Inheritance of Giants

Break on Through

"Why would a Quirk make me mad at you?" Izuku asked, his brows knitting together. "It's a Quirk. Not you, right?"

"I..." Toga glanced away, fidgeting. "I guess?"

"No, Toga—look at me," Izuku said gently, but with quiet insistence.

She hesitated. Then lifted her gaze.

"Your Quirk isn't who you are," he said. "You're you. That doesn't change. Everything else... that's just a compliment."

"..." Toga remained silently as a tear fell down her face.

"Oh my goodness, Toga! I'm- I'm so sorry, I- I didn't-!"

"My- my Quirk is, uh, it's Transformation. I- I..." She breathed in deeply. "I... I can turn into a person by... b- by consuming their..."

She breathed in again, more shaky than before.

"... by consuming their blood."

Izuku blinked, but didn't speak, just staring at her. No, not at her, through her.

"I'm—I'm sorry," she choked. "That ruined our friendship, didn't it? I'll—I'll le—"

Izuku said nothing. Then—calmly, almost too calmly—he held out his arm.

"How much blood?"

"I- what?"

"How much blood do you need to consume to transform? Why were you transformed when you were looking for me?"

Izuku's eyes widened as he gasped, a smile growing on his face as his eyes sparkled. "Hold on, you can copy and use Quirks as well, can't you?!"

"I- yes, bu- but that wasn't... a part of the original Quirk..."

His eyes lit up. "That means your Quirk is like, evolved or something, right?!" Izuku pressed, vibrating in his seat on the bed. "Was it only like a transformation into a person before? Did you get all of their physical attributes as well, or was the muscle mass additive to yours, or was it like an average between your strength and the transformation you became?"

"I- muscle?" Toga blinked and furrowed her brow. "I... don't know about the muscle part, but I guess it's more like an... incorrect average that's skewed to the stronger side?"

"Really?" Toga watched in worry as her friend's hands vibrated. " Are your hands okay?"

"I want to write all of this down so bad!" Izuku muttered, hand squeezing into a fist. "This is all so cool! I haven't studied too many transformation Quirks, but to hear you can, like, awaken one is super, super cool! I wonder if that applies to other Quirks? Have you- uh, no, that... that..."

"Izuku, you can ask your question," Toga said, exhaling with a smile. "It won't hurt me. It's all in good faith, right?"

"Well, I mean, yeah, but it- it might bring up bad memories," Izuku muttered. "I- I don't want you to be in a bad mood again. Especially if I'm the one putting you there."

"Just ask it. I'm dying to know what it is," Toga asked.

"Did... Did you see any other people awaken their Quirk?"

"Hmm..." Toga looked up in thought. Really her Quirk only awakened three months ago. She was really thankful she had been stockpiling blood for so long when it did. "Not personally, but there is this one guy, door number one, Saitama, that I'm pretty sure awakened his Quirk."

"Why do you say that?" Izuku asked.

"Well, lean in, I'll whisper it to you," Toga said, winking at the boy. "From my knowledge, he was one of the only trainees that kind of humiliated dad."

"He humiliated Yapool?!"

"Shhh!"

"Oh, sorry!" Izuku whispered back. "Uh, did- did he die?"

"No, from the book records dad keeps, Saitama walked outta here a free man! Crazy, right?"

"Woah... How old was he when he walked out? How many years has he been here?"

"He was here for about five years, and he was twenty five when he walked out."

"Woah! I wanna be that strong! Maybe I'll train here-"

"Absolutely not!" Toga snapped, thumping his chest. "I forbid it!"

Izuku flinched, then frowned. "Toga... it's my choice, isn't it?"

"I- I didn't mean- Izuku, this place is too dangerous! I can't- I won't have you train here!"

"I understand that, but I need this train-"

"You don't want it, you don't need it, you—gah!" Toga clutched his shirt. "Izuku, please... I—"

"I won't lose you too..."

Izuku stared, then let out a quiet breath. "Why are you so... adamant about me not training with Yapool? Why do you want us to leave so badly?"

"I don't want you to become like me!" Toga whimpered. "I—I don't want your kindness to disappear. I don't want to be friends with a robot. I want to be friends with Izuku!"

She broke down, her sobs overtaking the words. Izuku watched her for a long, still moment—then nodded.

"...I see."

Another pause. Then:

"When shall we leave?"

Toga gasped. Her head shot up, eyes wide with hope. "Really?! Then—now! Let's go now!"

"N-now?"

"Yes, now!" she said, already pacing with energy. "Pack up, Izuku—I'll grab food and anything else we'll need."

She spun toward the door, then paused. "Oh! We need a secret knock. Yapool respects our rooms, so if you hear dum-da-da-dum-dum, that's me. Only open for that."

Izuku blinked, still overwhelmed—but nodded. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Just pack your bags," Toga said, slipping off her backpack. "I'll take care of the rest. Thirty minutes, okay?"

She unzipped the bag. Clothes—check. Vial—yes! The last of Arataki Akumo's blood.

She glanced at Izuku. Right, can't transform with him watching. But—aha! The closet!

"Hey, Toga," Izuku said, vibrating with excitement. "You're about to transform, right? Can I watch you do it?"

Toga paused mid-step, then smirked. "I need to be naked to transform."

She winked. "Though... I might make an exception for you."

Izuku turned beet red and promptly collapsed sideways.

"Izuku?" she asked, kneeling beside him, listening.

His heart was racing—but not dangerously.

'Probably best I leave him,' she thought, straightening up. 'Before he combusts.'

~

To be Continued...