"I'm sorry, ma'am, but our card reader isn't working right now. We can only take cash," A boy that looked about the same age as Izuku told them when Inko handed him her debit card.
"Oh, I'm so sorry - I don't have any cash with me. Hang on - Izuku, stay here while I run back to get some." The freckled boy nodded. Their food wasn't ready yet, and their house was only a few minutes away, so she would be able to grab some cash and come back without trouble.
Izuku took a closer look at the boy. He had purple hair that defied the laws of physics, purple eyes to match, and the darkest eyebags Izuku had ever seen. He looked at his name tag - Shinso.
"You have a lot of freckles, huh?" The boy - Shinso - asked him.
"Oh - uh - y-yeah, I guess I do," Izuku replied. He did have a lot of freckles; they were everywhere, all over his face, his arms, his legs, his chest - he was covered in freckles. It was the one thing about him that stood out. Quirks weren't the only improvement that came with not having the extra toe joint - there was also a better immune system, faster blood clotting, and lots more, including more effective melanocytes. That meant that most people were practically immune to sun exposure. Not true for Izuku - even though this new development in his life was starting to seem like a quirk, he still had the extra toe joint. He didn't get sunburns very easily, but when the sun was bright, freckles popped up all over him no matter what he did.
"I don't remember the last time I saw someone with more than a few here and there. Does it have something to do with your quirk?"
"Not that I know of... what about your hair? It looks like someone turned off gravity up there." The boy chuckled. Izuku smiled nervously.
"It might have something to do with it. I know of a pro hero whose hair does something similar whenever he activates his quirk, but mine is always like this, so maybe my quirk is just always active."
"Huh. Is your quirk similar to the pro hero's?"
"No. He can cancel out emitter-type quirks by looking at the user. Mine is..." Shinso shifted his weight from foot to foot, looking uncomfortable. "I can brainwash people when they talk to me."
Izuku's eyes lit up. "Duuuuuuuude. That is so cool! There are so many awesome applications for that - WOW." Shinso looked mildly shocked for a moment, but shook it off.
"Hey, where's your mom? She's been gone for a while now., and your guys' food is almost ready."
"Ah, you're right... hang on, let me call her."
Izuku pulled out his phone and dialed his mother's number. It rang for a moment, then she picked up.
"Mom, where are you? Our food is almost done."
"Hello." ...that wasn't his mom. "I am Tsukauchi Naomasa, a detective from the Musutafu Police Department. There was a break-in at your apartment, and your mother has been murdered."
"...What?"
"From what I have figured out, your mother entered the apartment to find a theif in her bedroom, and he shot her on sight. She was dead when we got here. If you could give me your location, I will send someone to bring you to the station and we can talk in more detail-" Izuku hang up.
It was time to experiment.
WARNING: CHAPTERS FROM THIS ONE FORWARD WILL OFTEN INCLUDE MENTIONS OR DEPICTIONS OF SUICIDE. THIS IS NOT MEANT TO ENCOURAGE SUICIDE! YOU DO NOT HAVE THE ABILITY TO COME BACK FROM THE DEAD. IF YOU ARE CONSIDERING SUICIDE, PLEASE TALK TO SOMEONE YOU TRUST OR CALL YOUR NATIONAL SUICIDE PREVENTION HOTLINE. HELP IS AVAILABLE.