Chapter Text
Izuku is a plain looking kid. Everyone could decide that by looking at him - if they ever even noticed him. A lot of people just write him off, a Quirkless kid doesn't take much effort to slip under their radar. Izuku could walk through a crowd and no one would look his way, not even once. Because in a world where the impossible was possible and heroes walk amongst them, Izuku was amazingly, painfully normal.
Izuku himself believed that he never had a Quirk for the longest time, but some things just didn't add up. Yes, people would ignore him, they've done it for so long that Izuku began to know the signs by heart. Yet, unless he actively made his presence known, no one showed those telltale signs. It was like he didnt exist to them.
It all clicked one day at the market. He'd been with his mom, grabbing groceries for the week. He peeked from the isle when he heard a commotion.
A man was at the counter, he had a gun. "Look, lady." The man growled, "I don't want no trouble, just give me all you have in that register and I won't shoot."
Izuku jolted when he realized it was a robbery. His shoulder knocked into a jar to jelly, it fell to the floor with a loud crash. The robber's head jerked to the sound, but his eyes never registered Izuku, not even once.
The revelation struck him with the force of a truck. This man heard the jar break, he saw the broken glass, but he didn't see Izuku. His hands were shaking, but this wasn't the time for fear. The robber still had the gun on the cashier - a nice looking lady with glasses. Deciding to test his theory a bit further, Izuku grabbed another jar behind him and tossed it to the other end of the store. It collided with the soup display. Dozens of cans crashed to the floor. The robber jumped at the noise, a shot rang out.
Dust crashed down from the ceiling as a bullet embedded itself into the tiles. Izuku had rushed forward, pushing the man's hand away from the cashier. He put so much force into it, the gun had clattered out of the man's hand and onto the floor. He stared at the weapon, unsure of what he should do next. He didn't have the time to, because the robber grabbed him by the back of the neck.
"Where the hell did you come from?!" The robber sounded about as panicked as Izuku felt. "Huh, punk?! Where!?"
Policemen burst through the front door, their guns drawn on the man. "Police! Hands up in the air!." They didn't mention Izuku. Didn't even notice him. He freed himself from the man's grip and rushed back to his mom, who'd been ushered outside by some other officers.
"No, you don't understand!" She cried, clutching an officer's sleeve. "My son- he's still in there! You have to let me through!"
"Ma'am," The officer said, "You have to remain calm."
Izuku walked right past him, sliding under the tape and running to his mom. "Mama!"
His mom's eyes widened, she let go of the cop's sleeve and dropped to her knees. "Izuku!" He threw himself into her arms. "Oh, my baby boy, where did you go?"
He looked into his mom's eyes. "Mom," He said, wonder replacing any of the fear he'd felt moments ago. "I think I have a Quirk."
-----
Izuku had dubbed his Quirk "Notice Me Not". It'd made sense in his head, nobody knew he was there until he said something or made contact with someone. It seemed that it didn't really effect his mom much - Izuku wondered about that. It could have been due to extended contact, or their blood relation. Either way, his mom knew he was there whenever he walked into a room, everyone else didn't.
It wasn't a flashy Quirk, or a particularly strong one, but at the age of ten, Izuku had a lot of creativity at his disposal. He tested his limits. He could go an entire day with no one even looking at him, it was like he was invisible. As a kid with a history of bullies, his Quirk might as well have been a blessing.
He always knew if the teacher was planning a pop Quiz. He knew everyone's birthday (and that they never even considered inviting him to their parties). He knew almost every detail of his classmates, all from being a fly on the wall.
Another thing he noticed about his Quirk was that if he interacted with a object, say, tipping his pencil over, people would notice the fallen pencil, but not him. The benefits of that in heroism were great. He didn't have the power to be an all offensive-type hero, like All Might, but he did have potential as some kind of reconnaissance hero. He could gather information on criminals just by walking past them. People, Izuku found, were a lot more loose lipped when they thought no one else was listening.
Another thing was that though people didn't notice him, animals did. Maybe something about him was calming to them, but animals just seemed to flock to him. He tried testing it at an adoption shelter once. He went to the shyest cats - the ones that never came close, just stared at people with narrow, untrusting eyes.
He came face to face with a middle aged tomcat - one that was missing an ear and a good chunk of the fur on his face. The feline hissed at Izuku at first when he poked a finger through the bars of the cage. Izuku retracted the digit. "Hey, it's okay." He said, keeping his voice as soft as he could manage. He read the information listed at the top of the cage. "People can be really man, can't they?" He asked, "They always make fun of me, but I think you got it a lot worse."
The cat's single ear flicked in interest. And while it didn't stop growling, it did lighten up a little.
"The paper says you're name is Uno," Izuku put his finger back in the cage, a silent offer. "I think that's a bit too cruel, how about Han, instead?" Which was also a bit cruel, since Izuku got the name from Han Solo. But it was better than nothing. Izuku felt a surge of achievement when Uno - now dubbed Han in Izuku's mind - crept forward to hesitantly bump Izuku's finger with his head.
It felt a lot like victory.
He reached for his phone, he had a feeling mom would like a heads up to a new addition to the family.
-----
After getting Han situated in the house, time seemed to blur. Izuku managed to pass through school with little disturbance. It was hard for bullies to cause trouble when they couldn't find him, and Izuku had become an expert of hiding in plain sight.
Sitting at the desk in his room, Izuku pushed Han away from his math homework. Underneath all that hissing and growling was a pretty cuddly cat. Who knew. Han didn't initially like being denied his favorite spot, but did eventually settle and drape himself over Izuku's neck like a scarf.
Izuku could feel Han's purr through the vertebrae of his neck. It made him loosen up as he finished his homework. After a stressful day, he could always rely on the cat for relaxation. Which was something he was in dire need of lately.
Izuku stared at the slip of paper in front of him. The teacher had handed these out, asking for everyone to put their high school of choice and turn them in tomorrow. Everyone and their mother in his class was going to put down some sort of hero school, but only Bakugou would put down UA. Maybe because no one else had any faith in their abilities, or that the blond had terrified everyone out of choosing it.
But Izuku hadn't been scared of Bakugou since he'd learned how to use Notice Me Not. He pencilled down his school of choice with bold letters, here's hoping that Bakugou didn't kill him for it.
-----
In the end, Bakugou didn't kill him, but Izuku almost wished he did.
The day had started like it always did: Izuku walked into class, no one even looked his way. The teacher called role - one of the few times in the day that anyone noticed him. Math class started, not one of Izuku's favorite classes, but not every period of the day could be dedicated to doodling. All in all, it seemed like it'd be any other day, but then everyone had to hand in their high school application forms.
Izuku had tuned them all out, instead doodling a group of his classmates throwing paper at each other. His drawing skills had gotten a lot better since he started using people as references. He'd been busy doodling the crinkles in the ball of paper when the teacher's voice snapped him out of it.
"Midoriya, you wrote down that you were planning on attending UA too, right?"
Like that, everyone was suddenly aware that Izuku was sitting at the very back of the class. He could see Bakugou fuming in his desk and had already braced himself for the oncoming shit-show.
As the blonde kicked down his desk and stalked towards Izuku, the green haired teen wished Han was with him. The grumpy tomcat - for all of his hissing and growling - was rather protective. Bakugou never did try to test his Quirk on animals, and Han could be _scrappy._ Izuku managed to keep from flinching when the blond slammed a hand on the desktop, but couldnt find it in himself to look up. It was best to treat Bakugou like an aggressive dog, making eye contact would only make it worse.
"You think you can enter the hero course, eh, Deku?" The blond growled. Izuku stood his ground by, ironically, still sitting in his seat. "Look at me when I'm speaking, you fucking coward."
Bakugou actually had a point on that one. Izuku had spent every moment since learning of his Quirk hiding from the people that caused him trouble. Dull clothes and a hushed voice did wonders for going days unnoticed by the bullies. Izuku was a coward, because he was too scared of people to let them know he was there. Maybe one day he'd get there, be unafraid and announce that he existed. Maybe one day he'd even stand up to Bakugou.
That day wasn't today. Izuku kept his eyes glued to the doodle of All Might he'd put on the desktop months ago. He'd meant for it to help him rack up enough courage to answer a question, but it served as a great way to anchor himself in the sea of rage that was Bakugou. The teacher had to draw the line at physical harm...right?
Mercy seemed to smile on him that day, because the bell ringed before the blond could get any angrier - though Izuku wasn't sure if that was possible. Bakugou still had to grab his backpack, which he'd left at his overturned desk. In the time he took to grab it, Izuku could activate Notice Me Not and get out of there-
Aaaand one of the other bullies brought the bag with him. Great. Just...great. Izuku had three choices : run and jump through the window, somehow shove his way through the steadily crowing crowd of bullies, or hunker down and take it. Number one would most certainly result in a broken bone, number two would get him punched, and number three - while unpleasant - had the least likely chance of bodily harm.
It was going to be one of those days, wasn't it. Still, even with the looming threat of the bullies, Izuku kept his eyes forward. He could get through this. He could, he just had to hold on.
"You really still think you can be a hero, Deku?" Bakugou asked, though it was more rhetorical than an actual question. If Izuku answered, the blond would get angrier, if he didn't, the blond would still get angry. There was no winning when it came to Bakugou. "You're just a Quirkless loser, you'd die in the exams."
Izuku had never bothered telling the class about Notice Me Not. Partly because they wouldn't believe him, but mainly because telling them about it would reduce it's effect drastically. So he'd let everyone assume he was Quirkless, it made it easier to fade into the background when no one gave him the time of day.
When Izuku didn't reply, Bakugou's palms began to spark. "Fucking answer me, Deku." The blond threatened.
Izuku looked up, but he focused on Bakugou's nose instead of his eyes. "Why? You're going to get mad no matter what I say." Shit, he hadn't meant to say that.
Bakugou kicked Izuku's desk over. Izuku clutched at his notebook a bit tighter. "What was that, you fucknugget?"
Fucknugget? Bakugou was getting pretty creative. "Nothing." The pit in Izuku's stomach widened into a void when the blond snatched his notebook out of his hands.
"And what the fuck is this? One of your dumbass hero books?"
"It's for school." Izuku tried to explain, but petered off when Bakugou exploded the cover and tossed it out the open window.
"If you want be a hero so bad," Bakugou sneered, grabbing Izuku's shirt and drawing him dangerously close. The hem of his shirt began to smoke. "Here's a suggestion on how to get a Quirk: take a swan dive off the roof and pray you'll have one in the next life." Satisfied, the blond dropped Izuku back into his seat.
Izuku shriveled under the jeers the other bullies began to throw at him. He held his breath until the last one left the room. Izuku had always preferred it when he was alone, no risk of anyone noticing him - as improbable as it was. He waited until he could hear the front door to the school open before standing up on shaking legs.
His notebook was in the koi pond, one that he often hanged out around when finishing up homework. The koi were nibbling at the soggy cover of the paper, and scattered when Izuku reached in to take it out. Just his luck, Izuku had his math notes in there. With a sigh, Izuku clutched the notebook to his chest and began to journey home.
"Here's hoping the day doesn't get any worse." He muttered, right before going through the usual tunnel.
-----
It was official, the universe hated Izuku, with a passion. He decided this as he walked home from one the the craziest and most depressing days of his life. He got his notebook ruined, ran into his idol, discovered said idol is apparently a skeleton in reality, and had his dreams shot down. Maybe they all had a point, what can a hero do to help when all he can do is go unnoticed? He really was useless.
There was the sound of explosions a block away, the vibrations shook the ground. His first instinct was to go and look, do analysis like he always had. The option was torn from him when he heard some of the things the onlookers were saying.
"Man, that kid has some Quirk..."
"Yeah, but isn't he just a student?"
"None of the heroes are helping him..."
Goddamnit. Izuku swallowed and turned the block. His brain shorted out when he spotted Bakugou struggling in the slime that he himself had barely escaped. Several things were on fire, but the blond's rage was a blaze that made Izuku take a step back. For a brief moment, Bakugou's mouth was free, he spent the moment gasping for a precious lungful of oxygen. The villain was trying to smother him, like it had tried with Izuku.
Heroes were standing to the side, keeping civilians a safe distance away and putting out fires, but not helping Bakugou. The human body could go about three minutes without air before passing out, up to seven minutes would be when brain damage started to set in, and ten meant full brain death. Bakugou was exerting himself trying to get out, that shortened his timeframe drastically. Someone had to act.
The heroes didn't try to stop him as he broke ranks from the crowd, they only noticed him once he was three quarters to the villain.
"Where did he come from?!"
"Kid, don't! You'll get killed!"
Izuku couldnt do anything to the slime, but parts of the villain were solid. Slipping off his backback, he spun and threw it - a Hail Mary, one that he prayed would work. Wonder of wonders, the bag collided with the villain's eye, making him startle and release his hold on Bakugou's mouth.
Everything after that came as a blur of adrenaline and half formed memories. He'd tried to dig Bakugou out, that much Izuku could remember, but he'd ended up failing at that. It was only by some sick coincidence that All Might had also been in the crowd and stepped in. The heroes were praising Bakugou now, crowding him and complimenting his Quirk. A few of the heroes, namely Kamui Woods and Deathgoro, had tried to find Izuku and chew him out for "reckless behavior", but he was already gone, slipping away with the help of both Notice Me Not and the crowd of onlookers.
He was almost home and his hands still hadn't stopped shaking. "Great job, Izuku." He muttered to himself, "Why not risk your life for Bakugou, that's a great idea." Even as the words came out of his mouth, he knew that he didn't mean them. Bully he may have been, but Bakugou didn't deserve to die.
There was the sound of incoming feet, then a cloud of dust as a figure ran out from one of the other streets. It was All Might. The hero had been in the middle of saying "I am here!" When he poofed into his skeleton form and coughed out another mouthful of blood.
Izuku remembered seeing the hero doing this earlier, but still found himself worrying. "Are you okay?" He asked, taking a step forward but refraining from making physical contact.
All Might wiped the blood off with a hand. "Yes, I'm fine, my boy." He put his hands on his hips. "That's some Quirk you've got there, kid, I didn't even notice you were gone until Kamui Woods mentioned it to me."
"Ah, well..." Izuku scratched his head. No one had complimented his Quirk before. Ever. "That's the perk of it, I guess." The silence that followed after that was painful for both of them. "Uh, is there any reason you followed me?" Another question he could've asked was how the hero did that. The only person that could notice him from the get-go was his mom.
"You're probably expecting me to lecture you about being reckless." All Might began, "But that isn't the case. I'd like to thank you, my boy. You rushed in to help, and in doing so, inspired me to as well."
"But, All Might, I didnt think about any of that. I just...moved."
"There are a lot of stories about the origins of heroes," All Might said, "but they always say that their body moved without thinking. I didn't follow you just to thank you, I came to tell you that I was wrong - you have the potential to become a hero, a great one."
The words threw Izuku for a loop, if he wasn't so busy trying to process it, then maybe he would have began to cry.
"And that is why I have chosen you to inherit my power, should you accept it."
What.