Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Izuku wandered down the street, away from all the commotion of reporters and pro heroes who were hoping to interview Bakugou about his close call with death. In the heat of the moment, Izuku had thought he was doing the right thing; his body had moved on its own, his actions encouraged by the pleading in his childhood friend’s eyes. However, after receiving an earful from Kamui Woods and Death Arms, he realised that his actions were reckless and felt defeated.

He’d taken a glance at the swarm of reporters surrounding All Might and ultimately decided that it wasn’t worth the hassle of trying to get the pro’s attention to thank him for the second time that evening. The encounters with the sludge villain had drained all of his energy and left him relying on his adrenaline to help him get home as safely as possible.

His moping was interrupted when a familiar voice called to him.

‘DEKU!’

Izuku gasped, turning his head just in time to see the blonde rushing towards him. ‘Kacchan?’

His bully stepped forward.

‘Listen,’ he panted, clenching his fists.'I would never ask a weakling like you to help me. Don’t think you can look down on me. Huh? Got that? I was fine by myself. You’re just a quirkless failure’ (ouch) ‘who won’t even cut it as a ‘rent-a-cop’. You didn't help me. You did nothing. Don’t forget it. I don't owe you anything!’

What was that? Izuku mused as his bully stormed back the way he’d come from. Kacchan is right though, he murmured, continuing his march down the street. It's not like I actually did anything to help today. He sighed, turning around the corner. But…at least I tried. I guess now I should get back to giving up on my dre- his self-deprecating thoughts were cut short when a sudden force crashed into him.

His first instinct was to scream, but something cupped his head in its hands and a wave of calm suddenly washed over him. What's going on? He looked upwards, trying to recognise the face of the person who was currently gripping his skull. Instead of a face, his eyes were met with a sea of blue and before Izuku even had time to comprehend what exactly he was looking at, his mind fogged over.

Hours (or days?) passed, and Izuku was stuck in a dream-like state, mindlessly wandering, unsure of anything going on around him. What could have been 5 hours or 5 days later, he woke from his trance and found himself laying against the wall of a grubby alley.

‘Are you alright?’

Izuku blinked, allowing his eyes to adjust to the dimly lit passage he was resting in, before inspecting the stout old man to whom the question had belonged. i’m sure i've seen this man before.. he deduced, eyeballing the character's peculiar glasses. He recognised them from somewhere, however he was still too disoriented to place where he recognised them from.

‘I-i’m not sure..’ Izuku stuttered, struggling to form a coherent thought through the sea of panic that had suddenly drowned him. After a few moments of silence, he spoke again, ‘I don’t exactly remember how I ended up here…’ he admitted, placing a hand on his head.

‘Hmm, that’s odd,’ the man in front of him said swiftly. ‘I’m not sure I've seen you around here before; do you mind telling me your name?’

Izuku glanced wearily at the man, taking the time to absorb his full appearance. He must be a doctor, Izuku thought, regarding his long white lab coat, or maybe a scientist. I’m sure he’ll be able to help me.

Deeming the stranger trustworthy, Izuku relented. ‘My name is..’ he faltered, combing his brain for the correct words to complete his introduction. Izuku furrowed his brow, frustrated. Why can’t I remember my name?

‘Are you okay?’ the doctor asked softly, kneeling beside the shaken boy. ‘Do you have a concussion? I may be able to help.’

Izuku’s frown deepened, his fear rising. Maybe I do just have a concussion. Maybe I'm just overreacting.

The doctor held out his hand ‘I can take you to my hospital and get you checked out if you’d like’ he smiled gently.

So he is a doctor. Izuku got a brief satisfaction at the fact that he’d managed to guess the man’s profession. ‘Yes please.’ he slowly nodded, taking the doctor's hand and pulling himself up.

‘Alright. It's not too far away, so I hope you don't mind having to walk.’ the doctor replied simply, wiping away the dirt that had clung to his pristine white coat after crouching on the dusty floor.

At that moment, something dawned on izuku. He flushed, realising his rudeness. ‘Excuse me, sir, i forgot to ask your name.’ he bowed, horrified by his own lack of manners.

‘Ah, don't worry, it's okay.’ the man reassured before beginning to walk away, clearly expecting izuku to follow.

Izkuku flushed a deeper red. ‘So, uh, sir.. What is your name?’ he asked sheepishly.

The man stopped walking and faced the boy. ‘I’m Kyudai Garaki.’

The duo arrived at the hospital, although you could hardly call it that. The whole building was surrounded by a metal fence, and the doctor struggled for a few minutes with the lock before the gate creaked open. Izuku gazed up at the rustic building, eyeing the dusty windows as he followed the doctor towards the door.

They entered the building and the interior was notably better quality than the exterior. As they walked through the corridors, there were quite a few rooms boarded up loosely with wood, however the rest of the hospital was arguably well-kept. The doctor led Izuku into one of the rooms that wasn't concealed by the planks and instructed the boy to take a seat on the bed. He pulled a small torch out of his pocket and shone it into Izuku's eyes.

Without a word, the doctor exited the room, leaving Izuku alone. A few moments later, he returned with what looked like an IV drip. 

‘Uh, Doctor Garaki- what are you-’ Izuku spluttered as the Doctor began hooking him up to the suspiciously coloured fluid. He may have been dazed, but Izuku was sure that IV was supposed to be clear rather than tinted orange.

A small thought appeared at the back of his still-sobering mind;

Is this safe?

Izuku opened his mouth to voice his concerns to the doctor, who was still fiddling with the needle, however for the second time in his life he was forced to enter that same surreal form that had originally resulted in him being in the doctor's care.

Chapter Text

Izuku woke up for a second time in an unknown setting.

‘Ah, you’re awake,’ a man who was sitting in the corner of the room spoke, startling the (still) dazed green haired boy. ‘Do you know my name?’ 

Izuku frowned, slowly shaking his head. Am I supposed to know his name?

‘Brilliant.’ the man smiled gently.

‘Brilliant? How is me not knowing this guy’s name ‘Brilliant’?

‘My name is Doctor Garaki. Do you know your name?’

The question was answered when Izuku shook his head again, feeling confused and dizzy.

‘Excellent.’ Doctor Garaki scribbled something down in his notebook and rose to leave. ‘Someone will come collect you for training shortly. In the meantime, relax,’

Training? Izuku wondered as Doctor Garaki walked towards the door.

‘E-excuse me, sir… Doctor Garaki,’  he fumbled to stand up.

‘Not now, you need to rest.’ The man motioned for Izuku to remain seated and he obliged, giving in to his weak legs and sitting back down on the thin mattress.

‘B-but sir, could you..tell me my name?’

The doctor smiled maliciously, ‘my boy, that question is for you to figure out yourself.’

The cryptic answer left Izuku in too much shock and confusion to ask the doctor any more of the (many) burning questions he had;

Where am i?

Why am I here?

What's going on?

How old am i?

Who am i?

He cupped his face in his hands, immersed in his own thoughts.

Not long after the doctor left, the door to the room flung open to reveal a taller woman wearing a similar lab coat to the man that had just left. Izuku lifted his head from his hands to look up at her as she stood at the door.

‘Stand up and follow me.’ she spat. He rose and followed her obediently through the winding corridors, her commanding aura telling his instincts to obey. He opened his mouth to ask where they were going, but was cut off with a barked ‘silence’ immediately. 

Izuku was led to a large room that was clearly designed for combat and instructed to sit down. He glanced around the room and saw that the limited amount of chairs had already been occupied so instead walked over to a group of people sitting on the floor wearing weird beige outfits. He glanced down and saw that he was sporting a matching outfit that he had no memory of putting on.

Izuku turned and looked back to where the woman had been standing and saw that she had already left, presumably to bring more people to sit with the group.

I wonder how many more people she’s going to bring.. he wondered as he sat down, zoning out briefly before being returned to reality by a tapping on his shoulder. He looked up to see an older boy with cyan-ish coloured hair and slightly tan skin was beaming at him.

‘What's your name?’ the older boy asked bluntly

‘I-i don't know,’ he replied

‘Well that's no good,’ the older boy huffed, visibly deflating , ‘I've gotten the same answer from everyone I've asked so far, apart from the people who just plain refuse to answer. I have no idea how to address anyone now.’ 

‘Huh... w-well maybe we could give each other nicknames?’ Izuku suggested, which was overheard by a nearby winged boy who had stopped what he was doing to eavesdrop.

‘What an useless idea,’ the winged boy grumbled, causing Izuku to flush a deep red.

‘Hey, that's a great idea,’ the older boy lightened up, turning a deaf ear to the negative comment, ‘but what could our nicknames be?’

Izuku pondered for a moment, ‘Well, your hair reminds me of the mist, so you could be.. Kiri?’

Kiri grinned, clearly pleased with his new nickname ‘I love it! What about your nickname? Got any ideas?’ 

Izuku thought for a moment, the winged boy’s comment remaining fresh in his mind, ‘hmm… how about Deku?’

‘Deku..’ Kiri said slowly, testing it out, ‘I like it. Isn’t ‘Deku’ supposed to be an insult though?’ 

‘Huh.. I suppose so.. But it just (feels) right, you know?’

Kiri nodded in understanding before everyone was called to stand up. 

They were split up when everyone was sorted into seemingly random groups to be assigned numbers and given a tour which ended by everyone being shown their rooms. By complete coincidence, the duo had been put in the same room.

‘Yo! Deku!’ Kiri called out.

‘Kiri?’ Deku exclaimed in shock.

‘What are the chances we’d be put in the same room, right?’ 

‘Yeah, its pretty crazy.’ the green haired boy agreed.

‘Want to share a bunk?’ Kiri gestured to the bunk bed that he’d seemingly claimed as his own. 

‘Yes please,’ he said before climbing up to the top bunk and leaning against the wall with a satisfied sigh. The tour had taken almost 3 hours, and Deku’s feet were already sore before it had even begun. A moment later, Kiri joined him and the pair sat in a (somewhat relaxing) mutual silence until they both eventually fell asleep.

Kiri and Deku spent most of their days at what they called ‘the institute’ (a formal name had never been served to them, so they adopted name from some of the longer termed ‘patients’ (another adopted name)) together, spending practically every waking moment as a pair; they completed physical training together, they ate together, they shared a bunk bed, and this is how it was for what seemed like months, and it just seemed so right. It felt like the duo had been this close their whole lives, and shall remain together for the rest of eternity.

One day, out of the blue, Deku was called to Dr Garaki’s office shortly after the evening meal. 

‘Sir?’ Deku called out, slowly opening the door to the doctor’s office. The man was sitting behind his desk flanked by two nurses.

‘Ah, Deku, there you are!’ exclaimed the doctor. Most of the institutes’ staff had opted to calling patients by nicknames to easily distinguish between individuals rather than referring to them as ‘you there’ or their patient numbers, which were harder to memorise than words. A majority of patients (like Kiri and Deku) had chosen nicknames that quickly caught on, however some unfortunate patients ended up earning their nicknames because of mistakes they made (Deku shudders whenever he thinks about Slug).

‘Good evening, Doctor.’ Deku bowed, ‘What do you need?’

‘These two ladies have been formulating a new recipe and are in need of a test subject.’ Doctor Garaki was a rather straightforward man and preferred to get straight to the point rather than beating around the bush, and Deku respected him for it. Nonetheless, the boy was still taken aback by the man's bluntness.

Test subject? New recipe? WHAT?

Doctor Garaki clearly noticed how concerned Deku was. ‘Don’t worry boy, it’s nothing dangerous,’ he reassured, ‘but we really need you for this. It could be a huge scientific breakthrough!’

Deku hesitated, clearly weary of the doctor’s proposition. ‘Why do you need me?’ he asked.

‘To put it simply, it’s because you’re quirkless.’ the doctor spoke slowly. ‘I can't tell you much more than yet in case you get your hopes up and it fails.’

‘Will I get a quirk?’ Deku’s eyes lit up. He had always been so jealous when he watched the others use their quirks during training. 

‘Maybe’ 

‘Okay then, I'll do it.’

Chapter Text

Deku’s smile didn’t falter the whole time, not once. The nurses led him to a room similar to the one he first woke up in and his smile remained. One of the nurses pulled out a syringe full of clear liquid and injected him and his smile remained. He was instructed to remain seated by the nurses as they left the room and the boy obliged with a grin plastered to his face. Deku couldn’t remember the last time he’d been this excited, but it was definitely a long time ago.

Eventually he must have fallen asleep because he was woken up by a banging on the door. 

‘You’re free to go,’ came a bored voice from the other side, ‘continue your day as normal and return here before curfew tonight.’

Deku stepped out of the unlocked door to see morning light streaming through the grimy windows.

Did I really spend the whole night there?

He wandered to the canteen where he found everyone sitting around eating breakfast. He spotted Kiri sitting in the corner booth, staring down at his plate with a frown.

The chair in front of him scraping against the floor awoke the boy from his trance and he looked up to see his green haired friend had returned.

‘Deku! Where were you last night dude?’ He asked, concern glimmering in his eyes.

‘Oh, uh, they needed me to test something.. I’ll have to go back tonight. Sorry for suddenly disappearing on you,’ Deku admitted.

Kiri scowled, clearly unhappy about the arrangement, but ultimately dropped the subject. Instead, he decided to tell Deku about a funny story he’d heard from one of their roommates. 

They spent the whole day combat training but Deku, who’s usually one of the better in their class despite his small frame, was uncharacteristically out of it. His sluggishness worried Kiri, however any attempts at voicing his concern were promptly shut down with an ‘I’m fine.’

That night, Deku disappeared again and re-emerged during breakfast. 

‘Something exciting happen?’ Kiri asked when he noticed the younger boy couldn’t keep still while he ate.

‘Look at this!’ Deku grinned and flexed his arm which was covered in slim strands of crackling green electricity. 

Kiri stared at his friend, jaw agape.

‘What? I thought you were quirkless, man! How are you doing that?’ 

Deku looked around suspiciously, making sure nobody was listening, before leaning forward.

‘I’m working on a new drug with the doctor, he said it’ll give me an amazing quirk,’ he whispered, his grin widening. ‘I can finally be a hero.’

Kiri thought back on their late night talks about heroism and their desires to save people. Most people at the institute would scoff at you if you even mentioned heroes, so the boys had bonded over their mutual dreams. 

‘When we get out of here, you’ll become a great hero.’ 

The routine of Deku leaving after evening meals and reappearing during breakfast continued, with the green haired boy showing up with a new quirk every few weeks. Kiri tried his hardest to be a supportive friend, but it was difficult with his concern increasing by the day. 

‘When is this going to stop?’ the blue haired boy demanded one morning.

Deku frowned, ‘When is what going to stop?’

‘You disappearing during the night. I don't know what they’re doing to you, but having this many quirks can’t be healthy and you’ve been struggling.’ He replied.

‘Struggling?’ Deku scoffed.

‘You’ve been eating less and you look so tired, Deku. You’re slowing down during training and your quirks are injuring you.’

Deku looked down into his bowl of cereal which he’d just been stirring mindlessly with his spoon rather than eating.

‘I don’t know what you’re trying to say about the doctors’ judgement, but I feel fine.’ he snapped, eating a spoonful of cereal to prove his point. 

Kiri stared at his friend sadly, watching as he gagged while trying to stomach the food. ‘See what I mean?’ he asked as Deku spat the food back into his bowl.

The smaller boy huffed and stood up, grabbing his bowl. 

‘If you’re so jealous of all my new quirks and just want to criticise me, I’d prefer to sit somewhere else.’

‘You’ve changed, Deku.’ Kiri sighed, turning back to his own food. The sound of smashing cutlery caught his attention, and he saw deku fall to the floor.

‘Deku? DEKU?’ Kiri panicked, running to crouch beside his friend and shaking him awake, not caring that everyone in the dining hall had stopped to watch the commotion.

Deku stood up groggily and walked to the doctors office, completely ignoring his friend’s shouts.

That morning, Deku missed training and Kiri was growing more uneasy by the minute. When it was time for the group to get their lunch, he decided he should probably go and check up on his absent partner.

Kiri slipped out of the canteen and went wandering around the corridors in hopes of stumbling across Deku, however his attempts were unrewarded. By the time the bell signalling lunch was over had rang, Kiri had gotten himself lost in one of the many hallways that contributed to the maze of a building. He considered using his quirk to teleport to the training room, however he decided that he’d already come this far and so he continued.

After another few minutes of walking down hallways and peering into seemingly empty rooms, Kiri was met with a horrific sight. He looked into a room and saw a tube full of weird liquid holding a giant muscled bird looking thingy. Fear pulsed through his veins, the terrifying creature making Kiri want to curl up into a corner and cry. He stepped away from the room and continued his search, however each new room he looked into held an even scarier creature than the last.

Initially, Kiri wondered where the doctor had managed to find such beasts, however his questions were answered when he peered into a room and had the delightful experience of watching how these creatures were made. He watched in horror as a nurse hooked a young boy up to an iv drip and got turned into a nomu.

Cursing, Kiri sped up his search for Deku. With each passing room, he felt his despair grow until it blossomed into a wilting flower. Eventually, he found the green haired boy laying asleep in a room the same as all the other rooms. Unsure how much time he had left before his friend turned, Kiri took a mental note of the room number and teleported back to the training room to think of a plan.

Rather than a knock greeting him to alert that time was up, Deku was woken by a blaring alarm. After taking a moment to gather his senses, he finally heard it.

‘DEKU! DEKU!! GET OUT OF THERE!!’ urged a voice from behind the door, followed by harsh banging.

Kiri?

‘DEKU! HURRY UP!!’

Deku slowly glanced around the bare room.

‘How am I supposed to get out?’ he asked, groggily rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

Kiri groaned and the sound of rattling keys trying a lock was heard from the other side of the door. Eventually, there was a click and the door was opened, enhancing the sound of ringing alarms. Deku winced and covered his ears.

‘Hurry up Deku, we need to leave,’ Kiri grabbed his arm and dragged the boy into the corridor and towards the building’s exit

‘Where are we going? What’s going on?’ Deku demanded, allowing himself to be pulled by his anxious friend.

  ‘We’re escaping.’

All the previously locked doors had been disabled so leaving the building was a breeze. The boy's escape wasn’t interrupted a single time, presumably because all of the adults were dealing with the cause of the alarm.

The sun was slowly rising and the sky was a warm pink. The cool breeze was heavenly; after months of being confined, the pair had deeply missed the wind. Blaring alarms could still be heard from outside the building, and even though they were muffled by the walls they were still obnoxiously loud. Deku glanced around the courtyard and decided that hopping the fence seemed the best course of action.

He graciously accepted the leg up for support from his friend and climbed over the fence with ease. His taller counterpart grasped the edges of the metal with the tips of his fingers and walked them along the curved fencetop, reaching for a hold to pull himself up properly. A moment later, the alarms stopped and Kiri turned his head in curiosity.

‘Hurry up,’ Deku hissed, concerned lines forming on his face from worry that they’d get caught.

Finally finding a grip, Kiri hoisted himself over the wall. Instead of touching the ground, though, he got flung backwards.

‘KIRI??’ Deku called out, lacing his fingers between the chains of the fence and shaking it.

‘I-i’m fine..’ Kiri sat up from the ground and cursed under his breath, ‘but we have a problem,’

‘What is it?’

‘It’s the worst case scenario, Deku; they’ve installed a device to stop me from leaving.’

‘W-what? But I was able to jump the fence just fine! I-is it because they’ve stopped the alarms? Is it because I took too long? We-’

‘It’s because of my quirk,’ Kiri interrupted the boy’s rambling with a sigh, ‘They obviously don’t want us to leave, and so teleportation quirks are an issue. Deku, I promise i’ll find a way out of here, but-’

‘No, don’t say that, you’re coming with me right now,’ the younger boy shakes the fence again for emphasis.

Kiri smiled and put his hand forward.

‘Deku, promise me you’ll become a hero’

‘Kiri, you don’t have to do this, there’ll be a way for…’ Deku glanced back and saw armed guards rushing out of the doorways

‘Deku, go!’

Lost for words, Deku called out an apology before sprinting as far away as he could.