Finding Me (Todoroki x Reader)

Prologue

"You're parents are quirkless. That means you, too, are quirkless! "

Five year old me heard that everyday. From the bullies at school, to my parents' colleagues. Everyone knew that my parents had no quirks, meaning I'd never get one for myself. It was just logical.

My mother didn't have a quirk, and had a long line of quirkless ancestors, right up until my great grandmother from over half a century ago. My father didn't manifest a quirk either, and most of his family members didn't either. However, his family line - which is mine too, I guess - was littered with people who didn't take on the quirkless gene. Instead, they manifested their own unique powers that - although small - were enough to give me hope.

I'd always dreamed of being a hero, just like the ones on TV. They were strong, and brave, and so courageous! They helped people when normal society couldn't. When people like themselves thought they were a 'higher race', and sought to purge all of us 'Quirkless' beings from the earth, the heroes stepped in and saved the day. They always saved the day.

Especially All Might.

All Might was my favorite - is my favorite - and he always won. I saw him on TV all the time; he'd be either saving people from a disaster, or chasing down a villain. Whatever he did, he always did his job. And he did it with a smile on his face.

That's why he was my favorite - because no matter how tough the task may be, or how bad the situation was, he'd always flash a smile. He'd smile and say, "I am here!"

'I wanna be just like that,' I always used to think when I saw him on the screen at night. I wanted to be a hero that brought comfort and reassurance to those who needed it most. To be the reason they felt relieved when I showed up. And to be the reason they cheered for joy when I smiled.

"Because I am here!"

"You can't say that, Y/N. That's All Might's line."

I was playing with my friends at the park, pretending we were heroes and fighting bad guys. Some of them had manifested a quirk, and some of us hadn't just yet, but it was still cool to pretend.

"Why not?" I asked, "Doesn't it bring you comfort to know that a pro hero is here? That I am here?"

"Of course it does," my friend Yuki replied, smiling gently, "but you're not All Might, so you can't say it."

"Oh, right," I started to think of what else I could say, scratching my head in thought. Then I got an idea. I planted my feet in my hero pose, tilted my head back and yelled.

"Don't you worry, now! I am here!"

My friends all bursted into giggles, some even rolling on the ground. I stood there a little confused, lowering my hero pose into sad gangly arms and a pouty face.

"W-What are you laughing at? I thought that was a great line!" Crossing my arms, I turned away from my group of friends, refusing to give them any satisfaction.

"Oh it was Y/N," Yuki replied again, trying to stop himself from laughing, "but it's still the same as All Might's, just a little longer!" I blushed really hard out of embarrassment, realizing then just how similar it was. Admitting defeat, I turned back around to face him and the others.

"Yeah," I turned around with a hand on the back of my head and an embarrassed smile, "I guess you're right." So we continued to play heroes, minus me trying to be All Might.

As we played, more and more kids came in, kids that I recognized from my school. Our group of mini heroes became bigger and bigger, soon a whole squad of us taking on the villains of Japan! We played and played until we were so tired we couldn't even bring ourselves to eat the lunches our mothers had made for us. Okay, maybe that wasn't so true.