As they entered the waiting room, she noticed the percentage of people with mutant quirks were far higher than any office she was used to near her home. She struggled to not let her eyes linger, as she knew how easily some people might see inquisitive glances as judgmental.
Her son however, in his naïve youth, did not limit his curious staring. After all, mutant quirks tend to have some of the most nuanced effects.
Some are obvious, like those with mutations that skillsets match what their equivalents from the animal kingdom come with.
For example, someone with a bird mutation might have better eyesight or even flight, whereas someone with an amphibian quirk could breathe water through their skin. The effects are endless.
This level of diverse skill has Izuku looking around, coming up any number of possibilities anyone here could have.
Izuku was so distracted that he didn't notice his mother had stopped until he felt a pull on the hand she was holding. It was only then he looked ahead of them. They were standing in line to check in at the registration desk.
There were a few people ahead of them, one of which being a trio of people that, if not for the larger man, may have been harder to tell the nature of their mutations. The mother and daughter had more neutral expressions, but the father had a very clear toad mutation. It didn't take much to draw the connection to the mother having a frog mutation.
Izuku didn't for even a moment think that the daughter was adorable. Nope. No sirree. If anyone said otherwise, he would firmly accuse them of slander.
As the two of them got in line, they noticed the amphibian family in front of them tense, with the young girl letting out a strangled "ribbit", jumping forward to hide behind her father's legs.
This leads the man to turn, scanning them with an intense gaze.
Inko grabs Izuku's shoulder and holds him behind her. She feels a cold bead of side slide down her back as he continues to stare at her and her son.
The woman beside him lets out an intentional cough, which has him glancing between her and the young girl. She whispers into his ear causing his shoulders to relax. He then looks at Inko.
"Apologies ma'am, croak, I did not mean to frighten you. Our daughter's prey instincts are fairly sensitive at this time, and when they go off, I sometimes get… protective. Croak." The man stated.
The woman next to him seemed like she was about to add something, but Inko responded, "No, I must apologize. My son only recently got his quirk, and we didn't know it may affect others as it seems more like a transformation than a mutation quirk." Inko glances between the man and woman, before crouching down. Putting on as comforting a smile as a Midoriya can, she glanced at the young girl. "We can stand further back if it would make you more comfortable?"
The man and woman glance at each other, but before they can respond, they hear the young girl speak.
"He isn't going to eat me? Ribbit" The young girl stares directly at Izuku. Her face doesn't give much away with how blank it seems.
The young boy jolts, tearing his gaze away from his mom and the other two adults. "Huh?! W-why would I e-eat you?"
"Is she scared of me too? J-just because I can become a wolf that makes me scary?"
Inko looked back at him just as his eyes started to tear up. She turns to him, gently picking him up and holding him to her chest. "I'm sorry, his quirk awakening was a bit of ordeal for him. I promise he didn't mean to scare your little girl. We're not sure of the full extent of his quirk. Um… we can still stand further away if it would make her more comfortable?"
The larger man looks down at his daughter, noticing the slight tremble having gone away. He picked her up and held her to his hip. It was the woman who spoke this time, "No I don't think that will be necessary. She is still new to some of the instincts of our quirk. Ah, we should introduce ourselves, I am Asui Beru, this is my husband, Asui Ganma. Our little tadpole's name is Tsuyu."
Beru seemed to have an unexpressive face like her daughter's, but Inko could see a slight upward curve of her frog-like face, implying a smile.
"O-oh, my name is Midoriya Inko, and my son's name is Izuku!" She bows to them while still holding Izuku. She looked over to Tsuyu, who had her heard angled towards her. "Hello Tsuyu-Chan! I apologize if we startled you. Izuku's still getting used to his quirk. I hope you won't hold that against him. Izuku, sweety, why don't you say hi?"
Izuku sniffled but turned his head. He glanced at the little girl but quickly averted his eyes towards the ground. "Hello" and he swiftly buried his face back into his mother's shoulder.
Before Tsuyu or anyone could respond, the receptionist called for the next family, which so happened to be the Asuis. Beru spoke quickly to the Midoriyas, "Apologies for cutting the conversation short, but we must get our tadpole checked. Maybe we can chat more once we're sitting in the waiting area?"
Inko responded cheerily, "Of course, I would love to! We'll come join you once we've signed in."
Once the two families had settled in for their respective waits they continued to converse. Inko mentioned that she was in from out of town to find a specialist focused on animal-based transformation or mutation-based quirks, as Izuku's last doctor didn't seem competent in the least. The Asui's were in to make sure Tsuyu's body wasn't having any adverse effects to her quirk.
With how deceptively definitive mutation quirks can seem at times, they require constant check-ups to make sure there aren't any abnormalities the body cannot handle. After a child died a few decades back due to an odd incompatibility between two mutations it was recommended to have people with mutation type quirks checked regularly.
The Asui's were lawyers preparing to start up their own practice. Inko herself was a nurse but her practice didn't handle quirk-based medical reviews. This is what led her to using medical practices she was less familiar with. However, the more she heard the Asui praise this doctor, the more comfortable she was letting the doctor look at him.
Izuku was sitting in a chair next to his mother, his legs kicking back and forth. Trying not to think about what scary monster the quirk doctor was going to label him as. If his own best friend was terrified of him, how useful could his quirk possibly be?
He tried to avoid looking at the other girl his age too much, but he knew how a mutation quirk can affect a person. Most mutation quirks were animalistic in nature, and this family's characteristics weren't very subtle. This, alongside the young girl's initial reaction, told him all he thought he needed to know about what he should do here. Curl in on himself and act as if he didn't exist. That way they would be in and out as fast as possible.
Inko saw Izuku curl up. She pulled out her phone in the hopes of cheering him up. "Izuku, how would you like to watch some of your favorite All Might videos to pass the time?"
Izuku looked up to her, a small smile forming on his face. "Ok, can we watch his debut one again?"
Inko felt her smile grow a little more as she pulled up the video of All Might saving more than 100 people within 10 minutes of his first appearance. As he started watching the video, Izuku started rocking back and forth in excitement.
A few seats down, a small form watched what her tummy told her was a scary predator, as it rocked in place with a smile growing on his face. Something about it didn't quite match what her instincts were telling her. Surely, he would eat her the first chance he got, right?
She was listening to the videos he was watching. It started with a video of All Might, one that sounds familiar, but she hasn't seen enough of them for her to remember the exact ones.
She continues to listen in when one stands out to her. A news report of a pirate attack off the coast of Okinawa. She doesn't have a very good angle, so she tries leaning over her daddy to try and see.
Izuku was just watching a video of All Might working with an older ocean-based hero named Oceanus to stop a small tsunami caused by a pirate villain from landing on the shores of Okinawa. It had just shown All Might landing on the beach with his trademark laugh and slogan of everything being alright because he was there when he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye.
The girl, Tsuyu, was peeking over her father. Seemingly staring at the phone. When she noticed him looking, she ducks a bit behind the man. Izuku looks between the 5-year-old and the phone and makes a decision.
He turns slightly in the chair, leaning the phone towards the amphibian, trying to let the young girl watch. This leads to the girl peaking back out again. He tries his best to not look at her while watching the video.
As he switches over to another video, this time focused on some other water-based hero that he hears a noise. In the chair next to him he finds the little frog staring down at the phone. She doesn't seem to notice him looking and adjusts the angle of the phone so she can see better. The two are so engrossed in the videos that they don't notice themselves leaning slightly towards each other.
The adults sitting around them did notice this, however.
Beru and Ganma glanced at each other, then back to their daughter. When they saw her relaxing while looking at the phone, they let out a shared breath. Happy to see her warming up to what must have been what her instincts told her was a threat. They shared another glance, however, when they noticed how close the kids were getting, heads near bumping into each other to see the videos.
Inko holds her hand up to mouth hiding a smile, with tears coming to her eyes. Izuku seemed to be relaxing fully for the first time since the incident yesterday. Sure, he had relaxed some while they watched movies, but she could feel a certain tension in him.
He was smart for his age, so he tended to overthink when something bad happened. She started to notice the anxious energy he had ever since his diagnosis as quirkless. Even while watching his favorite movies, he seemed almost scared. It wasn't hard to tell he was worried about what his quirk was.
Seeing him now, excitedly watching videos of heroes with this young girl, she could swear she saw some of that older Izuku coming out again.
They had just started the 3rd rewatching of All Might stopping the tsunami when the Asui's were called for Tsuyu's appointment. It was then that the two kids noticed how close they were sitting. Izuku recoiled back, hands waving back and forth apologizing for being in her space.
She stared back at him with a blank expression. "Don't feel sorry, ribbit. I should be saying sorry for thinking you were scary. My tummy was wrong. You're not scary, ribbit. You're like a puppy."
Izuku wasn't sure how to take this, so he just sat there while blushing.
Ganma interrupted the two, "Come on Tsuyu, croak. The doctor is waiting."
"Yes daddy. Bye bye!" The last bit was directed at the two Midoriyas with a raised wave.
Izuku stares after the Asuis, not quite sure what to do with himself now.
Inko looks down on him with a playful smirk. "Made a new friend, Izuku?"
He stares up at her with a slight panic, "W-what, no! I-I mean, I'm not sure…"
"She seemed nice." She wrapped Izuku back into a one-armed hug. "Oh! I forgot to get their number. Maybe we could stay in contact with them. It wouldn't hurt to get you another friend. Maybe we'll see them again on the way out."
It was at this time that a nurse called on them. She stood up, holding Izuku's hand. She hoped the doctor could shine some light on Izuku's quirk.
Doctor Panchingu Sheru looked at the charts while sitting in front of the Midoriyas. He had an obvious mutation where his head looked like that of a Mantis Shrimp, while his body held a shape closely resembling a normal human, just with some discoloration matching his mutation.
"This seems to one of the more unorthodox quirks I have seen, blub." He began after examining the chart for a few minutes. His speech topped off by what sounded like a burbling of bubbles.
Inko, slightly worried. "What do you mean unorthodox? Isn't it a transformation quirk?"
"That's just it, blub. The tests show signs of this being far closer to an Emitter quirk than transformation. Just to double check, blub, you mentioned that he glows when he transforms and that his clothes disappear when he takes wolf form?"
"Yes, that's right."
Dr. Panchingu leans back in his chair. "Those are usually signs of using some form of energy. The quirk factor tests on his blood show factors far closer to an emitter than a physical transformation, blub."
"Tests on his blood?"
Inko's response, full of confusion, has him freeze in place. "Yes, all tests on one's quirk factor require several types of tests, blub, depending on how difficult it may be to determine its nature. X-rays, blood testing, blood marrow, etc."
Inko's look of confusion slowly changes to one of concern. "None of those tests were done beyond the x-ray of his feet. He told us that Izuku having the second toe joint meant he was quirkless."
Inko's concern grows when she sees the doctor suddenly jump up, hands curling into fists, arms curling in as if he was preparing himself to fight someone.
"Of all the idiotic tests, blub, the most outdated and uninformative, blub…" He unconsciously throws a few jabs at the air. Izuku watches on in awe, as a couple of the jabs seems to displace air and blow a few documents off the table.
Dr. Panchingu draws in several breaths to calm himself down. He sits back down and bows "Mrs. Midoriya, I apologize on behalf of the medical community for this horrendous case of malpractice, blub. The toe joint tests are outdated and have one of the highest rates, if not the highest rate, of misdiagnosed quirk status. So many mutation quirks alone add extra joints to account for their use. I'm sorry if this may seem unprofessional, but may I ask who this doctor was and what hospital they work at? They do not deserve their medical license if this is the level of effort they put into treating their patients, blub."
Inko was shocked, to say the least. "Are you sure? W-we've been going to Dr. Tsubasa for years to give Izuku his regular checkups."
"Mrs. Midoriya," His quirk made it hard to determine his exact expression, but something in his tone had her struggle to swallow a lump in her throat. "I assure you I am completely certain. If he was unwilling to complete a simple test on his blood, there is no telling how much neglect as a doctor he has inflicted upon any number of patients, blub. I'm not asking for his information simply to ruin another doctor. I want to make sure other children like your son get the best treatment they possibly can, blub. If he has been mishandling quirk diagnosis tests, many children's lives could be at risk, blub. He could be informing children their quirks are perfectly harmless when they could really be a risk to other's lives or even their own at something as simple as a sneeze, blub."
Dr. Panchingu sat back down in how chair, effecting a bow so low he had to place his hands on his knees to not fall over, "I know it may be a bit overwhelming to have listened to all of this, but I beg that you provide his information." He sat back up staring into her eyes. "I did not join this practice to see children abused, or treated like they do not matter, and I will do everything in my power to see this man face justice, blub."
Izuku looked back and forth from the doctor and his mother, he was not quite sure what was going on, but it sounded like something bad had happened and it felt like it was his fault. Everything seemed to be going wrong ever since he got his quirk. (He tried to not think about how nice it was to watch videos with someone. He hadn't done it with Kacchan in almost a year.) "M-mom…?"
Inko had been in her own train of thought. How she had been so wrong to bring him to that doctor, how she hadn't tried to get a second, third, fourth opinion, how she had… no, best not to think on that.
She had been thinking about how else the doctor had been mistreating her son, and the heartache he went through after the diagnosis, when she heard him speak up. She looked down into his tear-filled eyes. "D-did I do something wrong?"
Something in her broke, then. All the concern over how she had been a horrible mother buried under the sudden bout of righteous fury that came from seeing his tear-filled expression. One of fear, shame, and misplaced guilt.
She went down on her knees in front of Izuku, placing her hands on either side of his face, making sure he would look directly at her. "You did nothing wrong Izuku. If anyone here is at fault, it's me. If I had questioned the test results, if I had taken you to a different doctor, if I had-" She cut herself off.
She takes a deep calming breath; tears continue to roll down her and Izuku's cheeks.
She felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked over to see Dr. Panchingu, affecting a comforting smile. He held out a handkerchief to her. "Neither of you are at fault. It is an unfortunate fact, blub, that there are many doctors out there that aren't in it for the people they treat. I assure you that you are the victims in this crime, and I promise I will do what I can to get his license removed permanently, blub."
It took some time for them to go over the mistreatment they had unknowingly been under. Every bit of information seemed to make the shrimp-man angrier and angrier. He had just returned after stepping out for some time to turn over this information to their legal team, intent on not just removing this "Dr. Tsubasa" from his practice, but absolutely ruining his career.
Inko had just finished her latest bout of hugging her son when Dr. Panchingu returned. "Sorry for the delay, blub. It is not every day we must submit incidents like this, and the paperwork can be extensive."
"It's really no problem, doctor. We appreciate the effort you are putting not help us." Inko responded.
"On the note of providing help, blub, I believe you two came in to have young Izuku's quirk evaluated, yes?"
The pair brightened at that, but Izuku's excitement far outshone his mother's. "Yes, I want to know!"
As Izuku started to jump up and down in his seat, eyes still red from crying, Panchingu couldn't help but chuckle.
"I mentioned, blub, before that the tests show his quirk is more closely related to emitter than a transformation one, yes?"
At their nods, he carries on.
"To continue I will have to explain how most transformations work, blub, barring special cases. Most transformations rely on the physical body to affect physical changes. Limbs expanding, growing extra hair, even becoming more animalistic, like yours. These all rely on the body's existing mass or specific vitamins that come naturally to the human body, changed to simulate other forms, blub. This is a simplified explanation, of course. Where this process differs with Izuku's quirk, is that as far as we can tell, he uses energy, not mass, to both start the transformation and to maintain it. Unfortunately, our tests can't quite tell what this energy is, as it tends to differ from emitter to emitter, blub. Sometimes it is generated by the person, or they draw it in from outside sources. Best I can suggest is keeping an eye out for moments he seems strongly drawn to something, whether that be from something as simple as laying in the sun, to curling up in a dark cave surrounded by unlit candles made of beeswax, blub."
Upon seeing their bemused expressions, he chuckled. "Suffice it to say, blub, his trigger for generating this energy could be anything. I suggest keeping a notebook detailing any changes in his behavior or quirk."
Izuku stared down at the floor, mind running a mile a minute. Or as fast as a 5-year old's mind can go, anyway. His mother responds in his place, "Of course, doctor. We can keep notes and let you know if anything stands out or changes. Thank you so very much for all of this. ALL, of this."
"It's really no trouble, Mrs. Midoriya. I enjoy helping children however I can, blub. There is however one more thing to bring up regarding his quirk."
The two greenettes looked to him, curiosity gleaming in their eyes.
He looked Izuku in the eyes. "There is one thing wolves are universally known for. Tell me young man, have you ever howled while transformed?"
The trip home seemed to take a far shorter time than it did to get to the doctor's office. Izuku kept looking around him, at all the people in a way she hadn't seen in about year.
It was fortunate that the Asui's had decided to wait for the Midoriyas to finish their appointment, curious about Izuku's quirk. This had made Inko happy, as she was hoping Izuku would have made another friend.
After exchanging contacts and a conversation regarding the young children's quirks, they went their separate ways, promising to stay in contact with each other, even if they live so far away.
After getting home and getting Izuku bathed, she recommended watching some of his favorite videos while she got started on a late dinner.
To her surprise however, "Can we watch something else? Can we watch a docu-. A decuum-. a docmentry on another hero?"
Inko had to fight the chuckle that came to her from hearing Izuku struggle with such a big word. "Of course, sweety, what hero is it?"
"It's the Sea Rescue Hero: Selkie!" Inko chose to ignore the blush that rose on his cheeks. For now.
Inko made him his favorite, katsudon, to celebrate the news of Izuku getting his quirk.
She glanced at him often while they watched the documentary that was certainly not recommended to him by a certain little girl.
She saw something in his eyes. Something she hadn't seen in a long time.
That little spark of excitement brought her thoughts back to that night one year ago…
"It's best you give up."
This news was delivered by the quirk doctor that Inko had brought her son to after all the other kids in his kindergarten class had gotten their quirks except for him.
"No! There must be some mistake. The other kindergartners have all started showing signs, but…" The doctor couldn't possibly be telling her she thought he was. Her son had to have a quirk, right?
The doctor considers this. "Pardon my asking ma'am, but you're a fourth-generation quirk holder, yes?"
"Yes, of course… I can pull small objects towards me, and my husband can breathe fire."
The doctor points to an x-ray of Izuku's foot. "By the age of four, a child should manifest either one of his parents' quirks or a composite of the two" Then he points at one specific spot on the x-ray. Izuku's pinky toe. "Early research has determined that the best sign of having a quirk is the lack of a second joint in the pinky. Izuku here has two joints. It's becoming quite rare nowadays, but… your son does not possess a quirk."
Later that night, Inko stood in the computer room, thinking about what she could do. "Maybe take him to a different doctor? Maybe he missed something. There'snowaymybabyboydoesn'thavea-"
"Mom…"
She looks back to Izuku, who is sitting in the office chair watching that video he loves so much. Of All Might's debut.
Something about the tone of his voice causes tears to start welling up. "No child's voice should sound like that…" She thinks.
"No matter what kind of trouble you're in… he'll save you with a smile." He spins the chair, pointing at the video. His eyes barely holding back a flood of tears. "A super-cool hero like that. That's... what I wanna be."
Something in her breaks and she rushes forward to hold her son. "I'm sorry, Izuku! I'm so sorry!"
She wipes at her eyes to stop her tears.
She was happy to see him so excited. Whether that came from him finally getting a quirk, or making a new friend, she didn't care.
She was so scared that her baby would have to go through his life bereft of the power to make his dreams come true. For a world that covets power would surely treat him so poorly, but maybe not anymore.
Her baby had a quirk, and if that tiny sparkle in his eyes was anything to go by, her little Izuku had hope again.