Chapter Text
You can’t be a hero.
Izuku’s whole world had shattered with the revelation that he was quirkless. He had clung to the hope that when his quirk came in, he would be the best hero there ever was. He would smile in the face of danger and save lives with a flashy quirk, just like All Might. Now that dream was just a fantasy. The doctor told him to give up, his so-called friends turned their backs on him, and even his own mother told him she was sorry.
But that didn’t have to be the end.
I’ll be a quirkless hero.
Just because it had never been done before didn’t mean it couldn’t be done. If he couldn’t be stronger than the villains, he’d just have to be smarter.
He started out by watching videos of martial artists. He studied their forms and copied their movements. It was easy for him to pick up. Then came taking actual lessons. As much as Inko didn’t like the idea of her son practicing a dangerous sport, she had ultimately agreed to his request of enrolling in a martial arts class. If he was never going to have a quirk, she wanted him to have at least some way to protect himself.
Starting at the age of eleven, he worked hard during the lessons and soon found himself at the top of the class. His sensei was impressed with his determination and started teaching him one-on-one. Weapons training was usually reserved for the older students, sixteen-year-olds, but she made an exception for Izuku. The boy gladly leapt at the opportunity for extra lessons and practice.
His time was split between honing his physical and mental skills. He quickly realized that the best thing he had going for himself were his analytical skills. The notebooks he had started for fun developed into a habit of writing down different heroes’ quirks and figuring out all of their strengths. Or more often, their weaknesses. And of course, he made sure he kept his grades up in school. He would even work ahead in the textbooks. Training his mind was just as important as training his body.
He started an exercise regimen for himself that focused mostly on stamina. He often jogged around the neighborhood and various parts of the city while listening to the latest hero news. It was during one of these jogs in his last year of middle school that he stumbled upon the strangest girl he had ever met.
At this time in the afternoon, the park should have been full of people. Families picnicking together, couples strolling arm in arm, dog owners walking their pets. Today, however, it was almost completely empty. Izuku didn’t mind. The less crowds, the better, in his opinion.
But it was thanks to the unusual quietness that he heard the running footsteps behind him.
As soon as they had registered, he heard a female voice shout, “Hey! Stop that guy!”
Immediately spinning around, Izuku assessed the scene. A horned man with a duffel bag was running in his direction, a pink-haired girl about his age giving chase. A police officer was close behind her.
The man thought he was just going to push right past Izuku, but as soon as he got within range, the younger boy knocked his feet out from under him and pushed him to the ground, arm twisted behind his back.
“Careful with that!” The girl yelled, sliding on her knees to where the bag had dropped.
“Ah, sorry!” When the officer caught up to them, Izuku released the man, handing custody over to him.
“You didn’t use your quirk, did you?” The police asked after clapping him in handcuffs.
“Uh, no sir. I’m actually quirkless.”
“Oh.” He cleared his throat. “Well, um, good job, kid.” He escorted the man to the entrance of the park where a police car was waiting. That was the common reaction to finding out he was quirkless; awkward looks and finding the quickest way out of the conversation. He was used to it by now.
“Yes!” The girl said suddenly. “None of my beautiful components are busted.”
“Components?” Izuku peeked over her shoulder into the duffle bag. Inside were a bunch of old laptops, probably worth quite a bit. That explained why the man wanted to steal them.
She turned to him with an almost dangerous glint in her yellow eyes that made him step back. “I’m going to break these babies apart and use them for my projects.” She stood up, shouldering the bag. “That was pretty impressive, by the way. You take karate or something?”
“Something like that,” Izuku answered nervously. The girl was now looking him up and down, and he could see an idea formulating in her head.
“You look like you work out. A bit on the scrawny side, but you’re in decent shape.” She was circling him now. “You mentioned you were quirkless? You might be just what I’m looking for.”
“Which is…?” He did not like where this was going.
“A guinea pig!” Wow she did not care for social boundaries, did she? “Someone to help me test out my babies. I’ve got a lot of cool inventions, but nobody’s willing to give them a shot.”
I wonder why. “What kind of inventions?” He said slowly.
“I am so glad you asked!” She whipped her phone out and started scrolling through her pictures; numerous selfies of her in front of various machines, half of which he couldn’t even tell what they were supposed to be. “I’m applying to Yuuei’s support course, so I’ve been making equipment for hero work as practice.”
“Yuuei? I’m applying there, too. In the hero department.” He scratched his head awkwardly, waiting for her to say something about how a quirkless kid could never get in.
Except she just nodded enthusiastically. “I thought so. Who doesn’t want to be a hero? Well, I don’t, but that doesn’t matter. This is perfect! You help me test drive my babies, and I’ll let you use them for the entrance exam.”
He gaped at her. “Wait, seriously?”
“Yes! Oh, this is gonna be so good. You’re the ultimate challenge for me. My babies will be so incredible, they could make a quirkless boy match any hero.” She stared somewhere behind him, as if picturing her future fame.
“This could work,” he said, more to himself. “We could actually do this. Oh! My name’s Midoriya, by the way. Midoriya Izuku.”
She grinned, thrusting her hand out to him which he shook tentatively. “Hatsume Mei. You’ve got yourself a partner, Midoriya.”
After working with Hatsume for a month, Izuku warmed up to the idea of being her guinea pig more and more.
They met after school in her garage, which had been transformed into a workshop. Tools and half-finished projects littered the tables. Dirt and oil stained the floor. The windows had been covered up, so the only light in the room was artificial.
His initial apprehension melted away after the first couple of tests. For all her eccentricity, she was actually good at making machines. They held together well and rarely ever did Izuku get hurt while using them. Whenever that happened, Hatsume immediately took the piece of equipment back to the worktable to iron out the kinks.
A lot of her inventions were bulky and hard to handle, but every so often there was one that seemed almost like it was made just for him. Whenever he found one of hers that he liked, he filed it away in his memory to use for the entrance exam.
Hatsume seemed to enjoy having another living human in her workshop. The first time he came over, she had jokingly called him “minion”. At least, he thought she was joking. She introduced him to each of her babies, proudly showing off their functions. It turned out, she also had a tendency to ramble, mostly about her inventions. Because of his own muttering habit, he might've been the only other person he could understand her when she went off.
Tests usually involved him throwing or punching something with Hatsume recording the results off to the side. Once, she had him try out a pair of “hover boots” which proved disastrous. It ended with a new whole in her wall and Izuku started apologizing profusely, but she just waved him off. “Experiments never end in failure if you learn something from them!” she had said, with a manic grin.
The two middle school students spent a lot of time in her garage, planning, testing, and working. Sometimes he spent the whole night up with her. A couple of times he managed to convince her to go to bed early, a rare feat in his opinion.
They worked well together.
Izuku knew it was coming.
During class, the teacher had announced his intention to apply to Yuuei’s heroics department, and Bakugou was not happy. He tried to ignore the explosive boy’s glares all throughout the rest of class. He tried to ignore the classmates that were openly staring at him. He tried to ignore the way his heart beat faster with all the eyes on him.
He tried to ignore everything, but when school ended, he still knew it was coming.
Izuku was about to pack up to go home for the day when Bakugou snatched his notebook off his desk.
“You’re still keeping these dumbass things, Deku?” He said, holding up Hero Analysis for the Future No. 13. “Don’t you think it’s about time you gave up?”
“Give it back, Kaachan,” Izuku said quietly, not meeting his eyes.
When he started working with Hatsume, he showed her all of his notebooks. She was downright thrilled and poured over every single one he had written, including the ones from elementary school. In No. 13 she had added some notes of her own, ideas for inventions that could combat different heroes’ quirks. Not only was Izuku’s heart and soul in that notebook, but Hatsume’s as well.
Bakugou wasn’t listening though. Before Izuku could blink, he held the book in between both hands and detonated his quirk, leaving a charred, ruined version of the original. Then in one swift movement, he had chucked the book over his shoulder out the open window.
Izuku could only stare, wide-eyed. What was Hatsume going to say? All their hard work gone in an instant. They could always start over; he could copy down what he remembered writing and redo what he didn’t, but he didn’t think she would appreciate her notes being destroyed before she could at least make prototypes.
For some reason, his eyes felt wet.
The hand clamping down on his shoulder broke him out of his thoughts and he immediately tensed up.
“You’re never going to get into Yuuei, so don’t even bother.” Bakugou spoke at normal volume, but his words held just as much malice as if he had been yelling. He didn’t wait for the other boy’s reply (Izuku wasn’t sure he trusted himself to speak right now) before shoving him away and stalking to the classroom door.
“Here’s an idea,” He said, pausing before exiting. He didn’t look at Izuku as he talked. “Trying to be a quirkless hero will only get you killed, so why don’t you just save the villains the hassle and jump off the roof yourself if you’re in such a hurry to die.”
It was when the door slammed shut that Izuku finally remembered to breathe.
He found the notebook outside on the asphalt. It was relatively intact and the writing was still legible, so he quickly stuffed it into his backpack.
With the book back in his possession, it was like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He hated what Bakugou had done to it, but he felt just a little bit better.
A part of him thought his childhood friend was right. What was he thinking, trying to be on the same level as the pro heroes? Trying to be on the same level as All Might? Even if he had some useless quirk, it would still be better than nothing. He was just going to end up disappointing Hatsume, who had helped him so much, or his mother, who let him take the fighting lessons, or-
No. No that wasn’t right. It was because he had Hatsume and Mom counting on him that could do it. He will do it. He couldn’t disappoint them now; not after everything they had done for him.
He took a deep breath as he walked under the bridge. Smile even when you feel like you can’t, he told himself. That’s what heroes do.
A loud clanging sound behind him made him startle. He jumped back just in time as a green, sludge-like substance shot at him. It managed to latch onto his arm. As much as Izuku pulled, planting his feet for leverage, it wouldn’t budge.
Quirk, this has to be a someone’s quirk.
As soon as the thought entered his mind, a pair of green eyes blinked down at him, full of murderous intent.
“Smaller than I would’ve liked, but with him chasing me, you’ll have to do.” The voice was low and garbled. He almost couldn’t hear what he was saying.
He remembered something he read a long time ago about what to do if a shark attacks you. Mustering as much strength as he could, he drove his free hand into the villain’s eye.
The sludge monster shrieked, letting go of Izuku’s arm, but that just made it possible for him to dig into the other eye as well.
How long can I hold this guy back for? Didn’t he say that someone was chasing him? All he knew was that he couldn’t let this guy just get away.
“Move out of the way!” A familiar voice called from somewhere down the tunnel. “TEXAS SMASH!”
Izuku almost lost concentration right then and there. Oh my god, it’s him! Not now, freak out later! He pushed off from the villain and hugged the wall of the tunnel, almost losing his balance when a huge blast of wind ripped through the sludge monster, scattering it into pieces.
All Might stepped out of the shadows. His signature smile seemed brighter than usual. “Thanks for the assistance, young man!” He knelt down, gathering the villain into an empty soda bottle. “If you hadn’t distracted him, I wouldn’t have had a clean shot.”
The number one hero was praising him? This couldn’t be happening…
Izuku struggled to find words. “It wasn’t- It was no problem, All Might- sir.”
“You might make a fine hero one day,” All Might continued, either oblivious to his stuttering or graciously just pretending he didn’t notice. “What’s your quirk?”
Oh, here we go. “Um… I’m actually- I don’t have… a quirk,” Izuku managed to get out.
Something in All Might’s expression shifted. He looked... tense? Maybe even worried. “Don’t have a quirk?” He repeated.
Izuku looked down. “C-Can I ask you something? I just want to know…” He paused. Can I be a hero even without a quirk. The question was right on the tip of his tongue, but... “Can you sign this for me?” He slung his backpack off his shoulders and produced the charred notebook.
All Might seemed to relax just a small, imperceptible amount. “Of course! I always love meeting fans.”
With the book signed, the number one hero turned to leave, giving one final wave. The urge to call out again and try one more time to ask his burning question struck Izuku. But he remained silent, watching his idol jump away, sludge villain in custody.
He sighed, hugging the notebook to his chest. Deep down, he knew what All Might would have said. He knew it, but he just didn’t want to hear it. Not right now. He didn’t need another voice in his head telling him he couldn’t be a hero.
As Izuku walked home, a villain fight broke out. As soon as he heard, he rushed over to the Tatooin shopping district where already six pro heroes were gathered to fight. The fire consuming the area made it difficult for them to focus their attention on the villain. Whoever it was, they must have been extremely dangerous.
There was a large crowd blocking the street, but he managed to get a glimpse of some green substance. His blood ran cold. No way…
“Isn’t that the guy All Might was tailing earlier?” One guy in the crowd asked.
“Did he manage to get away?”
“-Just took that kid hostage!”
Izuku’s panic rose with each sentence he overheard. The sludge monster was holding someone hostage? That must have been what he was trying to with him. He couldn’t even imagine how awful it would be, suffocating inside that tar-like fluid, not being able to move or breathe.
The crowd shifted, and he had to cover his mouth to stifle the scream that almost escaped. Because there, in the midst of all the fire and sludge, was Bakugou, neck deep in the sludge.
All Might would save him, right? He'd swoop in and rescue Kacchan like he did with Izuku. Surely the number one hero could defeat him again. He already did it once. It would be easy.
So where was he?
Izuku just stood there and watched as his childhood friend struggled with every ounce of his being to break free. He wouldn’t last for much longer. He could die…
He was springing into action before he even realized what he was doing. The sludge villain didn’t seem to notice the small green-haired boy running towards him, so that gave him the element of surprise if anything else.
Quickly unslinging his backpack, he threw the first thing his hand found (the No. 13 notebook) with pinpoint accuracy at the villain’s eyes.
The monster reeled back and Izuku threw himself at Bakugou, desperately trying to yank the boy free.
“What the fuck are you doing, Deku?!” Was the first thing he yelled when his mouth was freed, his voice raspy. He coughed up some of the sludge.
I DON’T KNOW. “You looked like you needed help,” was all Izuku could think to say.
The villain, now recovered from the preemptive strike, raised one tentacle-like limb, poised to bring it down right where Izuku stood, helpless.
He closed his eyes, waiting for the strike. It never came. Instead, the sound of an all too familiar voice caused him to open them again.
“I really am pathetic, aren’t I?” All Might stood, blocking the attack with one arm. “I let myself get distracted and this villain slipped away.”
“Damn you!” The sludge monster yelled in his garbled voice.
“DETROIT SMAAAASH!” The number one hero’s signature move was enough to knock the villain out in one punch. He shielded the two boys from the subsequent blacklash from the punch.
Just like that it was over. The police hurried to apprehend the villain, and the press swarmed All Might. The pro heroes scolded Izuku for jumping into the fight, and they only grew even more angry when they learned about his quirkless status. “What did you think you could do that a pro couldn’t? Next time, think before doing something reckless!” Their words only added to his self-doubt.
When they were satisfied their message had gotten through to him, they turned their attention on Bakugou, and Izuku took the opportunity to slip away. He thought about apologizing to All Might. Surely, he wanted to tell him the same thing about not being stupid. But one look at the reporters surrounding him told him he wouldn’t be able to get the man’s attention.
So, he walked home alone.
He was almost to his house when someone unexpected ran to greet him.
“I AM HERE!” The booming voice made Izuku practically jump out of his skin.
“A-All might?!” Why was he here of all places, talking to him of all people?
“I meant to catch up with you earlier, young man,” he explained. “But It took a while before I could get away from the press.”
“I’m sorry,” Izuku blurted out. “I know what you wanted to tell me earlier. About how stupid it would be to try to be a hero without a quirk. I should’ve stayed back and let the pros handle it.”
All Might’s disposition suddenly turned serious. “That’s what I came here to talk to you about. You’re quirkless, and you even knew how dangerous that sludge villain was, but you still jumped in to try to save that boy.”
Izuku stared at his shoes. “It’s not like I was thinking about it. I just… moved.”
“But that’s exactly it.” Those words caused him to look up again. The hero was staring at him intently. “The one thing that all of the stories of the greatest heroes have in common is how their bodies were spurred into action without any thought. The same thing happened to you.”
There was nothing Izuku could think of to say in response, so he just nodded.
All Might hesitated, but only for a moment before he seemed to reach some sort of decision. “What I’m about to tell you must stay between us, young man. Do you understand?”
Izuku’s eyes widened. “Y-Yes, sir.”
When the words left his mouth, a sudden steam surrounded the number one hero. It completely enveloped him. Izuku almost called out his name, but his voice died in his throat when the vapor cleared away.
Standing where All Might had stood was an emaciated looking skeleton of a man, but there was no doubt they were the same people. They had the same hair, the same clothes, though on the figure now in front of him, they were very baggy and loose fitting.
But the real give away were the eyes.
This man’s eyes held the same determination and spirit that seemed to occupy every inch of the person celebrated as the symbol of peace, despite their haunted appearance. There was something about them that Izuku just couldn’t look away from.
“There are many things I want to tell you now,” All Might’s voice was without the energy from before, but it was still as commanding as ever. “The most important is this…”
Izuku’s legs gave out from under him and he fell to his knees. Tears spilled shamelessly down his face.
“You can become a hero.”