Ochako Uraraka: The Origin

Ochako Uraraka didn't need anyone to tell her that all men were not created equal. She could see that as clear as day. After all, she knew what it was like to be "without individuality." She knew what it was like to be inferior.

Ochako Uraraka was an only daughter to a Quirkless couple. Due to an unusually high mutation rate in such offspring, the development of any kind of Quirk was almost always guaranteed. "Almost always" was the key term, and as fate would have it, Ochako was not lucky enough to be born with a Quirk.

At the tender age of four, Ochako was remarkably excited to find out what Quirk she would get, but when the doctor told her the harsh truth, that she had no Quirk, her spirit faltered. Her parents stared at her with tearful eyes while muttering apologies under raspy breaths. Despite her crushed morale, she told the doctor, "Well, that's OK," and while putting on a wide grin, "I'm just like Daddy and Mommy!" Her parents felt relieved by her response and embraced her. However, when the family got home, she locked herself in her room and cried the rest of the night. Her parents comforted her afterward, which made her feel better about being Quirkless. Alas, not everyone saw Quirklessness as something to shrug at and move on.

School became hell for her, as bullies with powerful Quirks began to pick on her for what she and her parents lacked. Some pointed and laughed at her whenever they saw her, while others saw fit to pull pranks on her without fear of retaliation. There were other Quirkless kids at her school, some were her friends, who gave her the semblance that it was OK to be Quirkless, but knowing this didn't help much when she was being targeted. This isn't fair! This isn't right! Why should these bad people get such awesome powers? Ochako thought every time she was harassed.

Ochako took comfort in watching heroes save others from accidents and disasters, as she was assured that no matter what Quirk a person could have, there would come a time that they needed another's help. One hero by the name of No. 13, a hero dedicated to saving others through the use of his "Black Hole" Quirk, became a personal favorite of hers, as well as the number one superhero, All Might, who not only had immense strength but also had a heart that was more golden than his locks of hair. She dreamed to hear the words "You saved me!" directed towards her. Even as she marveled at their acts of heroism, she couldn't shake the idea that due to her lack of a Quirk, she would never be like them. Fortunately, this would change when she became six.

...

Perhaps it was fate, perhaps she was at the right place at the right time, perhaps she was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Regardless, as Ochako walked home from school one day, a nearby teenager, much to his own chagrin, turned the soda can in his hand into dust as he took a sip, spilling its contents onto his red shoes. Muttering a curse under his breath, he looked around for anyone who may have seen his blunder. She was the only person in his sights.

"Wow, your Quirk is amazing!" Ochako stared at him in wonder.

The teen, wearing a black hoodie with the hood up, black pants, and red sneakers, seemed to glare for a moment before relaxing and started to scratch his chin. He glanced to his side and replied, "Yeah, it seems cool at first, but then it becomes a bother. I have to always think about what I touch with what." He then looked back to the young girl and asked, "So, what kinda Quirk do you have?"

Ochako looked down, her smile quickly replaced with a frown, and answered, " I don't have a Quirk, My parents don't have one either."

The teen began to ruffle his messy white hair, and after taking a few seconds to contemplate his thoughts on the matter, he asked for her name, and she gave her an answer.

"Ochako Uraraka, what an interesting name. My name is … Tomura Shigaraki. What if I told you that you could get yourself a Quirk?"

Ochako's eyes were wider than they've ever been before, and her jaw would've fallen to the floor had it not been attached to her. She could hardly believe Tomura's words. She couldn't believe that somebody like her, somebody who'd been called worthless, a waste, inferior over the span of two years, could finally have what she was missing.

She could finally be normal. She could finally make a difference.

"Well, what's your answer? I don't have all day," Tomura told her. If one couldn't tell by his tone, his fingers tapping his crossed arms were a dead giveaway to his impatience.

Once he saw Ochako vigorously shake her head in approval, he sighed and pulled out a phone. He dialed a number in, waited for a reply, and began to speak.

"Kurogiri, it's me, Shigaraki. Take me to the bar. I have someone who wants to see Sensei. My location? Right, just give me a sec."

Seconds passed before a swirling black mist appeared before them. Ochako eyed the portal, unsure of what to do, before casting her gaze back to Tomura, who scouted for potential witnesses.

"What are you waiting for? If you want a Quirk, get in."

The promise of a Quirk gave her the courage to enter the portal. Once she did, she found herself in a place that seemed comfy. There were various bottles of different sizes and colors lined up on shelves behind a counter. Once Tomura stepped in, the black mist receded to reveal a suit with a tie, black pants, metal plating around what would be a neck, and two glowing eyes.

"Shigaraki, when you said that you wanted to bring someone over, I didn't think that you meant a child," Kurogiri whispered while glaring daggers at the teenager.

"So what if she's a child? She doesn't have a Quirk, she wants one, and Sensei will give one to her. After he gives her a Quirk, she'll want to do whatever to keep it."

"And what potential could he possibly see in taking in a young child?"

"Well, you're looking at the result of the last time he did that."

It was at this point that a man, sharply dressed in a black suit, entered the room. Tomura stepped forward, bowed to him, and uttered, "Sensei, we have a person who wants a Quirk."

The man looked past him and saw Ochako. He gave Tomura a nod, and walked towards her. Sensei then knelt on one knee to look her at eye level.

"So, you'd like to have a Quirk?"

Feebly, Ochako answered, "Y-yes. I do."

"Why? What would you do with the Quirk I've given you?" There was no malice in his voice. Instead, he sounded curious, like a patient father asking his daughter why she would want a new phone.

"Because ... because it's not right that people treat me differently because I don't have a Quirk. It's not right that Daddy gets left behind because people with Quirks do his job with less work. It's not right that the people with power use it to attack people without power!" Ochako didn't realize that she was suddenly shouting, nor that she started to tear up. She realized the problems she saw in society, namely that the strong flourish upon the bodies of the weak. Then, almost as an afterthought, she added, "Because I want to save others."

The man spent a few seconds contemplating her outburst of emotions before coming to a conclusion.

"I will gift a Quirk to you, and with it, you will have the power to change this world!"

If Ochako wasn't crying already, she certainly was now. Her dreams, so distant that they seemed to be from another lifetime, were now right in her reach, ready to become reality. She would prove them all wrong.

Sensei smiled and extended his open hand while saying, "Now, give me your hand." Ochako did, and her own hand seemed so tiny, it seemed to be engulfed in his hand. Suddenly, she felt something surge through her body. It was unlike anything she had felt before. She felt powerful.

"I have given you the Quirk of Zero Gravity. Whenever you touch an object or a person with all five of your fingers, you will make it as if they had no weight. In other words, they won't fall but instead float. You can even make yourself float. To make something stop floating, press all ten of your fingers against each other. However, don't use your Quirk too much, especially on yourself, or you'll feel sick or pass out from the strain."

Tomura scoffed at the correlation via activation to his Quirk, while Kurogiri seemed pleased by Ochako's joy.

"Thank you very much!"

"You're welcome, but please don't tell anyone about this."

"Why not?" She tilted her head in confusion.

"Well, if people know that I can give Quirks, everyone will want me to give them Quirks. However, I can only give Quirks that I've taken from others, others who aren't using their gifts to their fullest potential. In fact, there are people out there who hate me for how I used my Quirk, All for One."

Ochako understood the implications of the man being able to take away Quirks and promised to not tell anyone. It was then that she noticed the new growths on her hands. On her fingertips, there were small pads.

"Sensei, look! I have cat hands now!"

"Hmm? Oh, so you do." Sensei didn't give Quirks to the Quirkless often anymore, and when he and the previous owner had Zero Gravity, neither had those pads. Her body must have grown them when she received that Quirk. Fascinating.

"Kurogiri, please send Uraraka home."

"Very well, Sensei."

The entire event took less than thirty minutes, so when her parents asked about her lateness, Ochako explained that she spent some time talking to a friend. Then, she told them, "Daddy, Mommy, my Quirk showed up today!"

"Really?! We're so proud of you! Tell us, what is it?"

And so she explained her Quirk to them as best she could, showing her fingertip pads as proof. She was able to make some forks and spoons float above the ground, but when she tried to make herself float, she vomited, just as Sensei warned her.

For the first time in two years, she went to bed thinking of her future and just how big it seemed.

A/N: Hello, fellows! I finally decided to crosspost my work on both this site (Although it did take a while to figure out this site...) and Archive of Our Own! I came up with this fanfiction after reading Nhitori's Beautiful ( /works/7901521) which I recommend reading. Feel free to leave criticisms and comments. I'm going through and editing the chapters I already posted on AO3 before uploading them here. I plan to post the updated chapters here every three days, but if you don't want to wait, you can find the work on AO3 at the link. ( /works/9911279/chapters/22209986) Just attach that to the end of the main site and you'll be sent to the story.