The Original work was written by Op Taipan.
土
BOOK ONE:
EARTH
CHAPTER THREE:
CHIMA
"Do you get it now, Deku?" he asked in a cold, menacing, voice. The other children immediately went quite "You're a worthless nerd, just a pebble in everyone's path!". Katsuki's words left the other children in silence, all listening to the guy they appointed as their leader in admiration. "So, do everyone a favor, behave like the Deku you are, and get out of our way. You'll never be a hero!".
The other children began cheering and applauding, completely in awe of the boy that was Katsuki Bakugou.
And why wouldn't they? Bakugou was the best at everything. He was the smartest, strongest and was the leader of the entire kindergarten. No one ever doubted that Katsuki Bakugou, also known as 'Kacchan' by some of them, was destined to become one of the greatest heroes out there.
"That was so cool Kacchan!" One of the girls squealed in clear admiration to the boy. "Yeah! Way to show the quirkless Deku his place" congratulated Tsubasa.
This occurrence was a common one. It seemed that no matter where Katsuki Bakugou was, he would always be acknowledged as the best of the best. No matter what he did.
As Bakugou stood there on the table, chin up in a prideful stance and the other children cheering for him, he noticed that Deku was gone. The quirkless wonder was nowhere to be seen.
He scoffed. 'That damned Deku… Why can't he understand? He can't be a hero! I'm the one who is supposed to! ... But…'
^…" Izuku ran down the hill to the stream and stretched out a hand towards Bakugou.
" Need help? Can you stand?"
Izuku looked at the sitting form of Bakugou with nothing but worry in his eyes "You didn't hurt your head, did you? That would be bad." ^
^" S-stop it Kacchan! Izuku yelled at Bakugou fearfully. Standing between the small child he and his lackeys were beating up, fists raised and in a battle stance.
Even though it was clear he was terrified from his shaking, he stood his ground and yelled "If you're not going to stop t-then … I'LL STOP YOU MYSELF!" ^
'… he continues to act like he is the one destined to be one! DOES HE THINK HE WILL BE THE ONE?! INSTEAD OF ME?!' As these thoughts ran rampant inside the explosive blonde's head, the caretakers had begun to walk back towards the picnic tables.
"All right everyone, I see that you're all in high spirits!" one of the caretakers bellowed with enthusiasm, having heard the children's laughter from afar. "Now that everyone is stuffed we can begin the trip!"
The young caretaker instructed before Sewa-san interrupted him "But before that… "she stifled a giggle at how quickly the children's energy seemed to die out in a second "We need to clean up after us … so let's begin!".
And so, the children began to clean up after themselves. As They threw away leftovers and garbage, the caretakers who assisted them reminded "After we're done, grab your stuff and line up near the gate!"
It took a while but before long, the entire picnic site was spotless and the children were lined up in front of its gate, being head-counted by the caretakers.
It didn't take long for something to go wrong.
"Hey has anyone seen Izuku-kun?" Sewa-san asked her fellow caretakers.
Shaking their head to state that they hadn't; one of the younger caretakers signed in exasperation "AGAIN?! Can he not go running off somewhere for just one week?!".
The caretaker's rhetorical question was answered by one of his colleagues "You know that's too much to ask for Rusu-san … in any case, we better find him. We can't just leave him here, after all."
The caretakers took off to search for the young greenette while the other children were left near the gate, obviously annoyed. "Why are we still here?!" Tsubasa yelled at Rusu-san who was watching them while the others searched for Izuku.
Rusu-san signed," One of your classmates is missing, the others are looking for him now around the place".
At the explanation, the children perked up "Now that you mention it … I haven't seen Deku around ever since he ran off at breakfast…"
Yubi's words caused all the color to drain from Rusu-san's face. "Come again?" he asked.
This time the adult was responded to by Bakugou "Deku ran off during breakfast about half an hour ago. Haven't seen him since.".
If it was possible, Rusu-san's face became even paler 'Nooo-no-no-no-no this is bad … this is very, very bad … please tell me this isn't happening!'
This is terrible. If Izuku had been gone for more than half-an-hour there was no telling where he could be … they all thought he was just hiding to not have to clean up …
Rusu-san made his way frantically towards the other caretakers, leaving behind the other children in his panic.
"SEWA-SAN! EVERYONE!" he exclaimed in panic. After all the other caretakers turned to look at him, he began "The situation is way worse than we thought…"
Once again, Izuku found himself in a forest, all alone. Not knowing or caring where he will end up, Izuku continued to run. Leaving fate and his instincts to guide him onwards.
The forest which he runs through could be described as a nice place. The forested mountain sported streams and waterfalls galore with many roads and bridges crossing through it. With several statues decorating the sides of the road, it was clear why the kindergartens went on a school trip here.
It is on one of these roads that Izuku runs, the only thing keeping him going is the desire to get as far away from the other kids as possible.
And as he continues to run, he hears voices from the past all telling him the same thing…
^ "…we couldn't find anything, there is no trace of a quirk factor in Izuku's body. He is without a shadow of a doubt 100% quirkless". ^ the words of doctor Tsubasa rang through his head, soon followed by his grandson's ^ "S-so I guess it's not 'Deku the quirkless liar', it's-*pfft* 'Deku the quirkless idiot! *Hahahaha*" ^.
'Is … is it r-really true? 'Izuku asked himself as he ran 'A-am I really a quirkless idiot? W-was I really imagining it back then? '
Izuku wanted to say no. He wanted to tell himself that he wasn't an idiot, that he did have a quirk, that he will be a hero, but ...
'…I couldn't activate my quirk this entire time, it should have happened by now … so why didn't it?'
… he couldn't. All these months, all these months that he tried to activate his Quirk, the months of accusations of being a liar, of being quirkless and now, an idiot; This traumatic time couldn't have not left some form of doubt in the young boy's mind.
His best friend didn't believe him ^ "What quirk?! You're quirkless! Don't lie to us Deku!" ^
Even his own mother didn't ^ "I think you were imagining it Izuku," … "sometimes we see things that didn't happen, maybe it was like it for you now…". ^
'Maybe… maybe they were all right…' Izuku thought in despair '…Everyone already said so, didn't they?... maybe I really don't have a quirk … maybe I am just a Deku …'
.
.
.
*rustle*
The sound of rustling leaves caused Izuku to stumble and stop his run. Hearing moving bushes in the distance, Izuku began to walk away slowly with fear evident on his face.
'I-is it a Bear? A Boar? Mom always said to stay away from wild animals ... but what do I do when one approaches me?' Izuku thought while the sound of rustling leaves started to grow in volume, indicating that whatever was there was coming closer.
*Rustle* *Rustle*
Izuku tried to run away, but his feet refused to move … his entire body seemed to ignore his frantic mind that was screaming at it in a panic.
But … unlike his mind, Izuku's body was completely calm.
While his mind was on over-drive with fear, his body hadn't felt like or showed any sign that he was fearful.
He wasn't shaking; His muscles weren't tense; Even his face turned against him and remained frozen.
Against his mind and better judgment, Izuku felt no hint of fear throughout his body. Only his mind was convinced of any danger.
If anything, his body felt like he was … excited? Happy? Relieved?! …
…That… was weird…
Izuku didn't know exactly what it felt like. It was like ... whatever was approaching … was causing something deep within him to resonate in recognition and force him to meet it.
That something was the weirdest thing. It felt … familiar, but … he never felt anything like it in his life …
*Rustle* *Stomp * *Rustle*
The stomping of feet on solid ground could be heard now by Izuku, whatever this thing was … it was big, and it was approaching him directly.
His mind continued screaming, his body continued to refuse to listen, and the sounds of the approaching … thing … continued to grow in volume as it drawled nearer…
*Rustle* *Stomp * *Rustle* *Rustle* *Stomp * *Rustle*
*Fwoooosh! *
Just then, a big shadow jumped from the bushes. Completely filling the field of vision of the small boy who's only response was "AAAAAAAAAAAH".
*Thwomp!*
And just like that, Izuku found himself on the ground with a furred mass perched on top of him.
"Ugh…" Trying to get up, Izuku found himself unable to lift the weird creature off of him due to its weight … so, against his better judgment, he called out to the animal that was still too disoriented to notice the tiny human underneath it.
"Hey … "the creature perked up to the sound of Izuku, looking around and trying to locate it "excuse me, but … you're kinda crushing me …".
The furball looked down and found itself face to face with Izuku. And now, with them looking at each other, Izuku could finally see what exactly crashed into him.
Needless to say that Izuku had never seen, or heard, of a creature like the one that was in front of him right now…
The weird animal was larger than any dog that Izuku had ever seen … he could definitely ride it if it let him. It was slightly taller than Izuku in terms of height, and in terms of everything else … well … it was massive, easily six times Izuku's size.
The animal's giant body was coated with brown fur. The only exception was the white stripe bordered by two black ones that ran around its back along with a domino-mask-patterned white fur around its eyes. It's long, muscular, tail and paws were naked with 5 black claws sprouting from each of its paws.
To finish it looks, the creature sported two little fluffy ears and whiskers at the edge of its black nose.
All in all, Izuku thought that the creature was beautiful. As he looked at the creature's blank eyes he couldn't help but feel like he saw it somewhere before.
But … he couldn't tell where for the life of him. And it appeared the creature saw something within him as well. Ever since it noticed the boy, the animal inspected it and a curious expression dawned over its face … was it curiosity? Recognition? Affection? Izuku couldn't tell.
The only thing he could tell…
… was that this creature was currently squashing him.
"Umm … excuse m- WOAH" suddenly, as if Izuku's words woke it up from its stupor, the animal immediately jumped off of the boy and stepped back, eyeing him suspiciously.
Getting up and looking at the animal, Izuku found that the creature was currently in an attack ready position and growling at him in a warning.
The message was clear … stay away.
Now, on any other occasion, Izuku would have stepped back and left the animal alone… But today was not any other occasion. He didn't know why, but that thing inside of him screamed and encouraged him to approach it. He didn't know why it did, but it felt like he couldn't go against that voice, and even if he could, that could easily be the biggest mistake of his life.
So, swallowing his fear, Izuku began to approach the brown-furred animal with an extended hand.
*Grrrr* Only to be stopped by the animal's warning growls. There was simply no way for Izuku to approach it, it was obviously wary and afraid of him, not to mention that it might attack him.
Yet … he couldn't just leave it here … it looked scared and lonely like it was hungry and needed help … 'wait … hungry? I think I have an idea!' Izuku squealed in delight in his head as a plan formed in it.
Izuku excitedly put his hand in his pocket … *Grah! * Only to be stopped by the animal's warning growls again. Lifting his hands in the air slowly to show that he doesn't mean any harm, Izuku tucked his hands in his pockets again and pulled out a wrapped package.
Eyeing him carefully as Izuku opened the wrappings the animal perked up immediately at the scent that filled its nostrils.
In his pockets, Izuku had a special snack his mother had made for him to enjoy during the trip, homemade granola bars that were stuck together by honey.
Lately, because of her increase in weight the Midoriya matriarch decides to switch to a healthier diet. Which resulted in an almost unhealthy obsession with granola. Luckily for Izuku, he loved it and Inko made sure that he had some for today.
And it seems that the animal liked it as well, considering the growls of its stomach and the fact it had started to comically drool. Smiling brightly that his plan seemed to work, Izuku approached the animal slowly and this time it let him come with no objections.
Izuku stopped a few meters away from the animal, not entirely sure it would let him any nearer and decided to leave the bar on the ground for him to pick up and eat himself.
Immediately the creature expression turned into a terrified one, startling Izuku, and it quickly turned tail and ran away in the direction it came from.
"W-wait!" he called "Where are you going?!" Izuku screamed frantically. Not wanting to lose the animal, Izuku quickly picked up the bar and went after it.
The only clue that he was ever there was the wrapping he left behind in his haste.
It's safe to say that Inko Midoriya's day did not go as she expected.
It started off fine, just another day for the Midoriya matriarch. Izuku had a field trip today to the Izu peninsula so that meant that Inko had an extra-long day just for herself.
Don't get her wrong, she loved her son with everything she had and more; But being a mother while your husband works overseas is no easy task … She needed to unwind every once in a while.
Most of her morning was spent in the kitchen. Her recently acquired obsession with granola had called for her to perform a few 'experiments' that may or may not have created some monstrosities. After cleaning up after herself she contemplated what should she do next; she can always go out shopping, maybe go watch a movie or something? or maybe …
… Maybe she should call Hisashi … Not that her husband didn't keep in close touch considering he called multiple times a week. But those were usually the normal family calls ... filled with status updates, 'I love you', and the occasional complaint about his boss. This time they needed to talk about something important.
Something has been weighed heavily upon Inko these past few months. Her son, Izuku, has been distancing himself from her for months.
It began after the Doctor's visit. Ever since the day she had given up on Izuku's dream she had watched her son suffer and unable to do anything about it … She didn't do anything about it! And … just when it began to seem like he accepted what had happened and his smile returned a little, that day came…
…He came home one day, all dirty and injured, and claimed that he had a Quirk. Usually, such an announcement would be a welcomed one… that is if Izuku really had a Quirk.
No matter what he tried, nothing had happened and Inko had watched his struggles for months. Slowly, she saw the shine in his eyes beginning to become dim, he would come home always covered in bruises and he would not talk to her at all.
She was losing her baby … and it drove her mad.
Having only Hisashi working in the family, and nothing to occupy herself with; Inko has begun to stress-eat and had put some weight on as a result. She got out of the house less and less and, much like her son, seemed to shut herself down.
Having the entire day to herself, she has finally begun to see all of this.
Things couldn't go on like this. How could she help her son if she is in this state? She needed help too. And luckily for her, there is a ring on her finger that is proof that there is someone out there who would listen to her.
Having made up her mind, Inko grabbed her phone and opened up her contacts. But before she managed to call her husband, it started ringing.
"Hello?" she asks the mystery caller who contacted her "Are you Midoriya-san?" the caller asks. "Yes, I am" she responds swiftly before the caller begins to talk "Midoriya-san, I'm afraid there is no easy way to say what I'm about to say. I'd suggest you sit down…"
That's how Inko Midoriya found herself on a bus to Kawazu after a nerve-racking train ride to the Izu peninsula. The frantic mother easily scaring every other passenger with her expression alone.
Upon arriving at her stop, Inko, much to the relief of all the passengers and the driver, gets off and heads towards the place where her son had gone missing from.
Not having trouble finding it, seeing the number of police cars present, Inko immediately walked up to the caretakers who are giving their report on the situation.
"WHERE IS MY BABY?!" she demands to know. At her outburst, every man/woman/cat-man? who has been present turned towards the frantic mother.
"M-Midoriya-san..." Sewa-san instantly recognizes the mother of the missing child and looks at her with a pitying look. Inko is living one of the worst nightmares for a mother right now, after all.
"I assume you are the child's mother?" The detective who talked with the caretakers asked Inko.
The old detective was nothing impressive. He has a receding hairline and a wrinkled face along with a face full of stubbles. Judging by the bags under his eyes, he didn't get much sleep either.
"Y-yes, I am. Now, where is my baby?" Inko answers the detective's question and immediately returns to the subject at hand.
"Izuku Midoriya is still missing" the detective begins and Inko's heart clench in worry once more "We will soon send out a search party for him, I suggest you head home and wait until we find him, madam.".
'Go home and wait?' The detective words bounce around in her hand. 'Be in the house and wait until Izuku is back? This is exactly what I did until now … This is why things had gone the way they did … My son has suffered because I didn't help him…
because I failed as his mother … NO MORE!'
"No…" Inko whispered, her eyes masked by her hair. "Excuse me?" the detective deadpanned and was swiftly answered by the mother" I won't sit still while my son might be in danger or is suffering! I won't just go home and wait until you find him … I'M GOING TOO!".
The detective's eyes widen at the exclamation and he quickly attempts to rile the woman down "Now now, Midoriya-san … This is a police affair and should be left to the profess…- "
"I don't care what kind of matter this is; this is about my son!" Inko quickly interrupts the older detective and takes a deep breath to calm down. "This is simply a search conducted in the forest, right? All I ask is to be with the search team and help them find my son "Inko begs the detective, her eyes shining with unrivaled determination.
"Fine" the detective relented "If you stay with the team you can go with them."
Inko perked up and her expression locked into a determined one "Thank you … now, let's go find my son!"
Inko Midoriya
Quirk: Attraction of Small Objects
Description: This Quirk grants Inko the ability to telekinetically attract small objects to her.
Appearance: Inko is a slim woman who has long hair with a ponytail on the left as well as round and green eyes.
Affiliation: None.
Age: 31
Birthday: 4/7
Height: 160 cm.
Blood Type: O.
Favorite food: Kashipan*.
Favorite thing: Izuku.
Having long since abandoned the clear trails that littered the forest in his chase, Izuku ran through the dense forest after the weird animal.
Low branches hit his head, torso, and arms; he continues the chase nevertheless. The creature is indeed a fast one, so much so that Izuku lost it long ago. And now, he is left following the sign of destroyed shrubbery to lead him forward.
The greenette doesn't know why the animal makes him feel this way. Nor why he is willing to go so far in order to chase it, clearly breaking every law his mother and caretakers had told him about being in the wild in the process.
While Izuku doesn't know any of the 'why's, he does know the 'hows. As he runs, that thing deep within him encourages him to go forward toward the Badger-like animal, pushing him onward past his exhaustion and fear.
Not to mention, the animal looked like it needed help. When Izuku first encountered it, it was obvious that the creature saw better days. Its fur was messy and dirty, it was obviously hungry and there were a few cuts and bruises on its body.
The animal exuded a vibe of a victim in need of a rescue, and Izuku Midoriya will be damned if he didn't give help to those that needed it.
It took a while, but eventually, the boy caught up with the exhausted animal. How he managed to keep going all this time would remain a mystery for a while, but he wasn't one to complain when things actually went his way.
"I-I "*gasp*" f-finally "*gasp* "got you… ughhh" Izuku managed to utter before unceremoniously dropping to the hard ground, in a surprisingly similar pose that the animal took: on his stomach and his limbs spread out around him.
Gasping for air, the two continued breathing heavily for a while, one looking at the other while the other was sniffing his surroundings.
They were in a small clearing within the woods. The tall grass gently brushed their bodies as they panted and the sun was still up during this summer evening.
The creature soon got up, having caught his breath, and made his way to leave; though as he headed towards the shadowed forest, he was stopped by the still-winded Izuku.
"W-*gasp* wait!" the forest-haired kid pleads the animal who eyed him wearily. "I-I *gasp* I didn't mean to scare you … I just wanted to help" Izuku panted as he slowly took the snack that was back in his pocket and held it out to the creature.
"You look hungry" Izuku smiles at the animal "My mom made it, and it's really good … want some?"
*growl* The animal's stomach immediately made its opinion known to the two, making its owner take a step closer and Izuku giggle.
As Izuku began to lower his hand to put the bar on the ground, he remembered what happened the last time he did so. Not understanding what is wrong with the gesture but not wanting to upset the animal, he instead thought of a new approach.
'He won't accept the food if he needs to pick it up himself? That's weird… but, if he doesn't want to…hey… It's just like that time in the petting zoo… don't come to them, let them come to you!'
Remembering his class' last outing to the petting zoo, where he was taught how to feed an unfamiliar animal, Izuku decided to follow the advice of the zookeepers.
The almost five-year-old outstretches both of his hands forward, holding the bar within them. Walking slowly toward the creature, Izuku stops a few steps away from it and let it come to him on its own.
The animal hesitantly takes a step forward … then another … and another … and soon enough, it finds itself mere inches from Izuku's outstretched hands.
"Come on!" the greenette gently encouraged the animal with a smile "Dig in!".
The creature slowly took the bar with his mouth and walked away slowly from the boy. Having reached a sufficient distance from him, the animal put the bar between its front legs and began chewing the bar slowly.
Well … it began chewing slowly … once the taste of the bar settled on its tongue, the creature proceeded to chew the snack with the same enthusiasm Izuku had for Katsudon.
Laughing at the display, the boy reaches for his pockets again and pulls out another bar. "You want another one?" he asks the animal who just finished the bar (much to its disappointment).
Immediately perking up at the sight of more food, the creature ran up to Izuku with enthusiasm and took the bar from his hand, not bothering to back away this time.
Then without warning, it began licking Izuku's fingers which were still sticky from holding the snack. The forest-haired boy began giggling from the gesture and instinctively put his already cleaned hand on top of the creature's head, petting it.
'fluffy' the boy thought in delight as he rubbed his hand gently against the creature's head, enticing a purr in the process.
*Purrr* the purr caught Izuku by surprise, but the clear delight of the brown animal only encouraged the boy to continue his petting.
Now having a better vantage point than ever, Izuku began to deeply study the animal. Both its teeth and claws were rather small, signifying it was very young and possibly even an infant; Its whiskers were nearly invisible and his snout was surprisingly warm to the touch as it snuggled into his arms.
"*Hehe* H-hey … that tickles" the boy laughed, clearly enjoying the creature snuggling into him. Upon hearing his voice, the animal lifted its head, finally causing their two sets of eyes to meet.
Izuku was stunned as he stared into the creature's eyes. Its white pupils were surrounded by light brown irises with no sclera.
Izuku had seen this kind of pupils beforehand, he was with his mother when a gentleman with the same kind of pupils walked beside them using a cane. When he asked his mother about it she just said "This poor man can't see, It's really unfortunate but-"
"You're blind … "The words left the boy's mouth on their own. The creature before him couldn't see anything. It was disabled, it lived in a world where everyone had a common thing that they took for granted and treated as part of everyday life, a thing that it didn't.
Just like him.
Like how this creature didn't have vision, Izuku didn't have a Quirk. At this point he was sure of it, he tried for months, and yet, nothing happened.
Izuku finally agreed with the world around him, he was quirkless.
"You're like me, aren't you?" Izuku looked at the creature with an understanding look, to which it responded with a confused one upon hearing the boy's tone.
"You can't see. You don't have something that everybody else does, just like me… Everyone around me has a quirk, a unique power that makes them special, but I don't. To them, I'm a nobody, a Deku." Izuku looked at the animal's bruised body, remembering all the times a similar thing happened to him as well "Did you get hurt because of it too?".
As the words left Izuku's mouth he noticed a hole in his assumption; If the animal really was like him and couldn't do anything … then how could it run all the way here without crashing head-first into a tree? Its head even followed him as it moved around earlier...kinda like it knew exactly where he was at all times. Was the creature really blind? Or was it something else?
Getting tired from standing up and still tired from the run, Izuku decided to sit down. Sitting upright with his hands clutching the ground behind his back to support his weight, Izuku sees that the animal decided to sit as well.
"You're blind … but you did all these things that should be impossible, you ran through the forest and always knew where I was … how did you do it?" Izuku asked the animal who, unsurprisingly, didn't respond.
"You're really amazing, you know that?" Izuku continues looking at the animal in admiration "Even though you don't have what everyone else has, you live without it. You do things that are considered impossible for someone like you… you don't even need it. Do… Do you think I can be like that? "
Not expecting an answer, Izuku explains himself anyways. He doesn't care if the animal doesn't understand him, he needs to get this out. "I want to be a hero, but… everyone tells me that I can't be one with no Quirk … I used to think I had one, you know … A couple of months ago I thought I dug my hands through the ground with super-power. But, I guess that was a dream or something, nothing else like that happened no matter how hard I tried, nothing at all … "
Izuku stops for a second, realizing he got off the topic he wanted to discuss" So… do you think I could be like you? "Izuku's voice began trembling as it got harder for him to talk "Do you think I can become a hero even without the thing that everyone says that I need to do it?".
Knowing he won't get an answer, Izuku drops his head with tears starting to form in his shut eyes "I know it sounds stupid… but there is nothing I want to do more than that, and seeing you made me think that maybe … just maybe, I can do it too …"
Izuku slowly opened his eyes, wanting to get a look at the creature to see some kind of reaction. But before he can turn to look at it he spots a mass near his feet. A mass that is comprised of a light brown rope with four black lengthwise stripes running across it.
It was no rope, it's a snake.
Startled, Izuku's feet protectively curl into his body before he extends them to swiftly get on his feet, creating a kicking motion as a result.
But as Izuku's feet clench into his body he feels his entire body clench and stiffens, with the epicenter being his lower back. As the kicking motion is progressing, a familiar vibration is felt by the greenette, and when his feet extend outward at their full length…
*BOOM*
Out of nowhere, the earth under the cuddled snake shot outward, leaving behind a short column of raised earth.
The *thump* sound of the snake landing a couple of dozen meters away and his slithering as it disappeared into the woods were the only sounds that were heard in the clearing that the boy and creature were currently inhabiting.
Both looked on in shock at the column of raised earth as if it had come from the moon, Izuku with widened pupils and a slacked jaw, and the animal with a very similar expression.
"Di- did I do it?" Izuku's silent question finally broke through the silence that dominated their piece of the forest in the last couple of minutes.
The animal faced him in an expression that could have been either 'Well, I didn't do it, so either it was you or we're both imagining it' or just plain 'Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhh' but it didn't matter to Izuku as he processed everything.
'The ground just shot out that snake into the air … wait! The snake! I didn't mean to hurt it, it just sacred me "ohh I hope it's okay … but he didn't-look-that-hurt-and-it did-flee. But-it-could-have-been-faking-it-and-now-if-anything-happened-to-it-it-will-be -my-fault-and-*mutter*-*mutter*-*mutter*-*mutter*"
Izuku's analysis quickly devolved into frantic mumbling about the well-being of that snake. All the while, the animal's expression didn't change at all with Izuku's muttering being the new source of its daze.
Eyeing the boy carefully, as the animal clearly didn't experience anything like it, it opted to get Izuku out of his stupor.
"*mutter*-*mutter* - "*nudge-nudge* "Huh-?" nudging the boy with its paws seemed to do the right trick as Izuku was once again with the living "S-sorry… "Izuku rubbed the back of his head sheepishly "I got lost there… though I still hope that snake is okay … "Seeing the creature raise its paw in preparation of another mumble-storm, Izuku immediately stopped that train of thought.
"Okay, I'll leave it" he sighed "but still what was that with the ground?" finally returning to address the elephant in the room… forest, the boy inspects the short column that reached his calves.
'It wasn't there before …' he contemplated 'so it definitely shot out of the ground … and it happened just as I tried to get up? 'Izuku tilted his head to the side before frowning 'But that makes no sense. I'm quirkless … I shouldn't be able to do it. Even if I had super-power I … '
A light bulb lit up above Izuku's head 'Wait a minute… Back in the forest near home, my hands dug through the ground … And just now, the ground shot out at the snake … 'As each piece of the puzzle clicked into place, Izuku's 'analysis' expression shifted into a wide smile which was completed as he reached his conclusion … 'All this time … my Quirk was never super-power "… I CAN CONTROL THE GROUND! "
Sitting at a table, a middle-aged man with spikey brown hair talked enthusiastically with his wife that had spikey ash-blonde hair and red eyes; traits that she shared with her son that sat beside them.
"So, he just stood there, cursing at me like a sailor when all of a sudden; he gets a phone call from his boss telling him he was fired because he always messed the prop purchases up! You should have seen his expression! He looked like a deer caught in headlights! *Hahaha*" Masuru and Mitsuki Bakugou both laughed loudly while eating dinner with their son Katsuki. Masuru had just finished telling a story about his day at work about a customer of his that he didn't like that finally got his karmic justice and both he and Mitsuki had loved it.
The hot-headed mother laughed especially hard as anything that irked her husband got itself immediately within her crosshairs. That particular man got on her nerves, especially as her husband had multiple encounters with him in the past. The company that man worked for was the biggest buyer from her husband's so he had to put up with him as their representative which was according to Masuru, absolute torture.
Hell, she would have pummeled him herself if Masusu hadn't acted as the voice of reason… again.
However, unlike his parents, Katsuki was quietly eating his dinner with a scowl. Today they were supposed to go on a field trip, but Deku just had to go and ruin it. The fact that his dinner was comprised of frickin' Katsudon didn't help either, 'CAN'T YOU GIVE ME SOMETHING SPICY, DAMNIT?!'
"What about you Katsuki, how was your trip?" His father's question pulled the child's attention away from his dinner and he scowled at his parents, an action that the spouses noticed.
"It got canceled because of that useless Deku" he responds with a grumble, getting hit by his mother on the head because of the use of his words.
"WATCH YOUR MOUTH, BRAT!" his mother yelled at him, and got yelled at by Katsuki in return "YOU HAG! WHY YOU DO THAT?!".
The question though only seemed to anger his mother more "YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU DID! DON'T GO AROUND INSULTING YOUR CLASSMATES!".
"H-hey calm down you two" Masaru's voice was the only one that wasn't raised and seemed to have calmed Mitsuki down a bit.
"Now Katsuki," he began, hoping to change the topic of the conversation away from the screaming match "Why the trip got canceled?".
Katsuki huffed before explaining his day "Everything was just fine until breakfast" he began "Then, out of nowhere, Deku decided to disappear. As soon as the sensei's found out, they stopped everything and canceled the trip. Last thing I saw was the police getting there from the bus. Been spending the time in the kindergarten since".
Both of his parents gasped in shock at the news "Izuku-kun is missing?!" Mitsuki squealed in horror "Poor Inko-san…" Masuru whispered with an expression full of grief.
"*Sign* Well… as much as this is unfortunate, there is little that we can do about it now" Masaru signed, trying to steer the conversation away from the somber topic.
"You're right" Mitsuki spoke in a low voice "The best thing that we can do is hope that he will come home safe…"
"You know, now that we mention him… It has been a while since we last saw the kid" Masaru commented as he noticed the tidbit of information.
"Uh- You're right... I kind of miss him" Mitsuki chuckled "He was such a sweet kid! Katsuki could actually learn a thing or two from him!" She laughed in good nature while eyeing her scowling son.
'Learn something from Deku?!' The boy thought in anger at the proposition as he continued eating in silence.
"Yeah…. You should invite him here again once they find him Katsuki" Masaru smiled to his son "It could be fun!"
"Why would I want to hang out with that Deku?!" Katsuki retorted angrily to be met with confused glances from his parents.
"Weren't you two friends?" His father asked him, earning a scoff.
"Like I'll be friends with the Deku!" he exclaimed, much to the shock of his parents.
"You two had a falling out?" Masaru asked his son.
Katsuki nodded "Haven't talked much for months now. He just goes off and tries to use his imaginary Quirk… Honestly, it's quite annoying".
"Wait-wait-wait-wait, imaginary quirk?" The ash-blonde mother asked her son, having not been filled up on the information.
"Just something stupid he's been doing recently" Katsuki explained as he got up with his plate, having finished his food.
"I'm going to bed" Katsuki announced as he began to climb the stairs towards his room. "Don't forget to brush your teeth, brat!" Mitsuki's voice rang from the table.
Katsuki grumbled something about toothpaste before going into the bathroom and leaving a couple of minutes later to bed.
Meanwhile, the Bakugou spouses sat at the table. Silent as they processed all the information that was dumped on them.
"That's a lot to take in" Masaru eventually concluded.
"Yeah, no kidding." Mitsuki responded "Did you know any of this?" she asked the patriarch.
"I was just as clueless as you are" Masaru quickly shook his head to signal 'no' "To think so much has happened in the past few months…"
"They grow up so fast…" Mitsuki's wistful face soon morphed to a somber one. "I just hope that Inko-san will get to continue to enjoy it…"
Returning to the topic of the missing child, Masari's expression turned somber as well "Yeah… let's hope that they will be alright…"
*sigh* "It was a long day… we should probably clean up and go to bed" the woman concluded the conversation as her husband got up.
"I'll take care of the dishes; could you go check on Katsuki?" Masaru asked from the kitchen as Mitsuki began to stand. Nodding in agreement, the ash-blonde went up the stairs and opened the door to her son's room.
Seeing the peaceful form of the sleeping Katsuki, she smiled at her son before closing the door.
At least her son was home tonight. But others weren't so lucky. And so Mitsuki found herself joining her hands together in prayer and whispering:
"Izuku Midoriya, please be safe"
Izuku was currently feeling a sense of elation that he had never felt before. Not even when he had thought he had super-strength as a quirk he had been this joyful.
After all, this time Izuku discovered his true quirk and there was even a witness! Sure he wasn't human, but it had definitely reacted to the display, in other words, this time there was no way to deny it… he has a quirk!
The boy's elation translated into a glee fit which he is currently in the middle of. The child bounced around happily in the clearing that he and the animal shared all while laughing loudly in joy and relief.
"I HAVE A QUIRK!" he yelled joyfully while hugging the startled creature which was surprised by the boy's sudden mood changes. One minute he was about to cry his eyes out, the next he was deep in thought and now; here he is hugging him with everything he has.
With the creature admitting to himself that it felt nice.
"I CAN'T WAIT TO SHOW THIS TO EVERYONE!" Izuku yelled as he let go of the animal, preparing to activate his quirk once more.
Once he reached a sufficient distance as to not harm his companion, he swiftly performed a novice kicking motion that almost caused him to lose his balance…
…Only to have nothing happen.
"What?"
The ground didn't rise, not did it reform; nothing had happened, all Izuku did was kick the air.
Confused Izuku tried again, performing the same kicking motion and watching the ground for any changes.
Changes that didn't occur.
"Why is nothing happening?!"
Izuku asked worriedly as he began kicking rapidly, switching the kicking leg as soon as the other had hit the ground in what looked light an impromptu dancing maneuver.
A bad impromptu dancing maneuver at that.
Needless to say that soon the greenette found himself fallen on the ground having lost his balance, breathing heavily from the sudden exercise.
From the corner of his eyes, he could see the animal looking at him with a confused and worried expression on its face.
As the creature walked towards him, Izuku clutched the tall grass with his hands in frustration, tears welling up in the corner of his eyes "Why? Why wouldn't it work? I just did it… so why my Quirk went away again?".
Before he had the chance to continue his self-pitying, the four-year-old felt the animal's snout encouragingly nudge him. As if giving him a push to go up and try again.
Looking up he saw the animal walking towards the earth-column he had raised earlier, and then, with a swipe from its left paw to the column, it was sent flying in the same manner that it was raised: without even being touched.
It even had the same *BOOM* sound that Izuku heard when the column first rose.
The boy stared forward dumbfounded at the display. It looked exactly like what had happened a few moments ago when he raised the column… 'We got the same quirk?' Izuku thought, processing what had just happened.
Walking up to him and stopping in front of him, the animal took a pose of itself standing on all fours; nudging at Izuku after he was done.
"You want me to walk on all four?" The confused greenette asked the blind animal. In response, it only got into the same pose again.
Seeing nothing to lose, Izuku lowers himself and place his hands on the grassed ground, now on eye level with the mysterious creature.
As it began lifting its left paw, Izuku understood what it was doing and began mimicking its movements.
Lifting his left hand and moving it rightwards in a similar position to the creature, Izuku begins swiping it in a conundrum to his instructor. The two went back and forth, practicing the swiping motion until the creature stopped moving but encouraged the boy to continue as it walked around him.
As it walked around the child, the furry animal moved its whiskers along his body as if he was inspecting it. Every once in a while, the animal nudged him with its snout on his legs or arms, correcting any imperfections he found in the child's form until he was satisfied.
By this point, Izuku was on complete autopilot, maintaining the form the animal left him in as he continued swiping the air in front of him.
Then, something unexpected happened. As Izuku was practicing, going back and forth with the motion that the creature showed him, he felt the animal's paw on his right hand, calling for his attention.
"You want me to stop?" he asks the brown animal who begins to take a few steps back.
Then, to Izuku's surprise, the animal had lifted its front paws and stomped on the earth with them, raising a new column from the ground in front of him and then turning to Izuku with an expectant expression.
"You… You want me to do what you did?" Izuku asked the creature. As if understanding him, the animal stepped away from the column, clearing a clear trail for Izuku to walk up to it.
Nodding his head, Izuku walked forward and tried the swiping motion he was taught…
...only to have nothing happening.
The distraught boy looks down in dejection, fear crawling up his spine at his failure and a new batch of tears threatening to spill.
However, the animal doesn't look disappointed. It just nudges Izuku with his snout and then gestures towards to column again, asking him to try again.
And so he tries again, and again, and again.
With each failure, the animal doesn't seem fazed and just continues to gesture towards the column again.
With each time he is about to give up and get up, he is stopped by the blind anomaly and is unable to do anything but continue.
With each minute passing, his doubt only increases and he begins to be afraid of what would happen should he be unable to succeed, 'Would I be stuck here forever?'
Before attempting to swipe again, Izuku takes a deep breath to relax. Toes stabbing at the inside of his shoes and his right hand clutching the ground forcefully, Izuku lifts his left hand again in preparation to swipe it.
Moving his hand rightwards to prepare for the swipe a well-known feeling sets over the boy. A familiar vibration goes through him and his muscles, concentrating on his lower back.
As he begins to move his hand in the practiced swipe motion he focuses on the column before him. Allowing instinct to take over, Izuku feels his left arm's muscles stiffening and just like that…
*BOOM*
The column moves exactly like the one Izuku made did about an hour before.
For a few moments, Izuku stared at his doing. Feeling relief and elation at the same time. This was the first time that he ever succeeded in using his Quirk deliberately, and now that he had done it he can feel a heavy load let go of his chest.
The creature, on the other hand, doesn't look surprised. It almost looks proud. But before anything else can happen, it feels the crushing force of a hug from a crying Izuku on his side.
"THANK YOU! THANK-YOU-THANK-YOU-THANK-YOU-THANK-YOU-THANK-YOU!" the boy cries out as he hugs the furred mass.
No one, not even his own mother had ever done something like this. And yet this animal, the animal that he met just a few hours ago, had already done so much for him. Not only had it encouraged him but it had also guided him and helped him with his quirk. For the first time in forever, hope shined bright in the greenette's eyes.
"THANK YOU SO MUCH – ugh "
The boy stopped his rambling immediately once he noticed a particular detail 'He doesn't have a name and I didn't give him one…' the boy looked at the animal that had given him so much and a determined expression took over his face "That's not right. You need a name, let's see…"
The boy contemplated a name for the creature before him. Looking him up and down, he noticed its similarity to two animals he had encountered before in a zoo 'Hey… He kinda looks like this animal from the zoo… What was its name again… Badger? But… He doesn't have the legs or tail of one… If anything it looks like those mole things… Sooo, a Badger-mole? How does that work? "Is it a part of his Quirk? Then why I don't have a mutation if we have the same Quirk? *mutter* *mutter* *mutter*…"
The naming debate in the boy's head had quickly turned to a mumble spree again. *nudge-nudge* luckily the animal was already prepared and a quick nudge from its paw was enough to get the boy out of his stupor.
"Gah! - I did it again?" Izuku asked sheepishly as he rubbed his neck.
Looking at the creature, the boy remembered his earlier mission, and soon enough; he returned to it "You still need a name… you look like those badger and moles things and also you can control the ground so…"
As he contemplated many naming ideas, a smile began to stretch on the four-year-old's face as an ideal name was taking shape "I know! I think I'll call you…
…Chima!"
"Look! I think I found something!" one of the officers yelled as he noticed an anomaly in the forest. In front of him, the shrubbery was destroyed, as if somebody ran through it.
Arriving at his position, the rest of the search team, followed by Inko, inspected the site of damaged plant life.
"Well, something definitely went through here" One of the female officers commented as the team searched the area.
"Still, I doubt a four-year-old would stray from the path willingly…" Pointed out another officer, who thought they should keep searching elsewhere.
"Wait a minute, I think I found something!" An officer with jet black hair announced as he lifted a wrap of some kind of homemade candy.
Inko gasped in recognition "It's Izuku's!" that's the wrapping of the granola bar she gave him for the trip, Izuku was here!
"Should have taught the kid not to litter" One of the officers commented dryly. But before Inko got to reply about how sweet her son was, the black-haired officer spoke again.
"It doesn't matter now. The important thing is that the kid was here, which means we're on the right path. If we follow the destroyed shrubbery, we should be able to find him".
"You should leave the detective work for me, officer" the tired-looking detective sarcastically commented on his subordinate's analysis, which elicited a quick stupor from the man.
"But still, you got a point… let's follow this trail, officers *cough* and mother *cough*" the detective concluded as the officers shuffled in preparation of following the path.
Once everyone was organized, they began marching forward with one determined Inko thinking to herself 'Just wait Izuku. Mom's coming soon!'
