optic nerve each. His brain can only process so much at a time, so if he has four images coming in, his body reacts on instinct before the first image even loads," Chiyo estimates, spinning the web of Izuku's quirk together.
"He reacts faster than anyone else should because of his eyes, but his body's processing of protein to create silk strengthens his musculature, enhancing his own abilities. It's all connected, even if it doesn't seem so," Chiyo finalizes her analysis.
"So, I practically have a sixth sense?" Izuku asks.
"In a way, call it something like a 'Spider-Sense'," Aizawa proudly asserts.
That's the coffee talking.
"Sir, I hate to burst your bubble but we can't," Izuku answers, surprisingly matter of fact for the verbose teenager.
"What? It's just a name," Aizawa replies, confused as to why that would be a matter of issue.
"It's copyrighted. In fact, that's why this is all so bizarre to me," Izuku asserts, gazing at his hands.
"What?" Aizawa responds, confused as to how his abilities could be a legal matter.
"All of my abilities, my traits, they're all extremely similar to a fictional character – 'The Spectacular Spider-Man'," Izuku gestures with his hands in his air, adding a sense of awe to the name.
"Who?"
"Most have probably forgotten all about him by now, but before there were quirks, there was two American comic book companies producing superhero stories and Spider-Man was one of them. Now that we actually have superheroes, they've all fallen into obscurity," Izuku explains.
"But, all my abilities, they match up with this character, which makes it extremely bizarre," Izuku assesses.
"Well, I've heard rumors that a person's psychological development could impact their quirk development, perhaps you adapted these traits out of interest or even belief in the character?" Chiyo considers, attempting to assuage Izuku's concerns.
"Oh, hogwash. Odds are you just developed a quirk based off an arachnid and sure, on paper you have the same abilities, but you're your own person," Aizawa brushes past the question.
"Regardless, the question over if an obscure comic company is going to sue you for existing based off of a fictional has-been isn't my main concern. We still need to document your quirk," Aizawa pushes himself off of the armchair.
"If the name bothers you that much, I have a separate option for you: 'Arachno-Sensation', it sounds more scientific anyways, probably will get you more points," Aizawa brainstorms, conceiving of such a thing in such a brusque manner.
Pouring himself another cup of coffee, Aizawa sits back down. Leaning back into the chair, Aizawa lets the hair fall over his face as he closes his eyes, ready to doze off in one of his signature naps.
Izuku gazes at his hands, a smile slowly building on his face.
Yeah, Arachno-Sensation… I like the sound of that!
Turning his eyes to the exhausted Aizawa, Izuku blurts out the same question as before.
"I know you said 'no' before but… Could I be a hero now?"
Lifting one eyelid, Aizawa's bloodshot eye stares at him.
Closing it and returning to his nap, he grumbles out a response.
"Ask me another time…"
Chiyo looks at Izuku "Well, it might be difficult for you now. You're 16, yes?"
"Mhm, yes ma'am."
"Well, if that's true, you've missed your enrollment period for any hero program. I mean, you could try and go through the process of earning a provisional hero license, but to do so would require extensive training and banking on an internship to sponsor you," Chiyo explains, dashing some of Izuku's hopes.
"Oh…"
Seeing his visible disappointments, Chiyo stops to consider her next answer.
"Don't worry young man, you'll get your chance, some way or another," Chiyo optimistically comments as she walks into the kitchen.
Looking at Aizawa, Izuku notices the hero glancing at him before feigning sleep.
KNOCK KNOCK.
"Oh! I think I know who that could be!" Chiyo cheerfully estimates, slowly walking towards the door. Opening it, Inko stands in the doorway, clutching her purse with an iron grip, tears bubbling in her eyes.
"I got your call. You found Izuku?" She asks the elderly woman. Glancing up at Inko, Chiyo nods and lets her into the house.
Stepping forward, Inko looks over and spots Izuku, adorned in his medicinal wraps. Seeing her son alive and okay, she dashes forward, practically tackling Izuku into a hug. Sobbing, she clutches Izuku closely.
"I th-thought I lost you!"
"N-No mom! I'm okay, I'm okay! See!" He clutches his mother. Aizawa has awoken from his slumber.
Pushing himself from the chair, he approaches Inko as she grasps her son.
"Good morning Mrs. Midoriya, my name is Shoto Aizawa, also known as Eraserhead. I saved your son," He introduces himself, stretching out a hand.
Turning to him, Inko looks at Izuku, double-taking between her son and the hero before her.
"Y-You saved my son?" She asks, a hand clutching her chin with concern.
Retracting his hand understandably, Aizawa nods.
"Yes, he was attacked by a supervillain last night while walking home. I found him after he suffered from some injuries and brought him here to my associate, Recovery Girl. We've kept him here while nursing him back to a suitable condition until you could pick him up. We're sorry for not notifying you sooner but his phone had been destroyed during the attack and until recently he was resting. We found your number on the news," He explains.
Listening to his explanation, Inko snaps her head between Izuku and Aizawa, reacting to the news that her son had been so viciously attacked. Breathing a sigh of relief, she rushes forward, grasping Aizawa with a firm hug around his waist.
"Oh! Oh, of course," he replies, placing a hand on her back.
Chiyo stands, smiling happily upon seeing the family reunited.
Feeling his shirt grow wet, Aizawa looks down to find Inko sobbing into his chest.
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" She replies. Looking over to Izuku, Aizawa notes how the teenager stands, clutching his left arm with his right, sheepishly looking away.
Stepping back from her exceptional grip on the man, she inspects his face closer.
"Wait, sir… Were you standing next to us at the funeral yesterday?"
Jogging his memory, images of Katsuki's funeral blast through Aizawa's mind.
Jesus! Was that really yesterday?
"Y-Yes, yes I was. How powerful coincidences can be," Aizawa replies. Looking to Chiyo, she looks up at him with furrowed eyebrows, an expression of indignant questioning.
Rolling her eyes and stepping forward, Chiyo interrupts the two.
"More importantly, Mrs. Midoriya, we have some startling news for you…"
Looking over to the elderly woman with a questioning glance, Inko looks at her son.
Clutching his left arm with his right, Izuku stares out the window.
Something about him seems off.
Something's different.
"Your son had a run-in last night with a trigger-seller. If you aren't sure what that is, it's a drug that's usually used to temporarily power-up an individual's quirk, however, with your son being quirkless, and the amount he was forced to take in by the villain…"
Inko's head jolts upon hearing the word "forced", looking at Chiyo.
Aizawa steps forward, placing a hand on Inko's shoulder.
"Your son now has a quirk, one unlike anything we've ever seen. We've already named it,"
Izuku turns towards his mother, looking back at her with his divided irises.
"Arachno-Sensation."