Chapter Text
Inko could remember the fortnight that changed her life irrevocably almost too easily. It had begun whilst she was cooking dinner for her son, Izuku, and herself one autumn's eve. The fortnight started off joyful, with Izuku's quirk appearing, although that same joy did not seem to last very long.
The smell of katsudon permeated the air; Izuku's favourite food. Inko had gone shopping the day before and so had enough ingredients to make the meal for the two of them. Izuku was sitting on the rug, wearing his All-Might themed onesie and playing with his All Might action figure. The TV created white noise, as some hero themed cartoon played in the background. Izuku was probably only half listening to the TV, but he had been extra good at the daycare that day so Inko would allow him to have it on despite also playing with his action figure. The sun started to set as the evening drew in, casting warm oranges, pinks, and golds through the partially curtained windows.
As Izuku was playing with his action figure, he sneezed. He began to feel all tingly and the next thing he knew, there was silvery-green smoke swirling around him. Once the smoke cleared Izuku felt strangely smaller, unnaturally so. He tried to move his arms and legs and stand but every time he attempted to get up, he would wobble and collapse in a heap again. He looked to one side and spotted what should have been an arm and a leg, but instead were now two furry legs and no arm. He turned his head fully to the side to get a better look. He stared blankly, not blinking, tilting his head to the side, and not quite understanding what he was seeing. Unsure of how to react, he did the one thing that came easiest, and opened his mouth, and called for his mother.
Inko hummed a simple but familiar lullaby as she focused on cooking, not phased by the fighting sound effects coming from the telly. The evening was the epitome of peace.
However, said peace was promptly shattered by multiple loud and high pitched meows. Inko jumped at the noise, having not expected such a sound at this hour (as the neighborhood cats were normally out later in the evening, or early in the morning). She checked on the food, to ensure that it didn't require her immediate attention (which luckily, it did not), and turned around to investigate the sudden meowing. She briefly wondered whether one of the stray cats had gotten stuck on the balcony again, something that had occurred a few too many times. Although the meowing seemed too loud to be coming from the balcony. As soon as she turned around fully, she spotted the cause of the meow. There in the centre of the rug, were Izuku had been sat a mere few minutes ago, was a tiny kitten lying splayed out on its stomach. It looked to be a Japanese bobtail kitten, with its short fur, bobbed tail, and predominantly white tortoiseshell coat. The light from the windows made the kittens fur almost glow; Inko swore she could see tinges of pale green in the fur.
“Izuku?” Inko questioned in a gentle tone of voice, not wanting to scare the kit away, although she was slightly more concerned by her now missing son. She glanced down the hall and noticed Izuku's door ajar. She felt slightly relieved at the sight, ‘He's just getting another toy from his room,’ She reasoned internally. It wasn't uncommon for Izuku to wander off to get another toy, he was a toddler after all. And as long as he comes when she calls for dinner, she won't worry.
The kitten mewed, seemingly in response. Its tail was vibrating like it was attached to a washing machine. The kitten blinked slowly at Inko, purring lightly, sounding similar to, again, a washing machine (albeit a quiet one). Before she could do anything, the kitten sneezed and disappeared in a puff of silvery-green smoke. Once the smoke cleared, the kit had been replaced by little Izuku, grinning proudly at Inko.
“Mama! Mama!” He yelled, clapping and giggling, with a smile on his face that could rival even the brightest of suns. “Cat!”
Inko smiled warmly, her heart filling with the warmth of joy and happiness for her child. “Oh, Izuku! You've found your quirk! What a wonderful quirk it is, how about we celebrate with some Katsudon for dinner?” She asked. She was so very glad that he had a quirk and a good one at that. There were plenty of powerful heroes with animal transformation quirks, and Inko was sure her baby boy would become one of them in the future.
“'Udon! 'Udon!” Izuku squealed, clapping his hands together with even more vigour than before.
“I'll take that as a yes then.” Inko then turned and returned to the kitchen to continue cooking.
It wasn't long until the food was cooked and ready to be served at the table.
“Izuku? Izuku, dinner's ready.” She called out, placing the two bowls of steaming Katsudon on the placemats on the table.
Izuku scrambled on unsteady legs over to the table. Once he reached his chair, he leaned his stomach onto the edge of the seat. He lifted his left leg first, onto the seat and then proceeded to lift himself up onto the chair and into a sitting position. Bouncing in place due to, excitement; he inched closer to the bowl, wanting nothing more than to start eating immediately.
She sat down in the other chair, her chair, and calmly reminded Izuku that before eating they must first follow dining etiquette. “Itadakimasu.”
“It-masu!” He shouted cheerfully; immediately tucking in as soon as he finished shouting it out.
Smiling good-naturedly, she began to eat the meal as well.
Once they stuffed themselves full with Katsudon (Izuku having practically licked the bowl clean), Inko reminded Izuku to give thanks. “Gochiso Sama Deshita.”
“Go' Sa' Deshi'!” Izuku shouted.
She smiled and started to clear the dishes away. “Izuku, are you excited to show your quirk off to everyone tomorrow at daycare?”
Izuku nodded energetically. “Yes!”
Inko washed the dishes as she listened to Izuku ramble on about his newfound quirk (although most of it was just him repeating the words dog, doggy, and cat whilst squealing and shrieking like a rubber chicken), she was just happy that he was so excited over it and that it was a wonderful and useful one.
By the time Inko had finished washing and drying the dishes, it was coming close to Izuku's bedtime. She herded him away from the TV and towards the bathroom to get ready for bed, “come on, dear.”
Izuku responded with a nod.
After washing, and changing into pyjamas, she guided him to his room and tucked him into his bed. “What kind of bedtime story do you want me to read to you tonight?”
Izuku grinned, “All Mi'!”
“All Might it is then,” Inko said, making up a story about All Might. “once upon a time, there was a powerful and kind hero called All Might. He was so strong that he could beat any villain and save everyone at the same time! But one day a big bad villain appeared…” She continued to make the story up as she went, making the story simple so Izuku would understand.
Once she finished telling Izuku the made-up story, she kissed him on the forehead, whispered goodnight and left the room, turning the light off on her way out.
That night Inko dreamt of kittens tumbling over themselves.
The next day, Inko dropped Izuku off at the daycare. The daycare was a quaint building, single story, and about the size of a small village hall. It had large windows with brightly coloured, childishly patterned curtains. The path leading to the daycare entrance was strewn with leaves, from the nearby deciduous trees: crunching and crackling underfoot. The air was clear and crisp, and smelling distinctly of damp leaves.
“Be good today, and try not to use your quirk too much.” She said, kissing him on the forehead. “I'll pick you up at the usual time okay. Love you, bye.”
“Bye-bye!” Izuku yelled, jumping up and down as he waved at her, as she left him with the daycare staff.
The female daycare worker, Sasaki-sensei, smiled and knelt down beside Izuku. “I heard from a little birdy that you found out your quirk yesterday!”
He nodded vigorously. “Dog!”
Sasaki-sensei shook her head but didn't comment. “Come on let's go inside so you can show all your friends how wonderful your quirk is!” She took Izuku's hand and lead him inside.
Entering the building, Sasaki-sensei guided Izuku to the main room, where the sounds of children's laughter could be heard coming from within. “Not everybody is here yet so don't show off your quirk yet, we have to wait for everyone.” She instructed, already heading to the small office in the next room to sign Izuku in.
Izuku nodded in response, too excited to actually listen, already waddling his way over to his little friendship group consisting of Bakugou Katsuki, Tsubasa Asukuko, and Mugoiyubi Nagaishin. “Hi!”
The three boys responded with a chorus of hellos. Izuku joined in playing with some toys with his friends, although it really was more of playing in tandem than playing together. Unsurprisingly they a were playing with various action figures of heroes from the current top ten.
Five minutes had scarcely passed before Sasaki-sensei called everyone over to the main mat area. “Come on, over here now everyone. We've got a very special announcement today.”
Izuku, Katsuki, Asukuko, Nagaishin, and all the other children at the daycare made their way over to the mats.
Sasaki-sensei waited until all the children were on the mats before continuing, “yesterday little Izuku-kun found his quirk! Izuku-kun are you ready to show it off now?”
Izuku nodded. He moved to the middle of the circle of kids and activated his quirk. There was a small puff of silvery-green smoke, and once it cleared, it revealed a tiny Japanese bobtail kitten, it looked so fragile in comparison to the children surrounding it. The other children all began to jump and yell, choruses of dog, doggy, and cat. A few of the younger two-year-olds tried leaning towards Izuku in attempts to grab and pet him.
Izuku quickly activated his quirk again, and in a puff of the same silvery-green smoke, he returned to his human form. He giggled and grinned, clapping his hands together in happiness. The other children copied his giggling and clapping.
Izuku turned to Katsuki, Asukuko, and Nagaishin. “Kacchan, Asukun, Nagachan! Quirk! Quirk cat!” He babbled excitedly, jumping up and down.
“Cat quirk!” Katsuki yelled energetically, fist pumping the air.
“Izu-kun doggy!” Screeched Asukuko with enthusiasm, flapping his red wings, and causing small gusts of air to form around him.
Nagaishin stuck his tongue out at Izuku but was eager about Izuku having found his quirk nonetheless. “Dog cat!”
Katsuki grinned. “Me, me quirk better!”
Izuku pouted. “No!”
Katsuki scowled. “Me quirk!”
Sasaki-sensei rang a little bell. “Quiet voices inside, loud voices outside.” She reminded all the children calmly, although it was mainly aimed at the group of four.
The group all nodded their heads (their head nodding was out of sync and so looked rather humourous and quite cute).
“And Katsuki-kun you haven't found your quirk yet, we don't know if it is better than Izuku-kun's quirk,” Sasaki-sensei informed Katsuki.
Katsuki huffed loudly and crossed his arms. “No!”
Sasaki-sensei sighed. “Katsuki-kun be nice.”
“No!”
Sasaki-sensei pursed her lips for a second, before moving on. Knowing full well that once a toddler like Katsuki started and she continued to talk to him about, he would eventually go into a tantrum. She sat down on the mats and patted the space beside her. “Now everyone, sit down on the mats and we'll sing some songs, to begin with.”
The children followed and sat on the mats.
“We'll sing this song first, ok. Ready? Three, two, one…”
Inko drove Izuku to the hospital where their appointment would be. Between stops, she couldn't help but glance back at Izuku. He was being strangely silent, was he tired? Was he nervous? Did something happen that he nor the teachers didn't tell her about? Inko wasn't sure. Alongside being strangely silent, Izuku staring out the window, watching the world go by (occasionally tracing the raindrops down the car window). The weather had been fine all day, and the forecast had shown no signs of rain. Despite that, a light drizzle had started not long after Inko had picked Izuku up. The sky had turned grey with the onset of rain. She just hoped the rain wouldn't get any worse.
Spotting the sign for the hospital car park, Inko followed the directions. She parked the car in the nearest free spot and got out the car. She then opened up Izuku's door, undid his seatbelt and picked him up and out of the car. She shut the car door and then put Izuku down. She took him by the hand, “come on sweetie. We're just going over there ok,” and pointed towards the hospital entrance.
Inko guided Izuku over to the entrance and in through the white double doors. He tensed as soon as the doors closed behind them. The harsh smell of disinfectant was overpowering; he scrunched up his nose in reflex and frowned. The glaring white lighting in the hospital certainly didn't help with making Izuku any less tense.
Izuku decided he didn't like the chemical smell.
They walked over to the reception. “Good afternoon, we're here for an appointment for Midoriya Izuku.”
The receptionist nodded and typed away at his keyboard. “Midoriya Izuku? Yes, your appointment is at two fifteen. Take a seat and the doctor will be with you shortly.”
Inko smiled and nodded. “Thank you.” She then turned to Izuku, “let's go sit down then.”
Izuku nodded and pointed towards two empty chairs by the window. Inko sat down on the furthest chair and watched as Izuku beelined for the various toys scattered on the floor of the waiting area.
It wasn't before long until a nurse crossed over to the waiting area and called for them, “Midoriya Izuku?”
Inko took Izuku's hand. “That'll be us.”
The two followed the nurse down a blank white corridor and through another double door until they reached a door at the end of the corridor. The door was of pale wood, accentuated with yet more pristine white.
Izuku decided he didn't like the harsh white.
The nurse opened the door for them, revealing the doctor, in a white lab coat, who they would be having the appointment with. The white lab coat made Izuku uneasy.
Izuku decided he didn't like white lab coats.
“Oh? Dr. Tsubasa. It's nice to see again” Inko said.
The doctor smiled. His smile was strained and unnatural looking as if he didn't know how to smile. It was rather creepy and unnerving. “Ah. Midoriya-san. It is good to see you again too.” He paused to check whatever was on the clipboard in his hand. “You're here today for an appointment for Izuku because his quirk came in, correct?” He phrased the sentence as a question, but his tone was one of no rebuttals.
Izuku decided he didn't like Dr. Tsubasa.
Her smile wavered. “Yes, that's correct.”
“Good, good. Please sit down.”
As Inko and Izuku sat down on the chairs provided, the nurse closed the door and left. She startled slightly, having forgotten about the nurse.
“Now before we begin, if you'll excuse me Midoriya-san, you're a fourth generation, right.” Dr. Tsubasa queried. “May I ask about your quirk?”
“Yes, of course. I can pull small objects to me.” She responded.
The doctor hummed. “And your husband?”
She answered, hesitating slightly. “My husband could breathe fire. I believe he said he was fifth generation.”
“And your son's quirk?”
“He can transform into a kitten.”
Dr. Tsubasa pulled up a spreadsheet on his computer and entered in some information. “Normally your son would have manifested one of his parents' quirks or some combination of the two, as you know, but he is quite the anomaly. It's incredibly rare for a child to manifest a quirk that is completely unrelated to either parent's quirks, or even their genetic lineage.” He paused to let that sink in. “Do you know if anyone in your, or your husband's family have had a cat or transformative quirk?”
Inko shook her head. “No, not that I know of.”
“Well, then Izuku is very lucky.” The doctor smiled again, entering more information into the computer.
“Now there is one interesting detail that I would like to bring to your attention before we continue,” Dr. Tsubasa brought up an x-ray on the computer screen and pointed to it. “As you can see here, surprisingly, despite having a quirk Izuku still has the extra toe joint. Which should be genetically impossible as an extra toe joint signifies that one will not get a quirk. Your son is truly quite the medical anomaly Midoriya-san.” His smile morphing into something more dangerous.
Izuku barely managed to repress his flinch at the doctor's not quite smile. He squirmed in his seat, feeling very uncomfortable. He did not like this appointment one bit despite the lack of really anything to be causing the disconcerting feeling.
“Now that we have clarified that, we can move on to figuring out what his quirk does, how it works, and any drawbacks or limits it may have.” Dr. Tsubasa said, turning to fully face Inko and Izuku.
“That sounds good,” Inko responded.
Dr. Tsubasa stared at Izuku. “Would you mind showing off your quirk?”
Izuku nodded shyly. He stood up and toddled over to a clear space in the room. He focused on activating his quirk and disappeared in a puff of silvery-green smoke, replaced by his Japanese bobcat kitten form. He managed to stay standing for a second, before flopping to the ground.
Dr. Tsubasa watched him with an emotion akin to curiosity. “Nod if you're able to understand me.”
With some effort, Izuku nodded his head.
“And are you able to move all your limbs.” He questioned.
Izuku, again with some effort, cocked his head to the side.
Dr. Tsubasa hummed. “Let's start by slowly working through some basic movements then. Can you tilt your head to the left and then to the right?”
Izuku moved his head to the left and then to the right. There was some slight strain but nothing concerning.
“Now rotate your neck in a circle slowly.” The doctor types more information into the computer.
Izuku complied, this time there was no strain.
They repeated this a few more times but with different stretches and tests, such as testing all five senses, and basic muscle control for the main limbs. All the muscle tests showed very minor signs of strain when first used.
“You can transform back now.” The doctor said after finished the last of the simple tests and exercises.
Izuku nodded and activated his quirk. There was the familiar puff of silvery-green smoke and then Izuku was human again.
“Are you feeling tired after that?” Dr. Tsubasa asked.
Izuku shook his head. “No.”
Dr. Tsubasa nodded. “Interesting.” He typed yet more information into the computer. “Now that we have established a baseline, you are required to fill out this form and send it to the Musutafu city council so that your son's quirk can be registered.” He paused to pull out the form from a drawer. He handed it over to Inko. “I am legally obliged to remind you to set up a quirk counselling appointment as soon as possible, speak to the staff at the reception to do so.”
The doctor paused, thinking something over. “I would also recommend you set up an appointment with a vet to check that as a kitten, your son is healthy and has the needed injections that kittens require.”
Inko clutched the form in her hands. “Thank you, I will.” She put the form away into her bag and took Izuku by the hand. They left the room just as the nurse from earlier was walking past them.
“I'll take you back to the reception.” The nurse said blankly, leading the Midoriya family back to the reception.
Izuku waited whilst Inko talked to the receptionist about dates and times for the quirk counseling. He quickly became bored and wandered over to play with the waiting area toys.
“Will Thursday be ok?” Inko questioned.
The receptionist shook his head. “Not this week, but next Thursday is available.”
She nodded. “Next week will be fine then, that at least gives us time to get the paperwork sorted. Thank you.”
“You're welcome.”
Inko then retrieved Izuku from the waiting area. “Time to head home now.”
Izuku nodded and followed Inko out the white double doors, and away from the hospital. They had to stop before getting back to the car to pay the parking ticket machine so they would be able to leave. After doing so, they walked over to the car.
She opened the door to the car and picked him up, putting him in the booster seat. Once his seat belt was secured Inko closed his door and opened hers. She strapped herself in and started the car. She pulled out of the car park, stuck the ticket in the barrier machine, and drove out of the hospital car park.
The drive home was silent.
The vet took a step back from the table, tugging on the bottom of the translucent blue disposable gloves to keep them from rolling up too far. “Thank you for staying so calm and still during this. You can deactivate your quirk now if you want.” The vet said, speaking to Izuku.
Izuku, who was currently in his kitten form, nodded and in his puff of silvery-green smoke; he returned to his human form. He didn't speak, he didn't like the painful needles or the firm touch of the vet.
“From the examination, your son's cat form is around eight weeks old.” The vet said. “Which is roughly the equivalent to two human years. Meaning that we can assume his kitten form will grow and age in equivalent to his human growth and age.” The vet paused to clear up some loose sheets of paper. “The examination also showed that for his age, he is both a healthy height and weight. His muscles seem to be slightly weak for his age, but as you mentioned his quirk only recently manifesting, we don't need to worry about that as long as he doesn't overuse his muscles too early on.”
Inko nodded, slowly taking in the information. “Anything else? Such as dietary needs, other vet checkups, general pet care information that would be relevant?”
The vet smiled a warm and friendly smile. “Ah yes, as we cannot be sure of the effects that both his human and his cat form dietary requirements will have on each other, if at all, I suggest providing a diet that provides all the required nutrients for both forms. Now I cannot speak on the human dietary requirements, but I can provide information on the cat diet.”
“That sounds reasonable,” Inko responded, hunting around in her purse for some pen and paper to write it all down.
“Ah! Don't worry about writing it down, we'll send you a letter containing all need to know information regarding kitten care.” The vet interjected, waving his hand. “Before we start planning any of his dietary requirements, has your son experienced any cramps or pains after eating foods that prior to his quirk manifesting, did not cause said symptoms?”
Inko thought for a second before shaking her head. “No, not from what I could tell.”
“Well just in case, I recommend you keep an eye on changes in food preferences and habits.” The vet tapped a few sheets. “Now we will send the blood tests off to be tested for any anomalies or deficiencies and we should get the results back in a few weeks to a month. And lastly, as a reminder from the beginning of this appointment, is that I have given your son all the needed injections for kittens. This means for the next few days he may feel some aching from the site of the injections and may feel slightly ill or experience symptoms similar to that of the common cold.”
“Is that all?” Inko asked, gently taking Izuku by the hand.
The vet nodded. “Yes, yes that's all.”
Inko smiled. “Thank you, and goodbye.” Inko guided Izuku out of the room, down the hallway of the veterinary, and out of the building.
Once they left the building, Izuku seemed to deflate almost.
“Sweetie, you've done really well, you've been really brave today okay. Would you like to celebrate with some ice-cream?” Inko asked, guiding Izuku over to the car and then proceeding to seatbelt him into his booster seat.
Izuku pouted before slowly nodding, “yes.”
“Alright then, we'll go to that fancy gelato place in the shopping centre,” Inko responded, plugging in her seat belt and turning on the car.
Izuku perked up at that. He grinned.
The drive to the shopping centre car park was relatively quiet, with Izuku babbling away to himself; lost in his own little world. The car park was packed but Inko managed to find a good car parking spot near the entrance.
Inko exited the car and helped Izuku out of the car. She checked to make sure she locked the car before walking with Izuku, into the shopping centre.
They didn't have to walk far before Izuku spotted the gelato shop and began to jump and giggle.
The two entered the quaint gelato shop and Inko smiled as she watched his face light up at all the different ice-cream flavours.
“I'll let you have two scoops of ice cream since you've been so good today and this past week. What flavours do you want?” Inko asked.
Izuku bounced up and down and pointed to two different flavours, his favourite and second favourite ice creams.
“A double scoop ice cream in a tub please, with Mint choc chip and chocolate brownie. And could I also have a cherry fudge ice cream on a cone, please? Thank you.” Inko asked the staff member behind the counter.
Inko kept an eye on Izuku whilst she waited for the staff member to finish scooping the ice creams. She handed over the correct amount of yen for the ice creams, picked them up, and took them over to a free table. She put the tub down and sat down in the nearest chair.
Izuku bounded after Inko, like a hyperactive puppy. He sat down on the chair opposite Inko. “Ice cream! Ice cream!” He cheered, he could hardly contain his excitement.
Inko laughed, “okay okay, here you go. Eat it slowly now, or else you'll get brain freeze!” She pushed the ice cream tub across the table so that it was in front of Izuku.
Izuku immediately started shoving ice cream into his mouth as soon as he could reach the ice cream tub. Spoonful, after spoonful, after spoonful. Within minutes, the ice cream was gone. He pouted at the empty tub. It has been practically licked clean.
“It didn't even touch the sides on the way down.” She teased, not that he would really understand. Inko ate her ice cream much slower, taking her time to fully savour the delicious taste of the cherry fudge and wafer cone.
Izuku kicked his legs back and forth as he waited for his mum to finish her ice cream.
It only took a few minutes before Inko's ice cream was fully consumed. Inko tidied the table a small amount, to make it an easier job for the staff. “Ready to go shopping now?” She asked rhetorically.
“No!” Was Izuku's response.
“Well, I guess we can't have a look at any of the new All Might merch they have.” Inko teased.
“Al' Mi'!” He cried, bouncing up and down in his seat.
The two Midoriya's stood up. Inko pushed the chairs back under the table and then walked with Izuku out of the gelato shop.
Inko held Izuku's hand as they walked past shops with pretty window displays and all manner of quirk related stocks. She led him into a store which sold clothes, having a gander at the woman's clothing section. But the constant tugging from Izuku meant Inko didn't really have time to look at the clothes for very long.
Knowing that he wouldn't be happy until they visited the hero merchandise store, Inko gave in and left the store, letting Izuku pull her over to the gaudishly coloured shop window. Inko had really wanted to spend just a few minutes to have a look and maybe try on some new clothes but seeing her son smile so brightly was much more important.
Izuku gazed at the display in the window with stars in his eyes. His a thousand watt smile dazzling in the lights surrounding each display case. The top ten heroes each had a display case dedicated to their merchandise, but All Might's display was by far the largest and most extravagant.
A cardboard cutout of All-Might, with moving flexing arms, stood behind the display case. The pattern and colours from his current suit were the background behind the cutout. In the display case, there were all sorts of official merchandise, from action figures to t-shirts and onesies, to stationary, to candlestick holders.
Inko glanced at the other hero displays, trying to recognise any of them, but the only recognisable one was Endeavour's. Thankfully Izuku wasn't interested in Endeavour. Inko respected him as a hero, but she certainly thought his attitude and personality were of much to be desired. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the hulking figure of the hero in question, walking through the crowds of people. He was probably on patrol, to ensure that everyone who was out today would be safe. But Inko wasn't convinced, compared All Might, Endeavour seemed more like a villain. With his colour scheme, his dangerous quirk, his constant angry mood, and his blatant disregard for public safety during villain fights.
As she was so preoccupied with Endeavour's unheroic existence, she nearly missed Izuku rushing into the store. Inko cast a glance at Endeavour one last time before slowly walking after her son.
Izuku dashed down an aisle of merchandise and toys until he reached the All Might section, specifically homing in on the action figures and toys. He was staring at the toys with such an awe. One might've thought that Izuku had mistaken the toys for All Might and not just a figurine of the hero, from his awe.
Inko had barely entered the store when she felt a tremor and heard a loud rumbling noise. She pulled out her phone to check if there were any earthquake warnings that she had missed, it wasn't unusual for Musutafu city or the Kiyashi ward to have earthquakes. Upon seeing no notification or warning about earthquakes or tsunamis for the day, Inko quickly realised that the only other answer was a villain attack. Her heart plummeted.
She darted forwards to go get Izuku but froze when the rumbling became louder and the store began to shake. Dust came crumbling down from between the ceiling panels. Distantly, she heard screaming and the thundering of footsteps as people ran. Inko tried to move, her brain screaming at her to get Izuku and run away, but her body refused to cooperate.
She watched Endeavour sprint past her into the shop.
*
The building began to shake more and more violently. The inside of the shop was blocked from view by thick clouds of dust. Flames whipped around, casting ominous shadows. But then the windows shattered, scattering shards of glass everywhere. Inko sobbed. “Someone! Someone, please! Save my baby boy! My little Izuku is inside!” She yelled hoarsely, but the only heroes there were Endeavour and his sidekicks, and not one of them spared her a glance. Inko noticed that her head was bleeding and that she was now kneeling on the glass shard ridden ground.
Inko, kneeling in the doorway, eyes scouring the dusty fog for any signs of Izuku.
The villain was laughing.
A scream rang out.
The scream of a child.
And then the sky fell.
Izuku screamed. He screamed as the flames from Endeavour burned the All Might merchandise to smithereens, and narrowly missed burning Izuku too.
Izuku gasped for breath, his lungs aren't working. Why couldn't he breathe?
Why couldn't he see very well?
Why did his chest hurt with each breath?
Why was he coughing so much?
The air was grey, a mix of dust and smoke. The heavy smell of blood and smoke burned the back of his throat and nose. With each suffocating cough, he felt weaker and weaker, slower and slower. His vision was darkening with each passing second. The noise was deafening. The villain was laughing. Endeavour was cursing.
Izuku slowly backed away as the sounds of the fighting grew closer and closer. And then a thick barreling arm slammed into his torso. He was ragdolled into a wooden pole and heard a bad cracking sound. He felt pain.
So much pain.
So he did the only thing he could do and activated his quirk. He instantly felt better. But he was so scared. A deep suffocating fear. Izuku knew he had to get out. So he scrambled to his feet- paws and ran blindly away from the pole.
He felt the sharp stinging pain of his lungs burning. His nose was sore from bumping into broken objects on the floor. His paws felt like he had a thousand paper cuts on them.
But he kept running. Everything was a blur.
And after bumping into many more broken things, Izuku found himself outside the store. The air was still filled with smoke, dust, and ash, but at least now he could see clearly, and breathing was easier.
The crashing sounds from inside got louder, it was all too much for his poor senses so he ran. He ran between the feet of people. Getting kicked and stepped on as punishment for trying to flee. But he kept getting back up. And he kept running. Soon feet and flooring turned to stone and asphalt.
But he kept running. He wasn't safe. Not when the smell of exhaust was all too similar to the smell inside that shop. He was still so scared. So he kept running.
*
And running, and running, and running.
And more running, and running, and running.
Before Izuku knew it, he had entered a forest. His feet- paws ached so much. The soil was heaven to his injured and weary paws. The smell of life, whilst not as strong as of would have been in spring or summer, was still strong enough to soothe Izuku. The sky was a greyish blue. Not black and grey and red. Blue was nice. Blue was safe.
Here he was safe. Here in the forest, he belonged.
But no matter how much safer the forest was. The darkness crept closer and closer. The skies turned dark, still blue, but much darker in shade. Izuku hadn't noticed the sun set. And now he was alone.
Alone in the dark.
So far from home.
In an unfamiliar place.
He cried out, yowling as loud as possible. He was scared still. He couldn't understand why nowhere was safe.
Then the skies opened, and the rain fell.
He tentatively explored the forest in attempts to find shelter. Izuku wanted to go home. He wanted to be safe. He wanted to be dry and warm and not miserable.
As he explored, he failed to notice a burrow beneath the roots of a tree. His back left paw scrambled for purchase as it caught the edge of the hole. He skidded to the ground, falling inside. It was dark and scary. But there it was warm and it was dry. So it was good enough for him.
Izuku curled up in a ball in the furthest wall of the burrow. He was exhausted. He quickly fell asleep to the calming sounds of the rain pitter-pattering outside. Maybe the forest was better than he thought.
He was safe, and he was warm.
Perhaps it was luck that he fell asleep before the owner of the burrow returned. For he was blissfully unaware when a shadowy creature blocked the entrance and only exit to the burrow.