A wish can go a long way. And in this case, a dying father wishes for his son to become a better hero than he ever could be. This has major implications for the future ahead.
Fire To Water: A Father’s Wish is a My Hero Academia fanfic by RarepairKai22 that explores how canon events would be affected if Izuku manifests a dragon quirk, as a fulfilment of his father’s dying wish. It can be read on Archive of Our Own here
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This fanfic contains examples of:
- Adaptational Early Appearance:
- Although he has yet to make an appearance, as the story tags state, Yoarashi Inasa will appear as a U.A. student, indicating that he will be appearing earlier than his canon debut introduction during the Provisional Licensing Exam arc.
- Tatsuma Ryuko, a.k.a Ryukyu, is introduced in the aftermath of Izuku killing the Slime Villain when she sees the news report of the incident on television, when she would only make her formal debut appearance during Shie Hassaikai arc.
- Adaptational Sexuality:
- Izuku has never explicitly shown romantic interest in guys before, and Inasa’s sexuality has never been explored or stated. Here, both are set to become a couple in the future.
- The same applies for Kaminari Denki and Shinsou Hitoshi, with the former only expressing interest in girls in the canon manga and anime.
- Adaptational Superpower Change: While Izuku would have started off as quirkless but subsequently inherited One for All, a stockpile quirk from All Might, here, because of a wish made by his father as he dies, Izuku manifests a quirk that gives him several physiological traits of an eastern dragon, complete with hydrokinesis and the ability to generate winds and storms. As of Chapter 3, this Took a Level in Badass to being able to transform into a full-fledged dragon.
- Adapted Out: The story tags have explicitly confirmed that Mineta Minoru doesn’t exist in this AU.
- Animal-Themed Superbeing: As of Chapter 3, Izuku transforms from a human with certain physiological traits of an eastern dragon, into an actual dragon for the first time. That said, Chapter 4 has revealed that Izuku is back in his mostly human form once more, albeit with his draconic physiology being enhanced from his transformation.
- Ascended Extra: Inasa is a supporting chapter with a major role in only two canon story arcs, and subsequent appearances are relegated to cameos. Here, he is due to become a major character who will be romantically paired with Izuku.
- Children Do the Housework: Because his mother has to work long hours to support herself and Izuku after her husband’s death, Izuku largely does the housework, such as keeping the apartment clean, doing the cooking, and going grocery shopping. He does all of this willingly, seeing how exhausted his mother is whenever she comes home from work. Furthermore, Inko does help out whenever she can.
- Death by Adaptation:
- Midoriya Hisashi is the first character to die in this story, as a pro-hero who was killed in a mission gone wrong, when he is merely an absentee father working an unknown job overseas in the canon series.
- The Slime Villain is killed by Izuku after he transforms into a full-fledged dragon. Izuku pulls all of the water out of the villain's body, leaving it a desiccated husk which disintegrates when it falls to the ground below.
- Downer Beginning: As mentioned in Death by Adaptation above, Midoriya Hisashi is killed during an overseas mission that went sideways. Despite the medics' best efforts, he passes away on the operating table. His final minutes are marked with sadness from not being able to say goodbye to his family, and guilt for not being present in Izuku’s life. Perhaps, the only uplifting moment is Hisashi’s final wish for Izuku to be able to achieve his dreams, and to be a better hero than he ever could, before he succumbs to his injuries.
- In Spite of a Nail:
- Despite Izuku manifesting a versatile draconic quirk, Katsuki is still very much an asshole to him. Unlike in the canon series, where being quirkless is what makes Izuku the victim of Katsuki's bullying, it appears that the thought of Izuku one-upping Katsuki with his quirk pushes Katsuki’s insecurity buttons, compelling him to lash out at Izuku, despite the latter’s attempts to be friends with him.
- Despite Izuku not latching on to All Might's leg after the hero detains the Slime Villain, All Might still somehow drops the bottle, allowing the villain to escape and take Katsuki hostage.
- Point of Divergence:
- Izuku’s story takes a different turn from the canon plot when, as he protects another boy from Katsuki and his lackeys, instead of getting beaten up, he manifests his quirk, which repels the bullies away and grants him his dragon physiology and associated powers. As such, Izuku is spared much of the ostracisation and bullying by his peers. Even his homeroom teacher revealing that he is applying to U.A. is met with approval by his classmates, a far cry from their mockery and insults in the canon series.
- Unlike All Might, Ryukyu is set to become Izuku's mentor, as she wishes to train him in order to help him better control his upgraded quirk.
- Shout-Out: The author has stated in the ending notes that Izuku's dragon form is partially inspired by that of Haku's dragon form from the 2001 Studio Ghibli film Spirited Away.
- Sucky School: Despite not being a victim of bullying or mockery in Aldera, and the teachers stop Katsuki from using him as a punching bag, Izuku isn't blind to the fact that the teachers turn a blind eye whenever Katsuki attacks other students with weaker quirks. Plus, it is abundantly clear that Aldera is banking on both Izuku and Katsuki getting into U.A., in a blatant and worrying sign of the Aldera administration leaning towards The Svengali territory.
