Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

His mother always referred to his father as her dragon.

It was an affectionate nickname that she used whenever she talked about him. Whether it was memories from their shared past or little stories that he shared in more recent times.

Izuku did not talk with him face to face that often due to the distance between them. But he tried to keep in contact at least twice a month either via email or call. Their conversations were not anything special. The conversations never were. It was mostly the same talk about school or work although sometimes his father had enough time to listen to his quirk analysis. Those were some of his favorite calls with him.

However, one that stuck with him was the first call he received after he got his quirkless diagnosis.

He remembered how the doctor’s words had frozen him stiff in his chair. The only sound in the room being from the hum of the machines and the dull thud of his All Might toy hitting the floor. The confused look on his mother’s face

He didn’t remember the way they got home. Maybe it was the train like always. But he was too focused on the word ‘quirkless’ swimming through his mind.

That was until the pivotal moment at the computer desk.

“Mom...” Izuku had tears running down his cheeks as he still tried to keep a smile on his face. His favorite All Might video played in the background, the video looping back to the beginning once the clip ended. “Do you think I can still be a hero?”

His mother had looked at him with more than just confusion in her expression. Then that melted away into something much more heartfelt. She walked up to him and knelt down by the chair to wrap him in her warm, comforting embrace, “You will always be my little hero.”

Her words were enough to make his heart ache, it was just what he wanted to hear. But yet... But yet—!

“Shh. Shh. Izuku, no need to cry. That silly doctor doesn’t know what he’s talking about.” Her words held weight as her nails scratched at his scalp beneath his green curls. “Hold still. Let me get your father on the phone. He’ll want to talk with you.”

He let out a little ‘mhm’ as his mother softly pulled away to grab her phone from her skirt pocket. He kept his eyes fixed on the floor as his mother started to talk with his father over the phone. She explained the situation at the doctor’s office, the memory causing him to shrink in on himself as the harsh words began to echo through his mind again.

It wasn‘t long before the phone was gently pressed against his ear with his father’s voice calling out to him. “Hey, kiddo.”

“Daddy,” Izuku started to whine, ready to cry again by the soft concern in his voice.

“Hey, Bud. No need to cry. Especially when I’m not there to dry your little tears.” His father soothes him over the phone. The gentle coaxing always made him calm down in an instant. “Why are you sad?”

“Because... Because!” Izuku sniffed, rubbing his hand under his nose. “I... I’m quirkless.”

“Hmm.”

His father hummed out a short response that sounded coated in disbelief. Then, his father said something that ultimately changed something in him.

“Are you sure?”

Those three words have stuck around in his head for years.

He didn’t remember how salty his tears were or how much he had cried on that day. He couldn’t remember when his mother had joined again and hugged him so tightly to her chest that it hurt.

All he knew was those three words had weight even as the years passed on.

Whenever he called or emailed his father, he asked if he remembered what he said that day and what he meant. And he would get the same answer. A confirmation of the words but never the explanation.

His mother did not have the answer either. She simply shook her head with a simple excuse of him ‘finding out when he is older’.

He was close to turning 14 and still... nothing.

No answers. No clues. Nothing.

Izuku just went to school like normal and got picked on by the other kids in his class like any other normal day. Sitting alone at a small lunch table with all the chairs pulled out to join other tables. All of his break time was spent either writing in his notebook or watching hero videos on the old computers in the library room. Running away or hiding when one of the bullies decided to mess with him just because they felt like it.

Even though Kacchan was a bully, at least he didn’t go out of his way to hunt him down like the others in school. As long as he didn’t get in his way, Kacchan wouldn’t spare him more than a glance. And as long as the teachers didn’t draw attention to him, he was as good as invisible to Kacchan... at least most of the time.

Just like he preferred it.

Especially since he didn’t want Kacchan to see that he had been training. That had been the only thing he had going for him that was not his usual ‘normal’.

He had been training for the past few months to start improving himself as a beginning stage before he started preparing for the hero exams. His mother was somewhat aware of his training however it was just under the guise of ‘exercise’. Hopefully she won’t be too upset when she eventually finds out what he had actually been doing.

At least the beach was looking a bit better than before.

Izuku sighed.

‘I wish someone—something!—would give me answers,’ Izuku thought to himself as he walked home, the remnants of a mushed bandana still mucked up in his hair from an incident during lunch.

...

If only he knew how soon those ‘answers’ would come.

Chapter Text

Itchy.

Itchy. Itchy. Itchy.

Why was he so itchy?

Fortunately, the itchiness started happening on a weekend. Unfortunately, he had no clue as to why it started.

He scratched at his exposed arms as he walked into the bathroom so he could see the dry patches of skin in a different light. Izuku was so confused. He normally had dry skin, but it was never to this extent! He wasn’t dehydrated yet it felt like he needed to be bathed in lotion and milk at this very second for... hours.

He kept scratching at his skin, his nails scraping against his flesh like he needed to dig for a new layer. And it was everywhere! And the white cast of dead skin flaking on his freckled arm was driving him insane.

Was this another puberty except with no acne and more skin problems?

He tried to search online for the answer to this, scraping his arm against the edge of the wooden desk to get some relief.

“Second puberty...” Izuku murmured under his breath as his long nails danced across his skin. “This is mostly seen in mutant type quirks that follow characteristics of an animal. The puberty stage develops a ‘second round’ or a ‘second puberty’ that helps develop the animal traits in some ways for the individual involved. This could develop in many ways such as sharper teeth, sharper claws, change in diet, behavioral change...” Izuku leaned closer to the screen to read out a few of the italicized words. “...dryness, itchiness, a change in natural abilities like running or, in some cases, flying. Hm.”

“Agh!” Izuku shouted in frustration. The second puberty answer linked directly to mutant type quirks but he was quirkless? What else could this be? Is this some sort of sudden skin condition?! Maybe a belated skin condition connected to quirks that is through genetics?

“Honey?”

His mother’s words brought him back to reality as he slowly turned to her on the swivel computer chair. She gasped once she saw the red nail marks across his skin.

“What happened?”

“Mom, I’m so itchy.” Izuku held out his arms so his mom could turn his limbs every which way to see the damage he was doing to himself. “I don’t know why but it is so bad.”

His mother’s confused expression disappeared with some brief sense of relief before pulling back into a determined look. “I’ll go get some lotion for you to help. You stay here and wash your bedsheets and pillows.”

Numbly, he nodded at his mom and set off to start doing this impromptu laundry task as she headed straight out the front door. He tried not to scratch until she got back, but he only succeeded in becoming a monkey satisfying the itch by rubbing himself against the corner of the wall.

It wasn’t long before she came back with a giant pink and green bottle of lotion cradled in her arms.

His hellish existence was dealt with by his mother getting him some extremely moisturizing lotion from the market. It wasn’t a brand he recognized before. But it was clear from the label that it was marketed towards mutant Quirk types specifically in the reptilian family.

And god it was heavenly! The moment it touched his skin, he felt like a goddess wrapped her lotion arms around him to provide him the comfort he so desperately needed.

His mother ushered him to the living room on a rolled out futon right underneath the ceiling fan with a layer of plastic wrap prepared for him. He helped him with his back and left him to spread the rest of it on his body.

With a relieved sigh, he sunk into the cushion beneath him, hearing the crinkles of the plastic as he relaxed on top of it,

“Are you feeling better, honey?” Inko asked with a slight chuckle in her voice.

Izuku couldn’t blame her. He could only imagine how funny the image of him in his All Might boxers while being covered in creamy lotion in the middle of the living room is.

“Hmmm,” Izuku replied with a relieved hum that vibrated through his body. He sunk back into the futon that his mom had laid him down on. The plastic sheet and blanket underneath him was splattered with the remnants of the excess lotion that rubbed off from his limbs.

But that was only the beginning of it.

*

After a week of liberally applying lotion every day, the next strange thing happened.

His nails started to grow longer and thicker in a short amount of time. The shape sharpened into a more triangular shape and then it grew longer obviously by the next day.

Izuku stared down at his hands in confusion as he slowly walked over to his mom in the kitchen. He interrupted her humming with a question that stunned her.

His mother had set the egg mixture for the omurice back down on the table. She turned to him with an eyebrow raised. “No. I’m not pulling a prank on you, dear.”

“Then how are my nails like this? Is this some kind of puberty stage I don’t know about?” Izuku asked, wondering what there was to say. He had done a lot of research about it during the week but could find nothing that indicated the suddenness of such an event.

Stress? Nervous? Yeah, he was stressed and nervous a lot of the time but that didn’t evolve in sudden urge to scratch off his skin. Or the fact that his nails look like they belong to a predator!

“Well...” His mother paused, her eyes trailing from his nails to his lotion arms that still had a white cast on them. “There is a possibility that this is some traits from your father’s side.”

Izuku’s eyes widened. “Really?”

“Yes. His skin had the same problem, believe it or not.” His mother chuckled. “And he always had to dull and buff his nails. When I was pregnant with you, he made it more fun by doing my nails along with his.”

Traits like this suddenly happening were possible from the quirk research he did. But it still seemed like his case was happening quicker than expected. Either way, at least he had some sort of answer to this.

“Was there anything else?” Izuku asked. He needed to make sure if he needed to prepare for anything else popping up on him.

His mother paused then furrowed her brows. After a moment, she said, “If you start having any teeth or gum aches, tell me straight away.”

So when that started happening less than a week later, he went straight to her.

“Mom?”

“Hmm?” His mother turned to him with raised eyebrows. She looked confused, walking closer to him with her eyes locked into his mouth. “Your voice sounds a little strange.”

“My teeth feel weird.” His mother did not look surprised as she stared at his mouth. He allowed her to tilt his head up. Izuku opened his mouth so his mother could see the inflamed gums. “They’ve been feeling weird since this morning.”

And just like before, she took care of him. However, this time she seemed a bit on edge while she watched him put the numbing cream again on his gums after he brushed his teeth for the night.

“What is it, mom?” He asked, his speech slurred by the numbing cream.

“Nothing. I’m—I’m just worrying over nothing. I just...” His mother trailed off, mumbling something under her breath that sounded something like ‘didn’t know it would happen so fast’.

Izuku gave her a meaningful look, waiting for her to speak up again but she didn’t elaborate any further. Instead, she wished him goodnight and kissed him on his forehead.

*

Izuku had tensed himself up for a good few days, waiting for the next physical change bombshell to drop. But that didn’t happen. Nothing changed physically with him.

But there was a shift that he began to notice after he came back from his short training session. His hunger.

He didn’t even notice how hungry he was until his mother gasped at the dinner table. He looked up with his mouth full of rice to see his mom looking so cheerfully at him. “Look at my growing boy!”

Izuku looked back down at his plate and then at the bowls spread between them with a growing horror. Wow. He put such a large dent in everything, especially the protein! He had been packing on some protein according to his training, but not at this level. Had his mother even had a chance to get a piece of chicken before he devoured everything?

“Wow. I ate a lot.” Izuku stared at his plate, still stunned at the visible evidence of the aftermath of his hunger. “I didn’t mean to!”

“It’s fine, Izuku.” His mother reassured him with a laugh. Her green eyes grew more fine as she looked at him. “You're growing up big and strong. You’re going to need all the calories you can get.” He sighed, relaxing back in his chair as his gaze drifted down to his plate where a few vegetables were still waiting. Then, his mother coughed pointedly. “Especially with your training.”

His eyes flew up to her who was looking at him knowingly. She huffed at his reaction, You think I wouldn’t notice my son growing more muscle on his bones? Hmph.” Inko gestured down to the plates. “I cooked a bit more just for you since my precious boy is growing stronger.”

“Mom...” Izuku didn’t know what to say. How did she find out? How was she acting so calm about this and did that mean she approved?

“All I ask is that you be safe while you train. I don’t want my baby boy pulling something or straining yourself when you don’t need to.” Inko smiled at him so gently—oh, he felt like crying. Is it too late to blame it on the onions even though they were cooked and now raw? “Now... are there any diet foods you need for your training? I’m guessing you are learning more... protein?”

Izuku nodded, speechless at his mother’s nonverbal support.

“I’ll make a note of that for the grocery lists.” His mother said, pushing more rice onto his plate. She started to talk once he stuffed his face again, silent tears starting to trail down his cheeks. “Did you know your father is quite a carnivore? I was wondering when you were going to pick up more of his appetite.” Then his mother started to sniffle. “Although, you have been reminding me more of him recently. It won’t be long until you’re taller than me and—“

It’s too late to stop both of them now. They flooded the carpet again with their tears.

*

No matter how much research he did, he couldn’t figure out what was wrong with him. The itchiness. The nails. The teeth. And just recently as two days ago, it felt like something was in his head pounding and prodding against his skull.

And today, three days since his official 14th birthday, it felt like it was getting worse.

The itchiness returned with a vengeance despite the fact he had been using the special lotion his mother got from him daily. No matter what he did, nothing was helping. Ignoring the itch did not help to quell the urge. And if he gave into the urge, he couldn’t stop because it felt like he had to dig out a new layer of skin from his burning flesh.

His mother looked very worried when he came to her the morning before school with his reddened arms. Something in her face was serious yet... relieved? Either way, she did not waste time in lathering lotion into a thick layer on his skin and wrapping him in cloth bandages.

“That would hold until later today.” She rubbed her hands over the bandages as he placed a layer of the numbing cream on his teeth. “I will talk with your father and see about setting up a video call tonight to see what we should do.”

Why would they need to call his father for itchy skin? Izuku frowned. Wait. That would make sense. She did say that some of this stuff was traits from his dad’s side. Izuku felt a tingle up his spine from the itch. Hopefully his father can provide a doctor or specific special cream soon before he starts to tear his skin off from this. But why wait until now to call him?

“Be safe at school, honey. And if you feel hot or feel like you are getting sick, you have to get out and come straight home.” Something felt heavy in his mother’s gaze like a hidden secret in her gaze that he couldn’t pinpoint. “Okay?”

“Okay,” Izuku mumbled. Then, he cleared his throat with a wince and spoke louder. “Okay, Mom. I love you.”

His mother reached for his face. Her soft, cool hands cupped his burning cheeks. “I’m serious, Izuku. As soon as you feel that something is wrong, get out of the school as fast as you can.”

Again, that’s a weird way to put it. If he felt sick, he could always just go to the office and check himself out. It’s not like his teachers would care all that much about his attendance.

But he knew that his mother was just worried.

Nodding, Izuku kisses his mother on the cheek before heading to school. The burning feeling underneath the bandages grew stronger once he walked into the open air. His nails that were cut yesterday felt like they were aching. The numbing cream on his teeth felt diluted since the pain did not leave yet.

Yet he tightened his resolve and continued on.

*

Unlike the safety of his home, school did not offer any reprieve or comfort while he dealt with the ongoing issues of his body. Instead it was just like any normal school day with him at the back of the classroom, trying his best not to make any noise as he scrubbed his pant leg with the underside of his school shoes.

Keyword: trying.

God, everything was driving him up the wall in uncomfortable levels.

Everything all over his body was aching. It was a feeling that stretched from the top of his head to the bottom of his toenails.

He tried his best to pay attention in class, biting down on his lips as his hands trembled with every word he had to write down. With every movement of his hands to write down, his bandages moved and rubbed at his skin which craved the movement to satisfy the itch.

Each class brought a new wave of itchiness or aches.

Until it all seemed to peak right before lunch hour was reached.

Izuku was debating whether or not he should just interrupt class and head directly to the office to check himself out. It was getting to a point where he felt he needed to go to the hospital. Everything was aching in a way he hadn’t experienced before.

Then, suddenly a very noticeable pain caused him to jump in his seat, pushing his desk back with the force. He winced, holding his arms to his chest and standing up on his legs that stumbled once he stood up.

“Midoriya, sit down this instant.” His teacher called out to him the instant he stood up.

“I-I...” Izuku tried to defend himself as a few giggles rang out from his classmates. All attention was on him with a few scoffs and whispers aimed at his disruption. Then another zing of pain ran up the veins in his arm. “Ow!”

The teacher scoffed at his actions. “Midoriya, I don’t have time for your foolishness.” He sighed, pinching the space between his eyebrows with his pointer finger and thumb. “Sit down and pay attention in class. There is no need to act like a fool.”

He winced at the multiple eyes on him. It felt so uncomfortable like a mountain of shadows with red eyes laughing at him or scolding him for merely existing. And it did not help that his body was punishing him for seemingly no reason other than growing up.

“Sor— OW!” Izuku tried to apologize before an intense wave hit him to a point where he had to grip onto his desk in order to not fall over. He breathed heavily, ignoring the harsh whispers in reaction to his pained yell. He opened his mouth to try again before he was overcome with the feeling of his skin burning. “GOD! OW! OW! OW!”

It wasn’t just burning skin. It felt like something was underneath his skin, crawling to get out like fire ants using their pincers on his inner layer of skin.

Kacchan, who had been watching silently with a scowl, glared at him with something in his fiery red eyes. “Deku, what in the damn hell is wrong with you?”

He had to leave. He had to leave. It hurts. He needed to leave right now. He needed his mom. It hurts too much. Mom, it hurts. Izuku hunched in on himself. “Teacher! I need—“ He tried to raise his voice only for a scream to break through as something finally pushed through. “AH!”

Izuku found himself on the floor, using his hands to get on all fours after losing his grip on the desk. His limbs trembled under his body weight with pain shooting through every inch of his body.

“Uh, is it just me or is Deku bigger?” He heard someone say in the painful whirlwind of his body.

Izuku could feel his skin and bones working against him like his body was trying to torture him in the middle of the classroom. His head felt like it was exploding as it blurred his vision. He could barely see his fingers on the plain tiles of the floor.

Another wave of burning pain ran down his arms.

“It hurts. It hurts!” Izuku yelled.

Izuku pulled off the gauze bandages, hearing them rip as his fingers curled around each strip to yank it off his arm. His skin should have looked moisturized from the thick layer of lotion this morning. But it looked as dry as a desert and felt like a volcano when he touched the burning skin.

He scratched at his skin, feeling a brief sense of relief as his claws tore at the dry skin, scales flaking off onto the pain tiles.

“Woah!”

Someone called out to him with a hint of concern in their voice. “I don’t think your arm is supposed to be that red!”

“It looks like scales!” Another classmate shouted.

“Class, go to the far wall away from Midoriya.” He could hear his teacher try to command attention. He heard the scuffling of feet as people slowly started making their way away from them. He lifted his head to see everyone making their way to the far corner and— were the desks always that short? “Bakugo, back away! Midoriya, what is wrong with you, boy?”

Despite every other classmate backing away from him, the explosive blonde that he has known the longest stood still on his assigned desk. Something in his eyes... He looked so shocked like he was in disbelief as he stared up at him.

Wait. Up at him? Why is he taller than Kacchan? Why...

Izuku tried to back away and bumped into the wall behind him. The lockers behind him jostled from his weight as his head knocked against the ceiling. The ceiling?! No. No, no, no. What was happening?

What was going on? And why does it hurt so much?!

Izuku stared down at the floor where his shoes were bursting at the seams with something black and scaly bursting through the material. Yet all he could focus on were the spots of red on the ground with the remainder of his old bandages. Another wave of pain rushed through his body making him scream. “It hurts! It—AGH!”

Izuku held his arms against his chest then felt something on his skin begin to ripple. He peeked his eyes open only to widen his eyes at the sight of black and greenish scales starting to jut out from his burning skin.

His teacher called out. “Takito! Go to the office and report this. It looks like Midoriya got hit with a quirk!”

...A quirk?

He never got hit with a quirk. That wasn’t what was happening? It was supposed to be just Something puberty related. No. This was all just a Dream. A painful dream he had to wake up from. A nightmare that his mom would wake him up from soon. He had been screaming enough in this nightmare that there was no doubt that he was screaming in real life.

Because why would he have a quirk? Why would it appear after a decade of nothing? And why would it hurt so much if this was his quirk? What was happening?

Then, those infamous three words came back to the forefront of his mind.

‘Are you sure?’

Was this a quirk... his quirk?

The realization hit him at the worst possible moment.

“AHH!” Izuku felt himself growing even more, tearing through his school uniform as his body changed in ways he could not even describe. All he could feel were the scales growing from his skin. He could hear his claws scraping against the wall and the floor. He could taste the blood on his tongue from piercing the muscle from his sharp teeth. The ceiling whined as horns scratched against the tiles.

“Deku!” Kacchan yelled.

It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! IT HURTS! IT HURTS! IT HURTS! IT HURTS! IT HURTS! IT HURTS! IT HURTS! IT HURTS! IT HURTS! IT HURTS! IT HURTS! IT HURTS!

This wasn’t his body. He needed to get home. He wanted his mom. Home. Mom. Home. Mom.

He had to leave.

Izuku’s eyes hyper-focused on the window near him.

Window. Shortcut. Home. Mom.

She can make it stop hurting. Make it stop hurting. Please. Please. Please. Please. Please. Please. It hurts so much, mom. Please, help me. Mom. Mom!

He had already made his decision as he stumbled on his new scaled legs towards the closest exit.

“Deku!”

Izuku threw himself at the window, the glass cracking and groaning against his weight. It didn’t break. It still hurts. He growled. He threw himself forward again until the window finally cracked underneath him.

And before he knew it, he was free falling.

Chapter Text

“What the fuck?” Bakugo yelled out after calling after Deku. All of the other extras stayed plastered to the wall in fear. He clicked his tongue at their inaction as he hurried to the broken window. He avoided the broken glass as best as he could as he craned his neck to see where Deku was.

There was no blood. But he hadn‘t stopped screaming.

Deku had fallen to the grass with his elongated limbs stretching out and reaching out towards the sky. The sun shone against his dry skin until Bakugo could see the sheen of iridescent green scales peeking out through his freckled arms.

The color started to get brighter as Deku writhed on the ground. It looked like his skin was being replaced by an armor of scales. Claws dug into the grass, leaving behind streaks of deep gashes revealing the rich, brown underneath the lush green.

Deku screeched like an animal as he turned on his stomach as something mangled started to come out from his back underneath his school uniform. His body continued to grow in short spurts. His school uniform stretched and ripped beyond repair as Deku‘s transformation continued on.

Two forms wrestled underneath the material as Deku whimpered and whined into the blades of grass. A pair of wings burst out from the fabric. They were leathery and spindly with dark green and black scales along the top edge of the bat-like wings. The remainder of the wings had a faint sheen of green much like the shade of those unruly curls of his. That idiot can never get his hair to look

Part of him was filled with a bitter pain with the hurt stinging right through his heart at the sight. ‘He had a quirk. He had a quirk and he never told me. Did he think he was too good to tell me? Was he laughing behind my back each time I showed off my explosions?’ He thought to himself as he stared at the writhing form of his old friend.

Another scream pierced his ears as Deku clawed at the ground, stretching his head up as another animalistic roar ripped out of him. The pair of wings unfurled fully which extended from the school wall to the gate beyond the fish pond outside.

Then the other part of him staggered back at the pained, shrill scream that penetrated his ears. ‘No. That’s wrong. If he knew about his quirk, he would have been so panicked in the classroom. It looked and sounded painful as whatever it was started to manifest. He knew Deku well enough to know that whatever that was, wasn’t fake. That confused pain was real.’

But still, how? How?

How does he have a quirk? What the hell was happening?

That shit looks like it hurts so he can’t be faking this. Or maybe he was? Goddammit. He’ll deal with him after this.

And, more importantly, why hasn’t Deku stopped growing yet?

It was starting to get concerning how Deku’s size hasn’t stalled once. His body was still growing. Now all of the roars from before had quieted down to forced muffled whimpers and groans as his lizard-like body grew.

“What? How?!” One of the extras had finally wisened up enough to peek out another window to stare at the unpleasant sight on the ground. “Why does Deku look like Godzilla?”

He doesn’t have time for all of the extras to get curious now. Deku was still growing and who knows how big he was going to get because it doesn’t look like he is slowing down.

Damn, what kind of gene did he have in his family for this? Auntie Inko could just float things to her. Doesn’t his dad have fire breathing? Maybe this was something on that side of his family?

God, there is no time for this. Bakugo gritted his teeth and turned to the stunned faces in the classroom. He was going to be the hero in the class and not anyone else. Bakugo yelled, “Someone call the heroes now! Tell them it’s a quirk manifestation! Say it's a late stage case or some shit!”

Bakugo doesn’t have time to stick around as the extras started gossiping or yelling about Deku having a quirk now. With that, he breathed in and climbed out the window onto its ledge. Then, he jumped down with a curse under his breath as he used his quirk to propel himself into the air as he fell to slow his fall.

He heard confused calls and a teacher shouting for students to start retreating to the outside. The rush of stampeding extras flooded his ears from the nearby windows with a few shouts of confused teens somewhere behind him.

Ignoring it all, Bakugo looked up at the dragon in front of him with a body similar to the creature from pre-quirk era movies. If this was a real quirk manifestation, Deku might not be able to handle it. The transformation already looked too much to handle, and he doesn’t know what will happen once he stops growing. If Deku panics, he could end up destroying the school building or hurting himself in his confusion.

“Goddammit,“ Bakugo cursed, muttering under his breath as he took out his phone. Deku’s mom would know what to do. “That damn nerd is going to owe me when he gets back to normal.”

*

Inko had a sinking feeling ever since she saw the image of her son disappear down their street block. She had lingered at the doorway then looked out over the ledge of the apartment building until she could no longer see the bright yellow backpack.

Her hands felt rubbed raw from how much she was wringing her hands together. She couldn’t keep still in her apartment. That feeling stuck around, causing her to feel nauseous from how much she was worrying herself over it. She called in for work when it was obvious that her concerns would not disappear, especially since she had a good feeling about what was going to happen soon.

She waited in that room, pacing back and forth as she waited for any sign of her son coming home. Yet there was no text or call from her phone. The office wasn’t calling in to say he was calling out early. There was no text from him about feeling worse or better.

Following her worries, she frantically called her husband who picked up before the call automatically ended. His voice was like a whisper in her ear with a hoarse voice. “Inko? Honey, what’s wrong?”

“Izuku,” Inko whispered.

She started to spill everything from the morning and how all of the traits were getting worse from the last time she saw him.

“I didn’t think it would be too bad. But I have a feeling that THAT stage is coming today.” Inko rambled on over the phone. She had kept pacing as she talked into the phone, her hand running through her green hair as she stressed over the situation. “I thought I would have more time to explain everything. But I don’t think I do! And he hasn’t contacted me at all since.”

“Inko, it’s alright. Don’t panic.” Hisashi’s calming voice interrupted her concerned ramblings. “Breathe. Deep breath in... and out. In... and out. Okay.”

Inko caught her breath due to her husband’s instructions. She let out a deep breath once more before responding. “Okay.”

“How bad would you describe his condition when he left?” Hisashi asked with a slightly worried tone.

“It was worse than before. He should be able to hold off until the time he normally gets home.” Inko replied. “But... I’m starting to get worried.”

“Listen, Inko. Remember what I always told you, dear. Follow that instinct of yours. It guided you to me back when I was a young spitfire who didn’t know how to talk to pretty girls like you.” She could hear the smile on his face which made her lips twitch up despite the situation. Her husband responded, “If he hasn’t come home yet and you are concerned about him, just go to school and check him out yourself. You might even meet him halfway if he left school already.”

“Right. Right.” Inko breathed out. Her hand came up to her forehead as she pushed back her sweaty bangs. “What do I tell him, Hisashi?”

“The truth. Everything he needs to know. And I’ll be right there with you to explain every detail he, no doubt, craves to have. It’s finally time for me to come clean.” Hisashi said. He chuckled lightly then drew in a sharp breath. “Oh. I have to go. I probably should’ve had my phone out while—hey!”

“Hisashi? Honey?... Oh my.” Inko dropped her phone and stared at the screen for a moment. Then, the rush of the situation came charging at her full speed. She needed to leave! “Izuku, I’m coming!”

Inko clutched at her sweater as she quickly made her way to the door with her phone in one hand and the keys. She shut the door behind her and locked it, holding the keys in her hands as she rushed down the stairs to where her bicycle was.

She jumped onto her bike after he unlocked it from the rack then started riding it in the direction of Alderah. Inko tried to keep her breaths even as she rode the bicycle alongside the sidewalk. She changed inside her head to her son, praying that he was okay.

She was only a few minutes away when her bike ride was interrupted by a call. Frowning, Inko pulled it out and her heart dropped when she saw the name on the screen. Why would Katsuki be calling at this time of day? They would be in class right now unless— oh no.

She picked up the call as the concern spiked in her nerves. “Katsuki? What’s going on? What’s wrong?”

Mitsuki’s son hesitated over the phone which was already a bad sign. She heard the young teen sigh and say, “I have no idea what’s happening with Izuku but you need to get here soon.”

“I’m already on my way.” Inko replied. She immediately looked up towards the sky to see if she could see him. Her husband’s father could be as tall as the Tokyo Tower. “How bad is it? What’s happening to my baby?”

As soon as Inko passed a building, she could already see what was wrong. A small crowd of strangers had gathered on the street, pointing up at her son’s school and mumbling amongst themselves. She looked past the school gate and gasped at the sight.

She was too late.

Her baby had already grown past the school gate. Her son’s piercing scream penetrated her heart as it faded into whimpers. She watched in silence, her bicycle slowing down on the road while her son grew a few more feet. He scaled arm and swiped towards the gate. His clawed hand grabbed onto the top and gripped the iron until it warped under his grip.

Inko held a hand over her mouth as she watched her son writhe in pain as he held onto the gate. ‘Oh my baby!’

She didn’t hold back another moment and biked her way directly to the entrance. Inko needed to get in there so she could get her son out of there.

There’s no way to tell when his growth is going to stop and when his secondary power is going to kick in.

Chapter Text

“Auntie Inko?” Katsuki’s voice echoed in the air and over the phone in her hand. She lifted her head up to try and find the spiky blonde hair only to meet his fiery gaze past the open school gate.

“Katsuki!” She shouted out. She stepped forward only to hesitate at the gate. She pursed her lips and looked around inside the schoolyard as lines of students hurriedly sped past her.

Katsuki did not waste any time in running to the gate and pulling her into the schoolyard. Inko watched as he pushed past his classmates and the other students while calling them extras. She looked at the boy before turning her gaze upwards towards her son that was crying out in pain and confusion.

Thankfully, there was no teacher there to oppose her entry into the school during school hours. However, that might just be the case since there were no teachers close by that noticed. It must be due to the fact that they were more focused on getting the students out than noticing a parent go in.

“What happened?” She asked. Inko tried to remain calm while she steadily watched her son swell up another time which resulted in him swinging his tail through a window, the crash made him unfurl his wings out, knocking down tree branches from where the leathery, scaled skin met the greenery.

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out! How the hell does De—Izuku have a quirk?” Katsuki retorted. He glared up at her son and gestured at his large dragon-like body. “I thought he was quirkless!”

“That's what the doctor said, but my husband’s family—It’s a long story.” She tried to ignore the mix of emotions in Katsuki’s eyes as she desperately tried to shorten the rather long explanation. “Let’s just say that the quirk genes on his side remain dormant and it’s not really proven with an x-ray on the foot.”

Katsuki’s eyes still portrayed his confusion with a hint of betrayal creeping around the pupils. “Then why didn’t he tell me that?

“Because I haven’t told him.” Now that statement made Katsuki eyebrows shoot up his forehead in shock. “

“But—“

“I know.” She knew what he was about to say. “His father wanted to wait until he was older to tell him because there is no true way to tell if it passed on or not. And I did it because I wanted to risk him getting his hopes up. And we were planning on telling him today since all the signs were showing up! ...But it looks like it happened earlier than we thought.”

Katsuki took a moment to ingest her answer before a screeching whine pierced through the air followed by the rumble of a piece of the school building falling to the ground. “Dammit.” Katsuki turned his head up to shout at the nervous dragon that was almost tall enough to reach the fence around the school rooftop. “Izuku, control yourself!”

“There’s Hawks!”

“Hawks?!” Inko looked up at Katsuki’s shout to see the Pro Hero in the sky.

It was almost like the sketch she was shown in her songs notebook. A black bodysuit with yellow lines almost hidden beneath the tan jacket and pants. A warm yellow visor that was so similar to his hair color. Those bright, red wings that had a very wide wing span.

She watched as the winged hero swooped down around his son where he wasn’t in his direct eyesight. His eyes focused on the giant dragon mildly panicking in the courtyard. Her heart tensed when she heard her son whimper as he clutched onto the gate wall for support.

Hawks touched down softly to the grass, adjusting the cuffs of his furred, tan jacket. He ran a hand through his windswept blonde hair as he gazed over his shoulder at the large dragon giant in the school courtyard behind him. “Woah.” He gestured with a thumb over his shoulder. “I heard there was a case of manifestation, but I didn’t know a kid snuck their way into a middle school!”

“He’s not!” Katsuki got over the very brief awe of seeing one of the top heroes in no time. His voice didn’t shake as he replied. “The nerd’s 14.”

“14?!” Hawks looked taken aback. He took a moment to spin around to stare up at her son who was looking down at his scaled clawed hands. “Damn, talk about late stage manifestation.” The hero turned around to address her. “Are you his mother?”

“Yes.” Inko responded. She looked back and forth between her son and the pro hero. “He’s my baby. Don’t hurt him.”

“I won’t, Ma’am. Or at least I’ll try not to.“ Hawks were quick to amend the promise with a wince. “With his size, it’s more likely he might hurt himself.” Hawks kept his focus on both her and Katsuki despite the hushed whispers from somewhere behind her. She swore she could hear very silent shutters of phone cameras. “By the way, do you have an idea on how much bigger your son is going to get?”

“It really depends on who he takes after more.” Inko answered almost reflexively. There was another roar as Izuku’s head almost passed the rooftop fence. Hawks looked up at him then back to her with a question look yet remained silent. She decided to clarify. “I would say he is taking after his father more, so I'm pretty sure he’ll get bigger.”

“Okay then.” He breathed out heavily then she watched him put a hand to his ear. “Hey, can someone call in Mount Lady? I need reinforcements if things get out of hand.” Hawks looked up with his mouth in a tense line. “We have a teen manifesting his quirk for the very first time and he is giant right now—“

Hawks stepped away just out of earshot as he talked over the line while occasionally looking up at her baby. He looked like he was analyzing the situation yet the twitch of his wings drew her attention.

She looked away then stiffened as Katsuki sidled up next to her with his red eyes pinned onto the Pro Hero a few feet away from them.

“Yeah.” She could hear Hawks talk over the muddled background noise of her baby’s whimpers and the unseeded people around all of them. Katsuki had started to yell at people to move away from somewhere behind her which led to sparking explosions being added to the mix of voices around her. Yet all she could do was focus on the pro hero as he deliberated over the radio on what to do with her boy. “We’ll start bringing him over to the beach before his growth gets too out of control.”

Inko was shocked out of her dazed state by the roar of an engine cutting off her thoughts before a too-familiar voice penetrated through the weird tension in the air.

“YEAH!” Present Mic’s voice was even louder than she thought from the videos she has seen and the radio show he got snippets of. The pro heros’ yells cut off everyone’s mindless whispers. It didn’t take long before Inko saw the signature yellow hair of the pro hero as he strolled into the mostly empty courtyard of the school. “Somebody bringing the party?!”

Inko turned back to Hawks who looked a bit dumbfounded by the long range hero showing up first. She could have sworn she saw him something ‘probably being the closest’ before the laidback hero greeted Mic with a smile. “Sup, Mic. You got the lowdown?”

“Yeah. We got to bring this kid over by the beach, right?” Present Mic craned his head back to stare up at her son with a mixture of amazement and disbelief written across his face. “Wow...”

His green eyes widened at the sight of her baby and whistled. He swayed back and forth on the ball of his feet as he assessed the sight before him.

“Maybe I could use my awesome voice to have him banging his head to the sands. I can kind of guide him to the party,” Present Mic offered up a solution.

“I don’t know if that will work.” Hawks answered. He fluttered his wings and Inko watched as a few red feathers flew around her son’s legs before turning to their spot on his wings. Was Hawks using his feathers? “I’ve been flying my feathers around the kid for a few minutes, but he is barely reacting at all.” She didn’t even notice them! When did he send his feathers towards him? “I think the kid is more or less focused on himself rather than anything else around him right now.”

“That’s what I was afraid of.” Present Mic responded. “Heard from Mount Lady yet?”

“Last time I checked, she’s on the way over. She was in the middle of discussing property damage or something boring like that.” Hawks replied.

Inko zoned out from their ongoing conversation as she refocused her attention back on her son. Thankfully, the screams and shouts have quieted down to whimpers. The transformation looked like it was slowing down which was both good and bad since she knew what was going to come up next.

She really needed the pro heroes to move her son somewhere safer. Inko felt Katsuki, unnaturally silent beside her, poked her arm which drew her attention back to the situation around her. She turned back in time to hear them discussing that they needed to take him to Dagobah beach due to the proximity and low number of citizens around it.

“What’s the listener’s name?”

“Izuku. Midoriya Izuku.”

“Um,” Inko interrupted, almost freezing as both pro heroes turned to her. Ah, this was intimidating. But she needed to speed this along before the second stage began! “Sorry for interrupting but he may recognize you or your voice specifically. He’s a fan of your radio show and a big fan of pro heroes in general.”

“Alright!” Present Mic clapped his hands and rubbed his palms together. “The fact that he could recognize us would make this whole process easier. Are you his mother?”

“Yes. I’m Midoriya Inko.” She replied with a slight bow of her head.

“Alright, Inko. Listen, we might need your help as well for this.” Oh. Okay. Great. This isn’t what she expected, but she can get mentally prepared for it. “In situations like this, they might recognize our voices but the one that has a bigger chance of being listened to is their family... unless certain circumstances prove otherwise.” Present Mic explained with a rushed bout of words at the very end of his sentence. Then he shouted. “So! Can you help us out when we need you?”

“Of course.” Inko nodded then gasped. She grasped onto Katsuki who looked ready to detach himself from her before she grabbed onto him. If her boy can recognize her, maybe he could recognize Katsuki too! They will need every chance they can get to make sure Izuku’s attention stays on them. “Wait, Katsuki should come too! He’s been Izuku’s friend for the longest time.”

“Hah?!”

“Looks like we have a plan with you two.” Present Mic ignored Katsuki’s shout of confusion just as she ignored Katsuki’s petty attempts to remove himself from her grip. When will he ever learn that she can still grab onto him with her quirk?

“Mount Lady is here!” A shout drew everyone’s attention.

Inko looked up to see the newer pro hero towering over the school wall with her ashy, blond hair grazing over the top of the wall. The pro hero gazed down at the crowd through her purple and orange mask and gave a reassuring smile to everyone on the ground below. Inko could swear she heard a few men murmur or swoon to themselves when the pro hero twiddled her fingers into a cutesy wave.

“Showtime!” Hawks clapped his hands together. He spread his wings and took off to the skies. “Take them with you, Mic! I’ll try to get the kid out of here with Mount Lady while you act as the guide!”

“Got it!” Present Mic called out. “You two, follow me. I’ve got a car. It’s bright red and outrageously awesome. You can’t miss it!

Inko grabbed Katsuki before he could think about getting away or getting lost in the crowd before them. She followed after the loud pro hero as Katsuki surrendered to her pull. She risked a glance up to see her son still confused and gripping onto the school wall with her scaled eyelids closed so tightly she could see a hint of his pupils.

Her heart seemed to burst with pain as she noticed the wet stains down his face that glinted in the sunlight. ‘Soon, baby. Soon, this pain will all be over’ she promised silently to her son.

“Whoa. You’re almost as big as me.” She could hear Mount Lady start talking to her son. “Oh, you’re still growing—Cool... That’s great!” “Then her tone took more of a coaxing tone. “Could you let go of the school and take my hand instead? I’m a hero, I can guide you out of here!”

Somehow, her son was either too stressed or too confused to listen to Mount Lady. She heard him talk about her before so he must know who she is. Izuku is supposed to be a huge hero fan, so why isn’t it working? Maybe she is too new for him to recognize her, especially in this state. Hopefully Present Mic’s voice would help instead.

“Hey, we’re losing him!” Katsuki pulled her attention back to running after the blonde pro hero. Inko snapped her attention back to the pro hero who, thankfully, parked his red car closer than she thought..

They both scrambled to enter the red car with Katsuki hopping in more confidently than the pro hero himself. Inko looked up to her son towering over his school as Present Mic started his car.

Once it turned on, the radio started blaring which made the pro hero jump into action to lower the volume. Present Mic was about to start driving when her son roared at Mount Lady’s attempted reassurances.

Inko frowned. Hah, she really needed to tell them about the second stage before it starts to kick in. Everyone needed to be prepared for it.

“Um, Present Mic?” The loud hero tilted his head towards her with a tense smile. She paused before saying, “I think we should focus on getting my son to the beach before his growth stage stops.”

At her words, Present Mic turned to her slowly with his bright eyes practically glowing through his visors from the sun. His expression was filled with shock and disbelief. “What do you mean stage?” He asked. “Is there more to this quirk that you’ve been holding onto?”

She could feel Katsuki’s eyes lock on her with a surprising amount of ferocity.

“Possibly.” Inko shrugged which made the pro hero pinch the space between his eyebrows in mild frustration. “Again, this is his first time awakening it so I’m not sure how much control or how much power he has!” Inko shifted in her feet as she stared up at her son for what felt like the millionth time that day. “But there is a very high chance that after he is done growing, a secondary power might burst.”

“Burst?!” Mic almost screeched before he clamped a hand over his mouth to keep himself from using his quirk. He breathed out through his hand almost like a muffled scream. Then he shot up straight and cupped his ear. “Hey, Hawks, we might have more of a situation than we signed up for. Were you listening to it? Mount Lady?”

Inko awkwardly stood there, keeping her gaze on her son as Present Mic made sure the other heroes were fully informed on the situation. Once she heard a click ,she turned her attention back to the hero who was watching her carefully. “Okay, Midoriya-San. What could this secondary power mean?”

“My husband has fire breathing. He awakened it during his transformation, so there is a chance that he might have that same type of firepower or energy.” Inko explained. “I’m not sure if my quirk made it stronger, weaker, or if it had any influence at all.”

Present Mic breathed out low and slow at her answer. Inko warmly whispered an apology but the hero just held up his hand in response to her concerned ‘sorry’. “Well, we are going to find out either way.”

The radio let out a bunch of static as a familiar voice called out to Present Mic. The blonde pro her sighed, “What is it, Hawks?”

“It looks like the little chickadee can’t focus on any of our voices. Mount Lady and I have been trying. But no luck.” Hawks started over the radio. Right on cue, Mount Lady let out a gasp and stepped back as Izuku’s tail swung at her. The thump of her feet caused the car they were in to jump off the ground a few feet up.

Inko clutched onto the seats as Katsuki cursed behind her as he stumbled to the ground of the car.

Present Mic glanced back at her once they regained their balance. “It looks like our voices aren’t doing much to coax him.” Then, she saw something flash in his eyes. Suddenly, he started to pull away from the curb with one hand and started messing with the panel that controlled the car radio.

Inko rushed to make Katsuki sit down, as she grabbed onto the seats for balance. She tried to keep her gaze on her giant son until a large object was pressed into her hands.

The mother looked down to see a giant megaphone cradled in her hands that was connected via wife to the speaker systems in Present Mic’s car.

“Looks like you’re up, Midoriya-San.”