Chapter Text
On 15th July, 2XXX, Midoriya Izuku is born to single mother Inko.
He will never know his father, a deadbeat who grabbed his things and ran at the first news of Inko’s pregnancy. But despite that huge pothole in her life, Inko was determined. Unlike that useless joke of a husband who was too cowardly to accept parenthood, she embraced it wholeheartedly.
As she holds her new-born son in her arms, Inko swore to herself that she will be the best mother for Izuku.
It would be difficult, but she will do her best. Izuku deserves the world, and he will get the world.
For the first time in his new life, Izuku cries.
Inko gently soothes him, feeling warm from seeing her baby so alive, making his first vocal call to the world.
It is then that she noticed something on his right wrist.
“Nurse?”
“Yes, Midoriya-san?”
“There’s something on my son’s wrist.”
The nurse comes over, and inspects the baby’s skin.
“Oh.”
On the unblemished skin, is a snowflake.
It is remarkably intricate and detailed. Each of the six “arms” fan out with points like a rose’s thorns, and in between each larger arm is a smaller, less-detailed arm. The nucleus appears like a six-petalled flower in full bloom.
Evidently, it is not a birthmark. Or not a normal birthmark.
It is ice-blue in colour, and it shimmers under the light like a crystal.
“Interesting,” the nurse mumbles, before turning to Inko, “I’m not quirk expert, Midoriya-san, but this might be your son’s quirk.”
“Quirk?!” Inko tries not to jostle her baby from the shock, “But he’s - ”
“Only a baby?” the nurse completes her sentence, “Well, remember when that baby in China was born bathed in glowing light? Again, I’m no expert, but in the centuries since quirks appeared, surely there must have been other babies who were born with quirks!”
Inko has to admit, it was not impossible.
“Furthermore,” the nurse continues, “Think of the children of those with animal mutation quirks! I’ve attended to a number before, and each time, the child’s quirk is immediately registered after birth.”
Again, also true. Inko remembered that fact from her quirk history lessons in school.
“Or, it could be something else entirely.”
Inko’s curiosity is piqued, “What is this “something else”?”
“It could be a soulmate mark.”
“Soulmate mark?”
“Are you aware of the concept of soulmates, Midoriya-san?”
Inko takes a moment to think.
“It is a remarkably close relationship between two people, right?”
“Even more than that!” the nurse goes off, “It is the lifelong bond between two people, that transcends above everything else – money, fame, quirks, the very concept of life itself! It can be romantic or platonic, it doesn’t matter! What matters is, this bond between two people is so strong, so unbreakable, that it can endure the tests of time and many reincarnations! It goes right down to the person’s soul, connecting them on such a level that it goes beyond human understanding!”
Understandably, Inko did not expect such a passionate spiel from the nurse.
And evidently, her son did not either.
Wails echo across the ward.
“Oh, oh, calm down, it’s okay,” Inko whispers soothingly, rocking her infant son, “No one’s going to hurt you. It’s okay.”
It is like a switch. Her son quietens down, and the nurse is back into professionalism in an instant.
“Um, excuse me for being too excited. I am a huge romantic at heart.”
Inko smiles, “It’s okay. It’s nice to see someone so passionate about something they enjoy.”
The nurse sighs in relief, “But still, if it is a soulmate mark, your son has a destined someone waiting for him. I can imagine that he will get to experience love on a level that goes beyond the understanding of love itself.”
And isn’t that a pleasant thought? Inko thinks to herself. It is reassuring to know that her son will have someone who will love him to the ends of the world.
“Or,” the nurse’s continuation brings her back to reality, “it could just be your son’s quirk. Who really knows?”
That is also possible, but Inko is still happy for her son nonetheless. He had a quirk, and the possible chance of finding true love.
She couldn’t have asked for anything more.
“Oh, that reminds me,” says the nurse, “Have you decided on a name for your son?”
Inko had, in fact, thought of a few names. She had, though, already decided on the one for her son.
“His name…will be Izuku.”
And thus, on 15th July, Izuku is brought into the world.
No one realises that slightly more than four months prior on 11th January, in that exact same hospital ward, a different woman rests on the same bed, carrying her fourth child in her arms.
Her third child, currently three years old, stood by the bedside, watching as his younger brother cries for the first time.
On the third child’s left wrist, is a snowflake. The exact same one that is on Izuku’s right wrist.
He had it since birth, but there was no mention of soulmates by anyone. Unlike Izuku’s snowflake, it was dull, had no colour, and when noticed by the nurse who attended to his mother, it was assumed that it was an oddly-specific birthmark.
However, on 15th July, as Todoroki Natsuo sleeps, the dull snowflake on his left wrist shimmers. Starting from the nucleus, it gains colour, spreading out like a flower opening in full bloom during springtime. It sparkles in the darkness, and a cool sensation fills Natsuo’s body. He shivers, burrowing deeper into the sheets.
Many kilometres away, Izuku shivers, as his mother holds him tightly.
The first connection is made.
But it will be a long time before anything else happens.
To Be Continued.