Chapter Text
The first time Izuku met Death, he was 4. Izuku woke up that day very excited, unaware of the disaster that was to come. It was his birthday! More importantly, it was his 4th birthday, and he was going to go to the doctor to see what his quirk was.
“Mama mama!” Izuku yelled, eyes bright and filled with excitement. “I'm so excited to see what quirk I get! Do you think I'll get a quirk like yours? Or like papa's, your quirks are sooooo cool, or maybe I'll get a combination of your quirks!” Izuku’s mom laughed, filling the air with a bright sound like tinkling bells.
“I’m sure whatever quirk you get is going to be amazing, darling,” Izuku’s mom said, smiling. She turned and gave her husband a quick kiss before handing him his lunch and sending him out the door. “I’ll tell you all about Izuku’s quirk when you get home, Hisashi!” Inko called out the door. She smiled content before turning to her son. “Now, what does the birthday boy want for breakfast?”
“Katsudon!” Izuku shouted, eyes gleaming with happiness.
“Okay, only because it's your birthday,” Inko said before starting breakfast.
Izuku vibrated in his seat, barely containing his excitement as he waited for his mom and sat in the waiting room for the doctor.
“Izuku Midoriya!” a nurse called out.
“That's us!” Inko said, gently taking Izuku's hand and guiding him after the nurse. Sitting in the doctor's office and waiting for the results was torture for Izuku. They had taken his blood, performed some routine tests, and taken an X-ray. Izuku’s eyes lit up as he watched the doctor walk into the room.
“I’m sorry, kid, it's not going to happen. This X-ray shows you have a double pinky joint. This means you're probably never going to get a quirk,” the doctor stated bluntly. Izuku gasped, eyes filling with tears, grip loosening on his toy. His mom led him out of the doctor’s office, his feet walking on autopilot.
“Mama? Can I still be a hero?” Izuku mumbled, eyes pleading.
I'm sorry, Zuku. I’m so so sorry”, Inko replied numbly.
The next day, Izuku begged his mom to take him to the park so he could play with Katsuki.
“Please, Mama, please, I promise I’ll be careful!” Izuku begged.
“Fine, but please be careful, you don't have a quirk to protect yourself,” Inko replied, eyes filled with worry. Izuku jumped up joyfully before running to get himself ready for the park. The walk to the park was short, and they sat on the bench waiting for Katzuki and his mom to get there.
“Kachan!” Izuku yelled excitedly when he spotted his best friend.
“Zuku!” Katsuki shouted. The two boys ran off to the playground, leaving their mothers behind to converse. “What quirk did you get?” Katsuki asked, eyes gleaming with excitement.
Izuku looked down and mumbled, “The doctor said I’m probably never going to get a quirk.” Katsuki’s face crumpled eyes gace contorting into a disappointed sneer.
“You’re quirkless? You're a liar! How can we be heroes together if you are a quirkless weakling!” Katsuki stared at him, eyes filled with hatred. Katsuki shoved Izuku down to the ground before stomping off into the woods. Izuku followed Katsuki, wanting to play with him, naively believing that Katsuki didn’t care he was quirkless.
“Stop following me, you, stupid nerd!” Bakugo yelled, palms crackling with anger, showing his new quirk. Kachan’s quirk is soo cool! Izuku thought absent-mindedly.
“But we are friends and friends play with each other,” Izuku replied, beaming. His eyes held a hopeful look, begging, pleading for his only friend, Kachan, not to turn on him, too.
“I’m not going to be friends,” Bakugo paused, “a stupid Deku!”
“That's not nice! I'm telling your mom you called me that.” Izuku whined. Kachan’s palms began crackling and smoking, emitting a faint caramel-like smell as he ran towards Izuku.
“Don’t tell me a tattle tale!” Bakugo yelled as he shoved Izuku. Izuku wobbled from the impact before tipping backward and falling, down, down into the stream and hitting his little head on a rock. Bakugo stumbled back in shock and horror before running away. Izuku opened his eyes to darkness. He gasped because, like another four-year-old, he was still scared of the dark and the monster that hid in it.
“Another one?” a melodic voice whispered, filled with sadness.
“Hello? Who are you? Can you take me home?” Izuku called out, voice trembling with unshed tears. A figure emerged with hair so dark it seemed to swallow everything, with pale skin filled with freckles that looked like stars. She wore a simple white dress with bandages over her eyes. She sighed, looking at Izuku before speaking again.
“I'm sorry, child, this is your home now.” The lady spoke
“NO! I wanna go back to mama!” Izuku wailed. “Her hugs are warm, and she makes the best katsudon! Daddy is supposed to come back from his work trip today, too! I wanna go back to Mama!”
“You died, child, you can’t go back.” The lady whispered.
“Please, please, please,” Izuku begged. The lady’s eyes softened, and her hand reached out to pull Izuku into a hug.
“If I send you back now, I can watch over you and make sure you will be safe,” she mumbled. “ I really will feel horrible keeping you, and I haven’t taken a prodigy in so long,” the lady sighed and looked up. “I’ll send you back.” She said, “Oh, and my name's Death.” Izuku blinked, confusion filling his eyes
“But death is mean, it takes people away. You are not mean, you're kind and give good hugs, so you can’t be Death. I'm going to call you, umm,” Izuku blinked “Akari!” Death blinked in surprise before smiling.
“Sure, child, child sure.” Death smiled at the small boy before waving her hand to send Izuku back gently. Back in the land of the living, Izuku woke up wet and shivering. The forest was cold and creepy, especially after falling into a stream. He stood up, wobbling, and began climbing up the sides of the stream and making his way back out of the forest. When he got there, he saw his mom frantically searching for her son. He stumbled up to her, dripping and cold.
“Mama! I met a nice lady named Akari, she helped after I fell into the stream.” Izuku babbled. Inko engulfed Izuku in a hug before flossing over him, asking him if he was okay and promising him warm soup and katsudon when they got back home.
Izuku got out of the shower to the smell of miso soup and katsudon filling the air. Giggled before thinking about how concerned his mom had been. He ruffled his fluffy green hair with a towel before waddling into the kitchen.
“It smells so good, mama!” Izuku exclaimed in excitement.
“I'm glad you think so,” Inko replied, as she looked up with concerned and relieved eyes, “though I wanted to ask you about what happened. You said you fell into the stream in the woods? You met a lady named Akari?”
Izuku looked up from his food before finishing his food and swallowing, “Yeah, um, I fell into the stream when I was playing with Kachan. And when I met this nice lady in white, she had really long black hair too. Um, she said her name was Death, but I thought that wasn’t a very nice name, so I asked if I could call her Akari, and she said yes!” Inko’s face srucnhed up with concern and confusion. Who was this lady that Izuku had met, and what were her intentions? Inko wondered. She sighed before beginning to eat her food too. Inko jumped when she heard the sound of a knock on the door.
“That must be your father!” Inko said, smiling. She got up and made her way over to the front door. “Darling, you’re finally home!” she said before pepering her husband with kisses.
“Hi Inko! I’m excited to see you too!” Hisashi said. He bent down and picked up Izuku, pulling him into a big hug. “Hi Zuzu! I’m happy to see you too!”
“Daddy! Mama made katsudon cause I fell, and it scared her a lot. I met a nice lady called Akari,” Izuku exclaimed, snuggling into his father’s hug, eyes drooping.
“Are you tired, Zuzu?” Hisashi asked, smiling with concern. Izuku nodded before yawning. “Let's get you tucked in,” Hisashi said before walking to Izuku’s room and putting him to bed. Hisashi walked to the dining room where Inko sat, hands fiddling with her hair.
“Is Izuku asleep?” Inko asked her husband.
“Yes. What’s Izuku’s quirk?” Hisashi asked, eyes gleaming with curiosity.
Inko sighed, “He is quirkless.” Hisashi gasped, snarling with disgust.
“Inko, you'd better be lying. He better not be quirkless.” Hisashi snarled.
“Why would I lie about that?” Inko whispered, “He is quirkless. What's wrong with that? He just needs a bit more love!” Hisashi’s eye filled with fury, and a crack echoed through the room when Hisashi’s hand hit Inko’s cheek.
“You useless woman, how could you give me a defective son!” Hisashi’s throat glowed like an ember signaling the start of his quirk. Inko stumbled back before crying out.
“You leave this house now!” Inko yelled. Hisashi’s throat glowed again, and he opened his mouth, letting fire spew out. The fire covered everything, spilling over it and eating away at anything it could. Hisashi turned and bolted, not wanting to be faced with the consequences og his actions. Inko gasped in shock before stumbling to Izuku’s room. She fumbled with Izuku’s door, barely managing to open it before shaking Izuku awake and shoving some of his things into a backpack and pushing towards the front door. Suddenly, a chunk of the ceiling fell, crushing Inko’s leg.
“Go, Izuku!” Inko yelled, voice hoarse from smoke inhalation. Izuku sobbed, begging his mom to get up and not leave him. He was so young, he didn’t want both of his parents to leave him just days after his birthday.
Go Izuku. I will watch over your mother. If she leaves the land of the living, I will keep her safe, and she will wait for you. Death’s voice startled Izuku out of his stupor, and he took one last watery-eyed glance at his mother.
“I’m going to tell them to come get you!” Izuku sobbed. Inko only smiled, tears threatening to stream down her face like a waterfall. Izuku sprinted towards the door, yanking it open before running down the stairs where many other residents were rushing down. When he made it out of the apartment, he ran to the first adult he saw. He grabbed the man's arm, shaking it before sobbing out, “Mama’s trapped in our house! She got stuck when something fell on her.” The man nodded before grabbing his gray scarf and running towards the building in search of Inko. He must be a hero, Izuku thought, he would save mama cause he is a hero! When Mama is better, I’ll ask her for help using the computer to find out who he is. A hand grabbed Izuku, startling a yelp out of him.
“Hey, kid, are you okay? Where are your parents?” The man who grabbed Izuku asked, “I’m a detective, you can call me Detective Tsukauchi.” He led Izuku to an ambulance that checked him out and wrapped him in a blanket.
“I want Mama,” Izuku mumbled. “The man with a scarf went to get her. She was stuck”
Truth Tsukauchi’s quirk rang in the back of his head.
“You are probably talking about Eraserhead. He is a pro-hero, I promise that he will do anything to save your mom, kid,” Tsukauchi comforted. As he said those words, Eraserhead walked through the door with a grim expression on his face.
“I’m sorry, kid. Your mom didn’t make it.” Eraserhead said solemnly. Izuku gasped and broke down in tears.
“Mama wouldn’t leave me! You’re a liar. Liar, liar, liar!” Izuku cried. Tsukauchi gently patted the boy's back, giving as much comfort as he could. Soon, Tsukauchi called a case worker who came and took the boy to a temporary group home. The case worker, a tall lady named Kanna Suzuki, handed the small boy off to the homeowner, Reiko Yami, who led the boy to his room and told him to go to bed and unpack the next day.