363Chapter 1: The Turn to Chaos
A/N: Heavy editing done on this chapter.
You can be a hero,"
The recent words echoed once more in Izuku's mind as he smiled. Nobody had ever told him that. Everyone he had ever met was determined to prove that he could never be a hero, well everyone except a precious few.
He stopped before the door to the apartment, making sure to wipe off the smirk on his face. He couldn't wait to start training with All Might the next morning, but he didn't want to give anything away to his mother either.
He slowly opened the door, "I'm home mom!" he announced.
"Oh, my poor baby!" Inko was almost weeping, "Are you hurt?" She checked him up.
"I'm fine mom," Izuku pulled himself away. He wasn't hurt from the sludge incident but Bakugou had pushed him with his explosions earlier, and he hadn't covered the burns up yet, "I think I'll just go and have a shower first. The sludge was disgusting,"
"Well, say hello to your cousin on the way,"
Izuku screeched to a holt, "What?" he asked slowly.
"Your cousin's here. So are your aunt and uncle," Inko notified, "They were going to be coming next week since they are shifting here but after they saw the sludge incident, they rushed over,"
"How come you didn't tell me?" Izuku asked.
"Well, it was meant to be a surprise," Inko excused, "You know your dad and I've been talking and we both agreed that you need company. Your uncle was going to move in next door since it's closer to his new office. A week earlier makes no difference,"
"Yeah…" Izuku said vaguely. It wasn't that he hated his cousin, in fact, he was his closest friend, except maybe Kacchan. The thought put a bad taste in his mouth. He still wanted to believe Katsuki was his friend but was he actually?
Nevertheless, this was a bad time for his cousin, Watanabe, to come. He knew that Watanabe, while maybe not as intelligent, was definitely smart and observant enough to figure out one or two of his secrets. Secrets that he had worked hard to protect from his mother. On the other hand, the Hattoris were the only people besides his mother who encouraged him and treated him properly.
"I thought it was you!" Watanabe suddenly appeared, "That was wonderful how you took care of the sludge!"
"It's a good thing All Might was there," Natsume, Inko's sister said, "What were you thinking going in like that? You could have been hurt," Izuku's aunt scolded him.
"Sorry, I just wanted to save Kacchan," Izuku replied, slightly embarrassed at having being scolded.
"Yeah mom, I'd do the same thing if Kaminari was in danger," Watanabe spoke.
"You'd do the same thing even if Kaminari wasn't in danger," Natsume replied shortly, "Anyway, let your cousin go and freshen up. He's had a tough day,"
Izuku gave a polite smile and headed off to the bathroom. Once he had entered, he sighed with relief. The shower gave him time to avoid Watanabe's eyes. He knew that there was no way Watanabe could figure out about All Might or One for All. But hiding Bakugou's bullying was easier said than done.
Izuku took as much time as he could in the shower, not in any rush to get out.
"Izuku dear, it's almost dinner time. What are you doing so long in the shower?" Inko called.
"Sorry mom, will be right out," Izuku apologized and hurried out… only to come face to face with Watanabe, "Everything alright?"
"Yup. The sludge was just hard to scrub off,"
Watanabe didn't seem too convinced but nodded regardless, "Well c'mon. The food looks really delicious!" he exclaimed and ran off.
"Right a bit of a shaky start but Watanabe isn't too suspicious yet. He still thinks Kacchan protects me at school like I told him while messaging," Izuku noted.
The dinner was mostly quiet. Watanabe looked like he wanted to talk but Izuku assumed his strict mother forbade him from talking with his mouth full. Natsume could be very strict indeed.
"So Izuku, how's school going?" Ryuzen, Izuku's uncle, asked after the plates were cleared away, "Oh it's great. You know, normal stuff," Izuku replied shortly.
"Well I can't imagine it's that great considering your-" Ryuzen stopped short as Natsume gave her husband a glare for bringing up his quirklessness.
"Ahm, your uh…" Ryuzen trailed off.
Izuku snickered slightly. It was always fun to see his uncle squirm whenever he made a mistake.
"Yeah, but Izuku's got Katsuki to protect him. He says they're best friends," Watanabe pointed out.
"True, but in my experience, people with stronger quirks turn out to be assholes," Ryuzen said bluntly.
"Don't let Kaminari hear you that," Watanabe replied.
"Some exceptions are obviously there," Ryuzen accepted.
"Oh, that reminds me Izuku, I invited Kaminari over on the weekend. You'll like him, he's the best!" Watanabe spoke highly of his friend.
"He'll be sad you left the school though," Natsume said.
"You left your school?" Izuku asked, astonished.
"Well duh! We're moving away so it's easier to come to Aldera,"
"But all your friends," Izuku tried to sway the decision.
"So what? I have you here dummy. It's not like I don't know anyone at Aldera. If that was the case, then maybe I wouldn't have switched schools. Besides, we'll be hanging with Kaminari every other week. I wonder if Katsuki will get along with him," Watanabe pondered out loud.
"Yeah… I wonder," Izuku gave a shaky smile. Inside he was panicking, "Crap! Crap, crap!" he cursed in his mind, "Watanabe's gonna find out. And then he's gonna tell mom. And then mom will be sad. No, no this can't be happening,"
Watanabe watched his cousin with concern, "Alright Izuku? You look surprised,"
"What?" Izuku glanced up, "Oh nothing, I was just shocked you're coming to Aldera too, that's all,"
Watanabe wasn't too sure about that. He had caught Izuku's eyes when he shifted his head and had caught a feeling of fear in his eyes for a split second. A short time, but fear nonetheless. Watanabe knew there was no reason Izuku would be afraid of him… unless he was hiding something at Aldera. Could it be Bakugou wasn't actually as good as Izuku had talked him up?
After all, he had never met Bakugou, just like Izuku had never met Kaminari. Most of the cousins' conversations happened by text since their families only met up once a month. That didn't mean they weren't close; they were very close. But Watanabe liked to have a physical reading on a person, and at the moment things didn't look so charming.
"So, when are you attending?"
"Tomorrow,"
"Oh…" Izuku said, "So no time to slowly break the news either. I'm dead," he resigned himself.
"You don't look too pleased though," Watanabe added, "Are you embarrassed by me?" he grinned.
Izuku laughed, "Of course not! You're my best friend,"
"So you say," Watanabe mumbled.
"Watanabe, didn't you have some news for Izuku?" Natsume reminded.
"Oh right, right!" Watanabe said excitedly, "Guess what Izuku, my quirk isn't useless!"
Izuku jumped up, "You found a use!?"
Watanabe nodded excitedly, "Yeah, we thought it's just eye color changing right?" he said. Izuku nodded, "Well, it turns out, it's actually vision change. I guess the eye color change is just a side effect or something,"
Izuku's eyes were nearly popping out of his head. Watanabe's quirk had been the one quirk he had not been able to find a use, and it annoyed him greatly. So to have heard its use, it made him feel excited and happy for his cousin, "How did you figure it out?"
"Kaminari and I were sparring and I accidentally activated it. To be honest, we thought it's a concussion or something," Watanabe said, bemused, "Mom was worried,"
"People don't just see bones out of nowhere," Natsume defended.
"Bones?"
"Yeah, I switched to X-ray vision, so yeah, bones," Watanabe explained, "I also got infrared vision and Ultraviolet vision. Maybe I can discover some more, but that's it,"
"Wait, wait, can you do infrared again?" Izuku asked. Watanabe obliged. Izuku whistled, "For infrared, you need to turn your eye into a dark color. Dark colors absorb infrared easier so that means your quirk is absorbing the different frequencies and turning them into a different vision!" Izuku determined.
"Hold up," Watanabe was confused, "People got black eyes, how come they don't see infrared?"
"I'm pretty sure you're changing the color of your cones or something to change the eye color, thus the vision change,"
Watanabe looked at Izuku in awe. Ryuzen looked dumbfounded, "You should be a doctor Izuku. The quirk doctor tested Watanabe and came to the same conclusion! You really do have a wonderful brain!"
Izuku chuckled at the praise, "It was nothing,"
"I'm serious!"
"Oh come on dad," Watanabe said, "Izuku wants to be a pro hero,"
Izuku braced himself for Ryuzen to say that it's not possible but he heard something very different, "You can be both. It's called multi-tasking," Ryuzen said sagely.
Natsume shook her head, "Whenever you try to sound intelligent, it feels like seeing a monkey trying to talk,"
"Oh come on now, don't be so harsh on him," Inko said.
"So, Izuku, I hope your new school can handle Watanabe," Ryuzen said.
"Hey! I'm perfectly alright!" Watanabe exclaimed.
Ryuzen just looked at him boredly and said three words, "The turtle incident,"
That made Watanabe shut up and Izuku laugh uproariously. The turtle incident was when Watanabe punched someone with a turtle quirk and broke their armored nose at his previous school. The reason was Watanabe saw the boy bully a stranger. Watanabe had gotten a suspension but the glee Izuku had seen on his face told him that he would have liked to get in a few more blows. Now that izuku thought of it, he should probably make sure Watanabe and Bakugou were as far away from each other as possible.
"It will be fine. Izuku says that there are no bullies at Aldera. And even if there are Bakugou will protect him," Inko said, obliviously.
"Don't be so sure of that. Watanabe's school has wonderful teachers and staff as well as proper rules. But there are still many delinquents. The parents matter too, Inko," Ryuzen told her sister-in-law.
"I suppose that's true," Inko agreed, "But Aldera will be just as good I think, right Izuku?"
"Mhm," Izuku forced a smile.
"Why don't you show Watanabe to your room Izuku?" Inko asked, "I'm afraid you'll have to share for a bit. They won't be able to move in next door just yet because it's still being prepared,"
"Of course, mom," Izuku replied cheerfully, hiding the extra panic that was rising. Any other day, he'd have been glad to have his cousin move in, but with him now being trained by All Might, he didn't really want Watanabe in his personal space. Next door would be fine, but sharing a room meant that Watanabe was bound to realize him sneaking off for training.
"Going to bed already?" Ryuzen asked.
"It has been a long day for Izuku, he must be tired," Natsume said, "I'll get you some blankets. Where do you keep extra bedding?" Natsume asked her sister.
"I'll get them later. We're meeting after such a long time after all!" Inko said.
"Yeah but I think Ryuzen might be tired,"
"Oh, he can go to bed then," Inko offered.
"No, we're going to have a sister's night. He's going to stay on the sofa, not you," Natsume pulled her sister's hand.
"Isn't that rude?"
"Of course not. Is it rude Ryuzen?" Natsume asked.
"Nope," He smiled back. Izuku and his cousin giggled, knowing that Ryuzen was just scared of his wife.
Izuku lead Watanabe to his room and opened the door. Watanabe chuckled, "Still keeping the All Might figurines I see,"
"What can I say, I'm a huge fan," Izuku replied.
"Careful, or people are going to think you're a stalker. Though my quirk is better suited for a stalker,"
Izuku had an idea, "You know your quirk is perfect for being a rescue hero. I can't believe we didn't check this angle!" Izuku said, happy for his cousin. Now that he was getting One for All, he had been a bit worried about Watanabe's plans to become a hero, but this; this changed things.
Izuku continued, "That means it's combat effective too since you can pinpoint weaknesses,"
"Yup, X-ray shows me the joints more easily, and I can target them,"
"When did you find out about your quirk being so useful?"
"About a month back," Watanabe replied, "I would have told you over the phone but it was just too big a news to not share in person,"
Izuku chuckled, "I understand," Izuku replied. He was bursting himself to tell Watanabe about All Might and how he'd be getting a quirk too, but he had promised All Might not to tell anyone! It was so frustrating!
"Say I learned a trick at my martial arts class. Want to see?" Watanabe asked.
Izuku nodded, "Give me your hand," Watanabe ordered. Izuku obliged, and as soon as he extended his hand, Watanabe swiftly caught Izuku's hand in an iron grip. Izuku struggled to free himself as Watanabe rolled up his sleeves, "Burn marks. Considering my infrared picked it up, it's new," Watanabe said grimly, glancing up to Izuku with concern.
Izuku cursed. He had slipped up very badly. He had basically handed his secret to Watanabe by extending his arm. How could he have been so careless! He should have known that Watanabe's infrared would pick up the new scars today given that they would still be radiating heat.
"There are older scars too, so you've been getting bullied for quite a long time," Watanabe scanned his arm.
Izuku looked down in sadness. Tears formed in his eyes, his secret was out… and now his mom would know too and she'd beat herself up over it.
"The scars, how long do they extend?" Watanabe asked quietly.
"To my back," Izuku whispered, knowing there was no use to lie anymore.
"I thought you said Bakugou protected you,"
"Yeah, well I was lying!" Izuku snapped and freed his arm, "Kacchan's parents are the only friends mom has and I didn't want to ruin it. I'm useless enough as it is!" Izuku fumed, "Let's just get it over with," he moved to open the door but Watanabe swiftly blocked him.
"I'm not telling Aunt Inko, idiot."
Izuku looked shocked, "Y-you're not?"
"No, it would only make her worry and I don't want to do that," Watanabe agreed, "But we should tell someone! Not my mom cuz she'll end up telling it to Auntie, but maybe dad? Dad can do something about it, and he won't blab!" Watanabe assured.
"I'm not sure…" Izuku whispered. The room settled into a long silence
"I should have known…" Watanabe said quietly after a while, berating himself for not seeing it sooner, "I myself get bullied for having a 'useless' quirk. So of course you do too, but I had to believe that Bakugou protected you, didn't I!?" Watanabe shouted to himself.
"Watanabe, it's not your fault," Izuku said.
"And it's not your fault for being quirkless either!" Watanabe said, becoming more agitated, "I get why you didn't tell Aunt Inko, but you could tell me. I thought you trusted me?" Watanabe looked hurt.
"I-I'm sorry," Izuku stuttered.
"No, no sorry," Watanabe said aggressively, "Now I get why you apologize for everything. Bakugou must be that bad, right?" Watanabe said pitifully, "He only lets you go if you apologize for something you didn't do, right?"
"How did you-"
"Bullies are always the same," Watanabe growled, "Are the teachers in on it too? Were you lying about the staff being good?"
"…Yes," Izuku whispered. Watanabe looked heartbroken and angrily punched the wall, "Look, it's been a rough day… can we just talk about this tomorrow?" Izuku pleaded.
Watanabe stared into space for some time before nodding, "Yeah, sure," he said begrudgingly and moved away from the door.
"So, is it only the others doing this, or is it actually Bakugou who's hurting you," Watanabe asked further.
"The others do it too, but mainly Bakugou," Izuku responded.
"That son of a-"
"It's not his fault!" Izuku said hastily, "He just loses control of his quirk,"
"Izu, Kaminari has a much more volatile quirk and I definitely have no scars on me!" Watanabe said, "Well no scars from Kaminari to be exact, but you get my point. Bakugou; he's not your friend!"
"H-he's just acting out, he used to be good,"
"Good until your quirk diagnosis?"
Izuku didn't reply and Watanabe became angrier, "I swear to god, that bastard! I'll kill him!"
Izuku promised to himself to keep Bakugou as far away as possible tomorrow since he was pretty sure Watanabe couldn't match to a much more explosive quirk. But then again, he had been studying martial arts and training with Kaminari, who Izuku had not seen but given what he heard of his quirk, must have been quite the opponent to spar against.
"Watanabe, I'm tired. Can we please just sleep?" Izuku asked once again, hoping that it would calm his cousin down and also would let him get this day over with.
Watanabe exhaled loudly but nodded, "Yeah. I'm sorry if I was too forceful. I'm just looking out for you, you know?"
Izuku smiled, "Don't worry, it actually made me feel… better," Izuku said honestly. He had never had anyone worry about him so voraciously except his mother. It… felt good.
Izuku knew he was about to get One for All soon but he was determined nonetheless to ask one last question to Watanabe, "Watanabe, do you think I can be a hero?"
"Obviously! Why couldn't you be a hero? Quirks are just a crutch, being a hero is a state of mind, isn't it?"
Izuku smiled while holding back his tears, "Thanks Watanabe," he smiled warmly and flopped onto his pillow. Those precious few words had him crying. No one had ever said he could be a hero without a quirk. Not even his mom. All Might did say he could be a hero but only after offering One for All.
At that moment, Izuku felt that he could be a hero even without a quirk, but that didn't mean he would refuse All Might, that would be stupid. Regardless, those words made Izuku feel warm and loved. Now that Watanabe was defending him so avidly and was determined to protect him, it made Izuku feel that much worse for lying to Watanabe about Bakugou and continuing to lie, this time about All Might.
Watanabe watched his cousin with a sad smile on his face. He too had been told he couldn't be a hero because of the uselessness of his quirk but at least at his school, the staff were supportive and he had friends. He couldn't imagine how bad it must have been for Izuku who had no one except Inko.
Without a word, Watanabe also flopped onto the other side of the bed. He was furious, furious with himself for not seeing it earlier, and furious at the Aldera staff for letting this happen. He took a few deep breaths. He needed to be calm right now. He needed to make a proper plan on what he should do tomorrow when he went to Aldera and met Bakugou. Only when Izuku was safe would he rest.
A/N: Hope you liked this. It's an idea I've had for some time now.