Izuku explains some of the things they figured out about themselves. And more repercussions of the shared Quirks appear!
"So…you um…you learned something about yourself last night?" Ochako asked, just making sure she understood correctly.
Izuku nodded, rubbing the back of his, no, their head. "I-I think so? I'm not really sure though. It's all brand new a-and I don't know how I feel yet but it also…feels right? Sort of? I don't really know for sure."
"Well, we still got time before anyone else joins us in the dorms, right? So um…we can just…try it out? And you can change your mind at any time?" Ochako offered. It wasn't something she was fully familiar with, but Izuku wouldn't be the first person she knew who felt like they weren't the gender they were at birth, so it wasn't that difficult to translate in her head. She turned to look at Himiko, the blonde teen having been very quiet the entire time. She could almost feel Izuku's nervousness at how little Himiko had said, ever since Izuku had sat them down and tried to explain what they had learned last night.
Of course, neither Ochako nor Izuku was prepared to see Himiko pouting, her arms crossed over her chest and brow furrowed as she glared at Izuku. Izuku gulped, worry visible on their face as they shrunk in on themselves. "...i-is that a bad thing, Himi?"
Himiko looked stricken for a moment, as if Izuku had struck her before her eyes went wide as she realized what her expression might imply. She quickly shook her head in negation. "No, of course not! I'm just a bit…well, upset isn't the right word, but like, annoyed at myself? Because you figured something out about my Quirk that I didn't even think of!"
"I mean, I think it really only works because of One For All's influence, to be fair, we tried when you were little and it didn't, but I thought that with the enhancements…" Izuku trailed off, gesturing helplessly at the air.
"Still! It's like…you were having a crisis and still figured out something new! I just…sometimes I'm jealous of your brain, Izu," Himiko said, offering a wide smile to show she wasn't actually upset.
Izuku chuckled, feeling slightly better about their current confusion. Huh. Their. Thinking about themselves that way…kinda felt good. Even if they still weren't sure what the right term to use was. They were interrupted by Himiko turning to fully face them, her hands in her lap.
"So…you want us to use they/them for you, then?" She asked, just to confirm. Izuku nodded hesitantly. It was so new they weren't entirely sure, but…they felt like they could trust Ochako and Himiko with this, as a sort of trial run. Himiko nodded in return. "Okay. So like…you got a term you feel too? Or is it like, still unsure?"
Izuku shrugged. "I'm still not sure if non-binary or agender fits better, or even if it's one of those? I um, looked up a lot of stuff but still haven't really nailed down how I feel about it yet. I just wanna try this out, if that's okay?"
"Of course!" the girls chorused, nodding vigorously. Izuku flushed at how well they took it, but couldn't help but feel a bit elated at how easily it went over.
Izuku swallowed thickly. "For now, can we um…keep it between us? I know Mom'd be fine with it, but like, since I'm not sure yet I don't wanna tell her yet? A-And I think Toshinori would, but same reason, you know?"
"We won't tell a soul till you tell us to, right Himi?" Ochako said, looking at Himiko for confirmation.
"Course not! It's just between us, until you're ready or make a different decision or something!" Himiko said. Izuku breathed out a sigh of relief. Only to have to leap back in their seat with a startled squeak as Himiko shoved her finger in the green-haired teens face. "But now that that's settled, you're gonna show me how you did that whole self-transformation thing!"
"...right."
For all of Izuku's worries, not only was the whole switch to they/them seamless amongst the trio, it genuinely felt right. Izuku still wasn't sure what term fit them, but for now they went with non-binary since it seemed simple enough. And it was going so well…they chose to come out to their mom. Which went really well, Inko accepting it without argument. Emboldened, they'd followed the same pattern…Toshinori, who simply clapped them on the shoulder and proclaimed as long as they were happy, he was. Aizawa, who shrugged and made a note on their class sheet about the altered pronouns. The other teachers they'd run across (Midnight, Cementoss, Present Mic), each one adjusting without issue.
Izuku…really appreciated that. Not that they expected anyone to be too terrible about it, society was pretty good about those things in today's day and age, but…they couldn't forget how society treated Quirklessness, so they weren't exactly keen on finding out how well they handled this. At least their school seemed supportive, and they'd been informed by Toshinori that the school had a strict no intolerance policy around anything of the sort, so they had no reason to be worried.
But things weren't all sunshine and roses for them, much less Himiko or Ochako. Quirk training was going great. They kept getting stronger and stronger, each of them expected to breach twenty percent by the time classes started, and Izuku was likely going to be nearly at 25. Six weeks of intense training with experts really seemed to be working out for them.
But for some reason, at night, all those feelings Izuku would shove down into a safe and lock away, all those clawing, choking feelings of inadequacy and disappointment, would rear their ugly heads and rip and tear at them from the inside. Some nights they barely slept at all, their skin tingling, their head pounding, tears flooding silently from their eyes as they tried desperately to keep quiet so the girls wouldn't notice.
Sometimes their stomach ached, feelings of guilt and shame that felt unfamiliar tearing through them. Sometimes it was a desperate self-loathing, the word 'monster' repeating in their head. Sometimes Izuku would want to reach for their blades and barely be able to resist, hating that they were even there, but they hadn't been able to leave them behind.
Maybe the girls weren't taking it as well as Izuku thought either. Four weeks in, they'd found themselves standing outside Ochako's doom room door, desperate to just…feel something other than the pain, only to be surprised by Himiko's door creeping open and her amber eyes meeting theirs in the dark, confusion and pain evident.
The door to Ochako's room slid open, the brunette staring at the two before her, eyes red and puffy. The logical part of Izuku's brain was already adding things together, putting the pieces together one by one to notice how much more extreme they felt, how they could see their pain in their heart reflected in the eyes of the other two…but that part was drowned out by a desperate need to just be together.
They collapsed onto Ochako's bed in a tangle of limbs and clothes, the blanket pulled up as an afterthought as the trio snuggled in together. The pull was desperate, blinding, clinging and cloying, but the feeling of them in their arms had Izuku nearly sobbing in relief. Izuku curled around Ochako's form, their slightly taller body molding to her back as Ochako had pulled Himiko into her arms, the blonde wrapped up with her. Himiko's one hand had entangled Izuku's fingers, the other one trapped between the girl's bodies. Izuku's other arm was being desperately clung to by Ochako, as if she feared they'd vanish in the dark.
Izuku knew they had to discuss this in the morning. Something was very, very wrong. Even at their lowest, they rarely if ever felt this desperate, this needy, this hurt. And this pull, this need to be together, it was concerning and probably unhealthy…but right now they did not care. For the first time in weeks, they felt warmth flood into their body, into their bones, chasing away a chill they hadn't even realized was there. Considering the soft sighs they heard from Ochako, relief evident in her voice, and the gentle breathy purrs coming from Himiko, they could only assume the other two felt the same. It was a conversation for the morning…for now, Izuku would sleep, the first good sleep they'd gotten in weeks.
When Himiko woke in the morning, the first thing she felt was warm, and she felt herself purring as she curled into the soft warmth in front of her. She'd always felt a bit cold, and now this delicious warmth was right there. She never wanted to leave it. A weird sensation in her ear made her grumble though, like air blowing across it. She felt her ear twitch, and the annoyance was enough she grumpily opened one slitted eye to glare at what was causing it.
Which…was what? All she could see was fabric, gently sloped fabric…her mind finally catching up, she blinked open her eyes to realize she was curled into Ochako's chest, the brunette still asleep as far as Himiko could tell. She probably should feel awkward, since her face was practically buried in Ochako's chest, but honestly at this point she didn't care. Ochako was the one who pulled her in so, that was good enough for her. But dammit, that air that kept whistling into her ear periodically was getting really annoying.
She shimmied in place a bit, twisting herself to glance behind to see if Izuku was there, but…wait, no, they were on the other side of Ochako, their long-sleeve covered arm haphazardly tossed over Ochako's waist and resting on her side, her fingers entwined with theirs. The pressure of their hand felt nice, comforting, but if they were there and Ochako was in front of her, what was causing the air to hit her ear? She felt her ear twitch again at the sensation…only for it to occur to her that ears don't twitch.
She quickly untangled her hand from Izuku's and slid her fingers up the side of her head, expecting to find her ear and…not? But, she clearly could hear, and her ear was twitch…oh fuck no. She slid her hand up further and further, to the top of her skull and felt something fuzzy poking out of her hair. With a gentle tap, she felt the reverberation in her ear and panicked.
Leaping out of bed, she scurried over to the mirror Ochako had on her desk, feeling weirdly off-balance as she went. She ignored the grumbles from Izuku and Ochako, who reacted to her sudden response with annoyed groans, nearly skidding across the floor in front of the desk and staring at the mirror and "Oh…my…god," she breathed out.
"Himi? Waz wrong? C'mon back to bed," Ochako grumbled, patting at the bed with her eyes still closed.
Himiko spun about, eyes wide, and felt her gaze following the trail her hand had taken, up Ochako's face to the crown of her skull and…yep. Those were cat ears sticking out of the top of her hair. Her eyes trailed past the still half-asleep Ochako to see Izuku blinking blearily at her, green-furred ears atop their head. She noticed their eyes trailing up her head, the bleariness clearing a moment later as they seemed to spy the same thing she had. Izuku's jaw dropped, and they began to shake Ochako's shoulder.
"'M sleepin'!" she whined, trying to snuggle her head back into the pillow further.
"...you're gonna want to wake up for this, 'Chako," Izuku murmured, their hand tentatively tapping at Ochako's new cat ear. The brunette flinched, her face twisting at the odd sensation, blinking open annoyed eyes.
"What?" she growled, annoyed. Ochako was very much not a morning person, as Izuku and Himiko were aware, but this felt like something important.
Izuku smiled sheepishly, gesturing the top of their head and then back at Himiko, Ochako following their gesture one by one. It was almost comical, how she didn't seem to notice at first, before her gaze suddenly sharpened, sitting upright in bed and staring in jaw-dropped shock. After a moment, she swallowed thickly and reached up to the top of her head, patting at it until she located the ears. She shivered slightly at the sensation, turning to look at Himiko a second later. After a moment where she noticed the ears, her gaze drifted downward and she just…stared.
"...'Chako?" Himiko asked, now nervous as to why Ochako was staring at her…waist? Wordlessly, Ochako reached beneath the blankets and began patting around for something, her cheeks flushing a second later as she froze, apparently finding what she was looking for. With a visible gulp, she pulled the blankets off her, revealing a brown, furry…rope? Resting across her waist…which twitched, a moment later. Himiko's brain put two and two together, and she glanced down…seeing the golden furred tail now twitching by her feet.
Izuku hopped out of bed and began spinning about, looking over their shoulder to try and catch a glimpse of the dark-green furred tail that was now visibly poking out of their shorts. After a few futile twists, they seemed to realize how it looked and their shoulders slumped. "Okay. Um…that's…new," Izuku managed to get out.
"...we're actually cats now. We are actual cat people. What the fuck?" Ochako exclaimed, all traces of sleepiness gone as she fell back on the bed, covering her face with her gloved hands.
"...there's something else," Izuku began, drawing the attention of the two girls to them. "Last night, um…I realized that uh, maybe…well, you know how like, everything was just too much last night and it was very extreme?" Himiko nodded, having thought it was weirdly painful even for her own feelings but having dismissed it. She noticed Ochako shrugging helplessly in the bed, refusing to look up but still listening. Izuku cleared their throat. "Well, um…I think we might be sharing emotions too? Some of what I felt didn't feel like my feelings, if that makes sense?"
Himiko felt everything in her crashing down. This…this was all her fault, it was her dumb quirk that- "Himiko!" Ochako's voice snapped Himiko out of the spiral she had begun falling into, turning to see the unamused glare Ochako was giving her, followed by her turning that same glare to Izuku, the green-haired teenager looking as stricken as Himiko felt. "Izu's probably right, because what I just felt was not my feelings, that's for damn sure. And I don't think I know how to deal with this right now either, I'm all sorts of confused and twisted up, but I'm not going to sit here while you two wallow in self-pity and self-blame! I already know you're thinking those stupid thoughts about it being your fault, and Izu's doing the same, and I am sick of it!" her voice rose to a loud growl, barely below a scream, making both Himiko and Izuku flinch away from her for a moment as they could now feel the anger seeping through, now that they knew what was going on they could sense it.
Ochako took a deep, bracing breath, the anger simmering and slowly easing off. "Quirks are bullshit. We know this. We all chose to drink your blood, Himi. We were a buncha dumb kids, but we still chose to. And how was Izu supposed to know what One For All would do to it? How was anyone? It's a bunch of weird stuff at once and it's no one's fault and I hate when you two do this! It hurts me too, you know? Not because of me feeling what you feel, but because I don't like seeing you hurting!"
She slumped back in the bed, staring blankly up at the ceiling. "...I'm weirded out by all the changes, and I don't like feeling like my body isn't mine. I wanna get to the bottom of this. But that all said," she sat up once more and made sure to meet both Himiko and Izuku's eyes, "I don't really mind it. I-I like being close to you guys, like this, you know? And sharing Quirks is fun, and cool, and I feel super powerful with you guys beside me, you know? So yeah…some of it isn't great, and it's like, frustrating and weird at times, but…the rest of it is really cool to me. So like, let's just talk to the teachers and figure out what all's going on, okay?"
Silence filled the room for a moment, Ochako's stern expression shifting to one of worry as she thought she might have upset the other two…but those thoughts were thrown out of her mind as she felt herself being tackled back into the bed by Himiko, Izuku sitting down next to them a moment later and wrapping their arms around the other two. Izuku managed to speak, their voice thick with tears. "...thanks, 'Chako. You always know how to cut through the bullshit."
Himiko just nodded into Ochako's neck, her new cat ears rubbing against Ochako's face with a tickling, featherlight touch. Himiko did not realize what the brunette was planning on doing, until a moment later when tentative fingers brushed over the shell of her ear and making her melt into Ochako's arms. She felt boneless almost, as Ochako seemed to find her confidence, pressing more firmly, only to find herself losing all sense of worry when a new hand pressed against her other ear.
She felt the rumbling bubbling up out of her, a loud genuine purr echoing through the room and making both hands on her ears freeze for a brief moment, long enough for her brain to catch onto what was going on. With blood rushing to her face, she jolted upright and away from their hands, narrowing her eyes at her two friends. "Oh…you're gonna pay for that," she swore, seeing both of them staring at her with wide-eyed apprehension. She gave them no time to react, lunging forward and clapping her own hands on top of their heads, instantly rubbing at their ears and internally giggling at how she witnessed both of them melt into her hands like putty. Okay…this she could get used to.
"Alright. I am…95% certain these should be the last changes you go through," Recovery Girl announced as she read over the report sent back to them from a discrete Quirk research facility Nezu apparently owned. She flipped the page, scanning over the next one, nodding at it. "The researchers believe there is a chance of a further minor mutation, but it appears that it mostly reached the full possibility with Himiko's cat mutation. Anything further would be something like whiskers or claws. But you should remain without fur beyond what's on your ears and tails."
Ochako breathed a sigh of relief. For all her words in the morning, she still didn't really like being forcibly changed like this. Not that it didn't have its benefits, she mused, her cheeks going pink at the thought of how long the trio had ended up toying with one another's ears before actually going to speak to Toshinori. Her attention was dragged back to Recovery Girl, who was continuing to read from the report.
"Instincts will likely begin to filter into your actions though. Nothing overwhelming, they say it shouldn't override your sense of reason, but you may find yourselves feeling well…more like a cat. Things like seeking warmth, grooming behaviors, etcetera. Once again, you should keep your sense of reason just fine, but it will impact you subtly, or so the researchers believe," Recovery girl snapped the file shut, sliding it across the desk towards Izuku, as they seemed to be most interested in it.
"Problem children, the lot of you," Aizawa sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Sorry sir," Izuku said, dropping their head in shame.
Aizawa sighed again. "I don't blame any of you, it's clearly beyond your control. Quirks are bullshit. It'll be fine, Midoriya, don't beat yourself up over it. We have two more weeks before classes start. We'll work on training your fused Quirks and whatever instincts show up so you're prepared."
"...what if I keep notes on when one of those instincts shows up? M-maybe we can be better prepared if we know what they are?" Izuku offered, thinking aloud.
Aizawa nodded, looking slightly impressed. "Good thinking. Can you two do the same?" he asked, turning to glance at Himiko and Ochako.
Himiko scratched the back of her head. "I'll try, but I think some of them were um…already there for me? Since it's originally part of my Quirk."
"Good point. Just take note of anything out of the ordinary then. And you, Uraraka?"
"Can do, sir!" Ochako replied, nodding fervently. She sounded more confident than she felt…she never was the best at introspection, and she tended to live in the moment, but with Izuku and Himiko's help, she felt like she could keep up.
"Good. Take the day off training. It'll be good for you to get used to the changes. Yagi may come to check on you later, once he's back from his duties, but for now, we'll start training back up first thing tomorrow morning. Got it?"
The trio nodded along, excusing themselves as they started to walk back to the dorm. Walking was a bit weird now…the tail threw her balance off, but it also seemed to automatically correct it? It really seemed to have a mind of its own at times, and she wasn't sure how she felt about it. Especially since they had to tailor their clothes to let the tails fit. Luckily, Ochako was pretty handy with needle and thread (she had to fix her own clothes a lot) and Izuku had an entire sewing kit in their room (she still wondered why when they said they didn't really sew), so they'd been able to make do.
Nezu had apparently already called for a tailor specializing in clothing for mutants who would be stopping by to help fix up their clothing and give them options for future wear, which she wasn't looking forward to but felt like she had no real choice. Then again, that seemed to be her daily experience lately.
Hiding food from Izuku and Himiko was difficult. More than it had ever been back at home. They always wanted to eat together, and they were both way more observant than she wished they were. It had gotten so bad she'd nearly thrown up by the end of the first week, she felt so bloated and full. But she'd started to find ways…excusing herself early, finding ways to slip food under the table and then clean it up before they noticed, skipping out on snacks when they watched movies together. It wasn't perfect, but she'd still kept it down to a level she could manage. Because she was fine, she really didn't need this much, she was fine. Yeah, money wasn't an issue at UA, but she was okay without too much anyways! She didn't need that much, she just needed to train harder is all.
Didn't matter that she felt so cold, that she kept feeling like she might black out at random if she moved too quickly, or that training sometimes made her feel like she was going to just pass out. She was fine.
It was fine, really. So what if she hated taking a shower because she felt like she could physically see the food seeping into her form. It was fine, she was fine, she was just controlling and eating healthy, that's all. She got plenty of calories from the blood she had to drink anyways (wait how many calories were in blood). She didn't need to worry about that, it was okay. She was fine. They had more important things to focus on right now. She would be fine.
You know, I was really hoping I wouldn't have to write this note, and most people were quite happy with my story choices for Izuku. But some people failed to understand some important things, so I'm going to lay them out real quick.
I write for MYSELF, first and foremost. Every time. I choose to share my tales with others, just in case they might enjoy it, but at the end of the day the story is for me first. And for those who don't know, I'm neither straight nor cis. So here's what you should expect in my stories...a metric fuckton of GAY. Yep, in big bold beautiful rainbow letters. Gay gay homosexual gay, the chemicals in the water are turning the frogs gay, its a whole thing. This is what I like to write, and thusly this is what you're going to get. If that's not your jam, hey, that's fine. No worries. But don't expect me to change my plans or be receptive to commentary about how its 'too much' or how much you dislike the idea.
So my nonbinary ass wanted to write a nonbinary Izuku, and so, there you go. That's what you're gonna get here. And that's all there is to it.