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Chapter Text

“Stupid Deku!” Kacchan says, and pushes Izuku to the ground. “Stop talkin’ shit- quirkless losers like you can’t be heroes!”

The children around Kacchan crow in agreement. Izuku sniffles. “B-but if I work, r-really hard-”

Kacchan groans. He stomps towards Izuku again and kicks the ground, scuffing dirt into Izuku’s eyes. As the green haired boy whimpers and raises small hands to grind against his eyes, Kacchan let’s off a series of explosions from his hands. To an outside observer, it looks as harmless as a sparkler igniting. To the children of the playground circling Izuku, its proof of why Kacchan will become a hero, and Izuku won’t.

Quirkless people, after all, can’t be heroes.

“Stop yabbering that you’re gonna be a hero, Deku! I’m the only one from this fucking school that’s gonna make it to UA. So just give up! Worthless, quirkless, loser!”

Izuku bows his head, but doesn’t say a word.

Kacchan, however, takes this apparent nod as a victory. He happily laughs, a delightful and child-like sound that is at odds with his domineering position over the smaller, scuffed up boy. Kacchan turns, and the other children follow, leaving Izuku behind to lie in the dirt.

XXX

That night, Izuku searches through streams and streams of All Might videos on the news. The hero just saved forty-two people from a collapsing building. Some maniac with a vibration quirk tore the supports apart, but that didn’t deter All Might, who raced in and out of the crumbling building to save everyone inside, then turned and defeated the shrivelled old grouch of a villain with a single punch. He always saves the day.

The man is a god to Izuku, the perfect hero with the perfect smile- and the perfect quirk.

But… Is the quirk really the most important thing?

Izuku fervently searches the wide web to see if this is true. He doesn’t just limit his search to Japan- he scours the United States, China, and even the small sect of heroes from the European League of Justice.

Tide Master- Quirk: Can push or pull all water based liquids.

Best Jeanist- Quirk: Can control clothing fibers.

Ultragirl- Quirk: Can force continuous momentum in objects and herself.

Bomb Barrage: Can detonate the hairs of his head at will.

And the list goes on.

They all have incredible quirks- abilities acquired at birth in the world’s greatest lottery. Luck of the draw has led them to become the symbols of heroism that they are now. No matter how much Izuku searches, he can’t find what he’s looking for. After six hours, he finally concedes what he always knew to be true.

It’s like Kacchan said. There are no quirkless heroes.

(That night, Izuku cries- he cries and cries, until he never wants to cry again. He knows he will, anyways. Kacchan’s always called him a crybaby, and Kacchan’s always right. This is Izuku’s average life. A series of disappointments, injustices, and breakdowns.

Humans are not created equal.

Of course Izuku drew the short straw.)

XXX

Four years later, Izuku is ten year old, and he’s about to watch the UA sports festival that changes his life forever.

As is per tradition, his mom and him bundle up on the Saturday that it runs (it’s always placed on the weekend so that other students can watch and be jealous of their heroic peers). She makes Katsudon and her ultimate eight layered nacho dip that is sure to leave them both bloated and disgustingly satisfied.

As per Izuku’s own personal habits, his sixth hero journal for the future is in hand, and he eagerly awaits the opportunity to scout out the future heroes.

The third years are usually the most interesting. They are the ones who have been training the longest, and their abilities show it. They are confident in their quirks, and to match, the challenges they face are more daring, more pressing. Last year, every student had a handicap placed upon them- an arm tied behind the back, a band around the eyes, etc- and they all still managed to dominate the first challenge which was racing across a three-stories-up tightrope maze complete with lasers.

Needless to say, Izuku has a field day watching these students, but he still enjoys the show that the first and second years put on, even if they aren’t as skilled. He always enjoys seeing new quirks in action, and likes to imagine what he himself could do with said quirks if one of them belonged to him.

Kacchan can remind him he’s quirkless on Monday. Until then, he can dream.

The first years, as always, start off the show. The announcer gives a grand welcome to the two hero classes, and a cursory introduction to the general, support, and management departments. Izuku pays close attention to the boy giving the opening note, who has a strange halo of light around him.

Is it energy being generated? Or does his presence bend light? Is the boy capable of illusions?

Inko pats Izuku’s arm, and he whips his head up from where he’s scrawling notes in his journal. “The first event is starting, sweetie,” Inko says, and points where the first years are being outfitted with a large bracelet each. “It’s a multi-game of tag. They have to stay within the boundaries of the arena, and not be one of the fifteen ones ‘it’ at the end of the fifteen minutes.”

Izuku blinks. “Are those… cannons along the edge of the ring?”

Yes. Yes they are.

The bracelets of the students keep track of those who are it- a green glow is free, while a red glow means you are it. The cannons keep things interesting, randomly firing netting, Styrofoam shells, and fog into the arena, but it’s the quirks themselves that steal the show for Izuku.

There, a boy who apparently can swap the position of two objects, just traded places with another student so that they would get shot by a cannon-

Oh! A girl with horns just set herself on fire, so cool-

AH! The boy who gave the opening speech can generate energy blasts!

Izuku’s fanboying is interrupted by a boy that blurs across the TV screen.

The newcomer hurls energy-blast boy outside of the ring,  dodges with slick precision as a boy with a red bracelet slingshots towards him, and squares off to face a projectile launched at him point blank by one of the cannons. The boy grins, and punches forward.

The projectile is hurled backwards by the sudden draft created by the boy’s fist.

So are seven other people.

Izuku is spellbound by the boy. His quirk, at least at this first glance, looks just like All Might’s. He even acts like the man. He smiles, and grins, and laughs. The bowl cut is a little offsetting, and his face is rather plain, but the sheer passion and strength in every single one of his movements shakes Izuku to the core.

This boy- only a first year- already feels like a hero to Izuku.

“W-well look what we have here, folks! Saito Ren of class 1-C BURSTS ahead with explosive power, literally knocking down the competition! The students of the hero courses better watch out for this general studies major!”

It’s an apt warning. What follows is a trio team event. The students have to link arms so that only the two on the outside have a free hand, and they have to work to capture flags from both a maze, and when encountered, other teams. Saito is the center man, and he literally carries his team. His teammates on his back reach a hand and numerous tentacles (a good quirk for the boy of Saito’s team to have considering he only has to lock off one arm) out as Saito whips them along, and they succeed in capturing over half the points. They probably could have gotten more if they hadn’t run out of time.

In the following tournament, Saito continues to shine. He’s not just strong. He has technique.  While in one battle he’s forced to slam a fist through upheaved rock, in the next he disables his bird boned competitor in three second flat with minimal force, not damaging her slight form at all. He already has mastered the superior strength he was gifted with, and Izuku wishes he could have been blessed like this boy.

In the very final battle, Saito grins, throws out a thumbs up to his opponent, and shouts out a happy Yosh! Then he curbs stomps the poor kid, and clean sweeps the competition.

On the podium, the announcer is head over heels with the dramatic turnaround. He shoves his mic into Saito’s beaming face.

“Congratulations on your impressive win, Saito! I’m sure you’ll be transferred to heroics in no time! Would you like to say any words?”

“Yosh! I Would, Most Youthful Sir!”

The boy snatches the mic into his hand, and turns to face the audience with a beaming grin. His bowl cut and teeth are practically shining, and he stands proudly in the spotlight that he has earned. “I Would Like To Thank My Parents, For Being So Youthful!, My Leg Warmers, For Keeping Me In Fighting Shape,” here, Saito lifts his pant leg, and also his leg, to reveal gaudy, bright orange and puffy leg warmers. The audience laughs at the perceived joke as Saito drops his pant leg and carries on.

“And Most Importantly, I’d Like To Thank Gai-Sensei, Who Isn’t Here Now, But Always Believed In Me! I Will Continue To Live A Youthful!  Life Here, And Do You Proud! YOSH!”

Izuku isn’t sure what happens next. The video doesn’t pick up anything odd, but the announcer and the two girls that got second and third place cringe away from Saito as he flashes a thumbs up. The announcer coughs into the mic he kept for himself. “Ah… It would appear your quirk has a secondary trait, this… ‘rainbow’.” The announcer shudders. “Ah. Well!” the announcer grins and leans in to take the mic from Saito, only a slight eye twitch hinting at his previous discomfort. “Neverless, with a wonderful quirk like yours, I think we can expect great things from you, Mr. Saito!”

Before the announcer can take the mic though, Saito tilts his head quizzically and utters the words that change Izuku’s world forever.

“Uh, Quirk?”

Saito blinks.

“Sorry, But I Am Quirkless.”

The announcer freezes.

The stadium freezes.

Izuku freezes.

Saito carries on, heedless of the way he just flipped reality on its head. He grins. “It Is Through The Power Of Hard Work And My Youthful! Spirit That I Succeeded!” Saito laughs. “You Do Not Need A Quirk To Be A Hero!”

Izuku’s eyes widen, and his mouth hangs open as the announcer finally breaks from his stupor to take Saito’s mic. He doesn’t notice the way the man spasms, or the sudden roar from the crowd.

All he focuses on is Saito’s smile.

A smile that, now, doesn’t feel or look like All Might’s.

It’s somethings new.

Something amazing.

Saito, after all… Is the first person to say the words that Izuku has always wanted to hear.

Saito Ren is proof that Izuku can be a hero.  

XXX

Four years later, All Might lunges from a sewer gate, prepared to save a boy being strangled by slime, only to find a green haired kid smiling as he punches his would be captor in the eye with an exuberant Yosh!

As the grate lid clatters to the ground, the kid spins around to face All Might, his hands dropping into readied fists. At the sight of the number one hero, his eyes widen, and his smile breaks momentarily with awe, but he regains his composure and gives a “Good Guy Pose” to All Might as he stands amidst the sludge of his moaning victim.

It would be more impressive, Yagi dazedly thinks, if the kid weren’t wearing bright orange leg warmers.

Chapter Text

It starts off as a normal Monday for Katsuki.

He gets up at the crack of dawn to jog around the neighborhood. The grubby cat by the park hisses at him like usual, and Katsuki snarls back. The parks a bit brisk, but a break in the trees to practice setting off controlled explosions soon warms him up. He even manages to topple one of the trees, sending it crashing in a glorious domino effect.

Progress, which was to be expected. He is going to be the number one pro hero.

After decimating the homes of numerous woodland critters, Katsuki returns home. He rounds the bend of his driveway, and does a couple walking lunges and arm stretches as he finishes off. He heads up to the door, and makes sure to stomp his dirty shoes off on the newspaper on the doorstep.

His dad, who’s stirring something in a pan on the stove with chopsticks when he walks into the kitchen, points at a smoothie on the table. As is usual, Katsuki disses the daily flavour- “fucking pomegranate”- but downs it anyways. His mother, having just walked into the kitchen from the front porch, rolls up the newspaper she retrieved and wacks Katsuki over the head with it.

“Would it kill you to not step on the newspaper for once?!” Mitsuki hisses as she sits down next to him, and shakes the newspaper in his face. “You got shit all over the front page! There might have been highlights from the UA sports festival!”

Oh right- that was this weekend. Katsuki forg- purposely ignored it because he was busy studying for his math test today. He doesn’t have time to sit around and watch wannabe heroes like Deku does. He’s only interested in people that can prove they’re strong, not some stupid, weak high schoolers.

Though when Katsuki’s at UA, he’ll be awesome and strong. Obviously.

“Like I care, hag- just read it in your stupid gossip columns. Surprised you haven’t already, it’s been two days.” Katsuki squints at her as he finishes off the final chug of his smoothie, and slams his cup back to the table. He sneers. “Then again, you’re so old and decrepit, makes sense that you’re falling behind the times.”

Mitsuki throws up her fist. “Listen here, you ungrateful brat-”

“Mitsuki,” Masaru gently chides without turning around.

“-I was up to my, quite frankly, fantastic tits with work-”

“Mitsuki.”

“So I didn’t have time to lollygag around ‘bout the latest boy wonder.” She squints right back at Katsuki. “And calling me behind the times? You didn’t keep posted either.”

Katsuki shrugs. “The extras at school will blab about it non-stop. Deku will have already written a fucking ten part essay on the latest quirks. It’d be stupid of me to waste my valuable time and effort.” Katsuki scrapes his chair back as he stands up. “Have fun being a bitch to interns, hag.”

“Wash out your foul mouth along with that greasy mug!” Mitsuki calls as Katsuki heads towards the bathroom.

A shower and a change of clothes later, and Katsuki’s off. His Monday is still normal.

At least until he gets to school.

Kids everywhere are fervently whispering to each other. A group of boys is glancing at Katsuki with wide eyes, but a glare sends their gazes right back down where they belong. A girl is so distracted, saying something about “vast potential hidden beneath a ridiculous haircut” that she walks into him in the hallway. She gives a muffled scream once Katsuki glares at her, but then she scurries back to her friend, and dives right back into her conversation, not even bothering to say sorry to Katsuki.

What the hell is wrong with everybody?

Katsuki takes his seat, and resolves to not ask why everybody is acting strange- it’d make him seem out of the loop. He should have checked his computer this morning for highlights on the news, but he hadn’t thought it important at the time. Katsuki doesn’t regret his actions, ever, but the side looks he’s getting now make him uncomfortably suspicious. Glaring them down isn’t even helping that much anymore.

Katsuki would never admit it, but he’s relieved when a familiar mop of green hair clears the doorway, the boy beneath said curls busy furiously scribbling in a note book Katsuki knows he didn’t have Friday. The moron’s already written more than halfway through it.

“Deku!” Katsuki calls. The class instantly goes quiet.

Said boy flinches, as per usual, and flicks his gaze up from his notebook. He cautiously puts his bag on his chair, which is two rows across and down from Katsuki’s. “W-what is it Kacchan?” His hand spasms around his notebook, like he’s itching to keep writing in it.

God, Deku’s voice is as grating as ever, but at least he seems normal. He’s always super obsessed with his notes after the sports festival, even more than his usual daily obsession. Loser doesn’t know that Katsuki knows exactly what dumb thoughts are running through the hamster wheel of his head.

Deku’s probably fantasized about having a quirk like one of the competitor’s. Katuski will have to beat reality into his thick skull again. The truth will stick eventually.

The only reason he’s deigning to talk to Deku now is because even if the guy’s a hopeless loser, he’s brimming with information about anything hero related. Katsuki won’t even have to ask Deku if something weird happened at the sports festival. If he brings it up, Deku’s sure to go on a rant about it.

Katsuki sneers. “Still writing your dumb ‘hero analysis?” Katsuki rolls his eyes. “Just because you watch the sports festival and drool at all the quirks doesn’t mean you’re going to get one. Stop fantasizing moron- quirkless losers can’t be heroes.”

There are two usual responses to this kind of jab. Sometimes, Izuku will just bow his head and take it, eyes getting all steamy and his lips quivering and shit, while others times, he’ll stutter denials that sound like cries for help. It’s a fifty-fifty split either way, and even if he diverges from the norm, it’ll probably clear up what the hell went down this weekend to make everyone act weird.

And Izuku does diverge from the norm. He tenses, but then his spine straightens. He still looks like a brisk wind could knock him over, but he’s actually looking Katsuki in the eye. His gaze even narrows!

“No, Kacchan. The sports f-festival this weekend proved that… that you’re wrong!” Izuku’s free fist clenches, and his eyes shine. “With the power of, of ‘youth’, even a quirkless person can be strong- can be a hero!”

Katsuki immediately laughs. He snorts, and cackles, and only stops once he realizes no one else in the class is laughing with him. He glances around at the extras in the room. Some of them are looking down at their desks with their shoulders hunched. Others are bunched together in little groups, eyes flickering between Izuku and Katsuki. And a couple of them… are nodding at Deku, like they agree with him!

What the hell happened?!

Before Katsuki can tell Deku that he’s about as impressive as a piece of broccoli, the worst kind of vegetable that will never be liked or a hero, the bell rings. Standing students hurry to their desks to escape the tension, and the teacher finally enters the classroom with a brisk stride.

She’s usually pretty easy going, and not like their last teacher who always got ‘concerned’ when Deku got a bit scuffed up. She gets how things are. Today though, there’s definite tension to her face. She snaps right into their Japanese history lesson, and glares at anyone whispering.

Katsuki knows when to pick his battles. He’ll corner Deku later.

XXX

They finish their math test before lunch. Katsuki knows he nailed it, unlike everyone else who was caught up with the sports festival, but it’s mostly token comfort. No one cares about the math test. They all just break away, back into their whispering groups- groups that Katsuki now notice glance at Izuku in consideration.

Katsuki shelves his plan to berate Izuku for information (for now). There’s too many eyes watching with strange gazes, and honestly, he’s hungry. The day Deku takes precedence over Katsuki’s appetite is the day the nerd wins.

“Can you believe that sports festival?” extra number one hisses to Katsuki. His fingers grow and ungrow as his brow tenses. “Some first year loser, saying that? It’s gotta be a lie.”

Katsuki grunts, and takes another bite of his bento.

Extra number two nods, and lowers his spoon back into his steaming thermos. “Yeah, there’s no way the guy that clean-sweeped the first years from gen ed was quirkless-”

“WHAT?!”

Extras one and two flinch, cringing away as some rice spews from Katsuki’s mouth. “Ah, you know? The bowl cut kid that kept screaming about youth?”

Youth… like Deku said? What the hell…

Extra number two nods his head, and warily looks at Katsuki. “Yeah- and don’t forget those leg warmers.”

“Couldn’t if I tried,” number one dryly says.

“But still!” number two continues, “There’s no way he’s quirkless, not with a punch like All Might’s!”

“Give me your phone,” Katsuki hisses, and internally curses his mother for mandating that he won’t get one till he hits junior high. Long fingers tentatively extend towards Katsuki, who wrenches the phone from said grip. Searching this year’s UA sports festival instantly pops up with multiple videos, nearly all from the first years’ event, which is odd considering the final event held for the third years is usually the most popular.

The only highlights Katsuki usually watches are from theirs. Last year, a kid with the ability to generate torque spun the entire stage, ripping his competitors off with centripetal force.

That’s not the kind of video most popular this time. The titular character now is some dork with a shining bowl cut that gives Deku a run for his money in general blandness considering they both have a plain face. Though, bowl cut’s eye brows are a bit thick for a kid.  

He clicks on the first video. It’s a montage of the kid decimating the competition, by hurling kids outside of the ring of the first task, easily carrying his teammates in the second, and clean-sweeping his fights in the third. Katsuki grudgingly admits that the kid isn’t bad. He’s precise, and powerful, and confident- all things that Katsuki can distantly respect. Its bowl cut’s final speech that ruins it.

“I Am Quirkless!”

Quirkless!

Quirkless!

Quirklessquirklessquirklessquirkle-

“Ah, B-Bakugou? C-can I have my phone back?”

Katsuki drops the smoking piece of metal, and screeches his chair back as he stands. He ignores the extras calling behind him.

He’s going to figure out this ridiculous lie.

XXX

Katsuki has two options. He can either research the hell out of this ‘quirkless wonder’ himself, or ask Deku about him. That nerd, based on his journal, probably stalked the hell out of the first year high school student already. Which makes sense, if bowl cut really is…

Stupid! There’s no way a quirkless kid won the sports festival!

Either way, both options suck. Katsuki doesn’t want to waste time trolling blindly through the internet on the now trending first year, and asking Deku for help is sacrilege.

So obviously, he just nicks the wimp’s journal.

It’s easy. Katsuki bides his time while he waits for lunch to end. Then, he times his arrival into the classroom to be after Deku’s. The green haired leech has stuffed his book into the side pouch of his bag, and Katsuki purposely shoves into his desk as he walks by. No one questions that, or when Katsuki slams his hands on Deku’s desk and says “watch it!” They also don’t notice him knocking the book out of Deku’s bag and kicking it precisely underneath his own desk.

As he heads back to his seat, the only thing odd is how some students are looking at Katsuki. Not with fear, but something… else. Something obstinate, and angry.

This quirkless rumour better blow over fast.

XXX

Katsuki, for once, doesn’t stick around to taunt Deku, or even call him out on his behaviour earlier. He ignores the boy that’s frantically searching through his bag as the final bell rings, and quic- leisurely exits the class without a care.

He runs on his way home to work on his cardio, obviously.

Katsuki rushes into his house, and takes the steps two at a time to reach his room. His blazer is carelessly  discarded on his bed, and he plants himself at his desk in front of his computer, panting with exertion. Then, he reaches into his bag, and pulls out the journal.

The title reads, “Analysis of Saito Ren- Volume One.”

God, Deku is planning multiple volumes. The nerd is kind of a creep.

After reading only the first three pages, Katsuki takes that back. Deku is definitely a Grade A stalker.

Name, physical characteristics, relatives, old schools, previous marks, accomplishments, blood type, associates, friends, and social security number- all that and more, Deku somehow managed to find.

Bowl cut kid is apparently fourteen years old. His mom works as a secretary for his small hometown’s municipal office (quirk: perfect pitch) while his dad is an accountant (quirk: quirkless). He’s got an older brother that’s already graduated, and working overseas as a peacekeeper in some of the European countries still ravaged by the quirk wars (Quirk: perfect pitch).  He’s born in some middle of nowhere farming community south of Musutafu, and currently lives in one of the shared houses that UA helps arrange for students from out of town.

Bowl cut also has a, quite frankly, ridiculous string of wins in karate, tae kwon do… you name it, he’s won it. There’s a photo on his mom’s Facebook page of him, his parents, and his brother holding up all his champion belts from his last season before he hit high school. They’re high school medals though, because he apparently competed against high schoolers when he was in junior high.

There’s also his community service record, which is off the charts. It’s unclear whether it was the older brother, the parents, or bowl cut himself who inspired the movement, but the whole family are ridiculous do-gooders, helping out at every bake sale, fundraiser, charity run, or soup kitchen. It’s nauseating to read about the famed “Saito family goodness”.

Deku’s notes get a little wonky where he apparently made forays to track down bowl cut’s social media presence. He appears in his family’s photos, but searching up his name reveals only a host of other men and women.

From Deku’s notes, he apparently tracked down bowl cut’s accounts through his best friend. She’s in most of the photos with bowl cut that the mom took for her own facebook account, and glancing at “Kamori Shiori”’s traceable associates reveals an easier to search amount- probably because most people don’t want to be friends with someone who’s a glorified mass of seething darkness and lighting.

Tagged in most of her pictures with his signature bowl cut is Saito, but now under the name “Rock Lee.” Why the name change?

Searching up Rock Lee on various social media platforms, with the help of Deku’s journal, reveals abundantly more information than Katsuki ever needed to know. Who thought it was a good idea to give this moron a green spandex suit and orange leg warmers!?

Clad nearly always in this get up, the teen’s Instagram is a mash of work out videos and horribly taken selfies of him and his amorphous-darkness best friend. He has a ridiculous smile in every single one of them.

The work out videos (and tutorials- apparently, “Lee” believes in “spreading the youth”) are, quite frankly, insane. There are videos of him dragging his parents truck as a weight set, and of him walking around his town on his hands, cheerily crying out “lap twenty-three!” to the cameraman.

Deku made note of these exercises, all of Saito’s tips and tricks to ‘being youthful’. The nerd even started a rudimentary schedule to practice the manoeuvers and workouts, some of which he apparently did on Sunday and had planned for today.

It’ nauseating to think of Deku trying to live up this kind of extreme bodybuilding, but Katsuki has something better to distract himself with, contained still on Lee’s instragram.

His fights.

…They’re actually pretty cool, especially the one where Lee flips over a guy with a rhino quirk nearly five times his size over his head with hardly a sweat.

This guy could actually be… alright, in Katsuki’s books, if he didn’t train in that ridiculous get up.

Also, there’s all his terrible challenge videos where he and his nightmare friend play with bunnies, jump off nearby cliffs, challenge a bear for a fucking berry bush, and sample extremely spicy food that has Katsuki salivating. It’s a little off putting to see the way the girls food is just ‘vibrated’ off her plate, but still- at least Lee has good taste.

And all throughout these videos… Katsuki doesn’t see signs of a quirk.

Sure, Lee is ridiculously strong, but his training montage videos and updates show what is apparently insane workouts to get there, with frequent shout-outs to someone named “Gai-sensei”, who Deku himself underlined three times, bolded, and surrounded with question marks in his notebook.

In addition, in response to the social media attacks of other naysayers, Lee’s mother put up a post just this morning that features a collage of Lee’s original quirk tests.  Once he hit age six, they were… quite intensive. The toe joint test, the blood test, the particle reactivity test; hell, they even brought in a quirk nullifier from Tokyo to analyse him.  Apparently, people always assumed he had to have a quirk to be as strong as he was.

But it’s as Lee’s bio phrase says:

“The wisest man I’ve ever met once said, “You have the power to shape your own destiny.”

So do not turn back, do not give up; let your youth explode! A hero is not the one who never falls. He is the one who gets up, again and again, never losing sight of his dreams.”

Underneath that is a gif of a sunset. It kind of ruins the vibe, but it still matches with everything Katsuki has learned about Lee so far. Katsuki finally accepts that Lee is quirkless. He can read between the lines, what with the guy basically telling the world to fuck off because he can do whatever the hell he wants with hard work.

Deku, in particular, seems to have gone ape-shit over this bio quote. He rewrote it in his notebook, and circled it with enough force to nearly stab through the paper.

It pisses Katsuki off. This Lee guy is still kind of a loser, but Katsuki can… grudgingly, admit that he’s strong, and has worked his ass off to achieve his goals. He’s an outlier.

Deku though is probably gonna run with this. He’s going to think that just because some freak figured out how to hack the laws of reality, that he will too. He still thinks he’s above Katsuki, that he can be a hero (be like Lee). Jokes on him. Deku is just a dime-a-dozen quirkless loser getting too big for his britches.

And it’s up to Katsuki to burst his over inflated ego.

Katsuki leans back in his chair, and glares at the silver age poster of All Might he has plastered to the wall in front of him. It’s tough doing the heroic thing of shutting down Deku’s pointless dreams…

Actually, nah, that’s easy- it’s just annoying that Deku keeps getting up.

Katsuki glances at Lee’s bio again, still open on his desktop, and clenches his jaw. It’s going to be even more frustrating to deal with Deku after he’s bought into this happy go lucky crap.

No one is created equal, after all.

It’s better to crush Deku now before the moron accidently kills himself.

XXX

The next day at school, Katsuki cuts straight to business before the bell that begins class has the chance to ring. He holds Izuku’s new journal, “Analysis of Saito Ren- Volume One” in front of the nerds face while he looms over his desk. Deku’s eyes widen. “It was you-”

Katsuki combusts the book in his hands. The explosion cuts Deku off, and traces of smoke swirl up from the battered cover as tears well in Deku’s eyes.

Everyone in the room is silent, waiting for Katsuki to finally return their classroom to the status quo. The real world where quirkless losers can’t be heroes, and ridiculous bowl cut people in bright green spandex, no matter how strong, are just anomalies to the natural order of things.

Katsuki sneers. “Stop pretending you’ll ever be a hero! You’re just a weak, worthless piece of shit!” He throws the book on Izuku’s desk. Then, he lifts his gaze to look around the room at his trembling classmates. “And if any of you actually believe that Deku can use some ‘power of youth’ to succeed, and be like Saito Ren, then you’re the biggest bunch of morons I’ve ever met!”

The sudden screech of a chair dragging backwards draws Katsuki’s gaze back to Deku. The green hair boy is standing behind his desk. His shoulders are shaking, and snotty tears are dribbling down his face. Katsuki smiles at the sight. “At it again, crybaby? Just give up then, and realize that you’ll never be a hero-”

Deku’s eyes flash, and suddenly, his fist snaps out-

Directly into Katsuki’s nose.

The pain is explosive. It’s fiery and seeping into his skull, reverberating through his bones-

Explosive!

Reflexively, Katsuki fires off explosions in his hands, slinging them towards Deku’s desk. But the green haired boy isn’t there anymore. He’s come around his desk to stand in front of Katsuki, and his eyes are narrowed despite still being wet from tears.

He looks determined.

Katsuki pauses slightly at the startling sight, and he doesn’t react immediately when Deku takes a breath and snaps out his hand again to grab Katsuki’s forearm. He flails at the sudden grip, but then Deku is muttering under his breath, “pivot on left heel, twist arm behind back, use momentum-”

And Katuski is hurled over Deku’s back to the ground.

The workout and training videos, a distant part of Katsuki’s mind supplies.

Deku is still muttering, but louder now.

“A hero is not the one who never falls. He is the one who gets up, again and again, never losing sight of his dreams!” Deku stands tall as Katsuki scrambles to his feet. His hands clench at his sides, and Katsuki wouldn’t be surprised if the whole school didn’t hear his next, louder declaration.

“You do not need a quirk to be a hero!”

“Shut up!” Katsuki snarls. He tackles Deku at the midsection, and despite the green haired boy’s fancy moves before, he’s still just a scrawny nobody that hasn’t trained to be a hero like Katsuki has. They both crash to the floor, and then it’s a free for all. They’re rolling into desks, into students feet when they aren’t fast enough to get out of the way.

Katsuki is vicious, and he knows it. He sparks his hands where they’re gripped around Deku’s shoulders, and manages to wail two solid punches into Deku’s face.

How does it feel, fucker, Katsuki thinks, and ignores the snapping pain lingering in his nose, the way Deku claws at his arms. How does it feel to be weak-

“WHAT IS GOING ON IN HERE?!”

It’s probably a shocking sight for the teacher. Seven desks, overturned and spilling pencils and books across the floor. Katsuki, gripping Deku in a headlock on the floor, while Deku’s nails track red marks into Katsuki’s arms. Both frozen, staring with wide eyes at the ‘intruder’. And the other students, circled around and avidly watching what looks like a dog fight.

A boy with a collar of spikes hurriedly stuffs away the pad of paper he had been writing bets on as the teaches stands gaping at the door.

“This, this- GET UP OFF THE FLOOR AND EXPLAIN YOURSELVES!”

Katsuki snarls, and shoves Deku to the ground as he stands. The green haired boy whimpers, but soon gets up as well. The fucker always get up.

“It, it was Midoriya, ma’am!” Extra number one cries from somewhere behind Katsuki.

Extra number two is bobbing his head in the corner of Katsuki’s vision. “Yeah, he clocked Bakugou in the face, and the next thing we knew, they were rolling on the floor, beating the shit out of each other!”

A blue haired girl pressed against the window mutters, “If you can call a one-sided brawl ‘beating the shit out of each other’.” Her friend elbows her in the side, and now aware of her verbal lapse, the girl squeaks and ducks down her head.

The teacher gives a long sigh. Then, she raises her hand, finger trained on Deku. “Mr. Midoriya, to the principal’s office. I don’t have time to side track the entire day dealing with your issues.”

It’s a common occurrence, Deku taking the fall, but this time, he doesn’t go quietly. Not that Deku himself puts up a fight- it’s the other students, for once, who carry the cry.

“Midoriya was totally instigated by Bakugou-”

“-blew it up, right in front of his desk-”

“-Ren, cause Bakugou can’t handle competition-”

“QUIET! All of you,” the teacher says, accompanied by Katsuki’s own growl. She points again at Deku. “Office, now.”

Deku bows his head for a moment, once again the loser, put in his place, and chided by the teacher, no less. Katsuki smirks. He watches and waits to see the expression of defeat on Deku’s face as the boy raises his head-

Katsuki freezes.

Because Deku…

Deku is smiling.

It’s not a quiet smile, or a slight quirk of the lips, either. It’s a full blown grin that shows off his teeth to the world, even allowing the casual eye to catch a glimpse where he recently lost a molar (which honestly might be on the ground, considering the bit of blood leaking past the boy’s lips).

It’s the kind of grin that strikes fear into Katsuki’s heart, because he knows exactly what it is.

It’s the grin of someone who has won.

Deku keeps smiling all the way out the classroom, his hands clenched by his sides. He doesn’t look at the teacher or anyone else in the class. He’s lost to his own little world, the false world where quirkless losers can be heroes.

That smile scares Katsuki, because he’s seen it before, plastered across the recent news. It’s the smile of someone who doesn’t give up- refuses to give up. And if Deku’s is wearing Rock Lee’s smile…

Then that means Katsuki will never be able to convince Deku that being a hero is a pipe dream.

It means that Deku has won-

And Katsuki has lost.

Katsuki’s hands clench as Deku’s back disappears outside the doorway. The loser better not think this means he can look down on Katsuki. Because Katsuki will win next time. He will challenge Deku every step of the way, and come out on top in the end.

Because now…

Deku is his rival.

XXX

Rivals are odd.

Not the concept itself- competition has always existed as a form to promote development, and a one versus one setting is common enough. But rivals… means more than that. It means centering your development around one person. Using your rival as a measuring stick for success. Rivals push each other forwards. They help each other grow, intentionally or not, and elevate each other to new heights. It is an equal, competitive, give and take relationship.

…Theoretically.

In practice, one needs only look at the greatest examples of rivalry from Lee’s previous home, a world and a half away.

Naruto and Sasuke.

Lee and Neji.

Gai and Kakashi.

One, chasing endlessly after their self-proclaimed rival, striving to win, burning with explosive passion…

While the other doesn’t give two shits cause they’re caught up with other things.

It’s an important distinction. A pattern, even.

And so, though there are, and will soon be, many parallels between Izuku and the green predecessors that he wishes to emulate, it is here that he breaks the trend, and instead follows a different legacy.

Katsuki, after all, is the one who declared Izuku his rival first.

Chapter Text

By the time Izuku was eleven, he had concocted a forty-seven step plan to success.

It featured, of course, copious workouts. Two years into said plan, Izuku gets up at five everyday (‘A true hero always rises early to greet the sun!’) and starts the day with a jog. Though jog is a bit of misnomer, considering he currently sprints ten miles every morning at a heart attack inducing pace. His forty-seven step plan details twenty mile jogs by the end of the year.

After panting his way back up his steps, Izuku rearranges the furniture. He heaves the couch to and fro, carefully lifting so he doesn’t scuff the floor in any way. Otherwise, his weight set will be nailed to the floor and his mom will make Youth a swear word for the swear jar again.

Izuku lost all eighty five dollars of his savings the last time she did that.

His day continues with a mountain of breakfast, a weary sigh from his mother- always followed by a smile though- and continues on with his bouncing step to school.

School is where the forty-seven step plan gets a little tricky to follow.

According to Izuku’s new bible (Lee’s Instagram and motivational workout tips) fighting without a cause or direct permission is unforgiveable. Lee details in his holy works that organized fighting championships and defences of the public are fine, but Izuku knows that a school yard brawl is the last thing his favourite hero (in training) would condone.

Kacchan, however, makes this self-made rule hard to follow.

Said blond, ever since the day where Izuku first stood and declared his promise of Youth to the world, has made it his mission to challenge Izuku at every turn. He frequently sits next to Izuku for the shear purpose of growling at him and telling him that he’ll defeat him. He makes sure he’s always on opposing teams from Izuku in gym. He picks up school yard brawls, and corners Izuku immediately upon leaving school. Even the cafeteria isn’t safe. Kacchan once jumped on top of Izuku’s lonesome table, and challenged Izuku to an arm wrestling competition while his foot was in Izuku’s soup.

Izuku has learned the mysterious ways of following Lee’s code though. It was difficult, at first. Kacchan’s attention is the most flattering thing Izuku has ever experienced, and the boy is a good fighter. Scuffing against him would surely train Izuku to fight better, and rekindle the bonds of friendship between them…

But alas, following Saito Ren’s code of conduct takes precedence.

He can’t be the second quirkless hero if he keeps messing around challenging a childhood ‘rival’ after all.

So Izuku has learned the tips and tricks of the tried and true trade of ignoring loud explosive idiots demanding attentions from the boy they love- er, the rival they aspire to defeat. Izuku pretends he can’t hear Kacchan. Blinking up at the boy and saying, “Mah, did you say something Kacchan?” is always sure to send said boy into a tizzy that gets him off track of his original challenge. He has learned the fatal art of the ‘nonresponse’. Choking down even his mutterings in Kacchan’s presence has become second nature, to ensure the boy is less likely to notice and attack him.

It’s a work in progress, but step eight- ‘No idealized rivalships’- is surely more important to becoming a hero for all of society than just focusing on one explosive blond.

Izuku hasn’t actually met Lee (yet), but he’s sure that this is what the quirkless hero (in training) would approve of. A guy that focuses so much on body positivity and self-growth probability wouldn’t condone some senseless fight club relationship with a guy he should instead ‘form bonds of youthful friendship with’.

That has to wait until Kacchan stops spontaneously ambushing him, though, which will hopefully be soon. (Izuku isn’t holding his breath though. Kaachan is persistent. I’ts already been years.)

And so Izuku’s life has continued for the two and a half years since that fateful sports festival. In accordance with step twelve- ‘Gain combat experience’- Izuku has joined a local hero preparatory fighting club. They don’t teach a specific fighting style, as the class is structured to aid hero hopefuls, but they do still hold tournaments with regulated rules.

Izuku used to kiss the mat after every spar. He was small, weak, and quirkless. They almost didn’t even let him join the club- he only got in because the ‘quirked or no entry’ policy was relaxed after the riots.

Now, Izuku wins four matches out of five, and is slotted by his sensei to likely win the upcoming Juniors tournament in Tokyo.

It’s exciting, and wonderful to see tangible improvement in his skill. But Izuku is even more excited for the steps to come. Number twenty nine- apply to UA. Number thirty- get into UA. Number thirty six- work at Fatgum’s agency, to follow in the fan-called ‘Green Beast’s’ internship footsteps. And in the far, far future, Number forty seven… Meet Saito Ren, otherwise known by his hero name, ‘Rock Lee’, and thank him for saving his dreams of being a hero.

Just thinking about the steps gets Izuku excited. He has another year and a bit before he becomes a student at UA (‘becomes’, because ifs are ‘unyouthful’), but he’s already keening at the chance to fully embrace his future as one of the next quirkless heroes.

Because, in half a year, there will finally be a quirkless hero to start the trend.

Rock Lee graduates in less than three months.

Izuku internally squeals as he turns a bend, his thoughts racing as he continues his jog. Rock Lee graduates soon, and will become a full-fledged sidekick. And once he’s a sidekick…

His merchandise will come out.

Izuku pauses in his run, and fist pumps the air. Then he continues on without further pause.

Eventually, Izuku comes to the beach where, lately, he’s been working on his strength training. It’s been slow going because Izuku was so weak at first, and he was busy with his other extracurricular activities, such as helping at the local soup kitchen, but progress has been made. More than a third of the beach has been cleared of debris, and as Izuku grows stronger and stronger, pushing past the foolish limits the world enforces, his work speed increases.

Izuku rushes to the duffel bag he left under a wood pallet lined with a tarp, and he pulls out the straps and wraps his mom made him buy so that he would haul the garbage safely, without accidently wrecking his back.

He sets his sights on a nearby tire. He breathes in, and then out. And with mind enforced strength, he begins to pull the tire he has outfitted with straps- all the way to the actual dump.

It would have been easier with a truck to do the hauling down the road, but Izuku has always looked on the bright side- it just means more training. And so what if people used to give him looks when he was young and scrawny and weak, struggling to carry garbage down the unkempt road? True heroes push on relentlessly despite any outside naysayers. The old granny who used to give him the stink eye when he started even smiles at him now.

All while hauling the tire, Izuku continues to lightly jog. He ignores the graffiti lining the alleyway, the titles that state ‘quirkless = worthless’, ‘Saito sucks’, and ‘Grow a toe joint’. Those older spray painted words have been overwritten, after all.

‘Quirkless Revolution’ is written overtop in massive, beautiful letters. The logo of the recent internet group growing in strength, a hand raised in a profound ‘good guy thumbs up’, paints the wall as well.

It incites in Izuku more strength to carry on. He’s part of that group, and proud to be.

You don’t need a quirk to be a hero.

You don’t even need a quirk to simply matter.

Youth, Izuku thinks to himself, and he also mutters, describing and visualizing in his head all the fighting tactics he’s been learning.

Youth, he continues to think, and he focuses on the news article from so long ago proclaiming Saito’s move to the hero course- the first quirkless hero course student in history.

“Youth”, Izuku says aloud. He doesn’t think about the weight of the tire behind him as he pulls it the remaining kilometer.

Izuku instead thinks about the distant day where he will carry out step forty-seven, and smile at Saito Ren while giving him a thumbs up.

In three months, Saito will become the first quirkless hero.

In reality, he has already been Izuku’s hero since the moment he said the words Izuku always wanted, always needed, to hear.

“How Youthful!” A voice suddenly interrupts.

Izuku nearly trips on the loose gravel, but he regains his footing, and slows to a stop as the tire loses momentum and halts behind him. No one in this area ever stops Izuku- they know that he’s training hard, and they understand how focused he is. So who…

Izuku turns around.

And promptly chokes.

“You- you- S-s-s-Saito REN?”

Saito Ren smiles, two feet from Izuku. He takes another step closer (a step that makes Izuku’s stomach lurch while his eyes attempt to bug out of his head) and tilts his head down so that he’s only slightly looming above Izuku. The older boy’s wide, dark eyes are peering into Izuku’s own. They’re intense, inescapable, and it’s all mildly comical because Saito’s eyebrows are even bushier in person, and what kind of hair product does the boy use to make his bowl cut that shiny, and-

And then Saito smiles.

“Yes! It is I, the Green Beast, Rock Lee!” Saito point a finger directly in Izuku’s face, and Izuku’s eyes cross to track the appendage. “And YOU! You are the one I’ve been hearing about! The helpful green one!”

“My name is Midoyriya Izuku, I’m your biggest fan ,” Izuku tries to say. What really comes out is a strangled sounding “Mame’riyaku, erBIGFAN.”  Izuku internally dies afterwards.

Saito is apparently unaware of Izuku’s soul trying to escape his body, because he just jovially laughs and steps towards the tire. “Please! Let me help you drop this off- I wish to speak with you, and see for myself if all the rumours are true!”

Izuku dazedly comes across from Saito, abandoning the tire's straps, so that they can both haul up either end of the tire. It’s like lifting a feather, because Saito is easily carrying all the weight himself.

Rumours? Izuku distantly thinks. He can’t comprehend much of what’s going on, beyond him and Saito rushing to the dump, dropping of the tire, and then suddenly returning to the beach.

Saito takes in the beach with a beaming grin, and he nods as he observes the (miniscule, absolutely miniscule, Izuku panics) work he has accomplished to clean the beach so far.

Tears prick at the corner of Saito’s eyes as he turns towards Izuku again. “T-this is incredible! The things I heard during my recent internship were true!” Heard? What did he hear, Izuku thinks. Saito’s recent internship was with the pro-hero Nighteye, wasn’t it? That’s nowhere close, so how…

Saito carries on regardless. He enters Izuku’s space again, and clasps his hands on Izuku’s shoulders, heedless of Izuku’s sudden squeak. Saito sniffles. “This must have been how Gai-sensei felt, when he found me training,” he whispers. Saito bows his head for a moment, before raising his head again. His fervent eyes lock with Izuku’s. “Please let me train you!”

Izuku freezes.

“…much experience teaching…”

What did Saito just say?

“…ai-sensei, but that was years ago. I’ve always wanted my own disciple…”

He couldn’t have, could he?

‘’…only after I rejected Nighteye’s proposal that I realized I must spread Youthful teachings instead…”

He just asked Izuku to be his, his-

“…Others have caught my eye, but none so green with life as…”

His student. His student? Izuku always dreamed of asking Saito to mentor him! Not the other way around!

“…Neji, and I have no true rival beyond societal expectations this time around, but I swear I am strong enough to teach…”

Holy shit Saito Ren just offered to teach him.

“…please accept my humble offer-”

“YES!”

Saito pauses. “Yes?” he asks. His eyes widen. “You want me to teach y-”

“YES!”

Saito trembles. “My own student… Gai-sensei, I will teach this boy all I know. What’s your name?”

“MIDORIYA IZUKU!”

Tears well in Saito’s eyes. “Izuku!” he exclaims, and his hands clench at Izuku shoulders.

He stares imploringly at Izuku. Deep within Izuku, some sluggish animal instinct, possibly fueled by youth, or whatever mind trip is making him currently hallucinate the sunset around them, makes him say, “Saito, um, well… Lee-sensei?”

Saito spasms. “IZUKU!”

W-well then, “LEE-SENSEI!”

“IZUKU!”

“LEE-SENSEI!”

And there, on the beach, Izuku can only distantly think as his hero hugs him, so much for the forty-seven step plan.

XXX

Yagi suddenly coughs on a mouthful of blood, which instantly has Tsukauchi on alert. “Toshinori, what’s wrong?” he hurriedly asks. “I thought you actually stayed within your time limit today. Did you get injured?”

Yagi waves away his friends concerns, though he does pause to take the proffered tissue. He wipes away the blood dribbling from his mouth, before frowning from his seat in Tsukauchi’s office.

“I-I don’t know. I just, suddenly, felt a great sense of loss. Like I had missed out on something important, something spectacular…”

Tsukauchi hums. “Maybe this has something to do with Nighteye suddenly canceling that meeting he had planned with you.”

All Might shrugs. “I don’t know. Nighteye withdrawing a possible successor hasn’t dwelled too much on my mind- it never felt earth shattering. This, though- this felt…”

Yagi pulls at the lose cloth of his hero costume around his chest. “This felt painful. This felt like a loss.”

Tsukauchi watches his friend another moment, before sighing.  

“Yagi, did you try to eat fried chicken again without pureeing it?”

Yagi freezes.

Tsukauchi narrows his eyes. “Yagi, you know you have to take care with your stomach!”

“It’s absolutely disgusting, an affront to fried foods everywhere,” Yagi grumbles.

“Which isn’t an excuse! So help me, I will hunt you down with a blender in hand and force feed you smoothies.”

“Look at the time! I should get back to my hero-shift.”

“TOSHINORI YOU SIT YOUR ASS BACK DOWN THIS INSTANT-”

As All Might departs (breaks a window to escape) Tsukauchi’s office, their conversation is left behind.

It dwells on All Might’s mind for a while, but is forgotten the next time he chokes on his own blood. Who believes in weird premonitions anyways, right? It probably didn’t matter that much.

…Right?

XXX

“And here!” Lee-sensei exclaims, “Is your green spandex, along with…”

Izuku trembles with anticipation.

“…Your LEG WARMERS!”

Izuku’s eyes gleam.

(Elsewhere, Bakugo Katsuki and All Might pause, and cringe for no apparent reason.)