in a world where quirks are the normal and if she didn't have one she was strange, she'd live well. she would be granted a hero even before her entire class, she would be relevant, and she would strive. however, being born without a quirk is rare, where 80 per cent of the population on Earth was given the advantage of it.
her quirk was one she had to keep hidden. no one wants a periodic hero anywhere near Kamui Woods, nor near Backdraft where their quirk would be tangled with their own. of course, she wasn't a pro hero, so really, they had nothing to worry about. she often found herself settling at a park to practice the bending of the gases of the periodic table. while many of her peers, save for maybe two or three, wanted to become a pro hero, for herself, she wasn't sure. living in constant worry of the next villain to turn the corner wasn't ideal in her life plan, and she wasn't completely sure if it was even what she wanted to do.
she remembers as a child, she would get anxious and would take a deep breath, before her mother began chocking and collapsed. at the doctors, she was sobbing heavily, asking them if she was in trouble. after that, she had to regulate her nervousness and anxiety from getting much too overwhelming. she was only 5 now.
sitting quietly on the bench, her legs crossed, she breathed softly, letting her lungs expand and reduce, taking the gases in the air within a 10 inch radius, which wasn't much. she perked up when she heard a whine.
"kacchan! stop being mean."
being nosy, especially at such a young age, she turned her head towards the smaller boys, the gas falling flat in the air.
the kid across from the one seemingly rocking in his boots had blonde hair, and his hands were smoking. he must've had a quirk. he chuckled, "stop being a nerd and maybe i will!" two boys behind him snickered, using their own quirks.
standing up, she stood in front of the scared boy, looking down at the other, "leave him alone."
"who are you?" he seemed to get angry quick at the mere sight of her standing in his way, "get out of my way! this is none of your business!"
"is that any way to speak to your elder, little boy?" she spoke softly, "leave him alone." her eyes narrowed, "or i'll have to teach you and your friends a lesson."
the kid crossed his arms, his hands still smoking, reluctant to move.
tugging his ear, a flick went through his head and she lead him away from the park, "where's your mother?" although he was dazed, he pointed towards his home, and she lead him there.
knocking on the door of the home, she released him and explained the issue. she took him into the house, thanking her before she shut the door. the two began to bicker, until she opened the door again, smiling at the girl sweetly, "what's your name, sweetheart?"
"endo yukiko"
she shut the door again before ordering her son over to the door, who came over reluctantly, a pout on his lips. nudging him with her knee, she whispered, "apologize."
he looked up at the girl, groaning, "i'm sorry you had to bring me home. my mother taught me right from wrong and i try not to embarrass her."
she chuckled, "don't let me catch you doing it again. i know where you live now."
he murmured to himself, walking back inside. giving a deep bow to his mother, she walked off. she wondered what his quirk was for him to act so cocky for such a young kid.
she returned to the park not even a few days later. practicing in the park was safer for everyone in her home. settling the school bag down on the bench, she looked around before seeing someone on the ground. hurrying over, she looked over the boy, "are you okay?" yukiko asked softly, helping the boy up. he wore a turquoise sweater with a star over his chest.
he whined, his eyes watering. his cheek was red and he cried softly.
"you're okay..."
"kacchan..." he cried, curling into a ball.
rubbing his back, she slowly helped him up and lead him back to the bench, pulling out a bandage yukiko kept on her person in case of emergencies. his knee was scratched, so she placed the bandage over the wound, "there. all better." sitting beside him, yukiko pulled out her sandwich containers, "here, have a slice." the child gently took the sandwich, eating slowly. "what's your name? my name is yukiko."
"izuku." he whispered, "you're the pretty girl who got kacchan in trouble the other day."
"kacchan? is that his nickname?" izuku nods, chewing the sandwich, "what's his actual name?"
"katsuki..." he took another bite. he must've been hungry, she thought.
"katsuki... did he hurt you?"
izuku shook his head gently, before nodding. "he pushed me."
"he pushed you? does he do that often?"
"no, kacchan is my friend." izuku finished the sandwich, looking down at his feet.
"friends don't hurt each other, izuku." she rubbed his back, "come on, let me take you home so your mom can clean up your wound." gently taking his hand, yukiko let him lead you off to his apartment complex, the same one she had lived in, "oh, izuku, i live here too! i live on the first floor." she smiled sweetly, "if you ever need anything, you can always find me on the first floor. we live in apartment 44!"
izuku nodded softly, still very shy as he entered his home silently.
smiling softly, she walked to the elevator and took it down to her floor. opening the door, yukiko peeked in, greeting her mother who sat at the table reading.
her mother worked from home as an online teacher for the students that couldn't leave their homes for their quirks. whether it be because of flames being emitted from their feet or because they looked like a lizard, yukiko's mother was the one they turned to.
yukiko's father wasn't in the picture. he left a few years before after, well, yukiko wasn't sure. her mother never went into detail about her father, and only mentioned that he would leave her origami crane's on her desk when they were in school — yukiko, at this point in life, believed that her father wasn't real, and that her mother had to be the most recent Virgin Mary.
shutting the laptop, yukiko's mother smiled to her daughter, "you're home early."
"there was a kid who got bullied in the park, so i brought him home. he lives in the same apartment complex, on the fourth floor up." grabbing a juice box, and setting the lunch box down on the kitchen counter, yukiko sat at the table with her mother, pulling out her homework, "it was the same kid as the other day."
yukiko's mom smiled brightly, "you'll be such a wonderful hero, babydoll!"
yukiko smiled back, poking the straw through the top of the juice box and began to work on her homework. children yukiko's age were always excited to see or even imagine being heroes, but, yukiko didn't even know if she wanted to become a hero. looking over the front of her binder, she saw the clear vinyl covered in stickers of Midnight, not a very rated G pro hero to admire, yukiko could admit, and Recovery Girl — her favorite heroines. they could hold their own. that's what she admired about them. because of them, she could think about becoming a hero because of them.
running her finger over the stickers, she smiled, "thank you, mom." yukiko looked up, "can you help me with my homework?"
"of course, baby." her mother sat beside her in the opposite seat, explaining the problems to her daughter.
yukiko remembers the first time she met izuku and katsuki like the back of her hand. a very, how should she say, unfortunate meeting. being a year older than the two, she could see their divided personalities: izuku was sweet, respectful. he's never done a harsh thing towards her. but katsuki, the list could run on and on with the way he's called her names and acted like an angsty little shit.
he would describe her personality as a "buzzkill" or that she was "ruining the fun." sure, katsuki was smart. he may not have been the top of his class in school but he was pretty far up there. and she respected him for being smart. HOWEVER, a very big however, she hated his attitude towards everything. even as a child, he was a pain in her ass, always bringing him back to his family's home to the point that his family has invited her in for dinner when she started her first year of middle school and bakugo on his last year of elementary.
now, izuku and bakugo were graduating middle school, moving on to high school. yukiko was already in high school, at UA High.
as a kid, she wasn't sure if she wanted to go to UA at all, but now given the opportunity to use that for a college entrance form, she would've been fine with that. sure, her first year at UA was going smoothly, and she seemed to be doing well in her class. yukiko definitely enjoyed learning from pro heroes, including Midnight and Eraser Head, a hero she only just started admiring since she went to school at UA. he not only declared her one of his favorite students — which was a shock in itself, as at the beginning of the year, he booted 4 students out — but even pro hero worthy.
but now, her first year at UA was just starting and she was already excited to begin her second year.
she walked down the road, stopping just outside of the middle school izuku and katsuki attended. she wore the UA uniform proud, smiling brightly as she waited for the two of them to exit the gates. there were students walking out the gates together, whispering when they recognized the uniform she wore.
standing there, waiting for the two, she sees a notebook fly out the window into the pond, furrowing her brows, she gently walked through the crowd.
"hero analysis for the future, number 13." she grabbed the notebook from the pond, frowning. izuku always carried it around with him. it was scorched, burn marks across the pages and covers. when sifting through the pages, she burnt her fingers. it must've been katsuki again. him or his shitty friends. looking up at the window the notebook fell from, she crossed her arms, sending a glare to the back of katsuki's head. "dick head... just wait until he gets down here, i'm gonna give him a piece of my mind!"
standing by the pond and resting her back against the wall, yukiko's arms were crossed. she heard gentle footsteps coming her way, and perked up. it was katsuki, his bag over his shoulder. he walked passed yukiko, a big grin on his face. that is, until she grabbed his ear (like she had so many times when he was a kid) and started whacking his head with the damp notebook. "katsuki! bakugo! you! are the! worst person! i! have! ever! met!"
katsuki growled, pushing her off him, his ear bright red, "god! what the hell are you doing here, hag?" he rubbed the lobe.
"i was here to visit my two friends and hang out with them. but, now that's changed. i thought we made a deal."
"a deal?" katsuki scoffed, "i never agreed to leave deku alone." he chuckled, "besides, last time i checked, you're not my mom. don't be such a buzzkill."
she glared, whacking him again, "leave izuku alone, dumbass, or, i'll have to teach you a lesson."
"that empty threat. how many times have you used that on me the last few years? what are you gonna do with your pointless quirk, anyway?" he stepped a bit closer, towering over her. but she didn't back down, "just because you got into UA doesn't mean you get to act like a hero."
"you don't get to talk to your elders like that."
"well, i won't be looked down upon." he chuckled, turning back to his "friends", "let's go."
she watched him walk away, angrily, "when you get to UA and you find that you have no friends and you're sitting alone in class, don't bother coming to my table at Lunch Rush." she shouted to him. katsuki just waved his hand above his head and continued walking, "dick head." she began to gently swing the notebook through the air, looking down the hallway to find a dejected izuku, staring down at his shoes. yukiko stopped in front of him, making him pause.
"yukiko..." he looked tired.
holding out the notebook, she gently smiled at him, "i found the fish nibbling on it." yukiko smiled when he took it into his hands, "don't worry. i got katsuki really good this time."
izuku smiled. he never wanted to admit it, but he really admired yukiko. she had always been there for him, even in his darkest times. when he injured his arm, she came over every day to tell him all the crazy cool things she learned and saw. or when he found out he didn't have a quirk, she minimized her own use of her quirk, and barely even mentioned it. it was the small things she did for him. "you didn't have to."
"yea, but i wanted to." she chuckled, "so, what should we do today? the night is still young." she held her bag in her hands, "why don't we go get ice cream?"
"don't we get ice cream every day?"
"yeah, but that's only because i like it." yukiko chuckled, "let's go. we can take the scenic route." she hummed, pulling izuku along.
izuku didn't have a quirk. but, he still admired heroes, and was determined to become one. yukiko admired that. she wished she could have the drive to continue through when she finds it damn near impossible.
when yukiko and izuku approached the tunnel following through into the city, she paused, "i feel like i'm missing something..."
"hm? what is it?"
she rubbed her chin, thinking, before freezing, "oh no! i forgot to get a teacher's written slip from my teacher to get my mom to sign. oh god."
izuku looked at yukiko softly, "you should go get it."
"are you sure? will you be okay?" yukiko was always considering his feelings, "i'm sure i can get it tomorrow..."
"it's okay. you'll forget otherwise. i'm feeling a bit tired today anyhow. i might just head home."
yukiko looked at him, "get home safe. don't stop to talk to strangers."
he smiled sleepily, "i won't. now, hurry. you'll want to catch your teacher."
"thank you, izuku. i'll text you when i get it!" she cheered, running back to her school. Eraser Head gave yukiko the amazing opportunity to keep her as a intern for her intership over a pro hero. it wasn't exactly the type of internship Nezu, the principal, was looking for, but he gave it a thought since yukiko wasn't looking to becoming a hero.
after getting the permission slip from Eraser Head, she sent a picture to izuku with a sweet emoticon and a thumbs up.
walking down the road with her bag, she tucked it in safely and walked with her focus ahead of her.
whether both izuku and katsuki, or one or the other gets in, she's excited she would be able to help. smiling to herself, yukiko walked silently before approaching the ice cream parlor, greeting the workers sweetly.