So, I'm taking some liberties with certain things and concepts. One is the idea of quirk nervous systems, which is something I think is a thing, but haven't seen anything about, so I'll explain!

I think that quirked people have an extra set of nerves specifically to work with their quirks, and help them regulate control and stuff. Most of the nerves are centered around where the quirk works, like Bakugou's hands, or Shinsou's vocal cords, but pretty much run all over the body, just more surface-level for people like Kaminari and Todoroki, who have quirks that work all over their bodies. I'm saying this first things first because this headcanon is important for this story, so I'll say it outright and explain it in-story later.

I hope you enjoy!

At the age of four, Izuku knew the world wasn't fair. His quirk never came in, he lost his best friend…at least he still had his parents, right? Dad was working overseas when he got diagnosed, but now that he was six, Dad came back! He transferred back and was spending time with Izuku! He still loved him. Mom still loved him, too!

…right?

They'd been quiet lately, and he wasn't happy about it. The house shouldn't be quiet! Before Dad went overseas, the house was always loud! But maybe that was because Kacchan was always over, and…he wasn't anymore.

But it should be fine anyway-

"Izuku!"

Izuku perked up and quickly left his room and ran-no, he didn't run, you shouldn't run inside-speed walked over to the kitchen where Mom and Dad were both sitting at the table. But why? Dinner had been an hour ago-Izuku was working on his latest analysis-Present Mic was just so cool!

Izuku walked over and sat down at the table, looking between his Mom and Dad. "What's up?"

"Well…" Mom said as the two glanced between each other. "We were thinking…how do you feel about having a sibling?"

A sibling…a sibling! Maybe they'd be his friend! At least…for a while. But he'd have a friend!

"A sibling!" Izuku said excitedly. "Am I getting a sibling?! Sakura-chan said she got a sibling recently when her mom spent a few days in the hospital-Mom, are you going to the hospital to get a sibling?"

The two chuckled as Dad reached over and ruffled Izuku's hair.

"Not exactly, Izuku," Dad said carefully.

"But that's how you get a sibling," Izuku said, confused.

"Yes, it's one way," Mom said gently, reaching over and squeezing Izuku's hand. "But that's through giving birth, which is something I can't do, ok."

"You can't?" Izuku asked, confused.

Mom shook her head. "No."

"Then…I can't get a sibling-no, you said that's one way," Izuku said, looking at the table. "So there must be some other way to get a sibling that will be so cool, I wonder what other ways there are-can we guarantee that my sibling will like me? I'm quirkless, so it might only be for a little while, but I could have a friend for a little while at least, right? Even if it's just until my sibling gets to school and learns from the other kids that they should hate me…"

Dad gently tapped Izuku's cheek-oh, he'd been mumbling.

Izuku hunched his shoulders. "Sorry."

"Don't be sorry-we just can't always keep up with your thoughts-you can't always, either," Dad said with a big smile. "As for the other way, there's something called foster care."

"Foster care?" Izuku asked.

"Mmm-hmm," Mom said. "Not everyone has a mom and dad like you do-some kids don't have parents."

"Everyone has parents, though," Izuku said.

"Not every kid-sometimes, their parents leave them behind, either by dying or not wanting them," Mom said.

Not…wanting? That's…that's possible.

Wait, I heard about that! I heard Tsubasa's mom say something…about my parents…not wanting me-

Wait, are they going to leave me-

"Never," Dad said quickly. "No, we aren't leaving you-now or ever. That's not what this is about, Izuku."

Oh, I was mumbling again. I need to stop that habit.

Dad quickly reached over and picked Izuku up, settling him in his lap.

"That's not what we're saying, Izuku," Dad said gently, carefully ruffling his hair. "Foster care is when families like us take in kids without parents for a while and see if they should be part of our family. If they don't like you, though…well, they aren't a good fit for this family, and someone else can love them. Ok?"

"Oh," Izuku said. "Ok."

Dad gave him a quick hug. "Mom and I are planning on doing this-we'll be setting up the spare room, and a nice person will come by and see if we have a good house."

"We have the best house!" Izuku said, and the two adults laughed.

"Yep, we do," Mom said. "And, once that's for sure, we'll have some kids stop by and live with us for a while. If we decide that we want them to stay forever, we adopt them."

"Ok!" Izuku said, then gasped. "Are they going to stay in the spare room?"

'Yep," Dad said.

"Then I can put some of my All Might things in there-to make them feel better!" Izuku said, squirming a little and getting off Dad's lap. "Then they'll like me!" With that, he ran to his room-his old All Might blanket would be perfect for this, and he had some old figures in good condition that he could put in there! He'd make sure the room was perfect so his new sibling would feel welcome and be his friend!

…..

Hisashi smiled sadly as he watched his son run out to his room, then he turned to Inko.

"He's…certainly excited, but…" Hisashi said.

Inko sighed. "I know…I wish I could fix everything, but…we can't make the other kids like him. We can make home safe for him, though, just…what if the kids that come through are mean to him?"

"Then they can leave," Hisashi said, moving to give his wife a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "That's all there is to it."

Inko sighed, gently touching her stomach. "Any foster kid will already have prejudice…we can't just expect all of them to be fine…if only I could have a kid that we could raise not to hate Izuku…"

"It's not your fault, Inko," Hisashi said. "We can just…do our best. Have another kid and…we'll find the perfect one for our home."

…..

Izuku ran to his room, sobbing as he slammed the door shut, curling up against the door.

The new foster kid-the first one, Hikaru Gojo-had seemed nice at first. In front of Mom and Dad. He didn't seem to want to be Izuku's best friend, but best friends took time!

But then Dad had work. Mom stepped out to get groceries. Izuku and Hikaru had homework.

Immediately, Hikaru had turned to Izuku and told him that he hated him, and that would never change. That with his quirk, Starshine, Mom and Dad would be fawning over him and get rid of Izuku instead-after all, with such a cool quirk compared to not having one, which child would a parent choose?

That had been three days ago, and Hikaru kept this up. He tolerated Izuku in front of Mom and Dad, but when it was just the two of them, either walking to or from school, if they had even a second alone? It was a different story.

Today, Hikaru had turned to Izuku and used Starshine to hurt him-Starshine let him make small little stars that glowed a little bit, and they were sharp. Hikaru did this when Mom stepped outside to greet Dad coming back home from work, saying he'd say that Izuku cut himself on something else, say that he was seeking attention-

Izuku ran to his room, which…yeah.

Izuku sniffled, wiping at his eyes as he slowly got up, locked his door, and went to his computer, logging in and staring at the search bar for a minute.

Usually, he'd turn on his All Might video, but…

How long would Hikaru stay? Even if-no, when Izuku told Mom and Dad about this-would Hikaru stay for a few more days? Hurt Izuku for telling? What if they didn't believe Izuku?

Izuku looked up quirkless fighting. Even if Hikaru left right away, the next foster kid…might not be as nice, and while Izuku wasn't bleeding much, even a little bit of blood, cuts, bruises, were noticeable. Izuku had to have a way to defend himself.

There was a knock on his door.

"Izuku?" Mom asked. "Can I come in?"

Izuku paused. He should let Mom in, but…he needed to learn to defend himself.

"I'm coming in," Mom said, and Izuku quickly clicked on the favorite link of the All Might video as the door opened, and Mom came in.

"Izuku, what's-you're bleeding!" Mom said, quickly rushing over and grabbing one of Izuku's arms. "What-"

"Mom?" Izuku asked quietly.

"Yes?" Mom asked.

"Can…can Hikaru leave?" Izuku asked quietly.

Mom paused, then muttered a word he didn't know under her breath as she gently picked him up.

"Of course, sweetie-I'll call his social worker right after I get your arms taken care of," Mom said, walking over to the bathroom, but walking through the living room.

"Hey, Izuku, I got-why are you bleeding?!" Dad said, rushing over.

Mom pointed at a little device that they had added recently to the living room. "Why don't you check that? I'll be right back-and call Ms. Sakura, please."

"Why's he hurt?" Hikaru asked, slightly pale as he glared at Izuku. "You just went to your room-how did you even-"

"Stop. Talking," Mom said as she turned and walked out of the room and over to the bathroom.

…

"Why's she mad at me?" Hikaru asked with tears in his eyes. "There's no need to call Ms. Sakura because Izuku's bleeding, right?"

Hisashi felt his heart sink as he grabbed the Echo Show and flipped to one of the apps. Inko was out of the house for three minutes, so-

Hisashi went still, then turned and grabbed his phone, glaring at Hikaru as he showed him the recording of him using his quirk.

Hikaru went even more pale.

"Go pack your things-one of the first things we told you was that Izuku's our priority in foster placements-you just hurt him," Hisashi hissed, dialing the social worker. "There was no reason to use your quirk, and we don't tolerate that here-"

"Sakura Yamamoto here." The phone was answered immediately-good.

"Hisashi Midoriya here-can you please come pick up Hikaru Gojo-he's not welcome here anymore-I don't care what it takes, but I don't even want him here tonight," Hisashi said.

"...I see-may I ask why?" Ms. Sakura said.

"Come on, it's a misunderstanding," Hikaru said, stepping forward.

Hisashi pulled the phone away from his ear and glared at Hikaru. "Go. Pack. Your. Things." He put the phone back. "My son, Izuku, is bleeding because Hikaru decided to use his quirk on him."

"...I see," Ms. Sakura said. "I'll be over soon to grab him-do you have proof?"

"We keep a recording device in the living room-we had it installed in case of something like this," Hisashi said as Hikaru slowly left the room, heading over to his room-good. "I can cut the video and email it to you."

"That's a good idea," Ms. Sakura said. "I'll be over in thirty minutes." With that, she hung up.

Hisashi immediately walked over to Hikaru's room, peeking in through the open door to make sure the kid was packing-thankfully, he was, but he went to grab Izuku's All Might things-

"Those aren't yours," Hisashi said sharply, walking in and grabbing the blanket and figurines.

"You put them in here for me," Hikaru snapped.

"No, Izuku put them in here because he wanted his sibling to like him," Hisashi said.

Hikaru huffed, but finished packing quickly. "Don't see why you're defending him-he's just a quirkless freak-"

"He's my son," Hisashi said. "The first rule of the house is to not hurt any of us-and that includes Izuku-applies to him more than anything-"

"Because he's weak and defenseless-face it, he won't survive in the real world," Hikaru said. "He'll die, and you'll regret not having me as your kid instead."

"Keep telling yourself that-you can keep thinking that out of my house," Hisashi said.

….

Izuku should have been asleep a long time ago.

Ms. Sakura had stopped by and taken Hikaru away, and Izuku had been sent off to bed-he had school tomorrow, after all, although Mom and Dad said that he didn't have to go since he got hurt. He should still be asleep, though.

But…what if this happened again? What if he needed to defend himself? All Might couldn't come save him, and he wanted to be a hero. Heroes had to learn to fight, so maybe he could start now? But Mom would be sad if he asked. Dad would say he would always protect him.

But Dad wasn't there today. Dad wasn't there to stop the school bullies, either.

Slowly, too late for Izuku to be up, he crawled out of bed, locked his door, and logged into his computer, looking up quirkless fighting again.

Martial arts studios near him…they probably didn't accept quirkless people. Most wouldn't, trying to find a way around quirkless discrimination laws so he couldn't attend-plus, fees, and that led back to Mom and Dad. The next few links were to HeroTube videos to how to fighting videos-Izuku opened them, he can do those when he's home alone, not when he's supposed to be asleep. He kept scrolling through the links-

What's that?

Izuku clicked on the link. It was to a HeroTube video in English-a show that wasn't ancient, but not exactly new, either. It was from a show that came out before Izuku's parents were even born. Avatar: The Last Airbender. According to the video, there was a character in it named Ty Lee, who aimed for people's nerves to…paralyze them? Stop the in-universe version of quirks…

Was that even possible in the real world?

Izuku looked through the comments on the video, glad that the page was translated into Japanese for him. Something about…pressure points, quirk nerves…this was possible in the real world according to someone! But how…

Pressure points and quirk nerves sounded important, so Izuku should probably start there.

…

The second foster kid was…nicer than Hikaru was. She didn't use her quirk on Izuku.

So, Izuku tried to be nice. She didn't go to the same school, but the train station was nearby, and Izuku knew where it was, so he would help her get there. She didn't seem comfortable around him, though…she was gone after two weeks when she said something about Izuku's quirklessness being a sickness, so she didn't want to be around him and catch it.

It didn't bother Izuku…really, it didn't! He promises…

He's not sick, he knows that. He's just…not like the other kids.

He spent more time on his computer, using alone time to practice the moves he was learning, looking into pressure points-they were pretty much the same on people, but quirk nerves…if he hit those hard enough, he could turn off someone's quirk! Some people had more pro-min-ent ones than others, people who had quirks that worked all over their body! Like All Might! His quirk nerves are closer to his skin than Kacchan's! Kacchan has ones closer to his skin around his hands where he activates his quirk, but he still has them everywhere!

And Izuku doesn't have any at all…since he's quirkless and all.

But Izuku, if he hits hard enough in certain spots, can even use these quirk nerves to paralyze someone's arm, or leg, or all of them! And no one can do that to him! They can with regular pressure points, though, but everyone has regular pressure points! Izuku has an advantage here! So he has to learn how to use this as best as he can!

…

The third foster kid stayed for a month before Mom and Dad found out he was using his quirk on Izuku.

Izuku tried to tell them, he really did! But Minato was always there when Izuku wanted to talk to Mom and Dad, making him pretend that everything was alright.

Minato's quirk was so cool, too. It was called Black Cat, enhancing his speed, flexibility, perception, senses, and gave him claws…as it turned out, he also had really bad luck at times, which was how he got found out, Dad walking in and finding him gripping at Izuku's arm to make him bleed.

Minato was brought away fast, and his social worker said that Minato would be in big trouble for everything.

On the plus side, Izuku got a phone after that! Mom said that, if something ever went wrong with one of the kids and they tried to make him stay quiet again, to send either of them a fire emoji randomly, and they'd understand and find a way to pull him aside to ask. Easy enough! Plus, because he was seven now, he even got to have a smartphone! Mom made him promise not to talk to strangers and all, even telling him that he was added onto the unlimited plan, which meant Izuku could watch the martial arts videos outside of the house and practice! It was just a matter of where…

One day, after school, Izuku knew his Mom would be at her law firm working on a case, and Dad's Analyst hours were all over the place, so he could have gone home, but he didn't want to just yet! He needed a place to practice!

Izuku hummed as he wandered along, clutching his backpack straps as he looked around. That park was too busy…he could go play on the swings! No, focus-besides, Kacchan's there and hasn't noticed him yet-

Wait. Kacchan. Of course!

Izuku happily found his way over to the woods they used to play in-Kacchan started avoiding them after he fell in the river, and when Kacchan avoids it, his friends-lackies-avoid it, too, so Izuku will be fine to practice there!

So, Izuku found his way to the fence, staring at the hole in the fence-it was small-small enough for him to fit through at four years old, but he's seven now! He's a big boy! He's growing fast! And he's a little too big to fit through the hole in the fence.

Could he…cut the hole to be bigger? Bend the wires? They were flimsy, and this hole has been here for years-no one really cared about it…

Izuku grabbed onto the edge of the fence and tugged, tugged, tugged-he made the hole big enough! For now, at least…as he kept growing, he'd have to find somewhere else. It didn't matter right now, though! He had a place to practice!

Izuku squeezed through the gap and walked along. He had to get far enough so he could play the videos with the volume on and no one would bother him, but not so far that he'd get lost.

He walked for about five minutes before he found the old creek-it had a clearing on the other side-perfect!

Izuku carefully crossed the river on the log-it was strong, but…this place was only temporary, when he got older, he'd have to find somewhere else. Or he could cross the river through the water! It felt deep now, but when he got older, it wouldn't be so deep! But the hole in the fence…

He can figure it out later! For now, time to get the martial arts thing down!

….

Izuku fell into a routine after that. When there was no foster kid, after school, he would head to the small forest nearby, finding new videos on his phone at night to practice-he also found this fun thing called parkour! It was usually done on buildings, and underground heroes did it-of course, Izuku couldn't use buildings, but there's an old skatepark around here to practice on! He could try that.

But there was one thing he was struggling with.

He was working really hard on the quirk nerves thing, but he knew on paper what he should do. He didn't actually know how to do those punches or how much force to put behind it…if he didn't put enough force into it, it wouldn't do anything, and too much could cause extreme pain, which…would help keep him safe, but he didn't want extreme pain, just enough to knock someone's quirk out of commission! So he had to find an in-between point…

Routine, right. When there were foster kids over the years-none staying longer than a month, all leaving because of Izuku-Izuku would walk to and from school with them, trying to be friendly, doing his best…at least, he was at first, but…the bullies weren't the only ones leaving scars now. Every new scar, scratch, bruise…his Mom and Dad weren't happy about it.

There came a point when…

"Hi!" Izuku said, smiling at the latest foster kid, a boy his age named Hitoshi Shinsou. Izuku didn't hold out his hand, just smiling as he sized this boy up. They were both ten years old, and the other boy looked…tired.

"Hi," the boy said, looking Izuku up and down.

"HItoshi, this is Izuku, Izuku, this is Hitoshi," Mom said, sighing-she was probably already wondering when she would be calling Hitoshi's social worker.

"Nice to meet you, Hitoshi!" Izuku said, then looked at his Mom. "Want me to show him around?"

"Yes, please," Mom said. "I'm getting started on supper-I'm making udon, that alright with you, Hitoshi?"

"...that sounds good," Hitoshi said.

"I'm glad!" Mom said, then waved the two off. "Let me know if you need anything, alright?"

"Ok, Mom!" Izuku said, then turned to Hitoshi. "Your room is over by mine-do you like All Might?"

"Eh, I'm more of an Eraserhead fan," Hitoshi said, then paused and sighed. "Right, you probably don't-"

"Oh, he's so cool!" Izuku said-oh, he hopes this one turns out to be nice, even if he's one of those kids that pretends for a while before giving up and asking to leave. "Underground hero that can turn off your quirk, I've always had a few questions about him-he uses a white scarf that seems more like a support item than anything-his takedown rate is insane, although there's no official report since he's an underground hero and doesn't exactly advertise that kind of thing, many villains are afraid of him-oh, sorry about that, that's a bad habit of mine-forgive me."

"Are you always this talkative?" Hitoshi asked.

"Eh, I try not to be," Izuku said as they rounded a corner, and, from experience, Izuku knew that they were far enough away from Mom that she couldn't hear him. "You don't even need to talk to me if you don't want, but there is something you should know."

"Hmm?" Hitoshi asked.

"Mom and Dad's first rule is that no one gets hurt here-you hurt me, you're immediately gone," Izuku said. "One time, the social worker said she'd be here in the morning, so Dad took the other kid to a hotel for the night. It's a nice house, though-you'll always get three meals a day, Mom and Dad really want another kid to love and care for, but if you have boundaries, they respect that. You'll never not be loved here, and your quirk doesn't matter, the three of us don't care-heroic, so-called 'villainous,' no quirk at all, be kind and you'll stick around."

"Ok," Hitoshi said. "But there's a catch. There's always a catch."

"Don't hurt anyone," Izuku said. "And if I don't like you, Mom and Dad will send you to the next family."

"And, let me guess, you don't like anyone," Hitoshi said.

"No one likes me," Izuku said, glancing at him. "I'm quirkless."

Hitoshi instantly tensed at that, and Izuku shrugged, gesturing at his room.

"That's your room," Izuku said. "My room has my name plaque on the door-when I'm in there, I usually lock my door, and Mom and Dad have a key and come in pretty much whenever they want, but please don't come into my room-they won't go into your room if you don't want them too, and I won't, either." He sighed, looking at Hitoshi. "If you decide you want to leave, go ahead, but if you want to stay, at least pretend around them that we get along, and tolerate me when they aren't around. No bruises, cuts, new scars, and please no insults."

"...that's a very low bar," Hitoshi said.

"And if you meet it, you'll be the first-I've had foster siblings since I was six, and I'm ten," Izuku said, then shrugged. "What school do you go to?"

"I'm transferring to whichever one you go to," Hitoshi said.

"Aldera Elementary," Izuku said. "Which means having to deal with me during school hours-I eat lunch alone, don't have any friends, so don't expect my help there."

"Wasn't planning on making friends, anyway," Hitoshi said.

"Huh, got it-the rooftop is accessible, then, if you want to eat lunch there-Mom packs us bentos when she can, but she's a lawyer, Dad's a quirk Analyst, so hours between the two get weird-sometimes they'll be here all week, other times we won't see them all week. Dad also goes on work trips from time to time, he was gone for three years when I was really little. Mom's occasionally gone, too, not for that long, but if that happens…well, it's never happened with a foster kid around, so I doubt you'll be the first."

"Got it," Hitoshi said, then stepped into his room.

"Mom will call us when dinner's ready," Izuku said as his phone buzzed. He looked at it-oh, cool, news notification-wait, Present Mic!? "That's my cue to head to my room-let me know if you have any questions-no school tomorrow, so you don't have to worry about that, but when there is school, we'll walk together or something." With that, Izuku turned and walked to his room.

…

…this wasn't what Hitoshi was expecting.

Either way, he walked into his new room, closing the door and unpacking his things. He didn't have much-

What was that?

On the desk sat an All Might figurine-was that why Izuku had asked if he liked All Might? Did Inko or Hisashi leave it here…did Izuku? Is this a test? Is he supposed to…give it back? That sounds like a smart idea…maybe later, though.

For now, Hitoshi took out his phone and started scrolling through an underground hero forum.

Chapter One is done! Thoughts?

This fic is going to be kinda short, I'm aiming for about ten chapters, but…I mean, I'm bad at sticking to that, so…yeah.