Chapter Text
Izuku scratched her head for what felt like the hundredth time this morning. It had been itching all day, and it hadn’t gotten any better. Her eyes too, they were watering so much it looked like she’d been on the verge of tears from the moment she woke up. The other kids already called her a crybaby, and this was only making it worse.
She wiped her eyes dry again before running to catch up with her friends.
“Kacchan wait up!” She called out, hurrying up alongside him as fast as her feet would take her.
Katsuki turned to look at her, “Gettin’ cold feet Izuku? C’mon it’s just a playground. What? You think the slide’s too high?”
Izuku shook her head in a panic as he, Tsubasa and Kouki laughed. “N-no! Just… itchy.”
There was another round of laughter at her defence. Izuku nervously joined in, but her voice was weak. She itched her scalp and dried her eyes again.
“Hey!” Katsuki’s voice wasn’t directed at her anymore, instead he was pointing at someone. She followed his finger towards his target. A white-haired girl was kneeling on the ground, hands outstretched and faintly glowing. Izuku watched as snow began to manifest on the ground in front of her. After a few moments, the snow had piled up into a small castle.
Katsuki beckoned for Izuku, Tsubasa and Kouki to follow him towards the girl. She looked up at them with wide blue eyes.
“What’s your name?” Katsuki barked.
“Y-yukina.” The girl stammered back.
“Alright Yuyukina.” Katsuki scoffed, looking at the snow castle at his feet. “This your quirk?”
Yukina nodded, “Mhm, it’s Snow Sculpting.”
“It’s very pretty.” Izuku added, which earned her a glare from Katsuki.
Katsuki’s gaze returned to Yukina. “You think you can be a hero with that quirk?”
Yukina spluttered, “I um… I dunno… maybe…? I don’t really-”
Katsuki’s foot slammed in the castle, kicking it over and sending snow everywhere. Yukina’s eyes started tearing up as she looked between the wreck of her snow castle and Katsuki’s face.
Katsuki stepped towards Yukina. “Well forget about it Yuyu! I’m gonna be a hero! And I’m gonna be way better than you could ever hope to be.”
“Kacchan stop!” Izuku was already moving, positioning herself between Katsuki and Yukina. “She didn’t even say she wanted to be a hero!”
Katsuki laughed. “Don’t tell me you’re defending Yo-yo here. You don’t even have your quirk yet.”
Izuku balled her hands into fists. “You can’t just push people around like that. It’s not heroi- Ah!”
The explosion cracked across Izuku’s front like a whip, sending her tumbling down to the dusty playground earth. She landed on her back, the breath knocked out of her by the blast.
She lead back, breathing heavily, Katsuki standing over her.
Katsuki shook his wrist at the blowback from the explosion. “Damn… that was a big one. I’m getting way stronger now!”
Izuku sat up in a daze, her head felt it was disconnected from her body. Her scalp was still itching like crazy as she pulled herself to her feet, all while Katsuki’s voice taunted her.
“You really think you can take me? Look, she’s crying already!”
“No I’m not!” Izuku protested, though it fell flat. Her eyes were watering like crazy.
“I bet all I’d have to do is give you another push and you’d be bawling.” Izuku heard Katsuki take a step forward as she wiped her eyes again with her sleeve.
“Stop!” Izuku looked up, meeting Katsuki’s eyes.
In an instant, he froze. No, more than frozen. He was gray as well, not just his skin but his hair and clothes as well. Kouki and Tsubasa stepped back, exchanging a nervous glance. Izuku’s breath hitched.
Nervously, she reached out with one hand and touched her friend’s shoulder. It was rough, course, like a rock.
“K-kacchan…” Izuku whispered, hoping for a response.
There was nothing. Katsuki remained stuck, fist still clenched, expression still confident and cruel.
“Kacchan…?” She whispered again.
Then came the hissing. It started quiet, barely noticeable, but then it got louder, as if more and more voices were joining in on the cacophony. It was coming from above her, behind her and every other side.
Izuku put her hands over her ears to drown out the noise. Then her blood ran cold when she felt something brush against her fingers. It was smooth, scaly and flexible. Something shifted at the corner of her vision.
Then she saw it. A snake! Light green and smooth headed, tongue flicking the air.
Izuku screamed. She stumbled back, the snake moved with her. The itching in her scalp was gone, replaced by something so much worse. A strange, writhing sensation, four of them. Four snakes. She had four snakes attached to her head!
Kouki and Tsubasa were already running, and she could hear Yukina’s cries as she fled. Izuku looked across the playground, all the other kids were running away… running away from her.
Her heart was hammering in her chest, her breaths were quick and shallow, her stomach wanted to leap into her throat. Izuku drew her arms around herself as she started to cry. Katsuki’s body remained still and judging.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry!” Izuku sobbed.
She’d killed him. Katsuki was her friend and she’d killed him just by looking at him. She collapsed to her knees, clutching at her chest as her heart threatened to claw its way out. Izuku kept her eyes fixed firmly on the ground.
She heard footsteps approaching, she didn’t look up. A shadow was cast over her, but she still didn’t move.
“Izuku?” It was her mom. “Can you look at me?”
Her voice was so nervous, so worried. Izuku almost looked at her, moving her head the smallest amount before she panicked and looked back at the floor.
“No!” She sobbed back. “I’ll kill you too!”
Izuku flinched as she felt her mom’s hand on her shoulder. “Okay… okay. Keep your eyes on the ground. But you have to come with me, okay. You can’t stay out here.”
“B-b-but… Kacchan…” Izuku hazarded a look up at Katsuki’s body, but couldn’t handle the sight as her eyes darted back to the ground.
“I’ve already called his parents. They’ll be here soon. Just come with me.” Inko’s hands rested on Izuku’s shoulders, lightly urging her to stand.
Izuku weakly obeyed, slowly getting to her feet, eyes still fixed on the dirt and dust. The snakes hadn’t stopped squirming, their hissing filling the air around her. She could barely hear herself think. Barely, except for one thought blasting like an alarm in her brain.
I killed him I killed him I killed him I killed him.
Her body was still shaking as Inko walked her to the car. She barely registered getting in. It felt like one moment she was dragging her feet across the barren playground, the next she was numbly staring at her feet as her mother drove her away. The snakes wouldn’t stop hissing and coiling on her head. She didn’t even feel the tears now, she just watched them fall, drop by drop onto her lap.
Their small car pulled up outside their apartment building. Izuku slowly stepped out of the car when her mother opened the door for her. She didn’t look up. She watched her feet as she slowly walked through the door and up the steps.
Inko pushed the door open for her and Izuku entered their apartment.
“Hey…” Inko called out softly, “You go to your room okay. I’ll make a phone call with the doctor to get your quirk registered. And don’t worry. Katsuki’s fine, you didn’t hurt him.”
Izuku heard how unsure her mom was. How could she be sure? She was wrong. Katsuki was dead. She’d killed him, just by looking at him.
But she was too numb to argue.
Izuku nodded weakly, not bothering to dry the tear tracks streaking down her cheeks. She shuffled to her room and shut the door behind her.
The poster of All Might above her bed looked down at her, smile wide and bright. But she could see the judgement in his eyes now. She flinched away from his gaze. She couldn’t look at him anymore, not right now.
Izuku turned her eyes towards the mirror. She wanted to see what she’d become.
NO!
Izuku’s recoiled from the surface before she could even properly look at herself. It was an instinct, sudden and reflexive. She couldn’t bring her eyes to look again.
Of course… she couldn’t look herself in the eye. She’d turn herself to stone too.
But she wanted to see. The snakes were hissing at the periphery of her vision. She needed a better view of them. It was a morbid curiosity.
Izuku walked over to the drawer by her bed, she pulled it open, and a minor hoard of stationary stared back at her, most of them decorated with pro heroes. Izuku reached out and took out the pair of sunglasses lying in the centre of the pile. They were All Might sunglasses, bright yellow with plastic accessories mimicking the tufts of his hair.
Izuku put on the glasses, darkness fell over her vision. She turned to look at herself in the mirror again. Her mind didn’t cry out at her again, she was safe, for now.
She could see each of the snakes, all four of them coiling and writhing in her hair. Their eyes small and alien, their scales shifting as they moved, their forked tongues tasting the air. And they wouldn’t stop hissing. It was a horrible, penetrating sound that stuck itself inside her head.
This was her quirk now wasn’t it.
A killer’s quirk.
A monstrous quirk.
A quirk she’d killed her best friend with.
She could feel herself crying again. She didn’t stop herself.
---
“So, you’re saying you made eye contact with Katsuki Bakugo, and he turned to stone, correct?” Dr Tsubasa recounted clinically.
Izuku nodded weakly. “Mhm.”
She hadn’t taken her sunglasses off for two days, not even to sleep. She hadn’t left the house, or even her room either. And she’d barely eaten the meals Inko left at her door. She’d burst into tears when she’d been told about the appointment. Izuku knew it was necessary, her quirk needed registering, naming. But having it recorded would make it real. Make it part of her. She didn’t want this quirk to be a part of her.
She was still clutching her All Might figurine in one hand. Her grip was so tight she could see her knuckles turning white, even through the lenses of the sunglasses. Her eyes darted around the room. She found herself focusing on the fish tank by the far wall.
The doctor turned to Inko, “What quirks did you and your husband have?”
“Well, I can attract small objects towards myself, and my husband can breathe fire.” Inko said simply.
The Doctor nodded, “So your daughter’s quirk is what could be considered a random mutation. Though you could make a case that your daughter’s quirk works by removing heat, and therefore kinetic energy to freeze her targets. However, that wouldn’t explain how the victims are turned to stone like you described, nor the manifestation of the snakes.”
“I think I understand.” Inko said quietly, her hand resting on Izuku’s shoulder.
“Izuku.” The Doctor turned to Izuku again. She looked down, she still couldn’t fully trust the sunglasses to work. “I’d like to try something, just for a moment.”
Izuku stayed silent. She didn’t want to try anything. Then Inko squeezed her shoulder gently.
“It’s okay, Izuku. Do what Dr Tsubasa says.”
Izuku finally caved. “O… okay…”
The Doctor stood up from his chair and walked over to the fish tank. There was an empty fishbowl sat next to it, already full of water. He took a scoop resting by the tank and dragged it though the tank, removing a single goldfish. The fish was quickly transferred to the bowl.
The Doctor set the scoop down and picked up the bowl, carrying it over to Izuku. He sat back down in his chair.
“I’d like you to use your quirk on this fish.” He asked bluntly.
Izuku’s breath hitched. He wanted her to what?!
She shook her head, her voice trembling. “No!”
The Doctor sighed. “It’s just a fish Izuku. It won’t feel anything.”
Izuku shook her head again. “I… I won’t kill it.”
“You’re not killing it. Merely… changing it.” The Doctor reassured her.
Another squeeze from her mother, “Please Izuku, don’t be difficult.” Her voice was concerned, but gently urging.
Izuku relented again, “F-fine… I’ll do it…”
Trying to control her breathing and the tears threatening to spill from her eyes, Izuku removed her sunglasses. She didn’t even think about looking at Inko or the Doctor. Her eyes found the fish. It looked so pretty, swimming around in the bowl.
Then her eyes met the fish’s and an instant later, the fish was stone.
Izuku watched as the fish floated downwards, landing on the bottom of the bowl with a quiet ‘tink.’ She put the sunglasses over her eyes and did her best not to cry.
“Interesting.” The Doctor’s voice betrayed his intrigue as he set the fishbowl back on the desk. He turned back to Izuku. “May I see your snakes?”
The snakes started hissing again before Izuku could even register what he said. She didn’t want him to touch them. They might be dangerous. But she could already feel the urging coming from her mother. She took a deep breath.
“Okay…”
The Doctor reached out and took one of the snakes in his hands. She could feel it. She winced instinctively.
She heard a ‘hmm’ from the Doctor, “Reflexive response. Suggests that these snakes are part of your body and integrated with your nervous system. In other words, they’re a part of you.”
Izuku’s eyes went wide at that, but the Doctor kept feeling around. She felt his gloved fingers open the snake’s mouth, not violent, but not gently either. She did her best to keep still, and she could feel the other three snakes coiling around in the air above her scalp.
“No oesophagus or trachea visible, these snakes aren’t independent organisms.”
“So… they’re taking… Izuku’s oxygen and nutrients?” Inko asked. She received a curt nod as the Doctor kept feeling around.
“It appears your snakes have venom glands. I’ll have to collect a sample.” The Doctor stated bluntly.
Keeping the snake’s jaw open, the Doctor reached over to his desk and retrieved a vial from a drawer. He bought the vial up to the snake’s jaw, before forcing the snake to bite down on the cover.
After a few moments, he released his grip on the snake and Izuku, who’d been sitting still and shaking the whole process, finally felt free to breathe again. There was a light green translucent liquid in the bottom of the vial.
She made that. Her body had made that. It could be just as dangerous as her looking at people. She watched as the Doctor put the vial in a drawer at his desk.
The Doctor turned to Inko. “That is all I need for today’s session, you’re free to go.”
“Thank you, Dr Tsubasa.” Inko said, standing up, “Izuku?”
Izuku barely mustered up a “Thank you”, as she removed herself from the stool she was sat on. She took her mother’s hand and let herself be led out of the clinic.
The car ride home was silent, and the rest of the day was a numb blur. Eat dinner, get ready for bed, cry a lot. They had data on her quirk now. It would be getting a name soon. She didn’t want it to have a name. She didn’t want her quirk.
As she led in her bed, staring up at the ceiling, she couldn’t help but let her thoughts drift to Katsuki. The stone form she’d trapped him in. No, not trapped, transformed into. Katsuki was stone now. And he wasn’t coming back.
Her nightmares, like the ones she’d had the past two days, were full of snakes, shattered rocks, and the word ‘killer’ being both screamed and whispered to her all at once.
---
Izuku was roused from her nightmare by a knocking at her door. She blearily opened her eyes. Light was leaking in through the window. Izuku stumbled out of bed, narrowly avoiding getting tangled up in the sheets. Her sunglasses were firmly on her face by the time her feet was on the ground.
“I’m up Mom…” She said, tiredly.
Inko almost burst through the door, phone still in hand and an expression of relief and joy plastered across her face.
“I told you not to worry Izuku and now Dr Tsubasa has some great news.”
Izuku’s eyes went wide, and a small smile crept onto her face. “W-what is it?”
Inko kneeled to her daughter’s level and spoke softly. “So… Dr Tsubasa did some tests on the venom he extracted from your snakes, and… it’s not dangerous, at worse it gives someone mild dizziness.”
Izuku’s smile faltered a bit, that was a relief but, she wasn’t worried about the venom. She wanted to reverse turning Katsuki into stone.
“There’s more good news though.” Inko reassured her when she saw the drop in expression. “The venom, it can be used as an antidote to the petrification.”
Izuku’s eyes went wide behind her sunglasses. “Really?”
Inko nodded, “Yes, I’ve arranged for you and Katsuki to meet up at the clinic, you can cure him today.”
Izuku let out a breath she felt like she’d been holding for the past two days. She allowed herself to smile.
“Kacchan’s not dead…” She exhaled, still not quite believing it.
Inko nodded again, “No, he won’t be. I’ve booked everything, it’ll be today. He wants us there at eleven, so we’ll leave at half ten, okay?”
Izuku nodded. “Okay.” She finally allowed herself to breathe.
The morning passed by with a different air. She ate her breakfast quickly, the nervous anticipation building in her stomach made her feel a bit queasy as she ate. When it was time to leave, she bounded into the car beside Inko and sat with a tentative smile on her face.
The car drive was quiet and buzzing with anxious positivity. And it wasn’t long before they were in Dr Tsubasa’s office again.
Katsuki’s parents were already there, sitting in the office’s white plastic chairs. Katsuki himself, still the motionless, stone statue she’d last seen him as. She fought the urge to cry again.
She glanced over at Katsuki’s parents as Inko sat beside them. Their expressions were taught, controlled, and clearly worried. But Izuku could sense the judgement behind their eyes. She’s done this to their son, her friend. But… it would be put back soon.
Everyone stayed silent as the Doctor approached Izuku; A lump formed in her throat that she tried to swallow. The Doctor knelt and took the head of one of her snakes in his hand, vial in the other. A small squeak escaped Izuku’s mouth as the snake was forced to bite down onto the vial.
After a few moments, the pressure on the snake was released, and the Doctor bought his hands away. Izuku watched silently as he went over to his desk.
“The antidote is simple to make.” He said plainly, setting the vial down on his desk.
The Doctor reached up to the cabinet above his desk and removed a pair of full syringes, one with a blue liquid, the other orange. He stuck the first syringe through the hole in the lid the snake had bitten through and injected the blue liquid. The venom fizzed for a moment as the Doctor plugged the hole with a gloved hand and shook the vial. Once the fizzing settled, the vial’s lid was removed, and the orange liquid was added. The liquid sat on top of the venom until the Doctor took out a small metal spatula and stirred it.
Izuku let out a small ‘woah’ at the finished product. It was a brighter, richer green than the raw venom.
“Does it work?” She asked as the Doctor screwed the lid back on.
The Doctor nodded, “It successfully reversed the goldfish’s petrification, so I see no reason why it shouldn’t work on your friend.”
“Well what are you waiting for!?”
Izuku jumped as Mitsuki called the Doctor out, Masaru placing a nervous hand on his wife’s shoulder.
“Yes yes, I’m not waiting for anything Mrs Bakugo.” The Doctor reassured her, his irritation evident.
Without any further theatrics, Doctor Tsubasa raised the vial over Katsuki’s head and poured its contents onto him. The green liquid splashed onto his stone hair, shimmering slightly against the gray rock before being absorbed into it.
Nothing happened.
“Oi! My son’s still-!” Mitsuki had stood up from her seat and was beginning to advance, but she was cut off by the Doctor’s gesture.
“It takes a few moments. Be patient.” He said, sternly.
Izuku’s eyes went back to Katsuki’s body. A moment passed. Then another. Then it all seemed to happen at once. One instant he was a perfectly still statue, the second, the colour was back in his skin and he was moving again.
“Agh! What? Where am I?! What happened?!” He demanded angrily.
Then his eyes fell on Izuku. “Hey since when did you have snakes in your hair? Oh. Ooohhh.”
“Kacchan you’re back!” Izuku made to hug Katsuki, but he stepped away. She knew better than to force the issue.
“Well. I believe that’s us done here.” The Doctor said, putting the vial in the sink and removing his gloves. “You are free to go.”
Katsuki scoffed as he went back to his parents, shooting Izuku a glare that was made of rage. She shrank back under it. She messed up. She deserved this. But… they’d make up, right? He wasn’t dead. He was still here.
Izuku and Katsuki exchanged glances as their parents lead them back to the cars. Izuku tried to smile at him, but she received nothing but scowls in return. She could feel the snakes, her snakes, pulling back from him. They didn’t need to be afraid of him though. Katsuki was strong, he was good, he was going to be a great hero.
But they were parting ways now. Izuku turned to Inko.
“Mom, me and Kacchan… we’re still going to be friends, right?” She couldn’t keep the tiny tremble out of her voice.
“Of course you are.” Inko said, turning the keys in the ignition. “It’s just a hiccup. He’ll get over it. It’s a good quirk Izuku.”
Inko’s response seemed a bit too fast, too clean. But Izuku didn’t question it. She stayed in the car, silent during the ride home. Izuku wanted a better answer, an answer from Katsuki.
---
It wasn’t until the next day that she got her answer.
It was another hot day at the playground. And Izuku had arrived a little late. She ran over to Katsuki as fast as she could. She kept one hand on her sunglasses the whole way over, keeping them from falling off.
“Kacchan!” She called out as she approached him.
Katsuki grunted in acknowledgment, “Come with me Izuku.”
He started walking, clearly expecting Izuku to follow him, she did. She followed Katsuki behind the climbing frame, the large plastic climbing wall blocking them from view of their parents.
“What are we doing round here Kac- ah!”
Izuku gasped as Katsuki shoved his hand into her gut and detonated a small explosion, knocking the air from her lungs and dropping her to her knees. She struggled to breathe as he stood over her. He didn’t look happy, far, far from it.
“Why…?” She managed to weakly get out.
“Why? Don’t be an idiot Izuku.” Katsuki spat out, “You killed me!”
“No I didn’t, you’re still he- hey!” Another explosion cracked across her face, knocking her to the floor.
“I don’t care that I’m ‘back now’ or any of that nonsense! I was dead for nearly three days!” Katsuki grabbed one of Izuku’s snakes and pulled on it.
“Hey! Stop! You’re hurting me.” Izuku protested.
“I don’t care!” Katsuki snapped. “You’re a killer Izuku!”
He shoved Izuku’s head back down, dust blooming up from the ground. Izuku gasped for air as Katsuki jeered.
“I bet you still want to be a hero don’t you!” He said, explosions sparking in his hands.
Izuku wished she could lie, but she couldn’t. She wanted to be a hero, more desperately than anything. She remembered all the nights she’d spent whispering to her All Might plushie like it was some mythic artefact that would give her a quirk, a good one, a strong one, one that she could be a hero with. But now she had a quirk, one stronger than she could’ve ever wanted. She forced her knees under her body, and slowly drew herself up.
“Y-yes.” She said, with all the defiance she could muster.
The explosion struck her before she could brace herself. The heat seared across her cheek, the energy rippling across her head. Her neck jerked to the side from the force, sending her sunglasses flying off. The rest of her body followed suit, toppling to the ground again. She didn’t bother to try getting up. She stayed on the ground, spread out on her back, eyes screwed shut, as Katsuki stepped towards her. The snakes hissed and writhed defensively around her head as she felt the tears coming on.
Katsuki looked down at her. “You’re not a hero. You’re a monster. Nothing more, nothing less. I’m the hero here. Me.”
Izuku couldn’t do anything in response but cry. He was right. She was a monster. She had killed him. Sure he came back but that didn’t undo the fact that she’d killed him in the first place. She was dimly aware of Katsuki walking off, heard snippets of him talking to Tsubasa and Kouki like nothing happened. She didn’t move for a long time. She barely lifted a finger until the sobbing had subsided. Her chest was still tight as she rolled onto her front. She still didn’t stand, instead she weakly crawled along the dirt towards her sunglasses. Her hand reached out, gripped an arm of the glasses, and pulled them towards her.
Only once the sunglasses were securely on her face did Izuku finally stand. The lenses were cracked from the blast, but they held, they were keeping her quirk in. She brushed the dust off her body with trembling hands. The thought of telling her mother about this entered her mind, she shook it off.
She deserved this. She was a monster; she didn’t even look normal anymore. The snakes in her hair had seen to that. And besides, how could she be a hero? How could she save people like All Might could when the moment she looked at someone they turned to stone?
She brushed the dirt off her shirt, wiped the snot from her nose, and collected her breath. Then, with slow, trembling footsteps, Izuku walked back to Inko.
Inko’s posture immediately changed when she saw her daughter approach. She crouched down beside her.
“Izuku? Is something wrong?”
Izuku nodded, sniffling “M-my glasses broke… can we go home?”
Inko’s mouth morphed into an ‘o’, “O-okay then sweetie, come with me…”
Izuku took her mother’s hand without hesitation. She stayed silent as she was led away from the playground. She spared a glance behind her; Katsuki and his friends had surrounded another kid. They looked happy, the kid didn’t. Izuku looked back to Inko.
The car drive home was as quiet as the last few. Izuku idly kicked her legs while Inko drove. She was a monster, there was no taking that back. But as her hands clenched into the seat, there was a small part of her that wouldn’t let this be the end. Maybe she was a monster but… that didn’t mean she couldn’t be a hero.
Right?