Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It is common knowledge that every child looks forward to their fourth birthday, as that is when they can expect their quirk to manifest. For some it happens right away, several have theirs earlier, others take a little longer after that special date has passed. But for the most part, it happens right around the child turns four.

Usually, the child’s quirk takes from their parents’ quirks. Sometimes, it is a direct inheritance of either one of the parent’s quirk, or a combination of both in some form. Other times, the child develops an entirely different quirk – a mutation – manifests, often with no connection to the parents.

Of course, there is also that small chance that the child doesn’t manifest a quirk. And that was a can of worms that most parents didn’t want to open if they could.

But for a certain green-haired aspiring hero, that is a path he never had to take. For he had a quirk.

Midoriya manifested his quirk just before his fourth birthday.

He woke up to a sharp pain, searing through his upper back. It hurt so much, the waterworks in his eyes almost went full-strength ahead.

Crawling out of bed gingerly so as to not aggravate whatever that was causing such agony, Midoriya toddled out of his room, trying his hardest not to let the pain demolish the levies in his eyes. It took him a while, fighting against the pain, to reach the kitchen where his mother, Inko, was just starting breakfast.

“M-Mommy...”

Inko turned around, and started when she noticed her son close to tears, “Izuku, honey, what’s wrong?”

“My back…it hurts. It hurts so much, Mommy…”

Turning off the stove, Inko crouched down to her son’s level, “Alright, let’s see what’s causing the pain, shall we? Turn around, Izuku.”

Nodding shakily, the young child turned away from his mother. Inko lifted up his shirt, and gasped.

“W-What is it, Mommy?”

“Izuku, you have wings!”

All traces of pain and tears disappeared instantly, “W-Wings? Mommy, do you think…?”

“I think it’s your quirk!”

Breakfast completely forgotten, both mother and son rushed to the car and sped towards the nearest hospital. Never mind the fact that Inko drove at speeds that broke basic traffic laws and near close-calls with other vehicles and pedestrians, for her son had a quirk!

Midoriya completely forgot about the pain he was in, his excitement bubbling over like boiling water in a full pot as they waited to see a quirk specialist.

Finally, it was their turn.

The specialist was, naturally, surprised to hear about Midoriya’s wings, given his family’s quirk lineage. But several tests and x-rays later, he could definitively confirm that the wings were real and had become a part of the boy’s anatomy.

Midoriya was in complete awe, eyeing the the x-rays of his wing bones and the photographs of the feathers with rapt attention. The feathers were short, roundish, and snow-white in colour. His mind wandered to what they’ll become as he gets older, and his wings become bigger.

To the side, the specialist was also talking about what was to come.

“Midoriya-san, your son is incredibly lucky. With such a versatile quirk, many doors are open to him. I can say with great certainty that he has a bright future ahead of him.”

The boy turned back to the adults, “Does that mean that I can become a hero, like All Might?”

The specialist chuckled, “You got an amazing quirk, lad. I can see you become a great hero one day.”

Stars sprung in Midoriya’s emerald-green eyes, “Mommy! Did you hear? Doctor-san said I can become a hero! Like All Might!”

Inko was close to tears from all the wondrous news that came this morning, “I know, Izuku, and I’m really happy for you.” Mother and son shared a joyous hug, “Come, we should thank the good doctor for his time.”

They bade the specialist goodbye, and departed the hospital for the quirk registry office downtown.

“Kacchan is going to be so excited when I show him my quirk!”

“I know he will be, Izuku,” Inko smiled from the wheel, “You two have always been so excited about your quirks.”

Indeed, when Midoriya returned to day-care the next day, he was a celebrity. All of the children in his class crowded him, wanting to see his new quirk. Questions were asked, requests to touch the feathers were refused as they were still a little tender from the sudden growth.

Nonetheless, Midoriya was exhilarated. Especially when his childhood friend, Bakugou “Kacchan” Katsuki, remarked, “Your quirk is so cool Izu! I can’t wait for my quirk to appear. We can become heroes together!”

The prospect was so attractive, and so viable, Midoriya became lost in his imagination. He barely paid attention in class that day, mind conjuring up visions of him and Kacchan becoming the world’s greatest heroes, fighting villains and saving civilians side-by-side.

It was the perfect dream.

Until, one innocuous day a week later, it all came crashing down.

The children had just been let out to play. Midoriya was playing heroes and villains with Kacchan and two other kids. The rest were either playing with toys or on the playground sets, laughter and squeals echoing through the air.

Midoriya was just in the midst of pretending to take down the “villain”, when he heard cries not far away.

“Ah! The ball!”

“You doofus! Why did you have to kick it so high?!”

Turning around and looking up, Midoriya could see the problem. A group of his classmates had been kicking a brightly-coloured ball around, only for one of them to send it up into the branches of a tall tree planted within the walls.

He saw an opportunity to kick-start his hero career.

“I can help!”

Abandoning his game, Midoriya toddled over to the tree, and began to scale its trunk. He and Kacchan had climbed trees before in the local park, so this was nothing new for the green-haired winged bean.

“What are you doing, Izu?” Kacchan called out to him, “We’re not done yet!”

“I’m helping our classmates, Kacchan,” Midoriya replied as reached for a branch.

“C’mon Izu, leave them alone,” the blonde child went up to the base of the tree, “I’m sure they can get the ball down themselves.”

“No Kacchan,” Midoriya grunted as he climbed onto the branch, just shy of the ball above him, “We must always help others. That is what heroes do.”

Either the blonde didn’t hear what his friend said, or it didn’t fully register in his young mind, Kacchan started hitting the tree impatiently.

“Come on! Hurry up! We have to go back inside soon!”

He hit the trunk again, and disaster struck.

There was a muffled noise, and the entire tree shook. The branch Midoriya was on shifted. A shriek, as support gave way to empty air. There was a rush of wind, followed by the distinct sound of his body hitting the ground, bones shattering from the impact.

Adding a cruel cherry to the top, the stuck ball fell from its perch not a second later, hit Midoriya on the head before bouncing away.

A split-second of silence, followed by screams.

Searing pain was all that Midoriya felt, laying motionless on the ground, staring up towards the tree where he had fallen from, the bright sunlight sparkling through the gaps in the branches and foliage. It hurt so much, it was too much to bear. As the screams and cries of his classmates echoed around him, Midoriya felt the sunlight dim. And the last thing he felt before he completely slipped into darkness were the sound of running footsteps and being scooped up in someone’s arms.

There was a beeping sound, ringing at regular intervals, and a weird smell in the air mixed with the prevalent darkness.

There were voices around too, of which none he recognised.

Except for one.

His mother’s.

She sounded frantic, asking questions rapidly. The other voices tried to calm her down, that Midoriya could discern in the darkness.

He was scared. He needed to get away from the darkness. He wanted to bury himself in his mother’s warmth, where he could be safe.

In his efforts to dispel the darkness, he heard the unfamiliar voices say something to his mother. What was said, though, remained unclear and incoherent. Then, footsteps growing fainter, and the sound of a door opening and closing. Only then, did the darkness slowly dissipate into light.

He blinked. He was in an unfamiliar room, laying on a bed that was distinctly not his. His right hand was hooked onto some machine that was making the regular beeping noises. His entire body felt stiff and ached. He tried to move, only for pain to wrack ever nerve ending in his young body. He whimpered at the agony.

“Izuku, honey, don’t move so much. It’ll only hurt if you do.”

He turned to his left, his mother was by his side, grasping his left hand tightly.

“Mommy…”

“I was so frightened, when your day-care called,” Inko spoke in low tones, eyes watery.

Midoriya’s own eyes started to tear up, “I…I’m s-sorry, Mommy, I-I just wanted to get the ball down f-for my friends.”

“I know Izuku, but you were seriously injured. You hurt your head, and your…”

Inko’s voice hitched, the tears beginning to fall in earnest.

“Mommy…what is it?”

Midoriya hated seeing his mother cry, truly. And her words were making him nervous.

“Your w-wings, Izuku, they’re…”

The tears were falling faster now.

“The doctor said…y-you can’t…use them a-anymore.”

Midoriya felt like he’d been struck by something heavy.

“I…can’t…use them…?”

“I’m so sorry, Izuku!”

Inko was hugging him now, weeps joining her tears. His own eyes were pooling with tears, his breathing going heavy.

“Mommy…can I still be a hero?”

Her answer would haunt his heart for years to come.

“I’m so sorry, Izuku.”

It was much softer, but he heard it either way. The tears spill over, taking with it bits of his heart as it fractured just like the bones of his now-useless wings.

The only sounds in the room were the beeps of the machine, and the sobs of a distraught mother and a broken child.

Mourning the loss of a dream, before it even had the chance to take flight.

To Be Continued.

Chapter Text

The days that followed were particularly rough for Midoriya and his mother.

The young lad’s hospital stay put a strain on the family finances. Inko was forced to take multiple shifts to cover the expenses and to continue keeping the household afloat. It didn’t help that monthly child support cheques from her husband, who had been working overseas, suddenly ceased after news broke of the accident, followed by a letter signifying that divorce proceedings were underway.

It was hard, balancing taking a full-time job and taking care of her only son. The young boy would on many an occasion hear his mother weeping herself to sleep because the stress was simply too much.

He may have been a young child, but he understood perfectly what was going on.

And he thought it was all his fault.

It was from that moment that Midoriya began to close himself off. He would pretend things were perfectly alright, that everything was peachy, even though he was in pain both figuratively, and literally.

Because his wings were still small and only starting to develop when he fell, the bones were thoroughly shattered. Ever since his stay in the hospital, his wings were bound in casts to prevent them from movement that would make the already grievous injury worse. They continued to stay on for weeks after he was discharged.

Then there was the pain. It was dull at first, mostly due to the low doses of morphine administered during his hospital stay. But once the suppressing nature of the painkiller stopped after he left, the pain grew worse like fire burning from his back.

As the bones had pretty much splintered into tiny fragments in some places, it was almost impossible for the doctors to do anything about it without going into extremely invasive surgery. The fact that Midoriya was a young child added to the argument against anything of that nature.

But what followed was a noticeable pain that never went away. A clawing, searing agony that clung to his back like a parasite. Regular pharmaceutical painkillers only helped so much, the pain often overwhelming the potency of the medications. Everyday, young Midoriya would be reminded of his suffering, for any small movement of his wings or any physical contact of the slightest will send a sharp jolt through every nerve ending in his back and wings.

And that was only the literal.

Growing up with the years, Midoriya became accustomed to one primary human emotion.

Pity.

Everyone in the neighbourhood knew what had happened. As well as the other kids at the daycare, who spread the story to their families and friends. Anyone Midoriya encountered who had the slightest inkling of the events that day would instantly give him their most piteous expression.

Midoriya might have been only a young child, but he was quickly able to discern when someone was pitying him. The sad, regretful look in the eyes, and lips stretched thin. It happened so often, especially when he was still in early stages of denial. Despite the earth-shattering revelation in the hospital, Midoriya had still clung onto hope. That his dream of becoming a hero had not faded away and that it was still possible. Anyone that he asked would immediately draw that expression across their face.

Then there were the words.

“No, it’s not possible.”

“It’s far too dangerous.”

“Think of something else to work towards. It’s for your own safety.”

It hurt so much, and so often, to hear those well-intentioned words and sympathetic gazes. Eventually, it came to the point that Midoriya sought after any sort of reprieve or distraction that would temporarily take him away from the pain his existence had become.

They were few, and very far between.

He had his mother, but she couldn’t be there for him all the time, and he didn’t want to cause her any more stress than what she was no doubt already going through. He used to have Kacchan, who didn’t appear that bothered that his dream of becoming a hero – one they shared ever since they could talk – had come to an end, spending many an occasion of how he will become the next All Might and save people like Midoriya.

Though it should be noted of the term ‘used to’.

Midoriya didn’t know why it happened.

He remembered that day clearly though. He and Kacchan were about five, and Kacchan’s quirk had already manifested. He could make small explosions from his palms, and Midoriya knew that with time, Kacchan would become very powerful.

They were on some exploration for insects at the neighbourhood park. Kacchan had slipped and fallen into a stream while they were trying to cross it. Midoriya had stepped into the water himself, hand outstretched to help his friend up, worried that Kacchan might have hurt himself.

That was when everything changed.

Kacchan became a different person from that day onwards. Always shouting at him, angry at him, growling at him like a provoked beast whenever he wanted to talk or ask him something. It was as if they were never friends in the first place. Midoriya didn’t know why Kacchan suddenly seemed to hate him.

The only thing he knew though, was that Kacchan did not hesitate to inflict pain on him.

It started with the harsh words and shouting, which hurt Midoriya’s heart. Then came the punches, slaps, and blows. Midoriya, again, didn’t understand why Kacchan was hurting him, only that the blonde kid was. Everyday, he would come home with cuts or bruises, which he quickly blamed on falls or little ‘accidents’ during the day to his frantic mother.

Even when Kacchan started using his quirk on him , uncaring if the explosions and blows hit his wings, he kept everything quiet.

Anything to not worry her more.

It didn’t mean it hurt any less though.

And it would be only natural for Midoriya to seek solace in his last reprieve against the pain – his hero analysis.

It had started small, when he and Kacchan were still on good terms. He was made to stay inside during playtime at the daycare, on the teacher’s order. After playing himself sick with the toys available, Midoriya had begun picking out a few books from the shelves.

Many were about All Might, aside from the few that featured several other high-ranking heroes. Midoriya would read them, and reread them several more times. Unlike with the toys, repetitive reading about quirks seemed to interest the young boy. When his teacher found out about it, (and perhaps...as a half-hearted apology for joining the growing list of people who told the young lad he couldn’t become a hero), he encouraged Midoriya to write his thoughts down about the heroes’ quirks.

Starting with the usual childish scrawl about his admiration of quirks in general, Midoriya’s writings slowly moved past innocent wonder to simple questions, then to more in-depth questions. By the time Kacchan turned on him, Midoriya got more involved with his analysis as it became a sanctuary from the pain. 

He would spend many an hour writing anything that came to mind - about a certain hero’s quirk, what were the strengths and weaknesses, applications in different situations and scenarios, potential drawbacks against the surroundings and people, possible improvements for better and more efficient use against villains, and much more - in notebooks that steadily increased with the passing days. It eventually came to Inko’s attention, when she realised her son was using most of his allowance to buy notebooks, mechanical pencils and erasers that were quickly cluttering his room. 

Inko personally had no problem with her son’s analysis of quirks. It kept him occupied whenever she couldn’t be there for him, and it gave him a purpose in what would otherwise be a bleak existence (she might not be present all the time, but she was well aware of the pain her son was going through). And so she bought a word processor application on the family computer to save her son the trouble.

But that didn’t mean Midoriya became a recluse, glued to the screen and never seeing the light of day ever again. The computer became his database, a virtual library where the quirks of the world’s heroes were compiled. He only used it when he was home, after hero-watching for the day, to pen a full analysis from the notes he had taken while he was out. 

As the days turned to months, and then years, the database expanded until Midoriya had to start using external hard drives to off-set a run-out of storage on the computer. On the other hand, his social connection to the outside world had all but disappeared, his emotional development stagnated, and his once-vast reserves for hope had shrunk.

Gone was the excitable, energetic kid whose eyes shined with brightness and positivity. Years of loneliness and limited social contact had turned him into a reserved, silent teenager with an increasingly pessimistic outlook towards life and a bleak acceptance of his painful existence. Yet even so, the hope for his dream of becoming a hero continued to flicker like a struggling flame against a wind.

But on one fateful day, that flame came deathly close to be extinguished.

So far, the day had progressed normally for Midoriya. Lessons had been pretty much a bore, lunch a lonely affair, and getting harassed by Kacchan and his band of cling-ons who hoped to curry whatever favour or bragging rights they could get from associating themselves with someone with a powerful quirk.

The last lesson of the day was coming towards its end. A few of the students were dozing off from the teacher’s monotonous droning. More were impatiently waiting for the final bell to ring so that they could be released from the prison that was their school. Midoriya was, virtually, the only one who was really paying attention to the lesson, silently taking down notes for both the topic being discussed and off-tangent possibilities for practical use in heroics.

Then things deviated from the usual route.

“Alright class, listen up. This is important,” the teacher suddenly addressed the students, “don’t think for a second that I’m blind to you lot not paying attention whatsoever.”

The class straightened up. Midoriya paused in his note-taking. 

“Right, now I’m going to pass out to you all a form about your future high school. It’s imperative that you fill-”

Whatever the teacher was saying was interrupted by an explosion of excitement. Voices overlapped, becoming incomprehensible. At some point, a few students had begun using their quirks in an attempt to bump up their egos, for what Midoriya didn’t know. 

He sighed. All of this noise was just giving him a headache.

The teacher just stood there, completely silent, waiting for the noise to die down. It eventually did, allowing him to continue.

“As I was saying, it is important that you fill up this form for the guidance counsellors to evaluate the best choice of high school for you. This will have a great impact on your future education, so be sure you be truthful, and fill in all appropriate information.”

Midoriya sighed again. He knew, deep down, that what the teacher meant as “appropriate information” was really their quirks. That was what everyone was obsessed about these days. Quirks - how powerful, durable, agile, etc., etc., - were all that mattered, no matter for what purpose, even a student’s future education path. Midoriya’s fingers tightened around his pen, whether or not the teacher was aware of it, but they just gave him another reminder of the pain attached to his back. 

Because of his broken wings, Midoriya knew his choices were limited. And it hurt him, excruciatingly. 

It was the hope; faded over the years but still holding on, that despite everything that life has thrown at him so far, he would be able to attend U.A. with Kacchan and debut as a pro hero. That his wings would somehow heal and aid him in saving the lives of innocents and take down those who wished to do them harm. But reality doesn’t work like that, Midoriya knew. He still held onto that hope, but the flame was already quite dim from the battering life had inflicted upon it, and honestly, he didn’t know how much longer he can protect it before it was gone for good.

He barely registered the final bell ringing, signalling the end of the school day, and the footsteps and chatter of his classmates. Within a minute or two, the classroom had mostly emptied.

The key word here is mostly .

As Midoriya kept away his stationary holder, a hand slammed down onto his desk. Normally, a regular person would be startled by the loud noise. But for the green-haired teen, this happened so often, he was almost used to it.

It didn’t stop the minute flinch though.

“Deku…”

Almost nonchalant emerald eyes look up to malicious, hate-filled ruby ones. 

Kacchan.

Midoriya glanced to his sides. The blonde’s lackeys have him surrounded. There was no escape.

“Yes? What can I do for you?”

“What you can do, fucking useless Deku, is be a good punching bag for pissing me off!”

Honestly, Midoriya never understood how Kacchan was always able to find reasons to blame him for whatever sin the blonde was able to come up with. Perhaps, there wasn’t a reason, given how many times this has happened over the years. And from memory alone, he knew what was coming next.

A swing of a fist, and Midoriya was on the floor with a bruised cheek. Kacchan stepped over, and kicked him in the stomach. A bit of spittle flies out of the downed teen’s mouth from the impact.

“Do whatever the fuck you want with him,” Kacchan told his lackeys, “Just seeing him makes me want to fucking puke my lunch up.”

Then came more blows, kicks and punches. Midoriya reactively curled himself inwards in a weak attempt to blot out the pain from the rough-up. He’s been through this before, this is nothing new. Eventually, it will stop, they will get tired, they - 

A foot stomped down on his bandaged wing.

All thoughts went flying out of the window, as searing pain ravaged through his nerves. 

Midoriya never understood why Kacchan and his lackeys targeted his wings, despite knowing the mangled state. But they always did. They always took great pride in inflicting maximum torture on the appendages, uncaring that they were aggravating the poorly-healed bones to the point where small fractures and dislocations became commonplace. Each kick, blow and pull felt like super-heated knives lacerating into the bones and joints, tearing away at the skin, drawing blood. Tears welled behind his screwed-shut eyes.

Just like the beating to the rest of his body, this was nothing new. But the agony was something that Midoriya could never acquaint himself with, unlike the ache his body would throb in after a punch-up. Not only was physical pain cutting away at him, it dragged out memories of the mental anguish he went through for years up until now.

‘Please...stop. I’m begging you. Stop, please!’

“That’s enough,” Kacchan drawled, “I think the fuckface has learnt his lesson.”

The onslaught ceased. Midoriya trembled, too much in pain to sigh in relief. He was just glad that it was over.

Kacchan stepped over, and roughly hauled the green-haired teen up by the scruff of his gakuran collar.

“Thanks a lot Deku, seeing you all beaten up and bloody makes me feel a whole lot better. That’s all you’re useful for, fucking bitch, something to use to show that I am superior to you! After all, you are nothing! Nothing but a fucking bug to be squashed under my shoe!”

Kacchan tossed Midoriya onto his desk, knocking his water bottle and notebook to the floor.

Something one of the lackeys noticed.

“Ara? What’s this?”

He picked up the notebook, and flipped a few pages. He snorted.

“What the hell?! It’s all ramblings about quirks! Fucking weird, am I right Bakugou?”

The lackey tossed the notebook to the explosive blonde. He didn’t even have to look at it to scowl.

“Still going on about quirks? Fucking hell, useless Deku, what the fuck is your problem? Can’t get over the fact that you are essentially quirkless? Think that you can somehow become useful just because you are a nerd and know 1001 facts about a hero? Well, here’s some newsflash for you…”

To Midoriya’s horror, an explosion burst from Kacchan’s palm, destroying his notebook completely.

“...you have absolutely zero chance of that happening, fucking Deku. And if this hasn’t sunk into your thick skull, let me drive it home for you. You are worthless, a good-for-nothing sorry excuse of a failure that should know his place at the bottom! That’s what you are, and that’s all that you will ever amount to!”

Kacchan threw the charred remains of the notebook out of the window.

“Let’s go, extras. I can’t stand to see his pathetic face any longer.”

Laughing and joking amongst themselves, the lackeys stalked away from the quietly-groaning Midoriya. Their laughter faded as they walked out of the classroom. Only Kacchan was left. He was at the doorway when he suddenly stopped.

“You know what? I just had a really fucking great idea!”

Kacchan sounded so delighted about that, and honestly, it worried Midoriya. Whenever the blonde sounded so happy towards him, it usually meant more pain.

“Despite everything, you want to be a hero, right Deku? I just came up with a sure-fire way for you to achieve that. It’s simple really, all you have to do is pray that you’ll get a useful quirk in your next life and take a leap of faith off the roof! I recommend you do it soon, Deku, after all, because why wait? It’s not like anyone will miss a fucking useless bitch like you anyway.”

Midoriya remained motionless, long after the blonde had left, chuckling to himself as if he had just come up with a funny joke. He was too much in shock to move, his aching body becoming secondary. 

He knew Kacchan hated him, why he didn’t know. But to actually tell him to go kill himself? Suicide-baiting?

The tears that had been pooling began to trickle down his face. But these weren’t tears of sadness or so much about pain, as he had become accustomed to over the years.

These were tears of anger.

Midoriya didn’t break down into weeps or sobs. He was too far swirling in rage to lose control of his emotions. 

As he slowly picked himself up from the desk, he came to the conclusion that he absolutely hated Kacch- 

No.

That bastard no longer deserved to be called with such familiarity. And hate was too tame a word to describe the animosity brewing in his heart and soul.

Midoriya absolutely despised Bakugou .

The flickering flame continued to hold.

It wasn’t difficult finding his notebook once he had left the classroom. But Midoriya only wished that it hadn’t landed in the koi pond. 

Wet and charred, it seemed near impossible for the notebook to be salvaged. 

It only served to incense Midoriya even more.

Short of becoming like Bakugou himself and release his anger out in the open (minus the explosions), Midoriya steeled himself together. It would serve him no purpose to throw a tantrum where others could see him, he rationalised.

Perhaps he should just focus on getting home.

That was probably the best choice. He needed to rebandage his wings, and pop a few more painkillers that don’t seem to work that much.

Then again...why did he bother with those pills in the first place? They were essentially useless, not doing much to soothe the ache he was constantly in everyday. So why bother keep buying them when the money could be saved for other more important expenses?

Midoriya considered this as he approached an underpass.

As he stepped into the dim tunnel filled with old posters and advertisements peeling off from the grimy, vandalised tiled walls, a sense of unease settled over his heart. Something wasn’t right about this underpass. And it had nothing to do with its dismal state or the lack of lighting.

Midoriya paused. There was a gurgling sound, echoing in the silence, like water pushing through a clogged pipe. 

Something was here.

And it quickly made its presence known.

The drainage cover burst out with a loud clatter, and what looked like slime began to bubble out from the drain. Midoriya was completely frozen stiff as the foul-smelling substance rose up into it towered over him. From the undulating mass, came a pair of sickly greenish-grey eyes, and what looked like a mouth filled with huge, pointed teeth.

“My my...what do we have here?”

Alarm bells were going off in Midoriya’s head. He had to get out of here.

Forcing his legs to move, he barely made a few steps before the mass of slime blocked his escape.

“Come now, I can’t just let you run away. I’m being pursued myself, so be a good kid and let me take over your body so that I can get away!”

The slime lunged towards him. Midoriya found himself swept into the disgusting sludge. He tried to claw out of the substance, but there was nothing to get a good grip on. The villain had him restrained, and was trying to force itself into his mouth. Midoriya tried his best not to gag from the stench filling his nostrils, keeping his throat closed to keep out the slime from sliding in any further.

“Don’t make this any more difficult for yourself, just accept it. It will be all over soon…”

Midoriya was panicking now. He didn’t want to die, let alone be taken over by a villain! But it was exhausting trying to fight against the slime, to stop it from sliding into his throat and spreading like a cancerous growth. And he was in pain as well, the slime pressing hard against his wings. Eventually, his body will give out from the shock, and the villain will have free rein over it.

Was this the end?

Would his painful existence come to an inconsequential finish, just like that?

‘Someone...please...save me!’

“HAVE NO FEAR!”

Both Midoriya and the slime villain started at that deep, booming and extremely familiar voice.

“FOR I AM HERE!”

There was a rush of wind.

“EVIL VILLAIN, UNHAND HIM THIS INSTANT! TEXAS SMAAAAASSSSHHHH!”

Just like that, the slime was completely obliterated off of him, the villain’s scream ringing in his ears. Midoriya was thrown to the ground by the shockwave, little globules of slime spraying throughout the underpass. Hacking up the slime from his mouth, the teen took in large gasps of air, head spinning wildly.

Slowly, he looked up towards his saviour.

“A-All Might…”

The silhouette of his idol and Japan’s number one hero, imposing and incredibly muscular, standing before him proudly was the last thing before his vision went dark.

Midoriya had no idea how long he was unconscious for. All that he knew that he was slowly coming to was feeling a large hand rapidly patting against his cheek.

“My boy, can you hear me? Are you hurt anywhere?”

His eyes slowly opened, his vision becoming clear.

‘All Might...up close…’

His consciousness hit him with the speed of a Shinkansen train. 

“A-All Might!”

Midoriya tried to scramble to his feet, only for pain to sear through his nerves from his wings. Groaning in agony, he stumbled and almost lost his footing had All Might not caught him in time.

“Easy there, my boy!”

Holding the teen steady, the number one hero slowly rightened him up. 

“You okay? That must have been really harrowing for you.”

“I-I’m fine, because y-you saved me!” Midoriya replied distractedly, “Oh my god, I’m such a huge fan, c-can I have an autograph? Shit, where is my spare notebook-?”

All Might laughed loudly, “All settled, my boy! Here you go!” 

He tossed the teen his backpack and the brand-new notebook he kept in reserve. Midoriya flipped to the first page, and his eyes bugged out at the number one hero’s signature signed across the paper.

“Oh my god, thank you! You don’t know how much this means to me!”

“All in a good day’s work, my boy! Anything for the fans!” All Might patted the teen’s shoulder, “Now I must get going! The world waits for no one, and this villain,” he pointed to an empty soda bottle, serving as a make-shift prison for the slime villain, “needs to face justice for his crimes! With that, I bid you farewell!”

Midoriya started, “All Might, wait - ”

The number one hero was already bracing his legs to make a high-powered jump towards the sky. Just as he unleashed the energy all at once to propel himself up, Midoriya leapt onto the man’s leg. There was a loud ‘crack’ as the sound barrier was broken, and they were airborne.

‘Is this...what it’s like to fly?’ Midoriya briefly wondered about the almost weightless feeling, only to realise the predicament his brash decision had placed him in. 

He was many miles from the ground, with a pair of broken, useless wings. Literally the only thing preventing from plummeting to a messy death was his grip on All Might’s trousers. Midoriya quickly realised how foolish he was to have let his instincts override his rational thought.

Yet there was a burning need for answers that he simply had to sate, something that had been festering for years, and here fate was presenting him with the only chance he could ever receive. It was now or never.

But first…

Midoriya screamed, alerting All Might to the stowaway hitching a ride on his leg.

“What the - what are you doing, young lad?! Are you crazy?! This is dangerous!”

The screaming continued.

“Dear god…”

“That was extremely reckless of you, and not to mention perilous! You could’ve died! I know you are a fan, but this is too much!”

Safely on the rooftop of a nondescript skyscraper in the middle of the downtown area, All Might admonished a bashful Midoriya for his death-defying stunt.

As terrifying as the experience was though, the green-haired teen did not regret it for a second. 

“It’s not about fanaticism,” Midoriya countered, “There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you. Something I need to know.”

With his head bowed, the teen did not notice All Might flinch, or the spurt of blood the man coughed up, “Can someone with a broken quirk - ”

The rooftop was suddenly blanketed with steam. Midoriya’s words died in his throat, staring at where his idol was previously standing. As the steam began to clear, a skeletal man with a gaunt face and shaggy blonde hair came into view, clothes loosely draped over his lanky form.

The teen’s eyes widened, “W-W-What are you?! Where’s All Might?!”

“Young lad!” the imposter suddenly said, and Midoriya started. That voice...it sounded familiar… “It’s really me, All Might!”

Midoriya’s mouth fell open, “B-But...how? This…?”

The gaunt man sighed, “I shouldn’t be telling you this, but this is my true self, when I reach my limit being All Might.”

“Limit…?”

All Might lifted his shirt up, revealing a nasty-looking scar on his left side. Midoriya flinched.

“I can only maintain my muscle form for a limited period of time. And it’s been getting shorter, ever since I got this from a battle five years ago, against a villain so terrible, I can’t even begin to describe the evil he embodies and the chaos he wrought.”

He lowered his shirt.

“The Symbol of Peace cannot be intimidated by those who wish to hurt innocents, so I ask that you keep this information to yourself, and not spread it to anyone. I am no seer, but I can foresee great calamity befalling this country should villains come to learn about my weakness.”

“O-Of course! I won’t tell a soul!” Midoriya promised hastily, “But All Might, I need to ask you something really urgently, before you go…”

“What is it, young lad?”

“Can someone with a broken quirk, like me, become a hero like you, who saves the day with a huge smile on your face?”

Silence enveloped the rooftop.

“A...broken quirk?”

“My wings sprouted when I was four,” Midoriya explained, “But a week later, I fell from a tree. The doctor said I’ll never be able to use my wings ever again. But I never gave up hope that I can one day become a great hero, just like you, despite what everyone has been telling me otherwise. It’s what’s driving me through the pain I feel on a daily basis. It’s all I have.”

Midoriya didn’t dare look up.

All Might sighed, “Kid...listen to yourself. You said so yourself, your wings are useless. You are in constant pain, I can see from the way you grimace minutely and how messed up your wings are. The world of heroics is extremely dangerous, even the best of the best are put through the wringer on a daily basis, with no guarantee of their safety. For someone like you, who is unable to hold his own, as the Symbol of Peace I cannot in good conscience say that you can become a hero.”

Midoriya started, his heart cracking. 

No…

The flickering flame was battered by a strong wind.

“There would be other ways to give back to society, like being a police officer, paramedic or doctor. But I honestly can’t see you faring well in such high-stress, high-impact jobs. Perhaps something less strenuous, like community work or charity efforts?”

No…

The wind grew stronger.

“My point is, young lad, heroics is simply too dangerous for you to pursue. Be more realistic.”

No…

The flame...was barely there anymore, mere embers against the howling wind.

Midoriya barely registered All Might moving past him and heading for the stairs. The door closed behind the number one hero, leaving him alone in silence.

His legs felt weak, and he crumpled to the floor. He didn’t care that his mangled wings protested from the sudden drop, far too deep in shock to notice the pain. His heart was in pieces, and constricted by his ribcage, a hollow chasm in his stomach. The tears were coming back again, not of anger this time, but of unbridled despair and pain. 

The physical pain on his back held no candle to the anguish descending upon him. As the tears trickled down his cheeks, the fracturing dam inside his chest ruptured. Loud, heart-wrenching sobs echoed through the empty rooftop. Years of repressed emotions came roaring out like a tsunami of water, sending his head into a whirl as he lost all control and collapsed into a pile of irreparable rubble.

Midoriya didn’t know how long he was screaming his despair to the heavens, and honestly, he didn’t care. It was simply too painful (literally and metaphorically) for him to do anything else but to cry. All Might, the Symbol of Peace, the number one hero and his childhood idol, had joined the long list of people who crushed his dreams and left him with the pieces.

The embers have extinguished one by one, until only a single, faintly-glowing piece of ash were all that were left. How much longer it was able to retain its feeble light was unknown, but it wasn’t going to take long or much for it too to be extinguished, leaving Midoriya with nothing but the ashes of his dream. 

Nothing to keep him going.

Nothing for him to keep living, and the railing was all but a few paces away from his position. 

Death would come instantly for him at such a drop. And wasn’t that what Bakugou told him to do in the first place? Throw himself off a roof? After all, what was he worth now?

Absolutely nothing.

Just a useless Deku with a broken quirk.

Midoriya heaved with another sob. He did not hear the sound of footsteps approaching him.

“For the number one hero and the Symbol of Peace, All Might certainly doesn’t have an ounce of tact in him, dontcha think so kid?”

Midoriya spun around at the sudden newcomer, almost getting whiplash.

“W-Who...are you?”

To Be Continued.

Chapter Text

“W-Who...are you?”

The figure chuckled, “I’m surprised you don’t recognise who I am, kid. Pretty sure the huge red wings would have been a dead giveaway.”

It took a moment for Midoriya to notice. His eyes widened.

“Y-You’re Hawks! The number three hero!”

“Right on the nose, kiddo!”

The day started off pretty normally for Takami Keigo, otherwise known as the number three hero in Japan, Hawks. Patrol in the morning, paperwork, followed by lunch, then another patrol in the afternoon, and then a meeting with his sidekicks over recent crime trends and villain activity. 

He had just finished the meeting. Usually after that would be a food run to grab dinner for both himself and his sidekicks. Today was no exception, though it was cheat day so he had gone to KFC and bought buckets of their famous fried chicken for everyone to feast on when he got back.

And yes, he knew he would be facing the cannibalism jokes once he returned. But it had gotten old by this point, and he was used to it. So he’d just brushed it off with a laugh of his own and call everyone to the meal where more ruckus socialising and joking could commence.

That was the routine.

But today would turn out somewhat different than the usual.

Usually, Hawks would fly through Musutafu on his way back to his hero agency. Today was no exception.

But then, he spotted something unusual during his flight.

As he soared through the downtown area, he spotted someone else flying through the air. It was a man, with slicked-back blond hair, and so muscular he would put everyone bodybuilder to shame. It was no doubt, the man was All Might. But what caught Hawks’ attention was another male - much smaller, possibly no older than a teenager, and had wings! - clinging on to All Might’s leg as if his life depended on it.

(Well, considering they were hundreds of metres up in the air, it was pretty well-justified, Hawks thought. And also, while the kid had wings, they were on the small side, and looked extremely mangled and broken to fly with.)

It was an interesting sight, to say the least. Hawks hovered mid-flight, watching All Might shoot towards the roof of a nearby building to safely remove the kid from his leg. Now, if the kid didn’t have wings in the first place, Hawks would have carried on with his journey back to his agency. However, the sight of the kid’s wings piqued the number three hero’s curiosity. There was clearly a story behind the mutilated state of his wings, and as a winged person himself, Hawks really couldn’t let this slide without finding out what had happened.

Perhaps...he could even help the kid?

He’ll only find out if he went down to see it for himself.

Taking a round detour to make sure he wasn’t spotted, he landed behind the concrete structure holding the staircase, and poked his head around the corner.

He could see the kid standing before All Might, in the midst of asking the Symbol of Peace something, when all of a sudden, a bit of blood splattered out of All Might’s mouth, followed by an explosion of steam that seemed to erupt from the hero’s body.

Hawks blinked, not expecting that to happen. He was not prepared for what the steam had concealed when it began to dissipate.

Where the god-like, muscle-king that was All Might previously stood, was now a skeletal, emaciated man with scraggly blond hair and wearing the exact clothes All Might was previously wearing, now many sizes too big and hanging loosely from his thin frame. Hawks shared the shocked expression the kid made, inwardly questioning if he was hallucinating, or perhaps worse, as the kid was shrieking, an imposter.

Then the man spoke, and Hawks once again had his mind exploded.

‘Holy shit...it really is All Might! But…how…?’

Hawks had so many questions, and they were inadvertently answered when the emaciated version of All Might went into storytelling mode about how this was his true form behind the muscle. That he had been severely injured during a villain fight five years prior that has steadily reduced his time in his muscle form. Now, Hawks was no idiot, even if many people (especially his sidekicks and associates) tend to say otherwise. Having become privy to this top-secret information, Hawks knew he couldn’t go around shouting it from the rooftops. Untold horrors awaited this country should this secret become public knowledge.

After that initial bombshell, Hawks wondered if anything equally intense would happen next.

“Can someone with a broken quirk, like me, become a hero like you, who saves the day with a huge smile on your face?”

And there it was.

Hawks had to listen in on this. Another piece of the puzzle has dropped.

“A...broken quirk?” All Might asked.

The kid explained, “My wings sprouted when I was four. But a week later, I fell from a tree. The doctor said I’ll never be able to use my wings ever again. But I never gave up hope that I can one day become a great hero, just like you, despite what everyone has been telling me otherwise. It’s what’s driving me through the pain I feel on a daily basis. It’s all I have.”

Several beats of silence followed. Hawks thought, ‘Of course! Why the fuck can he not become a hero? Just because his wings are injured doesn’t mean-’

What happened next would send the hero’s heart plunging straight into his stomach and knocking the breath out of him.

“Kid...listen to yourself. You said so yourself, your wings are useless. You are in constant pain, I can see from the way you grimace minutely and how messed up your wings are. The world of heroics is extremely dangerous, even the best of the best are put through the wringer on a daily basis, with no guarantee of their safety. For someone like you, who is unable to hold his own, as the Symbol of Peace I cannot in good conscience say that you can become a hero.”

Hawks couldn’t believe it.

What was All Might saying?!

“There would be other ways to give back to society, like being a police officer, paramedic or doctor. But I honestly can’t see you faring well in such high-stress, high-impact jobs. Perhaps something less strenuous, like community work or charity efforts?”

No! No no no! Stop! Doesn’t he know that was the worst thing to say to the kid?! Hawks thought frantically as he eyed the trembling teen.

“My point is, young lad, heroics is simply too dangerous for you to pursue. Be more realistic.”

NO!

Hawks wanted to scream, drop everything and confront the number one hero for his callous words, sharpened feather in both hands to slice the emaciated man to pieces. But All Might was already moving, brushing past the frozen-stiff kid as he made his way to the stairs. The number one hero did not notice Hawks as he closed the door behind him, leaving the kid all alone.

The winged hero felt his heart shatter as he watched the kid crumple to the roof floor, sobbing hysterically. His soul shook with mounting rage, the absolute worst thing the fucker that was All Might could have done was leaving an emotionally-destroyed teen, whose dreams he had so mercilessly and cruelly crushed only moments before, all alone, on a fucking roof .

Hawks shook his head to clear his thoughts. Now wasn’t the time to curse the Symbol of Peace to the fiery depths of hell for his cruel words. He had to make sure the kid didn’t do the permanent act of throwing himself off the roof and ending his life in a bloody splatter on the sidewalk below.

He schooled his expression into his default laid-back, relaxed grin. The last thing he wanted was to terrify the kid with what was previously a murderous glare, after all.

The kid was just slowly picking himself up when Hawks made his move.

“For the number one hero and the Symbol of Peace, All Might certainly doesn’t have an ounce of tact in him, dontcha think so kid?”

The kid spun around so fast Hawks grew slightly concerned for the mangled wings, “

“W-Who...are you?”

Hawks sweatdropped. Okay...while he would honestly admit that he wasn’t the immediate thought of people when asked about their favourite hero, but...seriously?

Still, he played it chill, “I’m surprised you don’t recognise who I am, kid. Pretty sure the huge red wings would have been a dead giveaway.”

Ah, there was the spark of recognition.

“Y-You’re Hawks! The number three hero!”

“Right on the nose, kiddo!”

Midoriya honestly couldn’t believe what was happening. Only moments before, his dreams had been crushed by his idol, and then left to wallow in the pieces. Then, Hawks of all people showed up, as if appearing out of the blue.

“W-What are you doing here?”

“Well, I was on my way back from grabbing dinner for the agency when I spotted you clinging onto All Might’s leg in mid-air,” Hawks explained, “I thought that was an interesting sight, so followed you both to this roof and hid behind the roof entrance just to see what was going on.”

Midoriya’s eyes widened, “Wait...does that mean…?”

Here, Hawks’ laid-back look turned sympathetic, “Yeah, I heard everything, especially what that number one motherfucker told you, kiddo.”

Midoriya glanced down, “I see… So does that mean you’re going to say the same thing too?”

Hawks said nothing at first, choosing instead to sit down next to the teen. He pulled out a box from one of the plastic bags, opened it, and held it out to Midoriya.

“Fried chicken?”

The teen eyed the box, “Isn’t it yours?”

“Well, I would say it’s my portion , since I bought it for my agency. But I think you’d probably need some comfort food right now, kid,” Hawks shrugged, “And besides, I can always grab something else for myself later.”

Right on cue, Midoriya’s stomach rumbled. Hawks smirked, pushing the box closer. The teen slowly reached in and pulled out a drumstick. He nibbled it slowly while Hawks plucked out another piece and began tearing away at the fried skin. 

They sat in relative silence for a few moments, until Midoriya worked up the courage to say what had come into his mind.

“Hawks-san?”

“Call me Keigo, kid.”

Midoriya blinked, “O-Okay, Keigo-san...um…does eating chicken count as…?”

“Cannibalism?” Hawks finished, before chuckling, “Kid, you’re not the first, and you’ll definitely not be the last to ask me that question. First of all, it’s not really cannibalism since I’m not fully avian, and second, actual hawks eat smaller birds as part of their diet anyway. So even if it counts as cannibalism, I don’t think the hawk would care anyway.”

Midoriya nodded, taking another small bite of his drumstick, “You said you heard everything earlier. Are you…?”

Hawks gave him a meaningful look, “Look kid, just because All Might is an almighty shit-spewing asshole who deserves to be punched right in his old injury, doesn’t mean I’m going to be the villain who announces to the world about the one weakness that could take down the Symbol of Peace. As much that meathead needs to be thrown from his pedestal, killing him and plunging the country into chaos is not the way to go.”

“So...I take it you’re not a fan of All Might then?” 

“I may have once respected him as a hero, kid. But after today, whatever respect I had for him has gone flushing down the toilet. But to answer your question, I was never a fan of All Might, at least not in the dedicated manner.”

Midoriya nodded, “Then what heroes were you fans of?”

“When I was a mere chick, I was a fan of Endeavour.”

“Endeavour? But he’s…”

“Cold? Abrasive? Aggressive? Unapproachable? Yeah, my fanboying sorta petered out as I grew older. I still respect him as a hero, but I wouldn’t rush after him for an autograph if you know what I mean.”

“I know.”

Silence befell them for several more moments.

Hawks swallowed his chicken, “But anyway! Enough about top heroes. There’s something that you need to know, kid, after everything that has happened to you.”

Midoriya grew a bit nervous, “W-What is it, Keigo-san?”

Whatever laid-back chill Hawks had melted away into a look of utmost seriousness, “Even with a broken quirk, you can be a hero.”

The teen blinked, then his eyes began to water. But what he said next took Hawks by surprise.

“P-Please...don’t t-tease me, Keigo-san… M-My heart c-can’t take anymore l-lies like this…”

‘Damn...this kid must have been hurt a lot deeper than I thought…’ Hawks thought to himself, before applying damage control, “Kid, cross my heart, swear on my life, I am not teasing you. You can be a hero as great as that fucker All Might. In fact, you are already a hero for surviving this far. I can’t imagine the physical pain your wings give you everyday, nor can I fully understand the emotional pain you’ve experienced from others around you. However, let me promise you - pinkie promise, if you will?” He offered his pinkie finger to Midoriya, who after a moment of hesitation, wrapped his own pinkie around it, symbolically sealing the promise, “that I will do whatever I can in my power to help you become the hero this country needs.”

The tears began to pour over Midoriya’s eyes, “B-But how? My wings are broken, and no doctor has been able to heal them…”

Hawks tightened his pinkie’s grip around the teen’s pinkie, “Trust me on this, kid, I have a way. However, I will ask consent from your parents first as a courtesy. But no matter what, I will fix your wings, and become your pillar of support as you take flight and reach for the sky.”

From the healing power of such a strong resolution, Midoriya’s shattered heart began to reform itself together. His breathing hitched, and the tears fell faster. Letting out a loud sob, Midoriya dropped his finished drumstick and threw himself onto Hawks, wrapping his arms around the hero’s lean form.

“Thank you...so much…”

Hawks smiled, and wrapped an arm around the teen’s lower back, careful not to touch the mangled wings.

They embraced for a minute, letting Midoriya dry his tears and calm his emotions before separating. 

“Hey kid, why don’t I take you on a little joy-flight? I want to make sure you get back home safely, but I gotta drop off the dinner to the others first. How about that?”

“W-What? But Keigo-san, I-I shouldn’t inconvenience you like that!”

“Of course not! It’s no trouble, really! You need a good experience to make up for what happened to you earlier, and either way, I’m gonna speak to your parents. It’s all within the tangent, so it’s fine!”

Midoriya glanced to the side, scratching his cheek, “I-If you say so…”

Hawks beamed. The trash was cleared away, and Midoriya slung on his backpack. Hawks then bent down slightly and picked up the teen in a bridal carry, positioning so as to not touch Midoriya’s wings.

“You ready, kid?”

“Mmhm.”

With the flapping of his mighty wings, Hawks lifted off from the roof, and soared off into the air. Midoriya glanced at the city below them - the distance and the sense of nothing between him and the buildings was a surreal feeling, if he wanted to be honest with himself. But it wasn’t unpleasant, far from it. While his only other experience being airborne had been life-threatening and possibly even traumatising, this time he had someone keeping him safe, holding him securely from the otherwise inevitable fall to death. 

‘Is this...what it feels like to fly without a care in the world?’

“You doing okay, kid?”

“Yeah...I just...never realised how amazing it is to fly.”

Hawks further cemented his resolve to heal the teen’s wings so that he could fly whenever he wanted. The kid had suffered too long, now it was time for him to see the little joys of life.

Then came the explosions.

Midoriya squeaked, and Hawks momentarily lost altitude.

“W-What was that?”

‘A villain attack?’ Hawks wondered.

Gliding forward, the hero looked down. Oh it was a villain attack, that’s for sure. 

It was a scene of carnage - cars overturned and on fire, collapsed lampposts, bits of glass and debris littered the road, the gathered pro-heroes, police keeping civilians and news crews. And most important of all, the villain - the Slime Villain and his hostage.

Midoriya balked, “It’s the same villain All Might saved me from! But how did it escape?!”

“No time for questions!” Hawks shot down towards the scene, “The villain’s got a hostage!”

“Oh god! It’s Bakugou!”

“You know him?”

“We go to the same school!”

Hawks sped up his descent.

“Keigo-san, whatever you do, aim for the villain’s eyes!” said Midoriya, “It’s his weak point!”

“Got it, kid!”

The winged hero touched down in between the gathered pro-heroes and the Slime Villain. Letting Midoriya down, Hawks yanked off two large, sharp feathers from his wings, and charged straight towards the villain.

“Hey slimy-face! I hope you don’t care about your eyes too much!”

Before anyone could react, Hawks took a leap up, and slashed the villain’s eyes open. Ocular fluid and blood splattered all over the winged hero as the villain screamed in agony. It thrashed about, sending huge globules of slime indiscriminately. Using the same feathers, Hawks stabbed them up the villain’s mouth, and pulled the feather like a hot knife through butter, mutilating the upper jaw. The pain was exacerbated so badly, Bakugou was inadvertently thrown out of the slimy folds. Midoriya rushed forward, grabbed his tormentor, and dragged him away from the thrashing villain.

“What the fuck are you doing, shitty Deku?!”

“Getting you to safety, you motherfucking son of a whore!”

Bakugou was stunned into silence.

Meanwhile, Hawks had sliced through the Slime Villain’s body, cutting it up into pieces just short of actually killing the villain. But just as he was about to demand the villain to surrender or risk death, an unwanted interruption came and stole the show.

“TEXAS SMAAAAAAAAASSSSSSHHHH!!!!!!!”

There was a great blast of wind and energy. The Slime Villain had no chance to scream as a powerful punch from All Might himself eviscerated it’s body into minuscule pieces. Hawks turned to glare at the number one hero, barely keeping his outrage in.

“HAVE NO FEAR! FOR I AM HERE!”

Hawks’ control snapped.

“TOO FUCKING LATE!”

“I can’t believe the nerve of All Might! What gave him the fucking right?!”

Hawks listened with resigned silence as he flew a venting Midoriya towards his home in suburban Musutafu. In the immediate aftermath of All Might’s unexpected (and conveniently late) arrival, Hawks and the police were tasked with damage control and clean-up, while All Might was praised by the news crews and the watching crowd for what was essentially a stolen victory, as well as Bakugou for “withstanding bravely against the villain” even though it was Midoriya who pulled him away. The real heroes were pushed away for glamour, and it pissed Midoriya off to no end, especially since All Might appeared to bathe himself in the attention, all with that anger-inducing smile of his.

“I know, kid...but this is the reality. All Might garners attention no matter what he does.”

“But you’re the one who did all the hard work!”

“True, but there’s nothing I could do about it, kid. Again, I’m only number three, and way below All Might in terms of popularity. A news crew would rather have All Might as their headline rather than anyone else. That’s the sad reality.”

Midoriya sighed, too exhausted to continue his rant, “I get it. But it’s really unfair, you know?”

“I know kid, I really do.”

The rest of the flight passed in silence. Twenty minutes later, they arrived back at Midoriya’s apartment complex. 

“Ah...I just realised I forgot to tell Mom that you were coming…” Midoriya realised.

“Well I hope she doesn’t mind visitors.”

Taking the elevator up, it didn’t take long for teen and hero to arrive at the front door. Midoriya pressed the doorbell, and waited. Hurried footsteps grew louder, and the door was opened.

“Izuku! Oh my goodness, what kept you?! It’s so late, and I-”

Inko stood at the doorway, her worried rambling cut off early when she noticed the winged man standing behind her son.

“So the kid’s name is Izuku? Thanks by the way, I forgot to ask him that earlier.”

Inko blinked, “W-Who...are you?”

“I’m Hawks, the number three hero!” the hero smiled brightly, “You must be Izuku’s mom, am I right? I’m so sorry for showing up at your doorstep uninvited, but I have a matter of the utmost importance to discuss with you. May I follow your son in?”

To Be Continued.

Chapter Text

Inko blinked, “W-Who...are you?”

“I’m Hawks, the number three hero!” the hero smiled brightly, “You must be Izuku’s mom, am I right? I’m so sorry for showing up at your doorstep uninvited, but I have a matter of the utmost importance to discuss with you. May I follow your son in?”

Midoriya sat on the sofa with a palpitating heart, fiddling his thumbs with some nervousness as his mother went to make some tea for their unexpected guest, after spending several moments freaking out over a top-ranked hero suddenly appearing in their humble abode. To his credit, Hawks just chuckled good-naturedly and helped Midoriya in calming his mother with a joke saying such a reaction was not unheard of with many people in a similar scenario.

Once Inko had calmed down, she quickly ushered her son and Hawks into the apartment. Hawks then plonked himself next to Midoriya on the sofa.

“Nice place you’ve got here, kid.”

“I-It’s nothing fancy, but it’s enough for us.”

Inko then arrived with a steaming mug of black tea for Hawks. He thanked her for her troubles and took the customary sip before setting it back down again.

“What’s this important matter that you wanted to discuss?” asked Inko right off the bat.

Hawks gave Midoriya a slight nod, “Izuku is going to become a hero, and I am going to help him reach that height.”

Inko blinked, her mouth falling open. She would take a moment to find her tongue again, “I’m sorry, Hawks-san, but how is it possible?”

Hawks raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms, “Are you saying you don’t support Izuku’s dream of becoming a hero?”

Midoriya started at this, but Inko quickly defended herself, “No! Not like that! I absolutely support my son’s dream wholeheartedly, but how? Every doctor I’ve taken Izuku to said his wings were unhealable or irreparable, and our finances don’t allow for many other expensive treatments.”

“If you are speaking to regular doctors and medical professionals,” Hawks pointed out, “However, this won’t be the case should we bring it up to my personal specialist. They take care of any injuries to my wings down to the smallest bone, and while Izuku’s wings will take at least a few sessions, I’m one-hundred percent certain that by the time my specialist is done, Izuku will be able to fly again and on his way to becoming a hero.”

“Who’s going to train him, though?” Inko asked.

“Who else would be a better person to train a potential hero with wings than the Winged Hero himself?” Hawks puffed up his chest for emphasis, “I will teach him how to properly fly, offensive and defensive combat - on the ground and in the air, as well as flexibility and reflex sharpening. No stone will be left unturned, you have my guarantee on that!”

A crucial question then crossed Inko’s mind, “Hawks-san, how much is this all going to cost? I must pay you in some manner.”

Hawks’ grin grew wider, “Absolutely no cost whatsoever, Midoriya-san.”

Inko gasped, “H-How - ?! Hawks-san, this is too much! We can’t just freeload off your generosity!”

The winged hero leaned forward, “Midoriya-san...please pardon my forwardness, but I would notice that your husband isn’t at home. May I know why?”

The frantic look on Inko melted into one of sadness, “My husband...divorced me when Izuku’s wings were broken.”

Hawks sighed, “And Izuku here has gone through way too much for someone his age. I cannot say I fully understand the circumstances of someone with a broken quirk, but I am not blind to the discrimination and bullying such individuals are forced to endure by others around them on a daily basis.”

 “B-Bullying?!” Inko was taken aback.

“Mom,” Midoriya finally spoke after a long silence, “do you why Bakugou stopped coming over?”

Inko did not miss the sudden drop in the familiar nickname, “W-Why?”

Midoriya swallowed, “B-Bakugou was the worst bully. He would physically attack me using his quirk and verbally abuse me, calling me a useless Deku for having a broken quirk. He turned most of Orudera against me, and-” his breath hitched, forcing him to take a moment to compose himself, “just this afternoon, after he and his lackeys beat me up, and he destroyed one of my notebooks, Bakugou...he...told me that if I wanted to be a hero so badly, that I should kill myself with the hope that I’ll get a functioning quirk in my next life.”

It was as if a blast of lightning had struck the living room. Hawk’s mouth fell open, he was not told of this earlier on the rooftop. For a split-second, he so desperately wanted Midoriya to be bluffing, that the blonde kid he helped save from the Slime Villain didn’t actually go so far as to suicide-bait someone simply for having a broken quirk. But he knew better. There was no trace of lying in Midoriya’s expression. Shock quickly gave way to rage.

Hawks cast a subtle glance at Inko. The poor woman looked ready to faint at any moment. Her mouth was wordlessly trembling, her eyes shining with rapidly-approaching tears. It was clear she had no idea, and this was the second blow to an already horrifying, earth-shattering revelation.

The winged hero quickly pushed down his rising fury, now wasn’t the time to lose it in front of his hosts. He quickly pulled Midoriya close, mindful not to touch the kid’s wings. 

“B-But...how...Katsuki…he wouldn’t…”

Hawks debated whether to drop the next bombshell or not. Inko was clearly in deep shock, and he wondered if what he wanted to say would be the final push that would break the woman entirely.

Midoriya took the notion out of his hands, “Also Mom, I met All Might earlier. I asked him if I could still be a hero even with my broken wings. Did you know what he said in response? He said I couldn’t be a hero. He told me that I wouldn’t be able to handle the stress of heroics. He told me to be realistic, before walking away without a further word.”

Just as Hawks predicted, it was the final, destructive blow.

Inko let out a loud sob, crumpling to the floor. She crawled towards her son, grabbed his free hand, and began crying into his lap.

“I’m so sorry Izuku! I’m so sorry for not being there for you when you needed me! I’m such a terrible mother! I’m so sorry!”

Tears began streaming down the teen’s cheeks, though he didn’t lose it like his mother, “I’m sorry too, Mom. I didn’t want to bother you when you were so busy trying to keep us afloat…”

Inko wailed even louder, and Hawks was certain she was about to pass out from the hysteria. The winged hero slowly helped the distraught woman to sit properly on the sofa, and grabbed the tissue box from the coffee table. He then shifted a bit to the side, giving mother and son some space to let out their emotions without outside interference. He patiently waited for everything to be spilled, until there were no more tears to cry and the entire tissue box was used up. 

“I was serious about providing Izuku’s treatment and training for free, no strings attached,” Hawks finally spoke again, “He has gone through so much pain no jokes should rightfully be made. The same could be said with you, Midoriya-san. You both need a true hero to save you from the never-ending cycle of agony unjustly forced upon you.”

He got up from the sofa, and bowed to the Midoriyas, “Let me help you, as is the job of what a true hero should do.”

A moment of silence passed. Inko sniffled, “Y-You are an angel from above, Hawks-san. I-I can’t thank you enough for your offer.”

Hawks straightened up, “It is the very least I can do.” Then his signature laid-back smile was back again, “And since we’re at it, I think it’s imperative that we begin moving.”

“Moving?”

“My hero agency is in downtown Tokyo. It’s an hour and a half drive by car from Musutafu, and three hours by train. If we want to make the best of Izuku’s training, I would highly suggest that you move into my agency to mitigate travel time and cost. Normally, I would only ask Izuku to move into my agency, but I believe he wouldn’t want to be separated from his only other family. Furthermore, it will only be temporary, until the hero schools have their entrance exams.”

Hawks was almost certain that the matriarch was going to refuse. Her answer came as a bit of a surprise, “I would love to. Unfortunately, my job is here in Musutafu, and it would not be practical for me to keep working if I were to move to Tokyo.”

“I believe I can arrange for transportation to ferry you to your job throughout the duration of your stay at the agency, Midoriya-san,” Hawks assured.

“I don’t want to trouble you, Hawks-san,” Inko shook her head, “In fact, I’m sure Izuku will be perfectly capable of living without me for a time.”

“Are you sure, Mom?” Midoriya asked worriedly, “Won’t you be lonely?”

Inko turned to her son meaningfully, “Izuku, I am more than capable of taking care of myself. And not to be in too deep with the bird metaphors, but I think it’s time that you leave the nest. You are going to become your own avian, and avians don’t do that by staying in their birth nest for the rest of their lives.”

Hawks inwardly smiled at the metaphor.

Midoriya appeared to understand his mother’s reasoning, but had one more important question.

“What about my schooling?”

“One of my sidekicks has a teacher’s license,” Hawks replied, “Don’t think for a second that I will allow you to return to that mistake of a school, kid. In fact, before we move, I suggest that you go to Orudera and withdraw your son, Midoriya-san.”

Inko quickly agreed, “I’ll do that.”

The winged hero nodded, “In the meantime, I will help Izuku pack. Care to show me your room, kid?”

“Right this way, Keigo-san.”

Hawks whistled, “Yeesh kid, like I know people are fans of top heroes, but…”

“It embarrasses me now that my eyes have been opened,” Midoriya sighed.

“So what are you gonna do about all this paraphernalia?”

“Sell it,” the teen replied simply, “I have no desire to keep them anymore. Could you help me, Keigo-san?”

“You don’t need to ask, kid.”

Hawks and Midoriya would spend the next forty minutes carefully taking down all the All Might posters from the walls and packing away all paraphernalia in the room - figurines, miscellaneous items such as an alarm clock, stationary, pen-holder and stuffed toys, books, and furnishings such as the bedspread, pillow cases and quilt covers. Even the clothes that were All Might themed were taken out of the closet and packed. Everything was put away into cardboard boxes found in the apartment’s store room, sealed and marked for sale in the future. 

Then, what few clothes Midoriya still had were stowed away in a standard-sized luggage. It was around this time that Inko returned from Orudera. The withdrawal was complete, she said, and it was done smoothly and without hiccup. 

Hawks called a ride from his agency to come pick them up and to arrange the medical assessment with his specialists. In the meantime, it was arranged that Inko would follow her son to the agency as familial support. Inko went to pack a few sets of clothes just in case. An hour later, he got the call that their ride was waiting downstairs. Dragging the luggage behind them, the trio took the elevator down to the open-air carpark, where an inconspicuous Mercedes waited for them. The driver stepped out of the vehicle, bowed to them, and helped to load the luggage into the trunk. Hawks took the front seat, and the Midoriyas took the back. 

Unlike the typical tropes in popular culture, Midoriya felt negligible sentimentality as he watched his childhood home disappear behind him as the car drove out of the suburbs into downtown. He may have grown through the years in that apartment block, but it was oversaturated with bad memories and pain, pain which continued to ache even when he tried adjusting his seating position in the car.

Despite it, Midoriya pushed down the pain. Things were different now, hope had been rekindled. There was a way forward, towards the light at the end of the tunnel. As his mother described it, Hawks was a literal angel sent from the heavens. The winged hero was his salvation, and he was going to put the pieces of his shattered dream back together again. He only needed to endure for just a little while longer, and he would finally be free.

The car ride was uneventful, Hawks switching between small talk and animated conversations with the Midoriyas. The scenery outside changed every so often, from densely-packed urban centres to more relaxed suburbs, then back to dense urban development when the car entered the capital itself. 

“We should be arriving any minute now,” Hawks said to the Midoriyas.

Eventually, the car approached a modern glass-windowed skyscraper with a large atrium at the front. The driver drove up the incline into a sheltered drop-off/pick-up point at the entrance of the atrium, tastefully decorated with trees and a dancing fountain. Stopping the car, the driver got out, followed closely by Hawks. The driver opened the back doors, helping the Midoriyas out. Without so much of a word, he went to get Midoriya’s luggage out from the trunk.

“Welcome to the Aviary, kid!” Hawks beamed with flourish.

“You really love the bird vibe, don’t you, Keigo-san?”

“Yep!”

Taking Midoriya’s wrist, Hawks led the way, Inko and the driver following behind them. Pushing the large glass doors open, Midoriya quickly realised that the Aviary was literally more than just the name of the hero agency.

The atrium was several floors high, with a glass dome at the top letting in plenty of natural lighting. However, the main attraction were the trees growing tall, forming a canopy of foliage hosting countless birds of different species. Midoriya could recognise parrots of different colours and toucans flying from one branch to another, or perched upon man-made perches installed among the trees.

“Goodness! You have actual live birds in your agency, Hawks-san?” Inko was stunned.

“That’s right!”

“But how do you ensure they don’t fly away, Keigo-san?”

“I have an employee with an animal-whisperer quirk, specifically only for avians,” Hawks replied, “And it’s not like she makes them stay here. The birds are free to come and go, but most of them have made the atrium their permanent home.”

The group approached the receptionist’s desk. On the phone was a man with odd swirly eyebrows. After a few moments, he bade whoever he was on the line with a curt farewell, before hanging up. It was only then did he notice the group.

“Takami-san! Who’s this?”

“This is Midoriya Izuku and his mother Inko, Nouyo. They’ll need visitor passes.”

“And what is the purpose of visit?”

“I’m taking Izuku-kun to see Hanenao-san,” Hawks replied, “Izuku-kun’s wings need urgent healing.”

Nouyo took one look at the teen’s wings, and nodded immediately. He reached into a drawer, and pulled out two visitor passes, “Please wear them at all times while you are in agency.”

Midoriya and Inko clipped on the passes, and Hawks led them away towards a set of gantries. Here the passes came to usage, granting them entry into the agency proper. 

As they waited for an elevator to come down to the ground floor, Midoriya turned to Hawks, “That man, Nouyo...does he have some sort of a mind quirk?”

“Quite perceptive, aren’t you kid?” Hawks smirked, “You’re right, Nouyo has a mind-reading quirk. He’s my first line of defense here in the Aviary. He scans the minds of everyone entering and leaving the building, and the moment he reads something dangerous, he puts me and my sidekicks on alert.”

“Isn’t it straining on his own mind to be using his quirk so often?” Midoriya couldn’t help but wonder.

“If he hadn’t spent years strengthening his quirk, it would have been,” Hawks nodded.

Midoriya was honestly curious, but to the risk of sounding like a stalker, he held his tongue. Into an elevator, the group ascended up, stopping at the fifteenth floor. Everyone except for the driver got out, and stepped into what Midoriya presumed was the medical floor of the agency.

It kind of reminded the teen of a well-run private medical centre one would normally go to for whatever ailment that was plaguing them. After registering, Hawks and the Midoriyas went to sit in the waiting room, where the wall-mounted TV played the local news. Midoriya became engrossed with the news bulletin, while Inko and Hawks engaged in soft conversation, primarily about the teen.

Ten minutes later, the door across from the trio opened. Out stepped a middle-aged person clad in a white lab coat with a stethoscope draped over their neck.

“Ah! Hanenao-san! Good to see you!” Hawks stood up, the Midoriyas following his example.

“Good evening to you, Keigo-kun,” Spec. Hanenao nodded with a gentle smile, turning to the teen, “And I presume this is Midoriya-kun?”

“That’s right, Hanenao-san,” Midoriya nodded.

“Right, follow me, please.”

The specialist led Midoriya into the consultation room where they had emerged from, with Inko and Hawks close behind.

“So I presume this visit is due to Midoriya-kun’s wings?”

“How did you know?” asked the teen.

“Midoriya-kun,” Spec. Hanenao gave him a pointed look, “Your wings are the absolute worst I have ever seen in my years as a specialist taking care of patients’ wings or feathered appendages. What on earth did you do to them?”

“It’s a really long story,” Hawks explained, “I’ll begin from the top.”

The next ten minutes were spent by the Winged Hero bringing Spec. Hanenao up to speed with Midoriya’s life story. By the time he was done, the specialist was truly stunned.

“As a professional, I’m not allowed to swear, but how on earth did this go untreated for so long?!”

Inko spoke up, “We’re not well-off, so I couldn’t afford any expensive medical treatment or intervention for Izuku. Every doctor I could afford simply said they couldn’t do anything without potentially causing my son irreparable harm.”

Spec. Hanenao sighed, “I can’t imagine the pain Izuku-kun has been forced to endure for ten years…”

“I’ve been on a regular prescription of pain-killers,” Midoriya explained, “But they didn’t do much to help.”

“I suspected as much,” Spec. Hanenao agreed, “Now, I’m going to need to conduct a thorough X-ray scan to see the extent of the damage. Keigo-kun and Midoriya-san, I would need you to wait outside while I bring Izuku-kun to the radiotherapy room.”

Hawks and Inko got up and went back out to the waiting room. Spec. Hanenao brought Midoriya to the aforementioned room, pulling out a hospital gown for the teen to wear at the front, leaving his back and wings exposed. Midoriya went behind a privacy screen to get changed, and once he emerged, Spec. Hanenao instructed him to get onto the examination gurney, lying prone. They then retreated into an adjacent room behind a protective, see-through screen. 

“Alright, Izuku-kun,” their voice could be heard through a speaker, “I’m about to turn on the X-ray generator and begin the examination. On my cue, I want you to hold your breath, okay?”

“Got it, Hanenao-san.”

A few seconds passed.

“Hold your breath now.”

Midoriya took a large breath in and held it. There was a loud buzzing noise, followed closely by a drawn-out pulsating sound. This lasted for a few seconds before cutting off.

“Thank you, Izuku-kun. You’re free to join your mother and Keigo-kun outside.”

Getting off from the gurney, Midoriya shuffled out. 

“How did it go?” asked Inko.

“Nothing major,” Midoriya replied, “Hanenao-san is probably examining the x-rays now.”

The conversation between the trio shifted away to other interesting topics, like the daily going-ons at the Aviary. Twenty minutes later, Spec. Hanenao reappeared, holding three sheets of film.

“So what’s the damage?” asked Hawks.

“As I suspected, extensive,” the specialist sighed, sitting down next to Midoriya. They produced the first sheet of film, “The bones have not been healed properly, no doubt from the first fall and the subsequent violence upon Izuku-kun, causing them to fuse haphazardly and preventing them from growing naturally through the past eleven years.” They showed the other two X-ray films, which were close-ups of each wing, “The haphazard shape of the bones has prevented the muscles from developing properly, while also entangling the nerves, which is the source of Izuku’s pain. It’s honestly amazing that even Izuku-kun still has his wings at this point. Most doctors would have had the wings amputated given such a state.”

“Amputation was constantly brought up by the doctors we’ve seen,” Inko revealed sombrely, “But Izuku and I didn’t want that. We kept clinging onto the hope that someday a miracle would happen.”

“A decision that would prove to be a wise one,” Spec. Hanenao remarked with a nod.

“So what needs to be done?” Hawks asked.

“I will basically need to rebuild Izuku-kun’s wings,” the specialist said, “I need to get his wings to what they would look like now if the accident had never happened in the first place. It will be an extremely invasive surgery, and it will take at least three weeks of physiotherapy to even achieve basic movement once the surgery is complete.”

Despite that, Midoriya remained resolute, “I don’t care. I’ve lived for eleven years in pain thanks to my broken wings and how others have treated me for them. This surgery is what I need to move forward.”

Inko shared the resolution, even when her hands were trembling, “I haven’t done enough to support my son through the hell he was forced to endure. I just want the best for him.”

Hawks gave the specialist a firm look, “Do the surgery, Hanenao-san.”

Spec. Hanenao nodded, “Very well. Izuku-kun, please follow me to the operating theatre. Keigo-kun, please keep Midoriya-san company in the meantime. I’ll do my best to get the surgery done as soon as possible, but it will take several hours at the least.”

“No probs, Hanenao-san,” Hawks replied, “I’ll show Midoriya-san to her room.”

Inko took her son’s hands, “I know you can do it, Izuku.”

“Thanks Mom,” Midoriya nodded, squeezing his mother’s hands reassuringly, “I’ll be fine.”

The teen let go, and with one last look at his mother and a nod to Hawks who flashed him a thumbs-up, followed Spec. Hanenao towards the operating theatre. It was a smaller version of the kind he had seen in medical dramas on TV, but no less sophisticated. 

“Sit here, Izuku-kun,” the specialist gestured to a chair sitting against the wall near the door, “I’ll go prepare for the surgery.”

Midoriya did as instructed, while Spec. Hanenao went off to another room. After a few minutes, they returned, dressed in scrubs and a surgical coat, gloves on, a head cap covering their hair, and a surgical mask, wheeling in a trolley of equipment and tools. 

They wiped down the operating table, and turned to Midoriya, “Come and lie face-down on the table.”

The teen got up, and carefully climbed onto the table, lying down prone. The head-rest had a padded hole which allowed him to breathe with ease while in a prone position. The overhead lamps flashed on.

“I’m going to administer general anaesthesia, Izuku-kun,” Spec. Hanenao said, “You won’t feel a thing or be awake while I conduct the surgery.”

“Alright.”

There was a minute or so of movement and sound, before Midoriya felt the expected prick of the needle sliding through the skin of his hand into a vein. It only took another minute for the effects of the anaesthesia to take hold, drowsiness clouding his mind as darkness filled his vision. He went under not long after, completely dead to the world as Spec. Hanenao began the surgery.

It was the first step towards healing, and the journey ahead to heroism.

To Be Continued.