Chapter one-Prologue: Izuku midoriya's Origins
Inko Midoriya was not a great person. She would never claim to be a great hero, but she was certainly a great mother, She always strove to be the strongest pillar of love, care, and support that her darling little Izuku could ever need.
So, when she found out earlier today that her little bundle of joy Izuku was quirkless she was concerned for his well-being.
Izuku had been diagnosed as quirkless earlier that day. She had her suspicions about the diagnosis primarily because she had been a late bloomer and also the circumstances surrounding her quirk Also, the idea of judging potential quirk status on the presence of a toe joint was always ridiculous to her. Regardless her son was crushed and the ride home was nothing short of sad and depressing.
Izuku went to his room, and Inko gave him the space he needed. After a little while, she went to his room to check on him, and her heart constricted at the sight. Izuku was watching his favorite video of his idol, All Might, rescuing dozens of civilians from a burning building with a literal smile on his face.
It was a kind of smile that she knew from experience was fake, but her son didn't know that. All he saw was the immutable confidence of an unstoppable and unwavering paragon. But what inko saw was a god amongst men who had set a gold standard of heroics that frankly, no one could reach.
No, she wasn't going to think about that again. Her son needed her, and she had to be there for him.
Hearing her come in, he looked back at her with tears threatening to spill from his eyes. In a tone that was much too sad for any child, he asked, "Can I be a hero, too?" while pointing to All Might on the computer screen.
How was she going to tell her son that she couldn't support him? How was she going to explain to her son that she didn't believe that he could, not because he was quirkless, but because she didn't believe in heroics anymore? How could she properly articulate that heroics are nothing but rotten eggs coated in diamonds? How could she tell him that she didn't want him to be a hero because she had seen the worst heroics had to offer? How could she tell him that heroics are nothing but a glamourized job run by a bunch of staunch idiots?
She looked at him and sighed. This is a decision she would either regret or look back on fondly but oh well, it was now or never.
She quickly made her way to her son and wrapped him in a warm embrace, running her hand through the soft, wild curls that she loved so much while whispering quiet assurances to him.
"Izuku, look at me," she softly began, wiping away the tears from his face with her thumb when he complied. "You are a courageous, kind, and brilliant boy with a heart for helping everyone in need. I truly believe that you could become a hero."
Izuku looked at her with a hopeful but suspicious gaze. He looked like he truly wanted to believe her but something was holding him back.
"There's a 'but' to this, isn't there…."
And he figured it out. Frankly, she both hated and loved how unnaturally smart Izuku was at just age four. He was smarter than most kids his age and she wouldn't be the first or last to comment on it Izuku also had enhanced perception exceeding that a four-year-old kid should have and she knew he inherited it from her. She vaguely remembered her biological mother could use the same abilities as her but she disguised her quirk as 'float' Well she did know her real quirk was genetic and only manifested under certain conditions which also added to her doubts about izuku's 'quirkless' status. She could feel herself getting headaches from thinking about quirk science. Maybe she would research more into the subject when she has the time-
She felt Izuku's hand softly poking her cheek, bringing her out of her mental ramblings. She sheepishly grimaced knowing that she had spaced out. At least it wasn't as bad as her husband Hisashi, who tended to mumble his thoughts out loud.
She looked up and saw her son staring at her with more patience than any kid his age should have. Smiling at him, she picked him up and carried him out of his room Izuku, while confused didn't say anything even as she carried him to her room and sat him down. Inko sat him down on her bed and walked towards her closet. She reached for the door and hesitated, having second thoughts about going through with her plan.
She couldn't have any second thoughts. She was doing this, and she was going to see it through.
Pushing forward, she slid open her closet door and moved the hanging clothes to the side before reaching for the wall behind them and pushing on a secret panel. Part of the wall caved in and revealed another compartment within, and she stepped to the side to show Izuku an old hero costume hanging in the space where the wall previously stood. It was a light green spandex suit with white lines on each side, a red utility belt, red combat boots, a respirator mask, and complete white gauntlets that stretched up to the forearms of the suit.
She turned to her starstruck son who was looking at the costume with a mix of incredulity and wonder. She smiled sadly as his eyes finally fixed on her.
"You're a pro hero?! But I've never seen you go on patrol! Are you an underground hero? How do you fight criminals? You have such a fantastic quirk so I suppose it does make sense. Even if you couldn't move people with your quirk, you could easily attract and manipulate small, heavy objects around to direct them in combat or rescue operations-"
"Izu, breathe," she instructed with a more genuine smile. When he stopped his mutter spree, she sat down on the bed next to him and readied herself for the conversation that she never wanted to have.
"To answer your questions, yes, I was a pro hero. I was underground, so I wasn't too popular with the general public, but I made a decent name for myself in underground circles. "And I'm going to let you in on a generational secret. My quirk isn't attraction to small objects it's called space manipulation. "
"Whoa, that's even cooler with your quirk, you could wait- why did you hide your true quirk from everyone? "
"I, uh well,". She took a deep breath before opening her eyes and removing her contact lenses which she wore over her eyes revealing bright green eyes that shone like emerald stones.
"Izuku," she began her voice serious and lacking the motherly affection it usually had "there was once a powerful villain with the power to steal quirks and he had been after my bloodline for years and yes my quirk is genetic which means it most probably was passed down to you which is why I have my reservations about you being quirkless. "
I'm showing and telling you all of this to answer your 'but' question from earlier. I truly do believe that you can become a hero…"
"But?"
"But I don't think you can become a hero like All Might."
She could see the pain and hurt in his eyes before they gave way to a pleading ferocity. "But All Might is the greatest hero!"
"That's… mostly true," she began, "and that's part of the problem. All Might is like a god amongst men. He sets an impeccable standard for heroes everywhere, one that most people may not be able to attain because they're just not as absurdly powerful as him. Are you following so far?"
At his nod, she continued. "All Might can do things that most heroes could only dream of doing, and that's even with quirks of their own. For now, you don't have one of your own, and that will make your journey to becoming a hero significantly harder. You will have to work at least twice as hard as everyone else just to catch up with them, and even then, you may only receive less than half of the credit when the job is done."
Inko wasn't going to pretend that Izuku wouldn't face any discrimination for being quirkless. It was something that he was better off knowing right away than finding out later in a less favorable manner.
She paused to ensure that he was still paying attention. When she confirmed that he was, she pressed on. "It will not be an easy task, Izuku. You will have to dedicate a sizable portion of your time and energy to training and preparing for this, both physically and mentally. There's also no real guarantee that it will work out, and that's even with a quirk."
She sighed. "There's the issue in the room that you currently don't have a quirk, and while that may seem like a death sentence, it isn't in the grand scheme. Not everyone has a combat-applicable quirk, so those heroes that don't must work around that limitation to keep up with other heroes that do as well as villains with powerful and dangerous quirks. You'll need to know how to defend yourself, how to combat any potential enemy, how to prepare for any and every situation, and when to take a step back and call for help."
"Luckily for you, your mother happens to be a retired pro living with you in your home and will happily train you to be the first and best quirkless goddamn hero this city has ever seen."
She knew she made the right decision as she watched Izuku's hope return and the light in his eyes brighten in real-time.
"Are you ready for the sheer amount of hard work that you will have to put in to become a hero with or without a quirk?" She asked her son with a deadly serious tone before kneeling to directly meet his gaze. "It's okay to say no, honey. No matter what you do, no matter what you decide on, no matter what path you take, I will always love you and be in your corner to the very end. You have my unconditional support, always."
Izuku teared up again at the declaration, but they weren't pained tears like they were before. Inko could see a steely determination form from the hope in those watery eyes of his, and she had all the answers she needed. She knew that she would soon have to test his resolve, but for now, she knew she made the right decision.
"Thank you, Mom," he muttered.
"Of course, my little Izu," she responded. She felt him go still in her embrace for a moment before pulling away to gaze curiously at her.
"But Mom, you said I don't currently have a quirk, as if it might change. Do you think that might change soon?
"Well, it's possible that you're a late bloomer like me or that you have a quirk that's more latent than other quirks. I'm sure you've noticed that you're considerably smarter than everyone around you at your preschool. And your situation isn't hopeless because I didn't manifest my quirk till I was six years old".
And he had noticed if the way his eyes suspiciously could not meet hers in embarrassment was any indication.
"The other kids just call me weird. I notice that I sometimes make the adults uncomfortable when I'm around them. I just figured I was ahead because I knew how to use the computer and Internet early."
"Anyway," she continued, "I'll have to do a bit more research on quirk science and investigate some things in our family before I can give you a definitive answer. For now, I'll handle your training without any quirks in mind."
"Okay, Mom," he replied before his eyes lit up again. "Why did you retire, anyway?"
She should have expected that question. She tried to brush over the fact that she no longer did hero work and put the idea of her training him into his head as quickly as possible so that he'd focus on the training and not the other details, but she should've known better. Her son wouldn't just miss details like that, unfortunately; she'd be sure to immerse him in the world of informatics and investigation as part of his training.
"Another time, sweetie," she said with a grimace. "How about I make you some katsudon to celebrate the start of your training?"
Izuku's eyes narrowed at her, but he reluctantly accepted the bribe to drop the subject, at least for now. She knew she wouldn't get off that easily, though. She'd have to come clean about everything sooner or later on, but she would hold out for as long as she could until he was old enough to handle it. For now, she'd sharpen him into a blade ready to deal with the most dangerous parts of heroics, both villain and "hero" alike.
Hello everyone Loot 09 here, Izuku with Gojo's power is a concept I came up with a while back and this may be a one-shot or a new fic depending on the reviews for the prologue and please do not be afraid to review this fic; it means a lot to me.