Chapter Text
Izuku is eight years old when his Quirk appears.
He never truly stopped hoping for it to manifest, even after years of being mocked for his lack of one. With the limited access he was allowed to the Internet and his library card, he had gone through dozens of books and articles he barely understood, several of which mentioned the possibility of a late blooming Quirk. Most of the time, he remembers, they are delayed due to an inability on the wielder's part to use it or comprehend it. As he grew older and older, further from the age he was supposed to manifest it, it had become harder to maintain that little flame of hope but, eventually...
Izuku is eight years old when his Quirk appears.
At first, he wonders if the shining words in the air could have been caused by anyone other than him, looking around the half empty library, heart pounding in his chest, hands shaking slightly. No one is looking at him, not even the librarians. He's all alone sitting next to the Quirk Theory shelves. Alone with these words.
Did I do this? He wonders, the shaking growing more pronounced. Is this my Quirk?
A Quirk that allows him to write in the air would not be the most powerful for hero work but it does have several uses. He needs to test it first, of course, but it could allow him to send messages across a battlefield or even distract villains to allow someone else to strike. Compared to what All Might, or even Kacchan, can do it seems almost ridiculous but Izuku doesn't care. It's there and it's his. He has a Quirk.
The only thing that confuses him is that the words that appeared in front of him do not seem to be connected to anything he was thinking of, read or spoke aloud. There is always a lack of control in the beginning stages of any Quirks, the books say, but this one confuses him. Where do the words come from? His subconscious, maybe? Or could they be related to what other people around him are saying or thinking? Is this some kind of mind reading Quirk, or-
"Kid, please. Some of us are trying to study here." A tired looking young woman chastises him, sitting a few meters away, frowning down at him.
He flushes, raising his hands in front of his mouth to muffle the muttering he always finds himself spouting whenever he's deep in thought, and turns his gaze back to the writing. He needs to get out of the library so that he won't disturb others by thinking aloud but he's afraid that, by leaving the area, the words will also disappear. Plus, his mom is also there, further down in the research section, and he would never dare to go away with her still in there. He would probably get grounded for life.
Trying his best to keep the muttering at bay, he turns back towards the words. They haven't changed, apparently impervious to his own state of mind. The mistery remains.
[Character Creation] they say, floating in shiny green letters in front of his eyes. Under the first line, another one, slightly smaller, simply says [Proceed ?]. Izuku doesn't know what a character creation is but it does sound like something out of a video game. He isn't allowed to play any video game at home, except the ones on the Internet that mom has checked beforehand and minesweeper, if he isn't allowed to access the Internet that day, but he has heard of other children talking about them. He is never invited to play at their house, though, everybody knows Deku is quirkless and quirkless people don't deserve to-
He takes a deep breath. 1. 2. 3. His mom's words on repeat in his head. "Deep breaths, Izuchan, clear your mind, in and out."
His breathing doesn't pick up more after this. His mom's techniques truly are the best.
Izuku turns his attention back to his Quirk, the two strange lines of words. They don't seem to mean anything and he can't think of where they would come from but one of them does say [Proceed] so maybe there is something he can do to make them change. He tries thinking hard about it, frowing and gritting his teeth in concentration. He spends a good minute glaring at the innocent words without anything happening.
Either the Quirk isn't telepathically controlled or he isn't good enough to make it change with his mind yet.
"Proceed." He whispers, thrying another approach.
Nothing happens.
If thought won't work and if voice commands won't either, it doesn't mean there is now way form him to controll the burgeoning Quirk. He quickly goes through his options before trying something else entirely, reaching out with his hands and tapping the words slightly. His mouth falls open when, instead of going through them, his fingers touch a cold, smooth surface, that seems to shift slightly against his skin before starting to morph.
Before his eyes, the words change.
[Character Creation]
[Race : Human]
[Alignment : Neutral Good]
[Size : Medium]
[Speed : 30]
[Language Proficiency : Japanese]
[Language Proficiency : Choose one]
[Subrace : Human Variant]
[Subrace Ability Score Increase : Choose one]
[Subrace Ability Score Increase : Choose one]
[Skill Proficiencies : Choose one]
[Proceed ?]
His hand falls to his lap slowly, as he tries to take in the new lines and understand their meaning. As much as he tries to, they don't make any sense to him. Some of them he can figure out, assuming that the words apply to him, since he's the one who touched the words and this is, after all, his Quirk (his very own Quirk, his own, he isn't quirkless he cen become a hero, he-). The fact that his race apparently is "human" isn't surprising to him, but that must be the only thing he's able to fully comprehend in the whole spiel. To add even more confusion, instead of being green, some of the lines are shining in red, standing out from the others.
"What is an alignment?" He whispers, before remembering he isn't supposed to be talking in a library and shooting his hands to his mouth once again. He needs to learn how to be silent or he's going to get booted out. Again.
The lines in red are all at the bottom, except for one [Language Proficiency], the second one. He tries tapping the green lines before reluctantly turning to the red ones, hoping nothing bad will happen when he touches them. Thankfully, the words don't explode in his face and instead, when he taps the little [Language Proficiency : Choose one], he's presented with a very, very long lists of various human languages. He tilts his head to the side, wondering why he is seeing so many of them, a large amount he didn't even know the existence of before. His Quirk is either making them up or it's able to reach more informations than what he has access to in his mind.
Kind of like an internal library maybe? But then the rest doesn't make sense, what does his size have anything to do with knowledge? And why is his size medium? He's always been small for his age, Kacchan always makes sure to remind him of it, is this a mistake on his power's part or-
Once again, he has to cover his mouth with his hands to stop his muttering, his cheek growing warmer as he notices a woman, the same one who scolded him earlier, look in his direction, a frown on her face. He really needs to be more discreet.
He looks back at the languages list. There is one he has always wanted to learn, thankfully he always knew he would be able to take lessons in it later in life but, maybe, if his Quirk really is a form of internal library, it will provide him with informations on it. Obviously, said language is English. All Might himself is fluent and this alone is enough to make him want to learn, he already knows a few words, having asked his mother to teach him some, which she had done, with a proud smile on her face.
[English] He selects.
The moment he presses his fingers to the shimmering red words, he feels something strange. Suddenly, his mind seems to expand and, in less than a second, years worth of knowledge slam into him, a whole language with all of its vocabulary, grammar rules, verbs, sayings and traditions settles itself within his brain. He freezes, expecting a massive headache to come crashing down on him at the sheer amount of information he just received but nothing happens. Instead, he can feel English floating in his brain, as natural as Japanese is to him and he knows that, were he to open his mouth and try to, he would be able to speak perfect English, without the single trace of an accent.
So his Quirk is a library of knowledge. The sheer potential it has is terrifying. He finds himself racing through options, his mouth covered by one of his hands to muffle the sound. Is there a limit to how much information he's allowed to register? It almost behaves like downloading something on a computer, he notices right after, exactly like it, in fact. His mom is usually the one who gets the All Might videos for him but he's still aware of what's happening when she does it, especially since she believes in teaching him anything he wants, as long as he doesn't use it irresponsibly.
Then... could the red words be the ones he has to touch in order to ... download a new form of knowledge? He has three left and, his head filled with informations he never properly learned but has still assimilated somehow, he touches the next one.
[Ability Score Increase : Choose One]
[Strength]
[Dexterity]
[Constitution]
[Intelligence]
[Wisdom]
[Charisma]
Once again, he's reminded of video games. Some of the boys in his class have handheld games like this, and sometimes talk of [Intelligence] and [Strenght] as mechanics for their characters but right now, Izuku isn't in a video game, he's in his own body and...
Could it be?
The sheer magnitude of what his Quirk might be offering him makes him sink to the ground, next to the book he dropped earlier, when the words first appeared. His Quirk... could it be... more than the informations, could his Quirk be able to change those attributes in himself? This means that it isn't a simple library of information but a power able to reshape the way he thinks, his muscles and his brain. It also gives him control over it.
And there he was, thinking he was quirkless only a few minutes ago... and now he has this incredible power.
His head is spinning a bit and he has to repeat mom's breathing exercises to start feeling like he isn't about to collapse further.
He tries to think of what a hero could need, what he could get to help him on his journey but his mind is blank. It's all a bit too much to take in. However, he can't stop here, he doesn't want to stop there. He has a Quirk and he wants to learn more about it and, if the [Proceed ?] at the bottom of the list is anything to go by, this might not even be the end of it. There is more to come and it's both terrifying and exhilating.
A hero needs to be strong, he decides, thinking of All Might punching his adversaries, a bright smile on his face. Without giving himself time to doubt, he taps the little [Strength] and moves on the second choice. As he does so, he feels a slight pain throughout his whole body, that disappears almost immediately. When he looks down at his arms, he's astonished to see that they seem ever so slightly bigger than they did earlier. It's barely noticeable but, for Izuku, who has spent hours looking at them in disgust, trying to get his hands to shoot out fire or do anything useful, it's easy to spot. It really is changing his body.
He has a second choice, another option. What is the second thing a hero needs the most?
He thinks of a bright smile, a thumbs up and an air of confidence and pride and he knows. Like All Might, he will be a hero that will make other people feel safe and protected. He reaches out once again and taps the [Charisma]. Unlike [Strength], he's unable to find any obvious change in his body after the small rush of pain that shakes him but, the fact that he felt the rush in the first place probably means that it worked.
His eyes start tearing up at the idea that, with this, he's getting closer to becoming a hero. His dream is no longer unreachable.
It takes him a good ten minutes to get himself under control enough that he knows he isnt about to burst into tears in the middle of a public library but, once he manages to stop the sniffling, he finds himself staring at the last of the red lines of words. [Skill Proficiencies : Choose one]. A skill. If this is anything like the Language, he will most likely get the Knowledge directly injected into his brain and his body and the thought of yet another thing he can gain from his power is making him slightly dizzy. Just how many upgrades is he going to get from this?
[Skill Proficiencies : Choose One]
[Acrobatics]
[Animal Handling]
[Arcana]
[Athletics]
[Deception]
[History]
[Insight]
[Intimidation]
[Investigation]
[Medicine]
[Nature]
[Perception]
[Performance]
[Persuasion]
[Religion]
[Sleight of Hand]
[Stealth]
[Survival]
That is, Izuku decides, a lot of skills to chose from. Several of them, like [Arcana], he can't quite figure out, especially since, while some of them appear to be physical, other seem to be entirely information based, or even relating to something entirely different like [Perception]. In the end, he decides, he has to, once again, choose something that will make him a better hero. [Deception] and [Stealth] won't do as they seem to be something only a villain would use, or a vigilante maybe. Izuku isn't sure any hero would sneak around in the dark, but then his favorite hero is All Might and his mom doesn't allow him to go look for too much Hero stuff otherwise, because of all the blood.
He can't figure out what [Sleight of Hand], [Survival], [Insight] and [Arcana] mean so he decides to push them aside. He's too curious about his Quirk to take time and think, what if there's something even more awesome that happens once he clicks the [Proceed ?], he has to choose now, and choose well.
Izuku can't picture himself using [Intimidation] on anyone and, despite being interested in [History], he has a hard time imagining how it could be useful on the battlefield, when fighting villains. In the end, he decides to go with [Acrobatics], thinking that, whatever it is, it might help him dodge out of the way faster. As he does so, he feels, once again, a wave of cold, warmth and pain propagate throughout his body. This time, it lasts significantly longer, almost a full minute, but it isn't powerful enough to make him react in any major way other than having him make an uncomfortable face and shift slightly on the ground.
As soon as the discomfort is gone, Izuku looks down at himself, feeling a tinge of disappointment when he doesn't notice any obvious differences in his body and muscles. No knowledge seems to have found its way into his mind either but then, maybe this skill is related to muscle memory, since his Quirk appears to be able to change all aspects of his body and mind.
[Proceed ?] he taps eagerly, heart still pounding, rising to his feet again and picking up the fallen book. He usually gets at least a dozen from the Quirk section and Hero Comics section of the library but, this time, he got interrupted before he found his second one, he forgets about it almost immediately, too absorbed by the letters forming around his hand and bursting into existence in front of him.
[Choose a Class]
[Artificer]
[Barbarian]
[Bard]
[Cleric]
[Druid]
[Fighter]
[Monk]
[Paladin]
[Ranger]
[Rogue]
[Sorcerer]
[Warlock]
[Wizard]
For what seems like the hundredth time this morning, Izuku finds himself staring at words he doesn't really understand. The term [Class] reminds him of video games, as other things did before, but he can't quite remember what it meant to be of a "class" in those games. As for the other words, he can't make sense of the vast majority of them, what is an [Artificer] ? For that matter, what is a [Paladin] or a [Cleric] ? And what about the [Druid] ? Questions fly through his mind as he realises that, out of all of these terms, the only ones he can fully comprehend are [Fighter], [Wizard], [Monk] and, maybe [Ranger].
Maybe, he wonders, these are supposed to be what he wants to become when he grows older, and class means what kind of school he wants to go to later on. If so, the question isn't even one and there is no need for him to make a choice. He's never wanted to become a monk, has no interest working in national parks and, despite it sounding very enjoyable, the only wizards he know of are the ones with pointy hats and magic wands in animated shows. No, Izuku doesn't want to go to school to become any of those things. Izuku wants to become a [Fighter], a Hero.
Immediately after he touches the words, other appear, startling him slightly.
[Weapons Proficiencies : Simple Weapons, Martial Weapons]
[Armor Proficiencies : Light Armor, Medium Armor, Heavy Armor, Shields]
[Skill Proficiencies : Choose one]
[Skill Proficiencies : Choose one]
[Fighting Style : Choose one]
[Class Feature : Second Wind]
His hands don't get to his mouth in time to muffle the squeal of excitement that escapes him when he sees that he gets to chose even more Skills to download into his body. He's so excited that he starts jumping in place, he's definitely going to be thrown out of the library.
This time, the array of the skills he can choose from is slightly smaller, but it doesn't disappoint him in the slightest. The simplest fact that he's able to get even more things from his strange Quirk is enough to make his cheeks hurt with how much he's smiling. This time, he takes a bit more time to think through what he could ever need as a hero. He only has access to [Animal Handling], [Athletics], [History], [Insight], [Intimidation], [Perception] and [Survival]. Remembering how All Might is able to run and fight for hours and hours a day without ever seeming tired, he eventually picks [Athletics] as his second Skill. This time, and for the first time since he suddenly learned how to speak English, he feels a distinct change within himself. His body feels more... comfortable. He feels as if he's more attuned to it, as if moving is becoming, somehow, a bit easier.
Deep breaths, Izuku.
The other skills don't appeal to him as much in terms of villain fighting potential with only, perhaps, the exception of [Perception], which could be useful to prevent a villain attack before it happens or help when on patrols. Without much hesitation, he adds it as his third skill and, after the initial flash of pain, he feels everything around him get slightly sharper. He feels the cool air of the library and hears the shuffling of bodies on chairs, the soft sound of pages being turned. It calms him to hear all of this, surprisingly. He's feeling more connected to his environment now, more present.
"I have a Quirk." He whispers, still unable to fully believe it, despite feeling his body changing to adapt to his new skills and strength.
The last thing left for him to decide is the [Fighting Style], this one is easy enough to figure out. His Quirk will allow him to learn how to fight. Him, an eight year old, will learn how to fight from his seemingly overpowered Quirk.
[Fighting Style : Choose one]
[Archery]
[Defense]
[Dueling]
[Great Weapon Fighting]
[Protection]
[Two-Weapon Fighting]
"W-weapon?" Izuku stutters out, his hands resuming the shaking his breathing exercises had managed to put back under control. Izuku isn't allowed any weapons, those tend to be illegal, unless one is a Hero, at least that's what he always assumed. Plus, he doesn't think his mother will let him go on the computer for at least a whole year if she ever finds a weapon in his room. He's only a kid after all, and kids aren't allowed to go around town with knives or worse, guns.
No that won't do, he can't pick a weapon, that would be disastrous, he would get punished so hard, mom would never let him watch All Might interviews on the TV ever again. Izuku can't picture his life without All Might interviews, just thinking about it is enough to make him sink to his knees again, tears in his eyes.
"Dueling sounds good," he mumbles, "Or maybe Defense, to protect other people. Protection, too, would be good."
He remembers aman, standing alone facing dozens of foes, people cowering behind him in fear, using him as protection, as a shield, the last line of defense between them and evil and Izuku knows he has made his choice.
[Defense], he picks, knowing that, if he knows how to be a great defender of justice, people will take refuge behind him as they do behind All Might. His clothes and backpack suddenly seem extremely light on his body, as if they aren't even there. After checking and establishing that they are, in fact, still present, he smiles shakily. He doesn't care about the studying woman or anyone else in the library right now, he's too absorbed by what is happening to him and his abilities. He feels stronger, faster and more aware. Words of a language he didn't learn and has rarely heard outside of his mom's occasional pointers and TV swim in his mind, eveything around him is clearer.
What will Kacchan say, when he sees what Izuku's Quirk can do? Surely, he would stop being so mean. Surely, he'd want to play with him again and then Izuku wouldn't be alone anymore.
The words explode in shards of light in front of him and he feels a strange weight in the palm of his hand. Opening it reveals a bunch of silvery, misty looking dices, all with way more sides than hwat he's used to. They have at least fifteen... twenty ? How odd. Without thinking too much about it and because it's what one is supposed to do with dices, he crouches down and rolls them on the ground. Once they stop their tumble, a few centimeters away from him, they shiver into nothingness and the words come back, different, once again.
[Ability Score]
[Method : Dice Roll]
[Distributing : 18, 17, 16, 14, 11, 10]
[Strength : - ]
[Dexterity : - ]
[Constitution : - ]
[Intelligence : - ]
[Wisdom : - ]
[Charisma : - ]
He almost faints.
Wih what happened when he added a single point to his [Strength], Izuku can already imagine what is going to happen once he "distributes" the numbers in front of him. It isn't hard to figure out what he's supposed to do, especially since the aforementioned numbers are all red, which he now associates with something he's able to change or move around. All those words, he recalls, are connected to his body and mind, they are what he is. If he changes them, making them stronger or weaker, his body will change with them, and so will his mind.
He has a bit of trouble understanding what some of them mean, once again. Thankfully, only [Constitution] confuses him this time around and he's able to define what all of the other ones do, even if it's difficult to pinpoint the difference between [Intelligence] and [Wisdom].
What would a Hero need?
Strength and Charisma are a given but what else would a Hero truly need? Being wise sounds useful but Izuku isn't sure if a kid his age is supposed to be very wise. Dexterity, he thinks, might be about being flexible and fast, which would go well with his [Acrobatics], so he shouldn't neglect it. Intelligence is probably very important too, if not the most important. Everyone knows you need to be smart to be a Hero so you don't destroy the whole town trying to save someone, and Izuku has always been very proud of being a good student, despite being Quirkless.
It's decided, he will put a large number in [Intelligence], then in [Strength], [Charisma] and [Dexterity]. He doesn't know what [Constitution] does yet so it's hard to figure out how it could help him in a Hero fight but, just in case, he decides not to put it as his lowest. Maybe it'll be useful in the end when he finds out what it does. Mumbling, lost in thoughts, he eventually manages to distribute everything in a way that feels right for Hero work.
[Strength : 17]
[Dexterity : 14]
[Constitution : 11]
[Intelligence : 18]
[Wisdom : 10]
[Charisma : 16]
When his finger leaves the last number, he feels a jolt go through his whole body, like electricity, and his head starts swimming. His mind races through hundreds, thousands of thoughts that don't seem to make any sense. Fast, too fast. His muscles spasm under his skin, pain lacing his whole being. He distantly feels himself crashing to the ground and a voice calling it out to him. Things inside of him are changing, shifting, and doing so way too fast. Words he doesn't understand yet knows the meaning of without even trying explode in his brain and it's becoming hard to breathe.
His scalp feels like it's on fire, so does his chest, arms and legs, and everywhere he has nerves. His eyes can't see anything, or maybe they can see too much because every light is burning and painful and every sound pounds in his head way too loudly. His bones feel like they're breaking under some sort of immense pressure and it won't stop, it doesn't stop, it's too strong, too powerful.
He's too young, he can't control his Quirk, his body is too weak. He has read enough books on the subject to expect it but it still makes his heart sink, in the midst of all the pain and burning.
He loses consciousness before his mother reaches him, surrounded by worried strangers and more glowing words he can't quite read through the suffering glimmering above his head.