Chapter Text
They say every story has a beginning. A specific point in time where everything in your life shifted.
For mine? It starts when my big sister was born.
Midoriya Maki was born in 2201, to Inko and Hisashi, two Ketsubutsu students. Inko, a very diligent student who didn’t have any dreams of being a hero before meeting Hisashi, and Hisashi, a hero course student who showed great promise once he graduated to be a very effective hero, had no clue how they were going to be parents. Two foster kids who now had a kid of their own. They vowed to not only keep her, but raise her as best they could. They couldn’t in good faith condemn her to a life they knew all too well.
And so Maki came into the world… about two months too early.
There had been no complications with moms pregnancy before then. By all means, she was as healthy she could be as she wanted nothing to disrupt the flow of things. Hell, she even dropped out of the hero course and transferred back to Gen Ed, a step she didn’t want to take but needed to. She was concerned enough with having a baby, she didn’t need the stress of trying to be a hero on her mind. She could start that back up later.
So when Maki came out too small and too light, the concern grew.
And this is where the story really starts.
Maki, from the beginning was always a fighter. She was the type to look death in the eye and tell it “fuck off”. She fought against the odds in that hospital and won. It was by all means a miracle. What else was a miracle?
Maki’s quirk had come in early. Extremely early.
When the doctors had finally saved her life, her quirk had roared to life. Machines in the room had started to go off, items and the doctor lifting off the ground, panic ensuing around them.
And in the middle of that? A glowing green aura around the miracle baby.
It was almost like she was destined for greatness. And she took every chance she got. Moms quirk was much weaker and limited than Maki’s but was more controlled as well, which made her the perfect teacher for someone like Maki. The brash toddler, grew to be the brash teenager, which grew to be the brash adult. Such a contrast to their parents, the whole family often wondered if it wasn’t for the resemblance to Inko and Hisashi, if she wasn’t someone else’s child.
She graduated from U.A at the top of her class, scouted extensively by the HPSC themselves. Her sister however, wasn’t gonna be a lackey to the likes of them, and she let them know that plenty of times. And it’s not like they could do anything to the woman. She had displayed multiple times that they couldn’t touch her… literally. Before they even got the chance she would display in gruesome fashion what happened when they tried to pull one of their little stunt on her. It was a reason they hadn’t sent Hawks after her after what happened with Nagants very brief successor in a hero by the name of Smasher.
A very appropriate name for what happened to him.
She was then approached by the World Hero Association. At first she thought it’d just be a bigger problem than the HPSC, but it was the opposite.
You see the WHA had long been in the business of covert operations before the HPSC was even thought of, so they had a handle on these types of things. But that’s not what they needed Maki for, now going by the hero name of Tornado. They wanted her to be one of the beacons of hope around the world. When people saw Tornado, they would know that it was alright. So they offered her to join the all exclusive team of the Alpha Centaurs. This team had held top heroes such as Star and Stripe and All Might during their primes before they transitioned themselves back to their respective countries. And they needed another big name on the rise, and one with top tier power like the heroes mentioned before her.
And she had agreed on a basis that she stay in Japan. The title of an international heir held weight, so she would join any mission they had for her, but she also wanted to be one of those heroes holding Japan up as well. She was not disillusioned into the idea of All Might, though she would always acknowledge his presence as the greatest. But anyone with eyes could see that 30-plus years of heroics at the highest level was taking its toll on the man. The WHA agreed with her terms and she continued her ascent into greatness as both not only one of the worlds, but one of Japan’s greatest heroes. And at 28 right now, she had one of those feast already accomplished.
Even if she wasn’t that well liked by the people. But that’s a story for another time.
I guess part two of the story goes to my Dad.
Midoriya Hisashi aka Dragoon. A powerful Fire user, whose quirk was not only massively effective against nearly everyone he went up against, but also other fire users. With Dads quirk, Fire Breath, he could spit out flames as hot as molten lava but he could also “eat” flames. It was one of the reasons someone like Endeavor would acknowledge the skill my father possessed, and if you knew Endeavor, that was VERY big thing.
Though he had trouble out the starting gate because he was basically the one taking care of the household with a wife and baby at the young age of 18. Dad never knew peace for the beginning of his life, always working and trying to provide. My siblings and I always had respect for his work ethic and sacrificed he put on for us, even if he wasn’t there as much as we would’ve liked.
He was also a member of the WHA.
Remember when I said a little while ago that the WHA had been in the covert ops business a long time? Yeah, well dad was in that realm. He never told me what he did exactly, but whatever it was, clearly stayed with him. It was of the things I thought best not to look into. All I know is that it made him take up yoga and meditation, recommended by his therapist. I would catch him sometimes staring off into space, his eyes having this… haunted look in them.
Thankfully that part of his life is over now. He got out of that life when him and mom had me. Him and a couple buddies he made during his time there had decided that the hero life was one they couldn’t leave entirely and they started a Rescue Agency together. Elemental Rescue Corporation. Where quirk users with a speciality on elemental based powers would take part in rescue heroics. Of course that’s not all who they accepted, but that was the concept when they first started. They just had no clue it’s grow past that. Or that they would have branches across multiple countries. It’s what allowed him to now spend more time at home, as he was in charge of the Japanese branch, with locations in Shizuoka, Hokkaido, Tokyo, Kyoto and Yamaguchi. Many famous rescue heroes had passed through or worked for the company in the past before branching out on their own or starting subsidiaries that were listed under them.
Dad had achieved success at the highest level, and though he wasn’t as active as he used to be, he still maintained a spot in the top 50 and was one of the more famous heroes despite never being in the top ten. His hard work paid off and he could reap the benefits while finally having the relationship he had always wanted with his kids… or trying to at least. He was closer to Mikumo than me and my sister anyway.
I guess he’s part three then?
Midoriya Mikumo aka Solar. A very appropriate name for a Fire user with the potential to surpass Endeavor himself as the strongest fire quirk user.
20 years old and a current sidekick, he’s made a name for himself ever since he was in U.A. In his second year when he got his provisional license, he was involved in a villain attack with a villain that was more monster than man, was trying to tear Tokyo to shreds. At the time, no heroes were being effective against the beast and All Might and Endeavor were engaged in a separate problem down south in Hiroshima. So my brother was forced to take action.
His fire was tested to burn as hot as a blue sun at its strongest. That turned out to be very accurate as well. He blasted into the beast as they shot into the sky, over the ocean and into one of the abandoned islands off the coast. Cameras could get too close, but what they did capture, was a bright blue light, and heat that enveloped the northern half of Japan.
My fathers rescue agency went on the scene first, having the equipment to get there. What they found was nothing but my brothers body and murky waters filled with ashes surrounding him. No sign of the villain.
It was his first life and only life taken thus far.
Of course the HPSC tried to run a narrative, as they always did, but the combined forces of Nezu, Tornado and PsyKo dissuaded them form trying anything that would’ve gotten… ugly… for them.
I remember dad being there for him and trying to get his mind through it. To my brothers credit, he was able to shake it off for the most part. He had heard stories of our parents and Maki, as well as other top heroes, having to do the more unsavory parts of heroics, so he knew it was only a matter of time until he joined that list of heroes. Mikumo was always good at seeing the bigger picture like that.
He was also closer to him than he was Mika, though that didn’t say a lot really. While Mika was more aggressive straight forward in her words, Mikumo always tries to sugarcoat. He was similar to dad in that way. Except he was much less clever and it was always with the caveat of him just trying to be “realistic”. I’d much rather him just tell me straight up that I had no shot at it like Mika did. At least then I could properly feel disdain for him like I do her.
And I guess the last one is Mom.
I mean… mom is mom. You all know Inko. She’s a big ass ball of anxiety and that comes across very much all the time.
But there’s the other part of Inko that makes an appearance to the family every one and while.
PsyKo. One of the top underground heroes in Japan. It’s not an exaggeration to say that she is to the underground, what All Might is to the limelight. Whenever she enters the scene, there’s a hope that accompanies her arrival. Like everything will be okay and the people know it, the heroes know it. Except the heroes in the underground won’t stand by and let her handle the problem, they’ll actually help. She’s always tried to put out wisdom and help the younger ones in her field, and she’s gained notoriety in the hero circles doing that, even gaining that silent acknowledgement of the top heroes, including All Might himself.
Attraction of Small Objects. A quirk she’s honed through years of trial and error, getting it to the point where she can now go down to minute details of the human body. Getting her degree in human biology really paid off in the long run.
But still, this is Inko. And Inko has never been one to hide her feelings on things, even if she doesn’t verbally say it.
Izumi wanting to learn how to defend herself? “Do you really think that’s a good idea honey?”
Izumi wanting to join a sports team? “Are you sure you’ll be able to keep up with the other kids?”
Izumi trying to get her to teach some skills not pertaining to housework? “I think this will suit you better sweetie.”
Izumi wanting… wanting to be a hero?
“I’m sorry.”
Needless to say, I don’t go to mom for much anymore. Last time I went to her for anything, it was my period and even that came with a caveat in the lecture that I could’ve honestly cared less about but listened anyway. How Inko managed to turn that into a quirk thing, even I don’t know.
No, I went to her dad for the important stuff now. Getting me in martial arts and fighting classes? All dad. Learning how to calm myself through mediation and doing yoga? All dad. Boys? … well, not dad, and definitely not mom or Mikumo. No, I went to Maki for that. Didn’t turn out well, but I learned some valuable lessons in “never have a one night stand without vetting your partner”. What a thing to learn at 11 years old.
One thing is for sure though. Me and Mom were not that close. That doesn’t I don’t love mom. No I do… I just don’t like her that much.
And honestly there’s a whole other list of things and people I could talk about. Aldera? Katsuki? Oh I could go all day about that, but this isn’t about them.
It’s about me.
So what’s the basis of you knowing all this as a starting point?
I’m quirkless.
Yeah, that “damn” you either just whispered or said in your head is the right response. A family full of heroes. Strong heroes at that. And the youngest is the black sheep, the most useless one, the quirkless one… it’s a lot. It demeaning. It’s… fucking unfair. And yeah, I curse a lot, fucking deal with it or blame Bakugou for all I care.
So I’m telling you all this because… well… to be honest it’s my birthday and besides a half heart happy birthday from my parents, a little emoji she got from her brother and the beating she got today from Bakugou and his butt buddies despite it being summer break, today has been… shitty.
I’ve written in this damn diary since I was like 5 and I’m just now contemplating… saying fuck it.
A couple months ago, Bakugou told me to jump off a roof and pray for a quirk in my next life. Bakugou’s always been and an asshole and a bully, but he never went that far. Maybe it started back then? All I know is the feelings been growing more and more these days. Maki, despite being one of the main perpetrators of this, always told her to never let anyone’s words fuck Io how she sees herself and dictate how her life will go. Maki was never as clever as she thought she was, but it did help a lot.
But I am only human. There’s only so much a human can take. Who knows? Maybe I will get a quirk in my next life? Hell, even if it’s a weak or useless one, at least I’d have one.
I’ve always wondered what kind of quirk I could’ve gotten if I was born normal. I mean, there’s no need to think about it now. Late bloomers don’t come in THIS late anyway. It’d be nice though. A family full of massively OP ass people, capable of taking out cities if they wanted to, and here I am.
Whatever, I just needed to get that out. No clue what I’m gonna do with this, but it was just a bad day today. Hopefully tomorrows better.
Just keep fighting Izumi. You’re gonna get there. And when you do, you’ll show them all.
***
Izumi closed her notebook as she looked around her room filled with hero merch of many different heroes, none more so prominent than the big ass All Might poster on door.
Turning the desk light off, she got into bed, hoping that tomorrow was at least better than today.
What she, or anyone else really, didn’t notice was happening on the inside.
You see with late bloomers, there’s usually a situation of high stress that gets their quirk to finally unlock. Never really happens the more you grow up, but Izumi was wrong in saying it never happened this late. Because it did.
And it was happening right now.
Within herself, buried deep in her soul, was a power that was contained by glowing sphere of energy. Where it came from, I couldn’t tell you. All I can tell you is that on the other side of Japan, as Tornado is engaging with a villain that’s trying it’s best to get out of the ball of rock she used to trap it in, her eyes widen as she feels something she hasn’t felt in almost a decade since she trapped that power inside of her little sister.
That sphere she used to contain it… has cracked.