Chapter Text
A small boy found himself on the steps of a building, a piece of paper in his hands. He didn’t remember how he had gotten there, only that he was supposed to stay.
The door behind him open and he twisted around to see it. He clutched the little piece of paper tighter.
A woman stood in the doorway, dull brown hair tied up in a bun with a few strands blowing loose, looking shocked to see him there.
“Where am I?” he asked her.
Quickly regaining herself, the woman walked over to where he was sitting and got down beside him. “What’s your name?”
The boy was confused. “I-I don’t know…” He handed her the piece of paper, watching as she read it, her eyes flicking back and forth, her face growing sadder and sadder with each moment.
Without hesitation, she stood up, and offered a hand to him, pulling him to his feet. “You’re Izuku Midoriya, right? And you’re four years old?”
The boy shook his head. “I don’t know.”
“Come with me,” she said, leading him inside, “And we’ll see if we can find your mom or your dad.”
She guided him to a group of other kids, telling him that he could play with them until his parents came to get him before walking away. Izuku looked at the other kids, kinda nervous to be around so many new people at once. He took a step back.
Naturally, the other kids swarmed him asking his name, his quirk, and anything and everything they could think of.
“I-I don’t know,” was his response to the majority of the questions or “I don’t remember.”
Quickly tiring of him when he couldn’t answer any of his questions, even simple ones such as “Who’s your favorite hero?’, they abandoned him, leaving him sitting alone in a corner. He didn’t mind, he preferred it.
After what seemed like forever, the woman came back for him.
“Izuku.”
He stood up and walked over to her, hopeful, as she led him out and into the hallway.
“I have some bad news. Turns out your mother was found dead earlier today. And no one has any idea who your father is or where any other of your family members might be. Do you remember anything?”
Izuku shook his head.
She nodded. “I thought so. C’mon. Let’s get you settled. There’re some spare beds in one of the dormitories. You’ll be staying with us until someone comes to adopt you.” Grabbing his hand, she led him upstairs and into a room filled with beds. Most of them had already been claimed, blankets and pillows declaring their owners. Two sat in a far corner, untouched. “I’ll bring you some blankets and a pillow. But, you can pick which bed you’d rather have,” she smiled.
Izuku nodded. He looked up at her, curiously. “What can I call you?”
The woman sighed, and got down on her knees, and grabbed Izuku’s hands in hers. “Izuku, do you know where you are?”
He shook his head.
“This is an orphanage. It’s a place where children who don’t have parents can stay until they get new parents. Me and another woman run this place, and she has very strict rules about what you can call us, okay?”
Izuku nodded, again.
“You can call me Miss, but when you see her, you must call her Ma’am, okay, Izuku?”
He nodded. “Okay.”
Miss smiled. “You can go pick which bed you want while I go grab some bedding for you.”
Izuku walked into the room, claiming the farthest bed, the one right next to the window, as his. A moment later Miss walked back into the room, bedding in hands and helped him make the bed.
-----
“A new one! We have a new one!” Izuku heard voices cry in the hallway. Great, he thought, flinching, another one to make fun of me. He stayed in his corner, not wanting to meet his newest tormentor.
Ma’am walked into the room, clutching the shoulder of a boy about Izuku’s age with wild purple hair. Something was wrapped around his face. A muzzle, Izuku thought. Ma’am pointed over to Izuku. “There’s a free bed next to him. That’s yours,” she said before leaving.
Hesitantly, the purple haired boy walked over to the bed she had mentioned and sat down, looking at the floor.
Maybe, Izuku thought, maybe, I could make friends with him before the others turn him against me.
“Why do you have that on your face?”
The boy continued to look at the floor, unable to respond.
“Would you like me to take it off?”
The boy looked up, hope in his eyes, before looking back down to the floor.
Izuku looked at him. He didn’t look dangerous. Certainly not like he needed to be muzzled. Sliding from his bed, Izuku moved behind the other boy, climbing on his bed to reach the straps easier. It fell onto the floor with a soft thud.
“Better?” he asked.
The boy nodded, unsure.
“What’s your name?”
The boy seemed to shrink in on himself. “A-are you trying to trick me?”
Izuku was confused. Why would asking someone their name be tricking them? “No. Why would I be?”
“Because I have a villain’s quirk,” was the quiet reply.
“And what’s that?”
The boy looked scared again. “I can brainwash people who answer my questions. I try not to, though.”
Izuku nodded. That was good enough for him. “My name’s Izuku Midoriya.”
The boy relaxed slightly. “Y-you don’t mind?”
“No.”
A small, hesitant smile crossed the boy’s face. “I’m Hitoshi Shinsou.”
“Can I call you Toshi?”
A nod. “Can I give you a nickname, too?”
“Sure.”
Hitoshi seemed to think about it for a minute before saying, “Izu.” He looked at Izuku curiously. “What about you? What’s your quirk?”
“I don’t have one,” he shrugged. “I’m quirkless.” Wanting the subject dropped, Izuku looked at the muzzle on the floor and picked it up. He saw Hitoshi stiffen.
“I’m getting rid of it,” Izuku told him, firmly. He walked over to the trashcan over by the door and threw it in before heading back over to Hitoshi.
They continued talking until one of the other kids came into the room, spotting them.
“Hey,” she called down to the other kids. “The two freaks are talking to each other,” before realizing that meant Hitoshi’s muzzle had been removed. She screamed, “He freed him! Quirkless freed the villain!” before running back downstairs.
Later that night, after the lights had gone out, Izuku found he couldn’t sleep. Not that it bothered him; he didn’t need much sleep. But he felt anxious, like something was about to happen.
Cre-e-eak
Izuku tensed, looking towards the direction of the sound. He kept his head down. He could just barely see her in the moonlight pouring in from the window. It was one of the other kids in the room, a girl with waist-length hair and she had something in her hands as she approached Hitoshi’s bed.
Not hesitating, Izuku was out of his bed and crouched protectively in front of his sleeping friend.
“Touch him,” Izuku dared in a low growl, “And see what happens.” Now that he was closer, he could see what she held.
The muzzle.
The girl hesitated before moving closer. “Out of my way, Quirkless.”
Izuku growled again. “I’m warning you. Ma’am couldn’t force it back on, what makes you think you can?”
“You’re putting us all in danger!” she whispered, her tone going pitchy.
Izuku noticed one of the other kids turn in their sleep, but after a moment, he turned his attention back to her. “No one’s in any danger. Go back to sleep.”
The girl slumped, giving in. “You’re a fool if you think he’s actually your friend.”
“So far, he’s the only one who’s tried. I like to think that makes him less of a villain than the rest of you.”
He watched as she padded back across the room, dropping the muzzle into the trashcan before climbing back into her own bed.
Izuku kept an eye on her, moving back to his own bed, but he didn’t relax until he knew she was asleep. An hour, he told himself, I’ll only sleep for an hour.
-----
Izuku was sitting, cross legged on the floor by Hitoshi’s bed when everyone started waking up. A scream startled Hitoshi awake, Izuku moving to his side.
Across the room, the girl who had tried to muzzle Hitoshi found she couldn’t move her head from her pillow and had screamed.
Ma’am was at the door in a moment. “What’s going on in here,” she demanded. Her black hair with wisps of grey was pulled back into a tight bun. She spotted the girl’s predicament quickly. “Oh dear.”
Her long dark hair had been tied into knots. The knots led into ropes, which had been tied to her headboard in different locations, effectively tying her in place. She whimpered as she tried to pull free, succeeding only in tightening the knots.
“Who did this,” Ma’am demanded.
No one said anything.
Izuku stood up. “I did,” he shrugged, glaring at the girl.
Ma’am scowled at him and then Hitoshi. “Did you have something to do with this, too?”
“N-no Ma’am,” he barely managed, the words stumbling out.
“I don’t believe you. Dishes detail. For the next week,” she declared, “Both of you.” She looked at the girl again. “You poor thing. I’m going to go grab the scissors and I’ll be right back.”
The moment she was out of hearing range, one of the boys in the room snickered, “Good going, Quirkless.”
Izuku glared at him, tensing up. He narrowed his eyes. “Don’t mess with Toshi,” he warned, “And I won’t mess with you.”
Later that day, Izuku took it upon himself to start moving his and Hitoshi’s beds. Hitoshi’s he moved next to the wall, where his usually sat, before shoving his directly next to it.
“What are you doing?” Hitoshi asked, confused.
“Moving the beds.”
“Why?”
Izuku looked at him. “Because if I’m on the outside, they can’t hurt you.”
“But they can still get you.”
Izuku shrugged. “They’re welcome to try, but most of them gave up shortly after I arrived here. I don’t sleep much, and when I do, it’s very lightly.”
His friend looked at him, trying to piece everything together. “Izu, how long have you been here?”
“About six months.”
“And before that? Did you have a family?”
Izuku shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
“No, Toshi,” Izuku said, sitting on the double bed he had made, “I don’t know. I was found on the steps outside with no idea how I got there. In my hands was a note telling them my name and explaining that I was quirkless. Later that day, I was told my mother had been killed.”
Arms wrapped around him tightly, surprising Izuku. No one had ever held him like this. “Uh, Toshi?”
“Are you okay? Really?”
Pulling away, Hitoshi’s arms hesitantly letting go, Izuku laughed. “Yeah. Like I said, I don’t even remember her. The doctors said it was amnesia or something. I don’t remember anything before coming here. And now,” he added, “I have a best friend.”
“Best friend?”
“Yep!”