Chapter Text
Today was not his day. Though, every day seemed to not be his day. This was just how life was for Midoriya Izuku. Every day went to hell no matter what he did to change it. Not since he turned four. Everything before then was fine. He was a happy normal child with a happy normal life. He had a wonderful mother and a best friend and there was only one thing that could make it more perfect.
A Quirk.
But he never got one.
A month after he turned four, all the other kids in his class had displayed some sign of a Quirk but he hadn’t. The mother and son duo waited another month but nothing changed so Midoriya Inko brought her son to the Quick Specialist to diagnose the problem.
Izuku went through countless tests and screenings without knowing what was really going on. He just followed what anyone asked of him. He ended up in a room with his mother after a few hours, looking at a doctor who had an x-ray on the wall.
“It’s not going to happen.”
Five simple words and Izuku’s world was crushed. He would not get a Quirk. He was Quirkless. How could he be a Hero without one? Every Hero he knew had a Quirk. So how…
Izuku didn’t know how he got home but he found himself in front of the computer. By instinct, he found the bookmark for the familiar video of All Might’s debut. All smiles and strength with every intention to save every last person there. The kind of Hero Izuku wanted to be.
"Fear not citizens, for I am here."
The door creaked a little as his mother entered the room. A small, cracked voice broke the quiet.
“See mom, he always saves someone with a smile,” Izuku said, a wobbly smile of his own on his face. He already predicted how his mother would answer but he hoped he was wrong as he asked. “Do you think…I could still be a Hero, too?”
Inko stared at her son for a short while, tears building in her eyes, as she thought about his question. She shot forward and grabbed her son in a sympathetic hug while telling him she was sorry. It was enough of a ‘no’ for him. If only she could believe as he did.
~~~
“Didn’t you hear?”
“What?”
“Izuku is Quirkless.”
“Quirkless? Wow, Katsuki is right. He is a Deku.”
Izuku heard every comment his classmates said but he was still too in shock to respond. All his dreams. All his aspirations. Seemingly out the window because of some genetic anomaly that he couldn’t control. It wasn’t fair! But then again when had life ever been fair.
Guess he just had to try harder.
~~~
Throughout the years, Izuku did his best to stay positive. After all, that’s what All Might did! Always faced any challenge with a smile. He faced the ridicule of his peers and teachers as best he could. He always tried his best when studying and would analyze any Hero fight he saw. His mother wasn’t thrilled about his aspirations to be a Hero, thinking his dream was practically impossible, but she never stopped him from trying. There wasn’t anything that could stop him when it came to his love of Heroes. She even let him started taking self-defense lessons. Her thoughts being than even when he didn’t become a Hero, it was always good to know how to defend yourself. Plus, his dad’s endorsement of it didn’t hurt her decision either.
The biggest obstacle for him was Kacchan. Kacchan as always and forever will be a force to be reckoned with. His personality was his Explosion Quirk personified. Big, bright, flashy, and strong. Perfect for becoming a Pro-Hero. Everything Izuku wanted to be.
But everyone thinks he couldn’t. And Kacchan made it very clear he didn’t think so either. He mostly stopped any physical attacks once Izuku started his self-defense classes and began to fight back. But verbal attacks were still on the table. Every day. Especially this day.
So yeah, today was not his day.
“If you want a Quirk so bad, why don’t you take a swan dive off the roof and pray for a Quirk in your next life.”
Izuku just stared at him in disbelief at what he just heard his childhood friend turned bully say to him. Suicide baiting? Really? He knew Kacchan could be a great Hero but this? This was not how a Hero should act.
What if I actually did it, Kacchan? It would ruin your chances, stupid jerk…
As he waited for Kacchan to leave, Izuku slowly packed the rest of his backpack up. Once he was sure the explosive blonde was gone, he shouldered his bag and headed outside to look for his notebook. Which Kacchan had graciously exploded and then tossed out the window on top of the suicide baiting. He found it in the koi pond outside of his classroom. Saving it from the fish, he gently placed it in his bag to dry out later. Afterall, it held his precious Hero notes inside.
With a frustrated sigh, Izuku fixed his bag and walked away from the school.
~~~
Izuku needed to work on his situational awareness. Because one moment he was walking home through an underpass and the next he was being drowned by a Villain made entirely of sludge.
“You’re a hero to me, kid. I didn’t know he was in the city.”
The Villain was mumbling about something that Izuku couldn’t understand. He was more focused on trying to breathe again. The Sludge Villain was trying to force himself down his throat and it hurt. So. Much.
Black spots started to encroach on his vision when he heard a somewhat familiar voice shout out.
“Fear not, citizen. For I am here.”
The world went black.