Quirkless

You Didn't Mention You Had a Cousin

Izuku was one second away from attempting to murder his teammate - quirk or no quirk - when Aizawa threw open the door to his hospital room. Both he and Kacchan had been startled into silence at the intrusion, whipping around to face the visitors.

"Hello," Aizawa said, more gruff than usual, as a woman stepped in behind him.

"Hi!" she said, her voice sounding like it was two octaves too high, "I'm Asuka, it's nice to meet you." She bowed slightly in greeting.

Izuku examined the newcomer. She was his height, with long green hair pulled away from her freckled face, and obviously in shape, despite her loose clothing. Her most striking feature was her mismatched eyes, one a rich coffee brown while the other was as green as his own. He couldn't see any telltale lumps that would hint at a weapon, though Aizawa wouldn't have let her in if she was a threat. He could probably still take her if he had to, depending on her quirk.

She shifted uncomfortably under his gaze and he realized he'd been staring a few seconds too long.

"Nice to meet you," Kacchan said, suddenly on his best behavior. Izuku grimaced as the other man quickly hid his anger behind a friendly facade. "I'm Bakugou, though you may know me better as DynaMight."

Asuka smiled at him, reaching out to shake Kacchan's outstretched hand. "Yes, I'm familiar with your work," she said. "It's a pleasure to meet you." She glanced at Aizawa, as if asking permission. His mentor nodded slightly, and she moved to the edge of the hospital bed, sitting next to him. "I'm 'Zuku's cousin, though he probably doesn't recognize me since it's been so long." She bumped Izuku's shoulder playfully. Izuku looked over at Aizawa, who gave him his own tiny nod as if to say play along.

"I didn't know Deku had any cousins our age," Kacchan said slowly, the friendly exterior dissolving as he stared at Asuka suspiciously.

"We're related on his father's side," she said, "And, well, you know how that is." Her face fell as if feeling regret, then bounced back into a smile. "But blood's thicker than water, you know!"

Kacchan glared fiercely at her, as if he was trying to draw out the truth with the strength of his glower alone. Izuku watched and noted that, to her credit, she didn't shrink under the crimson glare. Finally, the tall blonde broke eye contact and turned to their old teacher.

"What the fuck is going on?" he asked, gesturing to Asuka. "We both know Deku doesn't have a goddamn cousin."

Aizawa chuckled dryly. "She's from Interpol. She'll be watching over Midoriya until we know more about the nature of the attack." Izuku watched as Asuka's eyes flicked over to Aizawa in surprise. "She'll be posing as his cousin to avoid arousing suspicion. We don't want it getting out that Izuku's lost his quirk, and a top ten hero suddenly being surrounded by bodyguards would definitely raise some eyebrows."

"That it would," Asuka added, her happy chirp dropping into a more natural register. "Though that information will need to stay in this room if I'm going to do my job." She glared openly at Aizawa. She turned to face Izuku head on. "I understand that you have some reservations about being guarded, but I can promise I will have as little effect on your daily life as possible."

"Why is Interpol getting involved?" Izuku asked, "Why not assign me Shoto or another hero?"

"The Commision," Aizawa answered flatly, "They wanted to keep your condition as quiet as possible and given your status, we believe that having you constantly accompanied by another hero would bring too much attention. As far as why Interpol..." The tired-eyed man didn't finish his sentence, instead glanced over at the woman next to him.

"We've been monitoring an international terrorist group called Keidero," Asuka answered. "We have reason to believe they may have been involved in your attack."