Chapter Text
Izuku Midoriya grew up always admiring heroes, All Might especially.
I mean, who didn’t really? He was the greatest man on the planet, always so strong, fearless and forever smiling. Izuku wanted nothing more than to become a hero just like All Might when he got his quirk.
He wasn’t special in that regard; he was much like most other children his age in that way. Instead, he was special in... other ways.
Growing up, people around him noticed that he was... unusual. He would occasionally say something odd or cryptic, unusually insightful for a child his age or stare off into the distance as if he could see something that nobody else could.
While most put this down to just childish imagination or just him being a bit of an odd kid, those close to him assumed this was to do with the quirk he would develop.
Still, that in itself was a source of confusion. His mother’s quirk was a weak telekinetic quirk and his father could breathe fire.
Neither of those seemed at all related to the behaviours Izuku was displaying. Doctors they took him too just concluded that his quirk would most likely be a complete mutation from their quirks, something that was rare but did happen on occasion.
For the most part, Izuku had an ordinary childhood. He lived with his mother in a small apartment and they didn’t have much money but they were happy. He wasn’t the most popular kid in the neighbourhood, but he had a few he could call friends like Katsuki Bakugo, or Kacchan as he called him. He was distracted easily but was intelligent.
Apart from his odd tendencies, nobody would have given him a second look. He was... normal.
Nobody knew the man he’d grow into, the man that would keep the world itself safe from the dangers and horrors that nobody knew about.
To be fair, it was something that nobody could see in his youth but the first clue that he was destined for something special was his fourth birthday, the day he got his quirk.
The day began like many four-year-olds birthdays did, with a lot of excited running around and present opening.
He threw his covers off, ran to his mom’s room to wake her up and practically dragged her out of bed. He did this not because he was excited about the presents necessarily, but because he felt that something exciting was going to happen and he wanted his mom to be there for it.
Inko forced Izuku to sit still for a few minutes, she made herself a coffee as to make up for getting dragged out of bed at six in the morning and made Izuku drink a glass of milk. That normally calmed him down.
It didn’t quite work but it kept him from wearing a hole in the floor from all his excited bouncing so she called it a partial success.
Then came the opening of the presents. Inko didn’t have much money, working long, difficult hours as a nurse but she always tried to give Izuku everything he deserved and more.
Most of the presents were typical of a boy his age who was as obsessed with heroes as he was, action figures, posters, clothes and movies, all hero themed of course.
There were a few other gifts too, but they were ultimately unimportant because on this day, Izuku was given something that without which, the world may have descended into chaos, ruin and death.
He was given a blank book.
Inko had found it while out shopping several weeks earlier. She hadn’t even intended to go into the bookstore, she was running errands when she just felt... a tugging at her, as if something was pulling her towards the shop.
Not resisting, she was led to a brown leather-bound book. It was old, slightly dirty and heavily weathered. It had faded silver designs on the front, back and spine. She couldn’t make out if they meant anything or were just decorative. She picked the book up and opened it, reacting with surprise when she realised it was completely blank. She flipped through every page, there wasn’t a single speck of ink on it.
Although, in the back of her mind, she also noticed that every page was completely pristine as if it had never been touched before.
Considering it was a completely empty old book the price on it was remarkably steep but Inko just felt like she should buy it. Since it was empty Izuku could use it as a notebook, he had needed a new one anyway and it was rather pretty.
And so, Inko left the bookshop that day with a pretty looking book and a lighter wallet.
When Izuku opened that gift, when his fingers touched the cover of the book, there was a slight glow. Near completely imperceptible but as he touched the book for the first time, the pages shone for just a second.
After this, Izuku froze for a few seconds. As in, his body completely locked up.
He barely noticed however as he was too distracted by the sudden rush of symbols flashing across his eyes. It probably only lasted for a split second but for him, it felt like hours.
He blinked as his body relaxed and the torrent of nonsensical symbols and icons disappeared. Immediately he felt... different. Everything looked slightly different too, it was as if he had always been wearing sunglasses and he had just taken them off.
It was... an unusual feeling.
He shook his head slightly, unsure of what just happened and opened the book. As he looked at the front page, he smiled happily.
“Aww mom... you put my name on it” he said gratefully.
Inko was confused. She never wrote anything on it. She glanced over his shoulder at the page he was staring at. It was blank.
“Erm... sweetie... the book’s empty, it’s like a new notebook for you” she replied, unsure.
Now it was Izuku’s turn to look confused, “No it isn’t, it’s full of all these pictures and words” he replied.
He flicked through the pages, showing Inko as if to prove his point. Still, every page remained blank.
“I don’t know what to tell you Izuku... I can’t see anything” Inko eventually announced.
“What?... but, it’s nearly full, why can’t you see anything?” Izuku wondered, voice trembling slightly with confusion.
Inko knelt next to him, gently rubbing his shoulders, “It’s alright sweetie, maybe it’s just a special book that only you can read” she reassured him.
Izuku thought for a second before nodding, apparently accepting this new theory. He turned to his mom and gave her a near angelic smile. “Thanks mommy” he said before wrapping his arms around her in the biggest hug he could give.
Inko returned the hug, still confused and slightly concerned but willing to put it aside for now as he seemed happy.
After the wrapping paper was tidied away, Inko set about making them both breakfast. It was earlier than normal but it was his birthday, she figured she’d just roll with it.
As she worked away in the kitchen, Izuku was sat at the table, reading his new book. The first twenty pages or so were full of big words that he somehow understood. He doubted he would be able to explain what they meant to someone else but he understood them himself.
After that, the pages became filled with symbols, diagrams, pictures and written instructions.
The first page after the confusing introduction that spoke of ancient power, responsibilities and monsters listed something simply labelled at the top of the page, ‘Grip’.
It showed a series of hand gestures in simple diagrams and there were brief instructions underneath.
It said that it would allow him to pick up distant objects and manipulate them so long as they weighed less than a kilogram.
He didn’t really understand what this book was, but he decided he had nothing to lose by giving it a go.
He saw a teaspoon sat on the kitchen counter, the one his mom had used to stir her coffee.
He reached out towards it with his right hand and pinched the air with his thumb, forefinger and middle finger. Then, with his left hand in the same pinched position, he placed it on the back of his right hand and pulled it backwards, as if pulling on a string.
Izuku’s eyes widened when he saw the spoon suddenly rise about fifteen centimetres into the air above the worktop. Slowly, Izuku brought his right hand closer to his chest and the spoon approached slowly.
Izuku’s expression broke out into a huge grin, was this his quirk?
He was about to call out to his mom when the spoon clattered to the ground and his entire body suddenly got very tired.
The metal spoon clattering on the ground attracted his mom’s attention who then saw Izuku’s upper body sprawled over the table, unable to hold himself up.
“IZUKU!” she cried, understandably worried. She ran to his side and gently shook his shoulders.
“Ughh... mom?” Izuku groaned, head spinning.
“Izuku? Are you alright?” Inko asked, voice thick with worry.
“Mmm just... really sleepy” Izuku yawned.
Inko exhaled in relief, he probably just crashed from waking up so early and his energy finally settling down. She stood up and walked back towards the kitchen, noticing the spoon on the floor.
She bent over and picked it up, peering at it in puzzlement. How did it get there? She hadn’t been stood anywhere near it to knock it onto the floor and it was about three metres away from where it was.
“Izuku? Did you see what happened to this spoon?” she called out towards her sleepy son.
“Mmm?... yeah... I... pulled it” he muttered sleepily.
“You pulled it? How?” Inko asked.
“Book... told me... how to do it...” Izuku replied, voice growing fainter until sleep claimed him.
Inko looked between the spoon in her hand, her sleeping four-year-old son and the book currently sat open on the table in front of him.
“Wait... he pulled it... does that mean he has my quirk?” she wondered aloud.
Izuku didn’t regain consciousness for a few hours. He woke up lying on his bed, still feeling drained almost but not like he was about to fall asleep again.
As he practically stumbled out of his room, Inko sat him down at the table, practically forced a light breakfast down his throat before getting him dressed and bundling him into the car.
Izuku, being the dutiful son he was, didn’t even think to question where they were going at first.
But then, after about ten minutes in the car, his curiosity got the better of him. “Mom? Where are we going?” he asked timidly.
“Oh, sorry sweetie, I forgot to tell you, we’re going to see the quirk specialist, I think you might have developed your quirk” Inko replied apologetically.
Izuku smiled, gripping the book tighter to his chest. “Really? You think so too?”
Inko nodded, “Of course I do sweetie I...” she paused as she glanced in the rear-view mirror and saw Izuku clutching the book. “...why did you bring the book?” she asked.
Izuku looked down with a start as he realised what he was doing. “Huh? I didn’t bring it” he replied, startled. “I don’t know where it was after I woke up”
“I... I put it on the desk in your room” Inko replied, exceptionally confused again.
“I didn’t even see it” Izuku added.
They both just looked at each other in the rear-view mirror for a few seconds before they both just frowned and dropped the subject.
Today was already a weird day.
The Midoriya’s didn’t have to wait too long to see a specialist, they were soon shown into an office with an aged doctor who sat them down.
Inko began to explain the day’s events so far, the spoon and the book. It was at that point the doctor noticed the book lying on Izuku’s lap. He was certain that wasn't there when they entered the room.
Puzzled and intrigued by this possible quirk, the doctor sent the boy off for all the usual tests to try and determine what it was.
An hour or so of testing later, they were back in his office.
“Well then Mrs Midoriya, I can safely inform you that your son does indeed have a quirk, his toe joint confirms it... although as to the exact nature of his quirk I am still unsure” he admitted.
“What do you mean doctor? Doesn’t he have my quirk?” Inko asked.
The doctor shook his head, “I don’t think so, that was my first thought when you talked about the spoon but that book... that doesn’t seem like it would have anything to do with your quirk and I believe I am right when I say that other doctors have anticipated a complete quirk mutation?”
Inko nodded, “Yes, two other doctors said his quirk would be different to mine or my husband’s”
The doctor nodded, “Hmm, well, I don’t know exactly what it is although I can make a few educated guesses” he announced after a moment, placing a picture of a brain scan on the desk. “This is a scan we took of your son’s brain... what is odd is that it seems much more developed that it normally would be for a child his age, not in terms of size or anything but in activity”
Inko nodded, not quite understanding what he meant. “So what does that mean exactly doctor?”
“Well, I would have to assume that his quirk involves knowledge in someway” the doctor replied. “I had a girl in here last year, her quirk affected her IQ after consuming tea and the scans of her head after drinking tea were similar to your son’s”
Izuku nodded as he listened to the doctor. “Erm... I think it might have something to do with the book” he spoke up.
Both the adults in the room turned to him, “What do you mean by that son?” the doctor asked.
“Well... when I touched the book, I saw a lot of... symbols or something... a lot of the same kind in the book” he admitted.
“Interesting... may I see the book?” the doctor asked politely, holding his hand out.
Izuku reluctantly placed the book in his hand. The doctor leant back and opened it but was confused to see that it was blank.
“And... you can see things in this book?” the doctor asked to confirm.
Izuku nodded, “Yeah, but mom can’t” he explained.
“Fascinating... This actually supports my theory that your quirk was suddenly... awakened for lack of a better word” the doctor replied. “Going off your blood work, all signs show that your quirk has advanced from a dormant to an active state in the blink of an eye”
“Ohh... it must have been touching the book that did it” Izuku realised.
The doctor nodded in agreement, “That is what I was thinking yes” he confirmed.
“So, the book is part of his quirk?” Inko asked.
“I believe so, where did it come from if I may ask?” the doctor asked curiously.
“Just a little bookshop... I don’t know what it was but I just felt something... ugh, it sounds ridiculous but it felt like something was calling to me” Inko admitted.
The doctor’s eyes widened, “And you bought it, always intending to give it to your son?”
Inko nodded, “Of course, it was a birthday present”
“Well well well... I’ve never been much of a believer in fate but this seems like a good enough example for me” the doctor chuckled. He then leant forward and stared at Izuku for a few seconds. “So, how exactly did you make the spoon float?”
Izuku took the book back and opened it to the Grip page. “Well, the book showed me how to do it, it said I could pick things up as long as they weren’t too heavy”
“Hmm... in that case, could you try and do that on my pen?” he asked, placing a simple ballpoint pen onto the desk.
Izuku nodded and repeated the pinching motions with his hands, pulling the pen into the air. The pen hung suspended in the air for a few seconds before it dropped back to the table as Izuku released his grip on it, already getting tired.
“I understand now... I think I may have an idea of what your quirk is then young man” the doctor announced after a few moments of thought.
“Huh? What is it then?” Izuku asked, a little woozy.
“In the book, are there other instructions to do different things?” the doctor asked for clarification.
Izuku nodded, “Yeah... but only for a few more pages after that one”.
“I see... well then, it sounds odd even to myself, but it seems like that book is some kind of spellbook” the doctor announced.
Izuku’s eyes widened with glee. “Spellbook? You mean... my quirk is magic?” he asked excitedly.
The doctor nodded, “As close as anything I've ever seen to magic before” he confirmed, “Although I wouldn’t necessarily say your quirk was the magic itself... I think it was the ability to read the magic”
Izuku’s gleeful expression quickly turned to one of confusion. “What’s the difference?” he asked.
“Well, you said that you saw symbols in front of your eyes when you touched the book, I think the book might have given you the magical knowledge inside it and that’s why your brain has become more developed than it would be” the doctor explained.
“Ohh... that makes sense actually” Inko realised.
“And of course because it only activated for you, presumably, nobody else can read what is inside the book” the doctor continued.
Izuku clutched the book to his chest protectively, “So... it’s only mine?” he asked.
“Of course it is, nobody else can read it” the doctor confirmed.
Izuku grinned happily, tightening his grip on the book. Finally, he had his quirk, and it was such a special one too.
The Midoriya’s left the doctor shortly afterwards with the instructions as to not use it too much for now. The doctor theorised that whatever allowed Izuku to use the magic, for the sake of argument he just referred to it as Mana, it would run out quickly and make him very tired.
After they got back home, Izuku wouldn’t stop bouncing around the apartment or let go of the book. Inko couldn’t really blame him, she wasn’t sure she’d have acted any different if she was told she could use magic.
Izuku spent the rest of the day reading through the book properly. He still didn’t quite understand the first section of the book so he continued to gloss over that and instead focused on what he now knew to be spells.
He had six listed spells in the book. The first was Grip.
The second was called ‘Produce Water’. According to the instructions, it did what it said on the tin. It would fill a container under a certain size with pure, clean drinkable water.
The next was ‘Trickster’s Secret’. This allowed him to do many little things. He could make a brief sensory effect, a burst of sparks, a gust of wind, sound, smell etc. He could also light and extinguish small fires like on a candle with it as well as cleaning an object smaller than a cubic foot. The last thing this very versatile spell allowed him to do was to open or close an unlocked door, window or container that he could see.
The fourth was called ‘Control Flames’. This let him extinguish larger flames than Trickster’s Secret but it also let him control how much light comes from a flame as well as change its colour. He could also apparently make people see images in the flames.
‘Dancing lights’ was the fifth spell. This allowed him to create up to four floating sources of light whenever he wanted. He could move them around, change their brightness and colour, like the flames in the previous spell.
The last one was... a bit more dangerous. That one was called ‘Frostbite’. It let him create harmful frost on any surface or living creature. Apparently, if he cast this on a living creature, it would be temporarily slowed and the frost would hurt them. Not terribly so, but he didn’t exactly want to test it out on anybody.
He closed the book as his mom called him to dinner, unintentionally tucking it under his arm as he made his way to the table.
By now, Inko had just sort of accepted the fact that Izuku would probably not be letting that book out of his sight for a few weeks.
And judging by the book itself, neither would it.
Izuku woke up the next day at a slightly more reasonable time in order to go to kindergarten. He got dressed into his uniform, ate breakfast and his mom took him to the kindergarten he went to with Kacchan.
His mom sent him inside with a note for his teachers, explaining that his quirk had manifested and the book was part of it. Also that it would seemingly appear by his side if he left it alone for too long or went too far away.
That part puzzled the teachers somewhat but they just shrugged their shoulders, quirks in general didn’t make sense most of the time.
Obviously, as soon as he was done with the teachers, he made a beeline for his blonde, spiky-haired friend.
“KACCHAN!” Izuku cried excitedly.
Bakugo flinched slightly, not expecting his excitement or volume. “What? What do you want Deku?” he demanded, already annoyed.
“I GOT MY QUIRK!” he announced proudly.
Bakugo froze for a split second. That was annoying. He was the first to develop his quirk, just a few weeks ago. That made him the second.
The blonde scoffed, “Oh yeah? Well what is it then?”
Izuku held the book out towards him, “This is a spellbook, I can do magic” he announced excitedly.
Okay, even Bakugo had to admit that was kinda cool.
“So you’re a wizard? Heh, trust Deku to get a weird quirk” he joked to his ‘friends’. “So go on then, what can you do?”
Izuku sat on the ground and opened the book, flicking to the spell pages. Everyone who was paying attention to the conversation were slightly confused by the fact that the pages were blank.
“I can lift things up in the air, I can make water, I can do a bunch of cool effects things, I can control fire a bit, I can make floating lights and I can make frost on things or people” he rattled off.
Bakugo frowned slightly. Hmm, they weren’t as cool as he was expecting, nothing like his quirk.
Still... he might make a good sidekick with stuff like that...
Bakugo grinned and smacked him on the back, “Well Deku, you’re not gonna be the top hero with a quirk like that... but how’d you like to be my sidekick?”
Izuku’s eyes shined with excitement. “Really? You’d let me be your sidekick?”
Bakugo chuckled, “Sure, just as long as you don’t start crying”
Izuku quickly wiped the tears away from the corners of his eyes and nodded. “Alright, I’ll do it” he announced.
These past few days had been the happiest of his life. He got his own quirk, one he thought was awesome and even Kacchan had accepted it.
Truly, he didn’t think he could get any happier.
It was a shame he didn’t know that would also be the worst day of his life.