Full Capacity

Chapter 1: New Beginnings

Izuku rubded at the burns decorating his arms as he sulked to the pond his notebook was carelessly tossed into. Rinse, repeat. His notebooks scattered across the school courtyard was not an unusual sight. 

Another notebook of research wet and dripping as he pulled it out of the water. This one was new. He should really have learned his lesson and laminated them. One may wonder, how then, would he write in it? But he could fix that problem with a permanent marker. Nice and cheap, easily replaced. Almost as accessible as a pencil.

The simple sharpie was not his preferred writing utensil, but if it worked, it worked. One thing Izuku was grateful for was that he'd started carrying a plastic bag to hold his dirtied notebooks in. This kept all his school supplies clean and dry. 

He unzipped his backpack to pull it out, and placed the notebook inside, tying it up to keep his things safe. It was as he was zipping up his backpack that he heard a strange sound, like heavy metal grating against the ground. He noted the increased heart rate, and quick breaths he let out. Izuku wrote it off as normal anxiety, something he'd learned to live with.

Walking through the tunnel was eerie, it made his skin prickle and grow goosebumps. His eyes scanned the area and when he saw nothing to note, he continued on. One wrong step. Just one. It sent shivers down his spine. What was that substance? He looked down, there was a slimy, oily-looking goo under his foot, and it was quickly pooling around him. 

 "You'll make a perfect skinsuit for me to hide in, kid." This was the worst possible situation Izuku could think of. "Don't worry, I'm just taking over your body," it slid itself into his mouth and nostrils, "it'll be easier for both of us if you don't fight back." There was no one to help, no heroes. "It'll only hurt for a minute," No one would even miss him, except maybe his mom. "You'll feel better soon." With his airways blocked, he did his best to stay lucid, the second he passed out, he knew it was over, that the villain would win. 

He tried to rip the villain off himself piece by piece. "Grab all you want," the villain snickered, "I'm made of fluid." Consciousness eluded Izuku quicker than he'd ever anticipated and he couldn't fight it anymore. 

"Thanks for the help, you're a real hero to me kid." 

The last thing Izuku heard before he fainted. 

The next thing he knew, he was on the ground. All he could think of was how sweet the air tasted. He recklessly sucked as much in as he could, and breathed it out. It felt different than before. He was nearly blown away. His lungs felt full when he trapped the air, and empty when he blew it out. Had he ever felt this way before? Maybe, a few times, but he couldn't recognize it.

Izuku heard a coughing noise and finally looked up to see his hero towering over him. "A-allmight! Will you sign my notebook?" he asked the pro.

"I'm sorry, but I've really got to go, you're safe, yes?"

"Please? You're my hero!"

"Bye bye now!" 

And with that he was gone. Izuku wiped his knees of dirt and picked up his backpack. He lingered for a short while, then made his way back home. As he let his thoughts wonder, he saw Katsuki blocking his path, and he stopped. "You'll never be a hero, Deku."  He stated. 

"I know, Kacchan." Izuku replied. Katsuki said nothing as Izuku walked past him. 

He should really get himself checked out. Asphyxiation is no joke, his lungs could be seriously messed up after that. Plus, he'd been breathing pretty weird after the whole incident. 

He pondered over this as he opened his apartment door and slid his shoes off to shove his feet into his mint edition Allmight slippers. He took notice of his mothers shoes at the front door. 

"Izuku? Is that you honey?" She called

"Yeah mom, I'm home." he answered. Izuku could see his mom in the kitchen as he set his things down and headed toward her.

"Oh Izuku, I was worried, you took longer to get home than usual, are you alright?" She asked.

"I'm okay mom, I ran into a villain, but Allmight saved me."

She looked at him, her voice gentle, "I'm glad you're safe. Wanna talk about it?" He told her then, even told her he hadn't managed to get his notebook signed. He told her that he thought he should get checked out just in case, that he'd been breathing weird since he woke up. She agreed, and put her coat on after a few more minutes of talking with him.

When they arrived at the doctors office, Inko talked to the front desk, and told him the wait would be a while. He was fidgeting with his hands, and said he was fine with that. 

To pass the time, he read the news for about thirty minutes. His mom felt a bit restless and decided to play a few games with her son. Some of being; dot to dot, tic tac toe, and other games. They had fun as they waited, and in what felt like no time, they were called to see the doctor.

She greeted them politely and started the appointment. After a few questions, she did basic check up things, blood pressure, weight, height, etc. Then she instructed him to take a breath in and hold it as long as possible. He wasn't sure why, but he trusted she knew what she was doing. She had him do similar things related to his breathing and made humming and tongue clicking sounds in confirmation that he was doing them correctly.

After a bit of that, she clicked her pen and swiveled her chair to face Inko. "He doesn't seem to be in any additional pain, and his lungs are fully functional, so no worries there. However, he seems to have developed some sort of endurance for holding his breath, perhaps from this traumatic experience. Has he always been able to hold his breath for a long time?"

"No, not that I know of."

"Right, well it appears that overall, his lungs are stronger than the average patient. Has a doctor brought this up before?"

"No."

"Well," she turns to Izuku, " maybe your quirk came in, it's not uncommon for a traumatic experience to help a quirk surface in order to protect you. I think you should get tested, even if it's nothing, it could still be beneficial."

"Thank you Dr. Hashimoto, will that be all?"

"Just about, I have one more thing to mention. The average person has a slimy flem-like substance in their lungs to keep them from sticking to themselves while the patient breathes in, Izuku has this substance but it has unusual properties to it. When he gets tested, I suggest you bring this up, and have either inspected for better understanding of him and his possible quirk."

"I see, thank you. We'll be off then, have a wonderful evening Doctor."

"Will do, you too Mrs. Midoriya."

Later that week, Izuku and his mom have Katsudon to celebrate, and his quirk status is updated for the first time in nine years.