Chapter Text
It's a week and a half after Izuku's fourth birthday, and he starts every morning by checking to see if he can levitate objects, breath fire, control gravity, or perform any number of other miraculous feats in some way related to telekinesis or heat. The days stretch on, one by one, and each time he feels a little less eager, a little more desperate as he waits for that fated day where he can walk to school and say "I have a quirk!" and watch Kacchan's gaze, which seems to drift farther and farther away from his own by the day, snap back into focus, where Izuku so desperately wants it to be, needs it to be - on him.
He knows what the adults think, though the kids in his class don't even consider it. He can see it in the lines on their faces (though maybe that's just his mother - her cheeks only ever seem to sink deeper, ever since his father left) hear it on their pursed lips always on the verge of whispering quirkless, the word adults don't say anymore, at least when Izuku is in earshot.
He's fully prepared to start this day, too, 11 nights since his birthday, just as he had every other. Wake up, close his eyes and focus on the pen across the room, imagine it lifting up into the air or bursting into flames or perhaps flying away towards the wall. He's okay with this, really, repeating this same ritual day after day until the end of time.
Instead, he wakes up, shivers and then screams, because he can feel it, somehow, the heat radiating off of every tiny droplet in the summer air, the fire flickering above the oven, the relative peace of the icebox above his fridge, and his mother, too, her soothing warmth - it's all around him, like a map of the universe, or his universe, anyway, depicted solely through heat vision and it's all too much, surrounding him, choking him from the inside and-
He hears the clang of metal (some kind of utensil?) hitting the floor and then his mother's footsteps rushing up the stairs, and how long has it been since he woke? One second? Two? An eternity? He can't tell, and it's all blending together in a storm of sensory input where nothing remains, not even time-
"Izuku!" His mother bursts through the door and falls to the floor beside him, cradling him in her arms and pressing him into her chest. Sweet, blissful darkness, and his cries are smothered to quiet sob while Inko's body presses Izuku's own tears into his face and covers his eyes.
Izuku can hear a faint sound that sounds kind of like words and Oh, that's mom.
"-ku, what happened!?" He only hears the tail end of her sentence, but even with the pain and the sensory overload, it's easy enough to tell what she meant. Responding, of course, is another matter.
"I could - I could feel everything, mom. It was- the fire and the icebox, and-" Izuku pauses for a moment, trying to collect himself and stop his body from shaking so violently. "-and the air itself and it's too much! It hurts, mom!" Izuku chokes a bit on his own saliva and is painfully aware that what he just said makes absolutely no sense.
"It- it's like I can feel everything's heat, like a radar, and there's too much, everywhere, and-" Izuku is cut off by his mother silencing him as she strokes his hair softly.
"Izuku, we're- we're going to go see a doctor, okay? They're going to look at you and figure out what's wrong and make it better."
Izuku nods, even though he knows it's a lie. There aren't many things he's very sure of right now, but he's fully aware that this is his quirk, his power, and isn't that distasteful - and he knows his mother knows too. In the end, this is all he had been waiting for, really. A quirk that does nothing but help him sense things, and even then, using it is impossible - he may as well be quirkless. At least then he wouldn't be taunted by a useless power he can never use.
Izuku stands up, with his mother's help, on two shaky legs, get's dressed with his eyes closed (and his mother's help) and tries very, very, hard not to open them.
Or to cry.
The cab to the doctor occurs in relative silence, aside from his mother booking an appointment ("It's urgent, please!" Inko pleads, and the doctor's relent quickly - quirks that need immediate attention aren't too uncommon, and they inform a father his appointment has to be pushed back by a few hours because a child with a quirk potentially harmful to himself needs an appointment immediately, and "Yes sir, we're sorry, it won't happen again, sir, calling your lawyers won't be necessary-"). Izuku spends most of the ride eyes shut, burying his face into his mother's side and trying to ignore the annoying hum of the engine's heat radiating outwards. There's a dull throb in the back of his head, and Izuku just wants this day to be over.
He makes a point to avoiding actually seeing what the doctor's office looks like, but it feels cold and clinical. Almost every utensil has been sterilized, and it's in direct contrast to the frantic heat of the outside world, always moving, shifting, changing. The world is dynamic. The hospital is sterile.
Izuku hates it.
The doctors lead him and his mother into a room near the back of the hospital and introduce him to the and it doesn't take long for the professional inside to realize that Izuku covering his eyes has nothing to do with being shy. His mother gently sits him down onto the chair, careful to continue to cover his eyes as much as possible, though Izuku privately thinks it's not enough - the doctor shuffles around his office, and Izuku can hear desks opening and closing until the doctor eventually pulls out what Izuku thinks might be... a rectangle?
Regardless, he approaches Izuku, obviously making an attempt to be as friendly as possible, and brings what Izuku is now pretty sure is a rectangle near his eyes.
"It hurts to open you're eyes, right? We're just going to place this blindfold over you for a little bit, and you'll be back to normal in no time. This way you don't have to worry about any sunlight, and this is much better than just shutting your eyes!"
Izuku nods meekly (to be fair, he's always meek when he's not with his mother, playing with Katsuki, or talking about heroes) and lets the doctor wrap some kind of cloth around his head to cover his eyes and oh.
This is better. Much better, and it gives Izuku a chance to relax and just feel - feel the small differences in heat between his mother and the doctor, the way ice stands out like fluid white sheet in a world stuffed to the brim with heat, and when he focuses for a bit, he can almost feel outlines, of a sort, the vague shape of a person in front of and next to him. He can feel a small smile spreading across his face, and wonders if perhaps it could have been worse.
This isn't quite being quirkless, really. His quirk is very little, minuscule, almost invisible.
But it's still greater than zero.
The doctor essentially interviews Izuku about the day's events and how he feels, and Izuku get's a bit more comfortable, a bit more excited with each question because just a bit more of the world is opened to him by the second, and soon he's practically bouncing up and down.
"See?" the doctor - Izuku's pretty sure his name is Suzuki? He's a little bit distracted right now - says. "Told you it would get better."
Izuku smiles, and hums in agreement.
He doesn't smile quite as much when the doctor tells him that getting his quirk has increased his body temperature by quite a bit, meaning he needs to be cooled down.
Meaning he needs to use an ice pack.
Izuku likes to think of himself as an agreeable kid, and hopes most people would agree. He eats anything his mother feeds him, and goes to bed when she tells him to, and when she asks him to help carry something, even though he knows she's just doing it to get him some exercise and not because she needs it, and he plays the villain every time when Kacchan asks, even though he really, really wants to be the hero ("How can you be the hero if you don't have a quirk yet!" Kacchan asks, even though he isn't really asking.)
Ice packs are an exception. He hates them. He hates how they feel, both as an object (they're all wet, like a weird, gross, water balloon!) and he hates the feeling of a cold burn on his skin, and he doesn't like the idea of it, forcing his body to cool down. Everything about them grates on him.
His new quirk really, really isn't helping. The ice is like a cold blanket of death, creeping ever closer like a void in the world, and while it's interesting far away, it's kind of terrifying up close, and Izuku wonders if he's going to be swallowed whole by it, though he's aware that's ridiculous.
The ice pack and the doctor's hand creep closer and closer (It's swallowing his hand! Izuku thinks, as he watches the cold of the ice spread across the mans hand and yes, he knows he's being melodramatic but he just hates these things!) and all Izuku can think about is how much he wants that pack of ice and it's cold, deadly grip as far away from him as possible. He tenses his eyes, and narrows in on the pack as it get's closer and closer and-
And then it isn't. And then the creeping cold recedes much faster than it had come. And suddenly Izuku is being pressed back into the chair by his own body, very lightly, like incredibly weak recoil.
Inko voices Izuku's suspicions: "It... it flew across the room?"
The doctor hums, apparently used to this kind of thing - that is, realizing that a quirk does more than they first thought - and turns to Izuku. "Looks like your quirk has quite a bit more too it then we first though, eh?"
Izuku grins so hard it hurts.
Temperature Magnet: A variation of the quirk Attraction that can both attract and repel objects. It creates a bond, not unlike magnetism with the wielder and a chosen object. Depending on the object, the bond either causes the object to fly towards the user, or be thrown away from him. As a result of the influence of the quirk Fire Breath, whether an object is attracted or repulsed is based on the temperature of the object - if hotter than the user, they are attracted. If the object is colder than the user, it is repulsed. Additionally, the quirk seems to have the abilities of the quirk of a paternal grandparent of the one currently known user called Sense Heat, which allows the user to sense the temperature of nearby objects.
Wielder: Midoriya Izuku
Izuku's mother recounts the definition for her son yet again as he thumbs one of his fingers over the text. Suzuki laughs, and mother and son both turn towards him. He hands out a pack of blindfolds to Inko, each one labeled with a different number, from one to eight.
"Izuku is likely still sensitive to light, and it'll take some time for him to acclimate to his new sense. Every day, switch out his blindfold and apply the one after it, meaning you start with blindfold one, and the next day move on to two, and then three, and so on. Honestly, considering Izuku is taking to his quirk like a duck to water, you can probably ditch them entirely in less than a school week. If Izuku says he doesn't feel any discomfort with his eyes open while a blindfold is applied, try testing out the next one. If he says it hurts, move back. Also, this probably goes without saying, but he should probably take off of school or daycare until the blindfolds are gone. Come back if you have any complications, of course. Oh! And one last thing."
While the man searches his coats for something - a business card, maybe? - Inko can't help but cheer silently. She had been... well, she had been worried her son would be quirkless. And it's not that she would really care! Honestly, Izuku's quirk doesn't matter much to her, and quirkless people aren't that uncommon, though they are overwhelmingly elderly. But Izuku... well, had he been quirkless, neither he nor his friends would take it well. To Inko, a quirk is a meaningless thing - no more important then the color of your hair. To her son, it's the center of the universe.
And she has always orbited around Izuku. What he follows, she must too, if only by accident.
Inko's introspection is broken by Suzuki handing her a card.
"This has my personal cell - consider it a shortcut if you or Izuku ever need me for any kind of medical emergency."
Inko blushes, a little bit, and then feels a bit sad considering this is the first number she's gotten in the five months since she and Hizashi unofficially - well, it's no longer unofficial - divorced, and its for medical purposes, but mostly she's simply grateful that a virtual stranger was kind enough to spare his time and resources for Izuku.
Inko bows, thanks him, and then she and Izuku take their leave while Izuku waves over her shoulder.
The cab ride home is actually cheerful, which is certainly not what Inko expected walking in to the hospital.
Izuku has the blindfolds off after 3 days. Those 3 days are... interesting. Izuku's sensory abilities, while certainly useful (especially in conjunction with the rest of his quirk, his brain supplies, and Izuku is definitely getting a notebook for this) are not a replacement for sight. He spends a lot of time wandering around his apartment, bumping into various objects or pushing pens away with his quirk very, very slowly.
Each new blindfold is a little bit more transparent then the last, and a little more light returns to him every day, but honestly, he's tired of being cooped up in his room. He loves talking with his mother, of course, but he wants to see again, to walk outside and go to school and play, and he especially wants to see Kacchan.
This is why it's with great excitement when the last blindfold is finally removed, permanently, and though he has to squint for a moment because it's so bright, the minute he can actually keep his eyes open, he immediately looks out his window at the yard, and he feels like, for the first time since he got his quirk, he's finally home.
The first thing he does, after he's done taken in the sights - though, honestly, after three days of effectively being blind Izuku will take just about anything - is ask his mother if he can go play with Katsuki.
His mother responds with a simple "Sure, honey," and he can't even contain his excitement. He practically bolts out of the door, stumbles down the stairs of his complex, up the stairs of the apartments next door, and runs over to the Bakugou's.
He stands as tall as he can and knocks on the door a few times, and he's so excited he's practically vibrating out of his own clothes. Mitsuki Bakugou answers the door, and Izuku almost forgets to say hello, which he thinks would be both rude and potentially deadly, even though Kacchan's mom is always nice to him.
Mitsuki beats him to the punch, and before he can even open his mouth she's greeting him. Her voice booms, as always, a resounding "Yo!" She's as informal as ever, and Izuku feels simultaneously intimidated and comfortable around her, a mixture of raw power and casual affection.
"Can I see Kacchan!?" Izuku yells, and then he realizes he just yelled at Mitsuki Bakugou, why does he do this to himself-
"'Course! He probably won't show it, but he's been wondering where you are." Mitsuki turns around cups a hand around her voice, and shouts so loudly Izuku flinches. "Oi! Brat! Get down here!"
Kacchan, equally as energetic (and violent) screams back. "What is it now!?"
"Stop being such an ungrateful brat and get down here! Izuku is here to see you!" Katsuki doesn't respond verbally, though Izuku does here the thump of his feat and he definitely sees him practically jump down a flight of stairs and nearly crack the floor. Katsuki scrambles to the doorway, and is obviously about to say something before his mother smacks him lightly on the head.
"Are you a moron!? Do you want to get yourself killed!?"
"I don't have to listen to you, hag!"
This is when Izuku takes four (or five, or six, or ten) steps back, because, to be honest, a confrontation between Kacchan and his mom is the most terrifying thing Izuku has ever seen, but the fight is luckily quickly aborted when Mitsuki notices his fear (and impatience, much as he tries to hide it). She sighs, and pushes Katsuki out the door, and he protests in response.
"Get out and play, brat." It sounds kind of fond, so Izuku knows that Kacchan is probably safe. Katsuki sends one last quip back at his mother before he grabs Izuku's arm and drags him down the stairs. When they reach the bottom, and then corner of their street, and then eventually their favorite park, just a block away from their apartments, Katsuki finally slows his pace.
It's obvious Kacchan has about a million questions, but Izuku expects the first one out of his mouth. "Why were you out of school?" It's a rare occasion when Kacchan sounds neither angry nor excited, but simply curious, and Izuku is happy to oblige.
"It's because I got my quirk!" Izuku responds, and Katsuki begins to grin, and a small part of Izuku, a part of himself he hates, thinks I deserve this. Izuku imagines telling it to shut up.
Izuku smiles, and describes his quirk as simply as he can. "It basically lets me pull things that are hot towards me, and push things that are cold away from me." Katsuki frowns.
"That sounds a little lame." Izuku's smile drops. "Show me how strong it is first."
Izuku turns away, and he knows that this is his one chance, that no matter how much better he gets or how hard he practices, if he fails now, Kacchan will never care, never look at him again, and he knows that he has to do something, anything, to prove himself. He turns towards a nearby tree and focuses on the bark, stares at it, imagines the cold bark flying back just like he did with the pen. A moment passes, and Izuku begins to get a little nervous because if he fails-
He focuses, harder, harder, until all that's left is him and the bark. He tries his best to ignore the heat radiating off of everything around him, tries to ignore the drops of water in the air and the bugs in the ground and the leaves in the wind and imagines narrowing his map of the world to this single tree and nothing else, because there can't be anything else, not if he fails, and he feels it, suddenly. A tiny, tiny, tiny crack in his target's guard, as if the invisible hand pushing the tree away made just a tiny inch of progress and a second latter the energy he's been building up bursts out. The force pushes him back, slightly, and he very nearly falls over, but that's much less shocking then the results of his quirk. There's bark everywhere, scattered all across the ground, sticking out of the ground and the force tore the surrounding plants to shreds. It looks like someone punched a hole straight through the side of the tree, and he thinks 'I did this?' and tries not to feel proud, because something like this shouldn't make him feel happy but yet-
A part of him whispers yes, this was you, this is your power and he tries to silence it again. He doesn't need thoughts like that. He doesn't need stand up straight and stare down at the world and think I'm important. He doesn't need to feel special. He just wants Kacchan to look at him, to stare at him, to stay with him, even if he has to sacrifice the trees or the plants or the ground because this is it, really. This is all he needs.
Izuku turns around, and just as he does, Katsuki runs up to his side. "It's pretty cool!" Kacchan says. Izuku smiles, big and wide, because this is all he wants, really.
Izuku swallows, and tilts his head up to meet Katsuki's eyes. "T-Thanks Kacchan!" Kacchan praised him. Kacchan recognized him.
"It's not as good as my quirk, obviously, but you'd make a pretty good sidekick!" Katsuki's voice is loud and commanding, much like his mother, and Izuku tries very hard to believe him. He crushes the part of himself that whispers I don't want to be your sidekick.
(This is okay. This is enough.)