Izuku's Three

tap tap tap

Midoriya had always been an odd child. He had to tap the kitchen counter three times before even thinking about eating his food. And from there, he would have to eat counterclockwise, starting at the middle back of the plate--where the twelve would be on a clock.

If he put on his shoes, he would have to do so in a very specific way. Left sock, right sock, right shoe, left shoe, tie left, tie right. But on the offhanded occasion where he messed up the sequence, Inko would notice he had to visibly undo his shoes in the exact opposite order of the way he put them off. From there he would set up his shoes and socks out on the floor in front of him, sit still for a moment, close his eyes and take in a deep breath before starting the sequence all over again--this time correctly.

She could tell the missteps in patterns disgruntled the small child. And the smallest of inconsistencies messed with him.

Once she had put up a new photo of Izuku graduating primary school, only to find her son staring at it with slitted eyes the next morning. "It's not straight," he would mutter before taking two steps forward, leading with his right foot. Small fingers then reached out to fix the frame only for him to take two steps back, left foot before the right. He analyzed the frame, "Still not straight." And returned to the process of attempting to fix the photo.

Inko remembered being mildly concerned about the odd behavior, especially so since her son was so young. But nevertheless, she allowed him to abide by his own patterns. Afterall, it helped calm him most days, she'd notice.

***

Every morning, Izuku found himself waking up, twisting out of bed and putting on his slippers. He then rubbed his right knee in a circular motion three times clockwise before switching and rubbing the other counterclockwise.

Then he would allow yawns to fall from his lips as he stretched and put on his slippers. From there his day would begin as usual.

Tap tap tap three times before eating breakfast.

What about the drinks? He thought one day. What if the pattern only ensures the meal is safe and not the milk? And so he found himself using his other hand to tap twice near the glass, ensuring its validity. Three times would be too much. He pointed out to himself, glancing at the glass' size and then the plate.

After breakfast, it was easygoing. The bustle of everyday life was increasingly void of additives. Until the time came to pack his bag. Before he could do so, he had to tap the spines of all his last journals before packing his latest into his bag.

It's good luck. He supplied himself one day. He walked over to the shelf of journals one through seven and started at the highest number, sliding his finger up the spine before counting up and moving to Journal one. Nodding to himself, he maintained a small smile at accomplishing the ritual for good luck.

And then he packed Heroic Journal No. 8 into his backpack and set off for the rest of the day.