My Hero Academia: Below Freezing

Frozen

Riku woke up with a start as ice coated the blanket he was in. He let out a small yelp before going silent again. He breathed heavily as his eyes slowly adjusted to the dark. Right, he wasn't there anymore. He was with Tenya, his friend. Though, it's not like he had friends to begin with.

Quietly, he got up slowly from his spot in the corner, and looked over at where Tenya was sleeping. He made sure he was snoring before open the door to the boy's room. He walked down the dark hallway, eyeing the photos on the walls. Their stares made it feel like they were judging him, causing him to quicken his pace. He quietly walked down the stairs, only to hear humming. Sunlight peaked through the windows as a sweet scent filled the air.

Riku flinched at the brightness of the kitchen as he poked his head in. He rubbed his eyes as the adjusted, panic filling his little body as the humming stopped.

"Morning! You're up early!", an unknown voice boomed.

Ice traced Riku's steps as he hid around the corner. Silence filled the space for a moment before the voice said, "Oh, my apologies. I forgot that you don't like loud noises. You're Riku, right?"

At the sound of his name, the curly haired child peaked an eye around the corner, staring at a tall man. He looked a little like Tensei, so maybe he could be trusted?

"Hi! I'm Keikiko, Tenya and Tensei's dad. Katsumi informed me about you the other night.", he said.

Riku relaxed slightly, but still got ready to either bolt or freeze him if he needed to. Keikiko chuckled sheepishly before her looked down at the child curiously. Why did his stare look so judgmental?

As the two's staring match continued, neither of them noticed the other residents of the Iida household stir awake.

"Hey kiddo!"

Riku let out a startled yell as he whipped around and bit into someone's hand. Deep blue ice raced across the ground, freezing the person's lower half. Riku looked up to see Tensei half frozen, stunned from the sudden chill.

"Cold, cold coldcoldcoldcoldcold-!", he chanted.

Laughter filled the room as soon as Tenya laid eyes on him. Katsumi signed before looking around for a heater of some kind.

"S-sorry." Riku mumbled tearfully.

Misty droplets of water threatened to spill out as he buried his head in his hands.

Keikiko quickly crouched down next to him before saying, "Hey, it's okay, Riku! If anything, Tensei should have known not to startle you."

Riku looked up hesitantly, tear pricking his eyes as he looked up at the scene in front of him. Tenya was laughing hysterically while pointing at Tensei, the later of the two trying and failing to break himself free with his quirk. All the while, Katsumi was standing next to a large heater, slowly chipping away at the ice with a spoon.

Tenya, seeming to remember his new friend was there, turned to him with a smile.

"What's your quirk?!", he asked excitedly.

Almost like a robot, Riku immediately answered, "Deep Freeze. I can make ice that can reach levels below freezing."

The entire rooms eyes landed on him at his words. An ice quirk? In a household of speed quirks. Why did that sound slightly concerning?

*

Katsumi sat down on a bright red couch while Riku eyed her from a decent five feet away. Her husband and oldest were out working, and her youngest was at school. That meant that she was home alone with a severely traumatized ice child.

It was weird. Most children would be begging to watch tv, or play with their toys. But Riku? He was so silent, so flighty. He seemed content to just sit around and do nothing, as if he was conditioned into being numb. It was nerve-racking.

So, being her motherly self, she asked him, "How about we play a game?"

Riku looked up at her before quietly saying, "Okay."

Alright, so far so good. Katsumi stood up and began searching around for a board game of some kind. She had to have something. She also made a mental reminder to phone the All Might when she had time. Perhaps he knew something about Riku's past-

CRUNCH!

....What was that sound? Katsumi slowly turned around to see Riku, looking up at her innocently as he chewed something. The woman's face blanked as she stared at him with a mixture of shock and surprise.

Riku, the sweet winter child, was eating a frozen pancake. The was frost covering it, and even a little bit of mist seeped off of it. It took all the willpower Katsumi had not to rip it of his hands, as she asked one simple question.

"Why?"

Riku stared down at the ground as he munched his snack quietly.

"It was too hot.", he mumbled.

The two exchanged a glance, the eye contact lasting for a while. The older Iida threw her hands up in defeat, walked away, and proceeded to dial Tsukauchi, because this child was giving her a migraine.

*

"....Are you sure Tensei didn't kidnap him?", the detective asked.

Katsumi nodded as he looked over Riku. Though, it wasn't very effective, seeing as how he hid behind Katsumi the entire time.

"Hey kid. I'm Detective Tsukauchi. I just wanna ask you a few questions, is that okay?", the man asked softly.

Riku stared at him for a few moments, letting the ice gathering at his feet shrink. He gave a small nod, clutching onto Katsumi's leggings. Tsukauchi let out a breath before taking a seat. After a few minutes of waiting for Riku to do the same, the boy stood firmly by Katsumi's side. This was going to be rough.

"Okay, let's start off with your name.", the detective stated.

Riku eyed him hesitantly before saying, "Riku. Riku Yukino."

Truth. So far so good.

"Alright, do you have a way to contact your mother?" Tsukauchi asked.

That seemed to drive everything down hill. Ice spread across the entire room, and the temperature dropped by a landslide. The two adults were so stunned by the sudden shift, they hardly registered that Riku was having a panic attack.

"Whoa! Riku, breathe!" Katsumi urged, clutching onto the child's shoulders.

"C-Can't! I can't-", the child wheezed out.

"Yes you can! Just do what I do, okay?! Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out.", the older woman repeated.

Slowly but surely, Riku's heart rate slowed down, the temperature returning to normal. Shortly after, the boy sleepily fell to the ground, a blanket of snow covering him as he fell asleep.

"Katsumi." Tsukauchi said.

"Yeah?"

"What the hell did you just drag me into?"