Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

1417 words

Izuku Pov:

Izuku couldn't remember a time when his father was around and his mother wasn't neglectful, but he knew it had existed.

It had all started at age five. Everyone around him had started to develop quirks, and he had yet to get his.

“When I grow up, I’m gonna be a hero, just like All Might!” He cried joyfully as his mother stared down at him, face full of disdain.

“You need a quirk to be a hero, Izuku. And you don't have one.” She said flatly, tone bordering on annoyance, as if he were the scum of the earth.

“But Papa says I'll get one any day!”

She just rolled her eyes to that and went back to ignoring his presence completely.

Izuku didn't care what mommy said. He would get a quirk and would be a hero! He was strong. He went back to playing with his All Might figurines, ignoring the pang of hunger in his stomach.

Izuku’s father had been right after all. A week or so later, he began to get a.. different pang of.. hunger? Thirst? His head had begun to pound, feeling his heart beat quicker and quicker, a searing pain in has mouth like a severe toothache. The urge to bite something was overwhelming, so in an attempt to soothe his aching jaw, he bit down on the dirty rag on the floor of his bedroom.

As he sank his teeth down, the pain began to be relieved. Until it came back tenfold as soon as he sank all the way down onto the cloth.

Shouting out, he scrambled backwards towards the door, looking for his mom. When he couldn't find her, he ran to the bathroom, searching for a first aid kit.

After retrieving the small case from under the cabinet, he placed it on the floor and stood atop it to peek at himself in the bathroom mirror, hoping to assess the damage only to jump back in surprise.

Fangs?! He had small, sharp, pointy teeth like the dog he had seen down the street that morning. His quirk had come in! He smiled brightly, only to wince at the bout of pain that overtook him.

Head reeling, he reached his wrist towards his mouth, chomping down on the pale, freckled flesh that covered his throbbing veins.

Eyes closing in euphoria, he lapped at the blood which began to trickle into his mouth. It tasted so sweet, like a toffee apple, or those green apple lollipops daddy gave him sometimes when mommy wasn't looking.

Pulling away, he realised that the pain in his veins had subsided, but a new ache began in his wrist.

Stepping off the medicine box, he fiddled with the zip using his good hand until he managed to get it open, grabbing some antiseptic and rubbing it over his burning flesh.

Hissing at the pain, he reached for a bandage, trying his best to wrap it tight. He didn't do a great job so he secured it with a paper clip, trying hard not to jolt his arm too much.

Small tears dripped down his face, carving a line of pain down his cheeks. Until mommy got home, he would watch All Might videos. They always cheered him up! All Might was the best.

Sniffling, he put away the first aid kit, waddling over to the computer.

Inko Pov:

After a long shift at the hospital, she was EXHAUSTED. She just wanted to put her feet up, wait for her husband to get his ass home, drink a glass of wine and go to bed.

She pulled her boots off of her sore feet, groaning at the feeling. She hung up her keys on the hook and put her bag down on the bench by the door, sighing as she heard the unmistakable voice of All Might shouting “I AM HERE!” in the distance.

She wouldn't be relaxing after all it seemed.

Making her way over to the computer, she gasped.
Izuku had turned around to look at her. And his face… was an exact replica of All Might’s expression!

“Mommy!” Izuku yelled, “I got my quirk! Daddy was right!”

His face returned to normal, as a small pile of grey sludge slid to the floor. Great, more cleanup. She couldn't stay mad at him though, he'd finally developed a quirk after all. Any longer and she would've given up on him.

“Oh my gosh, hunny! That's amazing! Come sit down! I’ll make us some dinner. What do you want to eat, my little hero?”

“Katsudon! Please..?” He whispered, unsure.

“Of course, my prince.”

Soon they were sat down at the barstools, enjoying bowls of katsudon, Izuku beginning to explain what had happened, showing Inko his new fangs, which she recoiled at, seemingly disgusted at the fact that he had drank his own blood, although she quickly masked it.

She called Hizashi and made plans for him to go to a quirk consultant the next day, regarding the limitations of his quirk.

Up bright and early the next day, they visited the quirk councillor Hizashi had contacted. Inko wasn't stupid. She knew she was married to a man of great power. He had many connections and a dark past, but she wasn't going to say anything about it if he didn't.

As long as heroes didn't start knocking at her door, she couldn't care less what her husband did when he was gone and he didn't need to know what she did when he was gone either.

Flushing red hot at the memory, she tried to focus on what the consultant was saying, something about leaving izuku for a few tests. She left promptly after that, looking forward to getting to know Shimamura Taisuke a little better.

Speaking of, what would she do? It was obvious that izuku wasn't Hizashi’s son. His quirk was nothing remotely close to fire breathing. She shuddered. He would kill her for cheating on him. She needed to think and fast.

Izuku Pov:

When his mother had left, the doctor began drawing blood tests.

“Here, Midoriya. Drink this, and think of yourself with red eyes” the man called Kyudai Garaki told him calmly.

Confused, he did so, struggling to imagine his own face differently. The man seemed pleased however.

“Interesting.” Kyudai mused, handing Izuku a mirror. Wow! His eyes were a faint brownish red, not quite what he had tried to imagine, but certainly not green anymore.

The doctor gave him a few more instructions, such as having him drink different amounts of blood to see if it affected how long he could stay transformed (which it did), drinking other people's blood to see if he reacted the same way to those (it worked better!) and if he could change other people's appearances, which he could but only if all 5 fingers touched them and he drank their blood.

He also took a look at the wound left on his arm from the bite and swabbed his fangs which determined that his saliva was effectively like that of a mosquito; causing an itchy feeling but his bite would heal fine without antibiotics.

He soon discovered that too much blood made him loopy and lightheaded and not enough made that pounding in his head come back. He would have to drink it for the rest of his life. A manic freak.

Although he was grateful for his quirk, he couldn't help but think; how would he be a hero? His quirk would be utterly useless on a battlefield. Maybe everyone was right, he should just give up. His daddy didn't seem to like heroes anyways and his mommy seemed indifferent.

Could he really give up?

A few hours later, after Garaki had updated his file with quirk information and drawn enough blood to make him ‘hungry’ again, his mother came to pick him up and drop him off before heading to her shift at the hospital.

By now, his dressing had a soft red seeping through the thin layers of wrapping which needed changing so he slunk back to the bathroom, grabbed new bandages and began to get ready for bed. School was tomorrow and boy was he excited to tell Kacchan that he got a quirk! Maybe he’d even stop picking on him and calling him deku!

That could wait though. For now, all he could do was drift off into the abyss of sleep, dreaming of all the people he hoped to save.

Chapter Text

1973 words

When Izuku arose the next day, Inko was already gone. He began to get ready in excited silence, staring at his fangs in the mirror as he brushed his teeth.

Everyone would be so excited about his new quirk!

He pulled on his red trainers and grabbed his backpack before leaving, locking the door behind him.

The walk to school was peaceful. The spring air was calming, cherry blossoms swirling through the park, green fields with a rainbow of vibrant coloured flowers. Izuku would have loved to sit and marvel in its beauty on any other day.

He made it to school early, struggling to push open the large, heavy door to the building.

“Oh, good morning Izuku you're early! Would you like to help me out?” His kindergarten teacher called over to him, smiling brightly.

That is until Izuku ran over a similar toothy smile on his face.

“Oh my goodness!” She cried out, hand flying to her mouth. “F-Fangs?”

“Yeah! I got my quirk!” Izuku shouted, jumping up and down excitedly, red shoes scraping across the colourful carpets.

“O-Oh, how w-wonderful!” She cried out, backing away slowly. “Stay there! Just.. sit down and wait for your classmates to arrive.”

Izuku sat down on the spotted carpet, tugging softly at the fluff, drawing little pictures into the rug. Humming softly to himself, he missed the looks his teacher was giving him as she pressed buttons on her rotary phone.

Soon enough, other children began to filter into the classroom, chattering about their weekends at the fair or visiting a local art gallery. That is until Kacchan walked in, gaining everyone's attention.

“What are you losers looking at?” He scoffed proudly.

“Kacchan! I got my quirk!” Izuku exclaimed, scrambling to his feet. “Look, I have fangs and I can drink blood like a vampire, although I can't be a vampire because I don't burn in the sun, I tested it, although you can probably tell becau-”

“SHUT UP DEKU!” Kacchan yelled, face red, eyes squinting viciously. “You think you're better than me because you have some villainous blood quirk? As if! You’ll always be a deku!”

And with that, he stomped away, immediately followed by his lackeys who reassured him of his greatness.

Wiping his eyes, Izuku smiled wobbly and retook his seat on the floor, whimpering like a wounded puppy. No matter what Kacchan thought of his quirk, he would become a hero! He had to. He really couldn't imagine himself becoming anything else.

Soon, he was being dismissed from school, without his mother present as usual (against the law, but who cared when he could possibly have been quirkless and they didn't seem set on changing their ways anytime soon.)

As he walked across the red, wooden bridge over a shimmering aqua pond, he couldn't help but stop and marvel in its beauty.

The water, a beautiful blue, sparkled in the afternoon sunlight, rays bouncing off at an angle which seemed to create a thousand rainbow sparks, flickering just above the water.

Lilypads bobbed above the ripples in the water, like miniature lifeboats, rescuing the delicate lilies which sat atop the green plants like a glass ornament, to be looked at and never touched by many children.

Koi fish swam under the shallow surface, a stark contrast to the smooth grey pebbles under their flickering orange tails, glinting in the summer sun.

They were so cute, Izuku felt entranced. He walked round to the side of the pond, dipping his feet in before sitting down at the edge.

The cold water felt amazing on his skin, soothing an itch he didn't know he was feeling, although in hindsight it was obvious that it had been creeping up his entire body, flushing his skin.

He dipped his hand into the pond, letting the ripples of the water soothe his nerves.

Before long, a small koi fish began to nibble gently at his hand, tickling him softly. Giggling, he inched his fingers towards it, before grasping it clumsily and plucking it out of the water.

The fish squirmed in his hands, thrashing almost painfully against his squishy grip on the animal until Izuku brought the fish to his lips and bit through the side of the Koi.

Immediately, it ceased its flopping, although Izuku didn't seem to mind, blushing and humming to himself as he drained the fish of its blood.

He licked his fangs clean and smiled before wrapping the adorable fish into a tissue and carefully placing it in his bag to take home.

Skipping back across the bridge, he made his way down the pebbled path through the forest.

On his way home, everything seemed a little more blurry and colourful, the light irritating his eyes although he couldn't bring himself to feel frustrated by it, considering the utter euphoria he felt deep in his soul.

The birds chirping felt loud in his ears and the bumping of his bag against his back was enough to make him feel the need to throw up, contrasting with how at peace he felt.

Little did he know, elsewhere, a little girl was experiencing a similar rush of mania.

Himiko Pov:

Himiko sat in her back garden, enjoying the warmth of the summer sun. The birds chirped above her head as the soft, pink clouds floated up above.

She hummed to herself softly, closing her eyes and enjoying the gentle still of the world. Her mama and papa were inside the house, escaping the heat and probably her as well.

Himiko could hear a dog barking in the distance and the familiar sound of glass breaking. She wondered what had happened. Why was the doggy barking? What happened to the glass?

She was snapped out of her thoughts at the sound of a soft, methodical patting at the edge of the tree she was leaning against.

Opening her eyes, she saw a small sparrow, scratching at the decking.

Gently, she reached her hand out to scoop the little birdie up into her hands, placing her other hand over the bird's back so it couldn't escape.

The sparrow cheeped softly as himiko stroked it and she couldn't help but squeal and blush at its cuteness.

‘So adorable!’ She thought.

Himiko rested one of her chubby fingers on the sparrow's chest, rubbing it back and forth. She could hear the strum of its heart deep in her ears, feel the throb of its vein entwined with her conscience.

She lifted the bird to her mouth and pressed a small kiss to its head before moving her fangs to its side, biting through delicate bone and revelling in the squeak the sparrow made as it died.

Himiko’s parents must have heard it as they rushed outside. Licking her fangs clean, she brought the sparrow out in front of her, like an offering.

“Mama, Papa.” She slurred, her world spinning slightly, “Little birdie, so cute!”

“Stop that! What do you think you're doing?” Her mama shrilled. The sound was loud and high pitched, lingering in Himiko’s ears, distorting her hearing.

Still, she smiled on. The bird was so adorable, she couldn't help it!

“And stop making that creepy smile!” Papa yelled, “You look like some sort of deviant!

He lashed out, hitting her across the face. She continued to smile, although she felt the pain shoot across her body.

She couldn't help but think: Was it wrong to love? Should she not bite?

Changing out of her uniform - when had she gotten inside?- she thought about everything that had occurred.

She pulled on ragged pajamas over her sore body and flopped down onto her bare mattress tiredly.

Maybe one day, people like her could be accepted.

Closing sharp yellow eyes, she willed herself into the lull of sleep, dreaming of beautiful birds fluttering through the air and slicing through their tender bodies with her bare teeth.

Ochaco Pov:

It wasn't fair.

Life wasn't fair.

Ochaco had seen the look on her parents' faces when there was no food in the cupboard. Their worried glances at each other when lying to her about having already eaten or not feeling hungry.

Life wasn't fair.

So why wouldn't mommy and daddy let her use her quirk for the construction company?

Pouting, she refuses to look at her father.

“Hey, Ochaco.” Her father called softly, “Hey, look at me.”

He turned her head to look towards him gently, reaching for her tiny arms which were crossed against her small, malnourished chest.

“I really appreciate the thought, Ochaco.” He paused to smile at her reassuringly, rubbing his hands through her hair. “But as your dad, I’d be even happier if you achieved your own dream.”

“Daddy..!” Ochaco cried, small sobs wracking her body. She leapt forward to hug him, making the burly man fall backwards.

Her mother stepped forwards to cup her face, squeezing at her cheeks softly.
“We’ll always be proud of you ‘chako baby. No matter what. We love you so much; you are enough for us even if you never achieve more than you already have.”

“That’s the way to make us happy,” her father continued. “And if you do make money, you can take us to Hawaii or something!”

Ochaco’s eyes glistened, in the dim light of the room.

She would become a hero and make her parents proud. She would make so much money that her parents would never have to worry again.

She closed her eyes, exhausted from the emotional turmoil of the day.

Ochaco soon felt the soft bumps of her daddy carrying her to bed, tucking her in softly, placing a soft pink bunny rabbit in her hands

She drifted off thinking of holidays to Hawaii and a full stomach.

Inko Pov:

After another hard day of work, Inko couldn't help but be irritated. She worked so hard and nobody seemed to recognise it.

If it weren't for her, all those stupid people would have passed away.

Stupid heroes starting fights they couldn't take. Stupid quirkless getting in the way of the better half of society. Stupid parents letting their kids wander off and get hurt. Stupid kids for running off!

She seethed quietly, taking a cold shower (the water bill had not been paid this month, thanks for that, Hisashi!) which only worsened her mood.

She stared in the mirror across from her, picking at her face. Her false smile seemed too crooked, her eyebags too prominent, the wrinkles on her face too deep.

She looked dead inside.

No longer beautiful. She had nothing if it weren't for her looks.

Suddenly, a thought hit her like lightning. Izuku!

She rushed to grab her medkit, opening it quickly and grabbing at an empty syringe. She stabbed it into her arm effortlessly, drawing a full syringe of blood.

She crept into Izuku’s room with the syringe, carefully creeping around the many All Might toys scattered across the floor.

Reaching the bed, she pried her unsuspecting son’s mouth open and placed the sharp needle inside, careful not to poke him in the gums.

She released the blood into his mouth, using her free hand to tilt his head up so that he wouldn't choke.

As soon as the last drop was gone, she reached for his hand, placing it around hers so that all 5 fingers were touching her bare skin.

She closed her eyes and began to picture herself as a young adult.

She had been much skinnier then, before motherhood had ruined her.
Her eyes were kinder and less tired looking and there was not a wrinkle in sight.
She had quite a lot of acne back then, although that was certainly something she could do without.

She soon felt a change and rushed to the mirror to admire her new appearance, failing to see the grey sludge left behind in the dim room.

Chapter Text

1846 words.

Izuku woke up with his head reeling.

He lifted his covers - All Might themed of course - off of his shivering body, trembling as he tried to stand up.

Izuku’s entire body ached, reminiscent of when he first got his quirk. His skin was flushed an intense pink, especially in the apples of his cheeks and his mouth had the metallic taste of blood and faint toffee apple.

Izuku hadn't known it then but this was the start of years of abuse.

What the doctor had failed to notice was that his quirk was addictive and the more Inko abused it, the more she felt the need to change herself.

Izuku’s bullying only got worse with him in a constant state of mania and with kids starting to gain control of their quirks.

He was consistently having quirks tested on him and his teachers didn't feel bad for encouraging violent behaviour against him anymore because he was older.

He had tried to make himself look cuter, making his eyes wider and smiling all the time, but then they saw the fangs and just gave him a look of disgust.

He couldn't even use his quirk to get rid of them as his mom had barred him from using it.

He was completely useless.

And all alone.

Until one day, 8 years later, when he was walking home from Aldera Junior High.

‘Stupid Kacchan. Fuck you! You can't just go around burning people!’ Izuku thought angrily.

He sighed, skipping through his playlist to play “Better Than Me” by The Brobecks in his busted up, tangled earphones.

Yep, that should do it. He stomped about angrily, avoiding going home. He couldn't deal with his mom right now.

If his earphones ever broke, he was royally fucked. He feared that without them, he really would resort to ripping Kacchan's arms and legs off.

They were his only possession besides his phone and the clothes in his room as he had long since thrown out most of his All Might merch a long time ago.

Well, that was obvious, anyways.
He kept a secret stash of a few items under his bed. A bottle of water, food (with a long shelf life) and a small stash of money.
He would keep his phone down there, but Inko took it every night.

He sighed. His music was nearing an end.
His foot crunched on the gravel of a small park as he fished out his battered phone to switch the song, preferably to something angsty, like Radiohead’s “Creep”.
His finger hovered over the cracked screen as he heard a muffled sob.

He pulled his earphones out of his ears, placing them in his pocket.
Peering around the entrance to the park, he saw a young girl about his age, sitting, crying on a swing set.

She had mascara running down her face and even though she was shaking and sobbing, her jaw was locked shut.

The girl was grasping her hip with one arm wrapped around her stomach and holding the swing’s chain with the other.
Her long nails dug into her pale flesh, where she had lifted up the side of her uniform, leaving small marks which Izuku also spotted on her wrist when the girl lifted a hand to wipe her tears with the cream coloured uniform sleeve.

She hadn't seen him and he didn't want to startle her but he couldn't leave her like this.
She was a young girl and it was dark.
While it was unlikely a villain would hang out in a public park at night, the average creep or drunk man would and he wouldn't let that happen to this girl, not on his watch.

Izuku walked over silently, a benefit of living in an abusive and controlling household he thought to himself, rolling his eyes.

He sat on the swing next to her, humming softly to alert her of his presence.

“Hi, my name is Midoriya Izuku. I’m not going to hurt you. I just wanted to see if you were ok. What’s your name?” he stated calmly and quickly.

He immediately told her his name to put her at ease, told her his intentions and encouraged her to speak by asking a question.

This seemed to be the best way to soothe her paranoia. She definitely seemed like she'd run away from him if he made a wrong move and startled her.

Narrow yellow eyes snapped up to his green rounded ones, inspecting his face for any signs of mistruth, causing Izuku to smile (without teeth of course) back at her.
He looked away, staring up at the stars which twinkled in the sky.
“You don't have to tell me of course, whatever makes you most comfortable but I don't know what to call you.”

“Toga Himiko… but please, call me Himiko.” She mumbled, covering her mouth with her hand.

“Ok Himiko. What's on your mind?” Izuku replied.

“What do you mean?” She asked warily.

“Whatever you want to talk about! What’s on your mind? Your favourite colour, hopes, dreams. What should I know about you, Himiko?”

“My favourite colour is red.” She sniffled.

“Me too! I love red.” Izuku responded, “Although, I was wondering, why were you crying?

“My quirk is villainous. Everybody says so. Ever since my quirk came in I’ve been cast aside. It makes me creepy and demonic.” Himiko cried out.

“You know, I have a villainous quirk too. You can feel free to share with me.” Izuku grinned, this time, fangs and all.

“You have fangs!?”, the hand over her mouth flew down towards her side, revealing a set of fangs, glinting in the dim light of the park. “I’ve never met someone else like me!”

“You have fangs too? What is your quirk?” Izuku exclaimed excitedly. He had just found his new best friend, situational awareness be gone!

“Transform! If I drink someone's blood I can turn into them.” She exclaimed.

Izuku’s eyes sparkled with excitement and recognition. It was so similar to his quirk! He’d never met someone like him before.

“Whatever I take in turns into energy, so the more I drink, the longer I can hold onto the form!”, Himiko continued, “One cup lets me look and sound like someone for about a day. Plus, if I drink a bunch of people’s blood at the same time, I can turn into any of them!”

Izuku was on the edge of his seat, or rather his swing, leaning towards her and nodding along, itching to write everything down.

“I can recreate their clothes too but they get layered under my own so it helps to get naked before I transform which can be a little embarrassing.”, she flustered at that before continuing, “Although I don't really get an opportunity to use it much. My parents make it really clear that my fascination with blood is disturbing.”

At that, Izuku’s heart ached. He knew that feeling. The feeling of being used. The feeling of loneliness. Longing. Anger at the world. A melting pot of despair and a desperate urge to prove yourself.
Although their situations were different, they were ultimately in the same boat.

“I know how you feel, society fucking sucks and we can't do anything about it.” He glared into the sky, as if blaming fate itself for the faults of modern society.

Izuku turned to Himiko who was staring at him in awe akin to if he’d hung the moon.

“But that's why I want to be a hero!” He brought his hand into a fist. “So that I can save everyone, not just those in favour! People should not be judged by their quirks, but by the content of their character and the integrity of their actions! And if anyone disagrees with that, fuck them! It's not up to us to make others feel better about themselves.” He cried out passionately.

Himiko nodded shakily. Her eyes sparkled like a thousand fireworks, tears once again spilling from her golden eyes.
“Thank you so much, Izuku.” She whispered, voice hoarse, before leaping into his arms for a hug, snuggling against his chest.

Izuku barely had time to catch her as she leapt at him from her swing, wrapping his arms around her frail, malnourished body.
He cradled her in his arms and they just stayed like that until the cold began to bite at their skin and their breathing began to synchronise, chests heaving up and down like waves crashing into the beach.

It was nice to have some human connection.
God knows they needed it. Things needed to change.
But until then, they would be there for each other. This was the start of something great and he knew it deep within his soul.
He wondered if she felt it too.

Soon Himiko began to get uncomfortable, so they resolved to climb up the metal dome climbing frame off to the side of the park.
They sat together atop it, Izuku reaching into his bag to take out his jacket and wrap it around their shoulders.

Conversation seemed to flow naturally between them, laughter filled the empty space of the park, the two young teens just escaping it all and enjoying each other's presence.
Finally, they were able to exist in peace, a ceasefire from the war in their heads.

The silences were long and comforting, enveloping them in each other's company.
They found that it felt as if no time had passed at all since they met, the only indicator: the sun rising above the horizon.

They would have to part ways soon and Izuku knew he was already in trouble for not being at home. He was starting to crave blood again, and could feel it buzzing in the bottom of his spine, rising up his neck.

“Hey, Himiko?” Izuku asked.

“Yeah, Izuku? What’s up?” She looked up at him from where she was laying on his lap.

“Do you have a phone? We should exchange numbers - obviously if you don't it’s fine, we can find another way of communication if we want to see each other again, I mean because I want to be friends with you and if you don't want that it's ok but I-”

“Izuku! Yes I have a phone. It's battered as fuck but it's operational. And of course I want to be friends with you, you big goof!” She tapped him lightly on the cheek. “Stop freaking out, dummy!”

Oh. Izuku hadn't realised he’d been mumbling. Himiko had just gone back to looking at the sunrise, so maybe it hadn't bothered her. That was a first. Himiko seemed to be many firsts in general.

Far too soon, Izuku was packing his bag up and exchanging numbers with Himiko. He really did not feel like school today but he didn't want to go home either.

Waving goodbye to his new friend with a wide smile, he continued down the path back home to shower.

Hopefully his mum would be sleeping off her night shift.