The Quirk Doctor:
"He has a vampiric quirk. His digestive system will slowly transition to a blood heavy diet within the next couple of years. After that, it will become blood only... I'm not even sure if animal blood will suffice." The man was blunt and straightforward with his diagnosis. This was standard for him at this point. Determining, through DNA testing, what quirk a child would be likely to unlock. At this point, he could tell that this kid would have a hard life ahead of him.
Inko Midoriya, the mother in this case, was stunned. Rightly so, considering how rare blood quirks were, and how her family didn't have a record of any in the past. "How?"
Looking over the medical files, he gave as best an explanation as he could. As much as he wanted to claim that he had all the answers, quirk science was messy. There were a lot of variables and it wasn't perfect. "It's recessive genetics on your husband's side of the family, it seems. There are records of another vampire quirk holder in your family."
Inko accepted the explanation. Instead of revulsion, however, she was determined to take every possible step to support her son. "Oh... what do I have to look out for?"
He gave his best estimate. Despite his experience, he'd never worked directly with this kind of quirk before, and so had to rely on witness accounts from other doctors. "Bloodlust is the real danger. The rest of the abilities can be trained properly, but that needs to be put under control fast. If not... well... it can put a lot of people at risk..."
"I see... I'll do that immediately." I would be a terrible mother if I didn't do what's best for him. "Is there a way to test which he would prefer?"
He nodded, "You can get animal's blood from the butchers, under the "Unique foods" sections they legally must have, but I'll fill out a prescription for human blood. Make sure you keep this with you at all times."
She accepted the note, determined to look after Izuku properly. "I will. Thank you, doctor."
He smiled, glad to see the best kind of parent. He heard from a different doctor of a couple who refused to entertain their daughter's blood quirk... and they both knew that story won't end well. "No problem!"
Izuku, meanwhile, was estatic at what he thought was a cool power to have, even if he didn't realize the downsides yet. If he was more jaded, he'd consider it a curse. "I can't believe I have a cool quirk!"
Inko smiled, glad to see her son happy, despite what she knew his future might be like. "It's a strong quirk, but you'll have to train it. You remember what he said, right?"
Punching upward in the air, he made his promise, "Yes! I'll do it!"
"Good! We'll do it together!"
Home at last:
When they got home, she immediately looked up different ways to help mitigate bloodlust in blood quirks. There was a lot of quacks, people claiming that starvation was a "cure", but that wasn't true. A site run by a trusted quirk doctor reccomended gradual exposure. The process was simple in theory... what wasn't was Izuku's quirk. It gave him essentially super strength, agility, reflexes, and senses... meaning that it would be much harder to do the exposure therapy safely. Using high quality rope, Inko tied Izuku to a chair. "Listen, the doctor says your quirk's downside is that you will berserk when you are exposed to blood... So to train that, I am going to expose you to blood now... is that ok?"
He nodded, completely trusting his mother's actions. While the boy was fascinated by quirks, he knew that if he didn't get a handle on his own, he'd never be a hero.
His mother reminded him, "You will have to resist any urges to get to it. Think of anything, just try your best... ok?"
He answered clearly, and she was able to clearly see his canines, far sharper and longer than her own. "I will!"
Here goes nothing... She opened a blood bag, and when the scent reached Izuku, it shook him like a thunderbolt. All his focus was on it, and nothing else. He resisted against the rope, as much as he could, trying to get to it, but it was clear he was also trying to stop himself mentally from going berserk.
Inko, proud to see Izuku maintaining control, continued to offer words of encouragement. "You can do it Izuku! I believe in you! You want to be a hero like Allmight, right? This is a big step towards that!"
After hearing that, he pulled himself back toward the chair, fighting against his instincts, as if having that goal made it easier to resist. Yes! You can do it!
She watched as he held back, waiting 5 minutes... until she then closed it, sealing off the iron tinged aroma. Placing the bag on the counter, she then kneeled to him, embracing the green haired boy in a hug. He sank forward into her embrace, exhausted.
As he drifted to sleep, she congratulated him in a hushed voice. "Very good! We'll keep doing this every night! You'll master this in no time!"
The next day, Katsuki Bakugo waited by his locker, waiting for his best friend to arrive. When he did, he was surprised by his more raggedy appearance. "You look... worse..."
Izuku rubbed his left eye, getting sleep out of there, before telling the blond 4 year old boy: "My quirk needed training..."
That got Katsuki to immediately shift to a happy expression of wonder, "You know what it is?!"
He nodded, smiling widely. The blond noticed his larger canines as a sign of it, but nothing else. Clearly, it was related to blood, which was cool in his book. "Yep!"
He leaned over, eager for details. "Can you tell me?"
Unfortunately, Izuku shook his head. "Mommy said to tell no-one yet..."
That confused him. Why would Auntie want him to hide his quirk? Isn't having one amazing? "Ok?"
They went through their day like normal. For a few months, the new normal was established. School, homework, early evening bloodlust training, then dinner and sleep. As the years went by, his skin became paler, and his hair darkened, and he learned to control his urges. Nobody really noticed except Bakugo, who knew that had to be a part of his quirk. He'd had suspicions on what it could be, but nothing definite. The blond wouldn't push it, though, as he trusted Aunty Inko's judgment. However, one day when Izuku arrived back home, he found the house to be too quiet. "Mom?"
He could smell the tang of iron emanating from the kitchen. Fortunately, his training paid off, but after a moment, Izuku realized that it wasn't from his mother's cooking. Nagging worry turned to horror as he bolted into the room the aroma came from, now worried for another reason. "Mom!"
Running in, he found her resting against cabinets, bleeding profusely. She was still alive. The greenette didn't know how long she was there, but the woman turned to look at him. Fear confined to strike as she asked weakly, "Izuku... call for help..."
"I... I will!" He quickly grabbed the house landline and called for an ambulance.
Fortunately, an ambulance arrived quickly, and the EMTs put his mother on a stretcher. However, before she was carried away, she gave Izuku a note. It was the doc's note, about his diet. From all those years ago. "Show them... if they ask... Keep it with you."
Tears started to well up as he denied what was clearly happening. "You'll be fine! You have to be..." All of the Emergency services personnel were accommodating, considering the circumstances. A female police officer and one with the head of a cat stayed with him for a few hours, providing reassurances... but they both knew that was a terrible set of injuries.
The police searched the residence for evidence, eventually finding the blood bags in the fridge. He showed them the note, and they looked at him warily, but ultimately didn't do anything. Izuku had a blood bag for dinner, and immediately went to bed after the police left, crying out of worry as he tried to sleep.
The next day, Bakugo waited outside school. "Hey Deku!"
However... It was soon made clear that Izuku was not in the best of moods. His posture was demure, and his voice was weak, nevermind the lack of his trademark smile, "Hi, Kacchan..."
Concerned, Katsuki asked, "Are you ok...?"
The ravenette avoided the blond's gaze, "Y-yes..."
I'm the ruby eyed boy's estimation, that was utter bullshit, "... you aren't sounding like it... You can tell me... I'm your friend."
After a few moments of silence, Izuku finally broke down. "Mom got stabbed..."
That was the worst possible news he could have heard. She was his aunt, even if not by blood! And now it was clear why Izuku was like his. He was hurting! "Not Auntie! Is there anything I can do?"
Izuku shook his head. "N-no..."
A hero was always there to help, and following his idol's example, Allmight's example, the ashen blond made a vow. "I'll always be there if you need me, ok?"
"Thanks..."
The day went on worse and worse, as his unwillingness to reveal his quirk led to harsher treatment by those around him. At lunch, since he didn't know how to cook, he brought a blood bag to get through the day. When he opened his lunch bag and started drinking directly from it, he received a lot of horrified looks, from students and staff. He got in trouble, even though he showed the principal the note from the doctor. He promptly took it and threw it into the trash bin with contempt on his face. "That can't be true, I saw you eating real food yesterday."
The boy tried as he could to defend himself against the accusation. Even though the detail was true, it was getting harder to keep down these days. "I don't know how to cook... Mom's in the hospital!"
He raised an eyebrow, as if ready for an excuse. "Why?"
"She was attacked in our house!"
He sighed, disbelief and contempt mingling together. He knew this day would come, but didn't want it to stain Aldera's reputation. "I can't just let you off the hook for disturbing our students. Go back to class."
Shocked by the way in which he was treated, Izuku quietly turned, not saying a single word as he left.
In the last class, the PA system called for Izuku to come down to the principal's office. He silently got his things and went there. He was hoping that things would improve, something good had to happen, right? To offset the bad? It was already Friday the 13th, things couldn't possibly get worse...
Nervous after the earlier conversation, he asked, "Y-you wanted to see me, sir?"
His voice feigned sympathy, "I received a call from the hospital..."
He looked up to him, hopeful. "...is my mother ok?"
The news he had, however, broke his spirit even more. "... she just passed away due to medical complications."
Of course things got worse. Things can always get worse.
"W-what...?" He couldn't believe it. His mother, his everything, was gone. And he just told him without giving a single ounce of genuine support.
"You heard me." The bell rang, and he turned to his paperwork. "You can go now."
Izuku left, slowly walking the halls as those around him either ignored, insulted, or jeered him. They may not have known about his mother, but children were cruel regardless.
"Blood-freak!"
"Useless!"
He ignored them as best he could, but the months of verbal and physical abuse had taken its' toll.
Bakugo tried to comfort him, "Deku..."
Izuku wouldn't hear it. He didn't even register that it was Bakugo, with all of the confusion and pain in his heart. "I just want to be left alone!" He broke into a sprint, leaving everyone behind in an unprecedented burst of speed. Those who were watching were shocked by the display.
Bakugo called out, even when it was too late. "Wait!"
Crying, Izuku ran home. He quietly spent his first evening alone sipping a bag dry, then went straight to bed. Tears stained his eyes an agitated red, and he just couldn't go to sleep for a while... until exhaustion claimed him.
Waking the next morning, he checked the calendar and found it was Saturday. Great... I get to be here by myself... alone... He had a blood bag, then just stayed in his room. He spent the weekend alone, ignoring Katsuki when he knocked on the door to see if he was alright. He wasn't, but Katsuki didn't know any better.
Over time, due to straight consumption of blood, his quirk transformed him at an accelerated rate, his skin lost almost all pigmentation, and his hair was a very dark green. When he went back to school on Wednesday, having skipped two days, everyone was shocked by how different he looked. He could hear the whispers clear as day thanks to his quirk.
"That makeup?"
"Gotta be..."
"How edgy..."
They think I'm quirkless... they have no idea. Eventually, he ran into Katsuki. Kacchan was surprised to see him. "Deku, I tried to see you... are you alright?!"
Nearly emotionless, the now raven haired student said two simple words. "Mom's dead."
Shock turned to horror. Especially with how... unfeeling his normally emotive friend was at this time. With an uncharacteristic sympathy, Katsuki asked, "What?! Is that why...?"
Izuku glared at him, ready for any insult. About his appearance, diet... anything... "Why what?"
But... it never came. Instead, it was about his loneliness. "You isolated yourself?"
He's not asking the obvious question... maybe he is my friend... "Yes."
"What's with...?"
He looked around, meeting the gaze of many around him, who turned away in response. He answered the inherent question. "My appearance? I never changed it."
After a decade, Katsuki asked about the sealed topic once more, "Is it... your quirk?"
Izuku confirmed it to the blond, "If it wasn't obvious at this point... It's vampiric. I have to transition to straight blood eventually, which accelerated this..." he gestured to himself unhappily. His quirk didn't matter since his mom died.
"It would be considered a villainous quirk..."
He hissed back, harsher than he meant to, "I can't control who I am. And I hate it..."
Bakugo didn't dispute that at all, "I didn't say you were a villain. You control how you use it! You can still be a hero!"
Izuku didn't smile, but appreciated the sentiment nontheless. "Thank you."
He isn't saying I'm a villain...? "No problem. Let's get to class."
The day went on just as normal. The final bell rang and he started to head home. Thank goodness I have Kacchan... I wouldn't come back if he turned on me... However, as the popular kid, Katsuki had more potential friends than just Izuku... and they were talking with him now. One known as redwing said: "Just give up being friends with that loser."
However, to his surprise, Katsuki refused. "No."
"C'mon, is he paying you or something?"
That angered him far more than anything else he'd heard. "Hell No. He is, and will always be my friend, now get out of my fucking way, extras!"
They keep pressuring Kacchan too...? He'd be safer without me...
Izuku rushed away, away from others, to home.
As he went to the fridge, he found that he only had 6 left. As he opened one, savoring the smell of blood, he thought to himself: I will have to ration these... then what will I do...?