A/N: I know I said I would upload the next chapters sometime this week but this fanfic was just sitting on my desktop so might as well publish it.
So, Chapters 2 & 3 will be a bit of flashback about Yuriko's life. Hope you enjoy!
CHAPTER 2
Ever since I was young, I have always been a patient kid. I didn't feel that much pressure when my classmates slowly acquired their quirks one by one. I thought to myself that maybe, I just need more time to wait. But when I turned 7, I became a bit jealous of my other classmates who have been showing off their quirks in school.
"Hey Yuriko-chan! Look! I can make myself glow!"
"Everyone! Flying is so cool!"
"Wow! Having a quirk is really awesome!"
And then there was me, all alone at the back of the room, imagining what my quirk would be like. When my mom picked me up from school that day, she noticed that I was unusually quiet.
"Yuri, are you okay? You've been really silent since I fetched you from school. Is there anything wrong?" My mom stopped walking and knelt before me.
"Mama, why don't I have a quirk yet?" My mom hugged me tightly. I feel I'm about to tear up. And then I heard her chuckle a little.
"Is that bothering you the whole time?" My mom smiled at me and wiped the tears off my face. "Let me tell you something. I got my quirk when I was 9."
"Really?" My eyes widened.
"Yes! I know how you feel. I'm really envious of my classmates back then. Having a quirk is somewhat cool. But, remember that your quirk doesn't define you as a person. I love you the same even if you don't get to have one." Mama got up and squeezed my hand tight. "Quirkless or not, you can always make a difference in this world. It's just up to you how you see it and what you do about it."
I stared at my mother and realized she was right. Sure, I still feel jealous and anxious with this quirk thing but I promised myself to not let it get me.
Both of my parents had amazing quirks. My mother can manipulate water which secretes from her pores as well as control any liquid around her. She can make it freeze or just let it be boiling hot, whichever way she wanted. But regardless of having a hero-like quirk, my mom chose to live a normal life. She works as a fire chief in our district and spent her days training other people.
My dad, however, chose a different path. Action manipulation - that's what other people call his quirk. My father can control things and other people's movement making them slower or quicker as long as they are within his range. My mother said that it was kind of associated with a time-like quirk he inherited from his family. He was already a pro-hero along with All Might and Endeavor when he got into an accident fighting a villain. Seriously injured, he suffered some damage in his body limiting the use of his quirk. From then, he promised himself that he will raise his future child to be a strong hero whatever it takes. And so I came...
My father, not totally pleased that I was still quirkless at the age of 7, had other plans. He wanted to raise me up as a strong individual. That's why my he prepared me to what I thought was the most terrifying days of my life. Forcing and struggling to lift my weak and delicate limbs, I went through a rigid close combat training. My father insisted on teaching me how to handle a nunchaku or chain sticks for self-defense convinced that I will be quirkless all my life. My poor hands callused and beaten up from training with such weapon.
Considering my agility and speed, father forced me to run 5 laps every morning before I go to school and another 5 before I go home.
Imagine having to go all through those at the tender age of 7.
I thought being quirkless is okay. Why do I have to go through all these?
It was torture to the point that my mom and dad fought over it every single day. Leaving our home has crossed my mind too many times.
"Enough with this brutal training already, Gin!" My mom said hugging me as I enter the house. My shirt was drenched from all the sweat.
"Aiko, listen. How will our child survive this world if I will not train her like this? It's not an excuse that she is quirkless. She needs to be strong mentally and physically!" Father said, pulling me away from my mother's embrace.
"But she's just seven! For god's sake, she doesn't even have the time to play with children her age!"
My father just ignored her, "Yuri, get dressed. We're training in a bit." I stared at him in horror. I was so exhausted from all the laps I ran and here I am about to get in another training with an empty stomach.
"But Papa, I'm already starving." I tugged his shirt hoping he would let me eat dinner first.
"YURI! GET CHANGED AND COME DOWN QUICKLY FOR TRAINING!" My father yelled. I felt my heart broke into pieces. Not just because of the torture I'll be going through again but because of how he said those words without any care in the world. Am I really his daughter?
My mom couldn't take a sight of this torment. She grabbed me by my arm. Father saw this and tugged me even harder. My mom lost her grip on mine. I felt frightened at my father's strained grip. I can see the anger in his eyes. Driven by this pent-up frustration, my dad raised his arm in an attempt to hit my mother's face.
I screamed bursting in tears. "NOOOOO!" My left hand gripping my father's arm and the other holding out to my mom. Once I held out my right hand, I saw my mom flew slowly against the wall. My mouth opened in shock. Did I just hurt her? My eyes wandered on my hand and back to my father.
And then at that very moment, everything around me froze right before my eyes. The steam seeping out from the boiling kettle stopped. I couldn't hear the sound from the television - as if it was on mute. The vase my father accidentally hit as he raised his arm didn't touch the ground. It looked like it was floating. Our dog just stood there in place. Mama? What happened to her? Why isn't she moving?
I struggled to breathe. What is happening?
I looked at my dad. My hand still holding his arm. But nothing seemed wrong with him. Everything, except him, stopped dead. He spoke slowly trying to process what has happened.
"Yuri..." he said softly trying to make me feel calm.
"What's happening?" Both my hands are now holding his arms. I tried to let them go to check on my mother but he held me tightly instead.
"Yuri, don't let go of me. I know all may seemed confusing to you. But you have to listen to me right now." His grip was even tighter.
"What's happening, Papa? Why isn't everything moving? What did I do to Mom? Why isn't she moving? Did I hurt her?" Tears were running down my face. I looked at my father who now had a soft look on his eyes.
"Yuri, you had control over your mother's movements. And..." He took a deep breath. "You froze time..." My dad glanced at the floating vase just beside him and our dog steadily standing in place. "Remember my quirk? I believe it's similar to what's happening now." His words caught my attention, but I was still confused.
"But, why are you the only one who can move and talk to me?"
I gazed at my father's brown eyes. He looked more serious. "From how I see it, I am still moving because you are holding me. The rest that you are not in physical contact with are affected by the quirk. I think that's how it works."
"I have a... quirk?" My tears dried from my face.
"Apparently, yes. Something like mine." My father replied.
"But how do I make it stop?"
"I'm not quite sure if this will work but it's better than not giving it a try. Whenever I want to put a stop on my quirk, I just concentrate and close my eyes. The moment I open them, everything goes back to normal. How about we give it a try?"
I nodded. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I was a bit panicking inside, uttering a prayer that this will work. After what felt like an eternity, I took a peek and right before my eyes, everything went back to normal. The kettle began to work - steam finding its way out of the spout. I could hear the audio from the television. The vase dropped but my dad caught it just before hitting the ground. Our dog started wagging its tail, moving it back and forth in the same place.
And my mom... She flinched against the wall where I had magically pushed her by an unknown force. She rubbed her back. I moved close to her to see if she got hurt.
"Mama, are you alright? I'm sorry! I was just trying to help-" My mom cut me off with her tight embrace.
"I'm alright, sweetheart. You don't have to apologize." She smiled at me.
My father who was standing behind me had tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry..." was all he could say before he enveloped the both of us with a hug.
My dad admitted that he crossed the line and that his actions were unacceptable. He turned to me and held my hand, "Yuri, the moment I saw how scared you were with everything that's happening made me realize how much I've hurt you." I just stared at my father's eyes. I felt his sincerity with those words. "What I saw through your eyes was a wake-up call. I'm sorry if I was too hard on both of you. I can't believe how abusive I've become."
"The important thing is that you're sorry and you're willing to change." My mom looked at dad and lifted his chin. He then smiled and held us even tighter.
This moment felt just perfect. I knew this was something I would remember all my life.
It was still a shock to both of my parents that I have acquired a type of quirk similar to my dad's. The following day, he suggested that I use my quirk again to manipulate objects. True enough, I can move things around the house using my mind, but I had to reach out my hand when it comes to heavier ones. My dad recalled what happened to my mom last night so he thought that maybe it wasn't just objects that I can control.
"Yuri, I will attack you from afar. Try to negate my movement using your quirk. Just like what happened last night." My father said as he cleared out some stuff in our basement to get started for training.
"Like what I did to Mom?"
"Yes."
"No! You might get hurt!"
"We will never know the extent of your quirk if we don't try. Plus-" My dad gently tapped my head. "I know you won't hurt me. Give it a try."
I nodded. My father launched from afar holding a katana to attack me. I closed my eyes out of fear as I held out my hand against him. And just like my magic, I felt a strong force from my palm and pushed my father away before he can even go near me. He stumbled against the boxes from the other side of the room. A few cans of paint dropped on him.
"Ow." Dad slowly got up and rubbed his forehead.
"Dad!" I ran up to him. "Are you okay? Did it hurt?"
My dad smiled and looked at me. "Not painful enough to beat me. You did great, Yuri! We just need a bit more training for you to control it better."
The following day, my parents brought me to a quirk doctor. My father explained what I can do with my quirk, leaving behind the details that I can manipulate time. The doctor mentioned that my quirk is related to my father's and the rest of his family since most of them can control movements of people and objects. My quirk is called telekinetic force manipulation. If I get a better at it, not only can I control people, I can even crush or rip massive objects. I can also repel or negate attacks just like how my father and I have trained at home.
Hearing what the doctor had to say about my quirk, I got really excited making the most out of it. However, I couldn't help but wonder why my parents didn't mention anything about time manipulation to the doctor or to anyone outside our family.
A year after the incident, my mom revealed to us that she was expecting twin babies. I was too excited. It has always been a dream of mine to have younger siblings. Father made sure he had the time to take care of me, mom and my future siblings. Even with a lot of work to do, he consistently trained me but a bit gentler than ever. I was also taught to control both my quirks and improve my short-range combat at the same time. I found out that my telekinesis also has a limit. If I overuse it, I tend to have terrible headaches or sometimes just flat out faint. My ability to freeze time was still kept a secret. I couldn't understand why at that time but I just listened. I thought I would surprise my friends that I had two quirks once I was allowed to reveal it.
One fateful day, my grandfather along with three other adults arrived at our place. A blonde guy with a muscular built, another guy who had a sleepy look on his face and a girl with a very fit and strange looking outfit.
Wait. Is that All Might?!
I screamed at that thought and followed the three adults just outside the living room. I was peeking through the crack of the sliding door of what seemed like a very serious meeting.
My dad and mom were there. Grandfather, All Might, the sleepy looking guy and the strange looking girl sat across them. I slowly placed my ear in the space between the door to hear what they were talking about.
"Does anyone know about her quirk?" All Might asked.
"No one. Just us. I told her to keep it a secret." My dad replied.
"You know that the ability to stop time would be a threat to villains. Not just villains but to you both and Yuri." Grandpa explained looking at everyone in the living room.
What are they saying? Is my quirk not nice? I'm sure I can handle it once my dad taught me everything I need to know.
The girl with the body-hugging suit added, "Her quirk would be a target to most villains. Especially All-For-One. We don't want him knowing that somebody in the world has this kind of quirk. It will be a risk exposing her."
"So what are you implying? We should just hide her in here forever?" The sleepy looking guy said.
Finally somebody had the guts to say something.
I peeked at grandpa's little frame He looked downtrodden as if the next words he's about to say will crush me as well.
"Gin, sooner or later. Her quirk will get stronger. Now that you have been training her, I think she already knows how to handle her quirk."
"Father, I haven't taught her that much! I haven't been a good father to her. I am just starting to become someone she will look up to." My father said. His face gazed on the floor. His hands clutching his knees.
"I'll take her under my care. I'll be the one to train her." My grandpa said.
WHAT?
"What are you saying?" My father said in shock.
"I don't want our family to be at risk. I don't want Yuri to be in danger too."
"What do you want us to do Father?" My mother turned to where grandfather, All Might and the two adults were sitting.
"This will be very heartbreaking." Grandpa took a deep breath, "But, you need to leave Yuri under my care. Once the villains found out about her quirk, they hunt for you and the twins hoping they will inherit the same quirk that she has. You think Yuri won't sacrifice herself just to save you?"
What in the world is my grandfather saying? Will I really put my family in danger? Will I put my siblings at risk if I stayed with them?
"No, I will not leave Yuri! We will get through this together!" My mom stood up in frustration. "Father, Toshinori, Nemuri, Aizawa. I'm sorry but she's my child and I won't abandon her that easily." My mom started to walk out.
"Aiko, I love Yuri with all my heart. But I don't want to put her in danger. Let alone our whole family." My mom stopped and glared at his husband hearing those words.
"Gin! You are agreeing to all this? What kind of-"
"I know that this is going to be a very hard decision for you, Aiko. But I promise that I will take care of Yuri." Grandpa said.
"Aiko, we've been friends for a long time. You have to trust us. It's just that we don't want to put your family's life in jeopardy." The girl wearing a bodysuit said as she stood up and held my mother's shoulders.
My mother started to cry, tears streaming down her face. Papa held her tight and hugged her. I couldn't fully understand what they all mean. I don't want my family to get hurt by any villain. I'll do everything to keep them safe even if it meant being separated from them. I opened the sliding door. All eyes were on me.
"Papa, Mama..."
"Yuri?" Mama said and reached out to me. She knelt and looked into my eyes. She started to cry again and hugged me tight.
"It's okay." I patted her back, "I think it will be fun living with grandpa."
"Yuri..." She cried again. Even louder than before. I hugged her tightly and the only words that came out of my mouth was, "It's going to be okay." Although deep inside, I didn't know if it would be. If I would be...
I stayed with my parents for over a year before I was left under grandfather's care. It was tough for me but I'm glad I was able to spend a little time with Mama, Papa and my twin siblings. My mom gave birth to a healthy baby boy and girl. I wonder what their quirk might be since I won't be there to personally witness it.
Stop it with the sad thoughts, Yuri.
Grandpa and All Might decided that it was best for my family to live in the United States. Oji-chan, as I fondly call All-Might, assured me that they will be in safe hands and that we can communicate every once in a while. However, a week before they fly for the States, my parents thought of the craziest idea no one would ever think of.
"We can't just leave Yuri without having someone to protect her." My mother said as he poured hot tea into All Might and grandpa's tea cups. Mother and Father invited them for tea and said that they had to talk to them about something important. I was sitting in between them just staring in confusion.
"What are you trying to imply Aiko? Four pro-heroes are ready to keep her safe at all cost. I thought we're over this issue about safety?" All Might said wincing as he sipped his hot tea.
"That's not what she meant, Toshinori. We need somebody to be with her long-term. To keep an eye on her." Papa said with a serious tone.
"Wait. Don't tell me you're talking about-" All Might's eyes widened.
"Yes. You're right, Toshinori. Gin and Aiko meant quirk marriage." A muscular man same as All Might's built entered our living room. His hair was red, short and spiky, in contrast with his eyes which were filled with an ocean-like hue. What's more incredible and intimidating about this man was that his beard and mustache appear to be made of fire.
"Enji?" All-Might stood up. His eyes filled with shock. "You think this will make you feel at ease? Having your daughter engage into some marriage agreement?" All Might looked at my parents.
"Enji promised that he will take care of Yuri. This is just extra caution." My mom said.
Marriage? What?
"Come on, Toshinori. You know that as a hero, I'm obliged to help." The man with the fiery mustache butted in.
All Might clicked his tongue. Loud enough for me to hear. "I bet you agreed right away once you found out what her quirks are."
"I admit, it was one of the reasons. But you know I owe Gin my life. I should be the one in his place right now if he didn't take the villain out for me before." The red head furiously nudged All Might's chest with his index finger.
"Enough you two!" Grandfather broke out the tension building up between them. "Yuri is here with us. Please put on your best behavior."
A week after that dreaded meeting, my family flew to the States. It was a heartbreaking goodbye. I cried for weeks. I couldn't sleep and eat. I refused to go to school.
Kayama-san, who I realized was the girl with the body hugging suit, would literally pull me out of the house to bring me to school. This went on for weeks. Sometimes, it would be the sleepy looking man named Aizawa-san who would escort me. At rare occasions, All-Might would walk me to school. I'd rather have him walk me though. He says the nicest things and other children looked at me with envy having a famous pro-hero walk by my side.
"I wish All Might brought me to school today." I said, walking side by side with Aizawa-san today.
"You wish kid. Just be glad I'm with you." He said without beaming any emotion from his words.
That day, school went by just fine. I can't wait to have this day get over and done with.
I wonder what Mama and Papa are doing right now.
As I heard the school bell rang, I hurriedly got my stuff and exited through the door. I was nearing the gates when two muscular man greeted me. One grinning excitedly and the other, just staring at me with a blank expression.
"Hello, Young Yuriko!" I hugged All Might and he carried me in his arms.
"Oji-chan!" I said, smiling back at the hero. "Endeavor-san" I looked and nodded at the fiery hero.
All-Might let me down and started talking to Endeavor.
"You think this is really a good idea?" The Symbol of Peace said. I stared up at him and Endeavor wondering what they were talking about.
"You were the one who said that she needed friends... A friend." Endeavor replied. "Plus, they haven't really been introduced to each other."
All Might smiled at me, "Hey Yuri, wanna meet a new friend today?"
New friend. That sounded really fun! I nodded my head with a huge grin on my face.
A/N: Whew, another long chapter! Just in case you guys are wondering what her quirks are, it's kinda like Jean Grey from X-Men and Shigeo Kageyama from Mob Psycho 100. And I was just interested about time manipulation hence the combination of both powers (HAHAHA). Not gonna lie, I had to change her quirk thrice while I was writing this fanfic. I hope you still like it though :)
