Chapter Text
Izuku has always been interested in the difference between heroes and Heroes. Because, there’s “heroes”; people who do good for the sake of doing good, people who act bravely and heroically to help those in need. And there’s “Heroes”; those who are employed by the Hero Commission to use their quirks to stop villains.
There is some overlap between the two, of course.
And, there are also heroes who aren’t Heroes, and Heroes that don’t quite act like heroes.
The distinction between the two matters, at least it does as far as Izuku is concerned. Partly because most people don’t seem to consider it at all. Partly because, well.
Ever since Izuku was little, they’ve always wanted to be a hero. On the other hand, the Hero Commission has made it unfortunately crystal clear that they don’t think quirkless people have any business being Heroes.
In other words, the distinction matters because… maybe Izuku can’t be a Hero, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be a hero.
As Izuku is walking to school that morning, they hear a loud crashing sound in the distance, a sound that can only mean that there’s a Hero fighting a villain.
Don’t do it. Don’t go towards it. You still have to get to school. Don’t go towards it-
Even as Izuku is trying to scold themself against going after it, they’re already turning and running, a big excited smile forming on their face.
Okay, sure, maybe they talk a big game about the fact that there’s a difference between heroes and Heroes, and how not all Heroes are necessarily good.
That doesn’t mean they don’t still find themself excited by the idea of Heroes.
(…Plus, it’s good practice for analyzing quirks.)
Luckily, Izuku doesn’t have to go too far out of their way before they find the crowd of people who have gathered around the fight, either excited to watch like Izuku, or annoyed that their day is being interrupted like this.
Using their small size to their advantage, Izuku weaves through the large crowd to get to the front so that they have a better view of the action.
The fight is between Kamui Woods and an unknown villain who seems to have a quirk that gives them a large, monstrous form.
He certainly has the advantage, Izuku thinks, watching, If the villain can’t fluctuate his size, then he’s pretty limited when it comes to how he can move. He can destroy as much stuff as he can get in contact with, sure, but it’ll still be in his way and he won’t be able to get through it. Kamui on the other hand has a lot of mobility and he should be able to swing his way around the villain, doing small amounts of damage that build up until he feels confident enough to pull off his special finisher…
The fight progresses, more or less going the way Izuku predicted it would. Right up to the final attack, where Kamui prepares to use his special finishing move.
Izuku holds their breath, watching, excited. It’s one thing to see videos of a Hero’s special move, and it’s another to get to see it in person, and so they always love it when they get a chance like this.
And then, just as Kamui is about to release his finisher, a gigantic figure jumps into the scene, kicking the villain to the ground, cheering a special move name of their own- “CANYON CANON!”
Eh?
Everyone freezes for at least a whole ten seconds out of sheer confusion.
(Judging by the costume, she seems to be a Hero, but Izuku doesn’t recall ever seeing her before.)
Taking advantage of how everyone is frozen in the moment, the Hero waves at the crowd and enthusiastically introduces, “Hi everyone! Starting today, I’m a new Hero! You can call me Mt. Lady!”
After that, the surprise seems to wear off and the crowd breaks off into cheers.
A new Hero huh? I guess that explains why I didn’t recognize her…
That’s super exciting though! A new Hero and a new quirk to think about!
Now let’s see, what sticks out about it immediately… well, one thing I’m curious about is how exactly her quirk works. Depending on how much control she has over her size, that could really determine how useful it is, just like the villain Kamui was fighting against.
Izuku is about to pull their notebook from their bag to start writing notes on it, when their eyes catch sight of their watch.
Crap! I forgot, I still have to get to school today! If I don’t hurry, I’m gonna be late!
With the crowd already starting to disperse, Izuku is able to sprint through, heading back onto the path where they were at before.
As they run, one thought sticks out in their mind.
I… do feel a little bad for Kamui Woods though.
He was the one who handled the greater load in that fight, but everything he did is gonna get overshadowed by the appearance of a new Hero… at the very least it’s gotta be frustrating, but then that’s not even to mention that if he doesn’t get the credit for the takedown from the Hero Commission either…
Still running, Izuku sighs. That’s another fact of Heroes for you; the profession is incredibly competitive, based on how it’s structured in the first place.
Just ahead of them, Izuku sees the top of their school building peeking out over other buildings. At that, they push the thoughts of Heroes from their mind, and pick up the pace.
As luck would have it, they managed to make it to school a minute before the bell rang. Cutting it a bit close, but hey, at least they made it. They mentally tuck away their thoughts of the hero fight for later, when they have more time to write it down in their notebook.
They heave a sigh as they melt into their desk, and with that it’s time to switch their thoughts to more academic matters.
“Today we’ll be talking about your plans for the future!” The teacher announces.
Ohhh joy.
“All right, so, how many of you have an idea of what you want to do?”
Everyone eagerly shoots their hands into the air- well, except for Izuku, really. (They know they want to help people, but as far as a real, solid career is concerned… they haven’t quite figured anything out yet.)
“Aaand, for how many of you is that ‘idea of what you want to do’ being a Hero…?”
The class breaks out into enthusiastic cheers.
Izuku flinches back from the loud outbreak, but it’s not an unexpected response. Pretty much everyone grows up wanting to be a Hero. Because of that, the Hero Commission is picky though, and so the chances of actually making it as a Hero are… not the best, unless you really lucked out in the quirk department.
“We all know only one of us here has what it takes to really be a Hero,” A voice says, breaking out over the rest. Izuku tenses, because they know that voice, and, well…
The other people in the class all talk over each other as they protest against Bakugou’s statement.
“Oh that’s right,” The teacher says, looking over a paper in front of him, “You’re aiming to get into UA, aren’t you?”
The mention of UA causes everyone else to pause. UA, the top school in the country, specifically known for being a Hero school. Nearly all of the highest ranked professional Heroes graduated from there, and it’s where pretty much every person who dreams of being a Hero aims to go.
That being said, dreaming of going there and making it there are two separate things entirely. UA’s acceptance rates are abysmally low, given all the people who apply- if it were anyone else in the class who was talking about UA as an option, it would be almost laughable.
But for Bakugou…
“I’ve aced all the mock tests, I have a stellar quirk, and I’m not a pushover who would let anyone else get in my way!”
…Ever since his quirk appeared, everyone seemed to come to a silent agreement, a silent acceptance, that there was no way he wouldn’t end up a Hero.
Bakugou continues, “We all know I’ll be the only person from here to get in to UA, and that’ll be the first part of my Hero Origin St-”
“Oh yeah, Midoriya, you’re trying to get into UA too, aren’t you?”
The whole classroom freezes, and it would be comical if Izuku didn’t want to crawl under a desk and hide because of it.
WHY. WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT. ESPECIALLY NOW OF ALL TIMES.
The tension snaps and breaks with one word-
“Deku!”
Izuku is already out of their seat and backing away as Bakugou advances on them, steaming with anger.
“You’ve got some explaining to do!” He yells, and Izuku’s back hits the back wall of the room to stop their retreat.
Izuku holds up their arms as if to surrender and stammers, “I- hold on- wait-”
“You said you gave up on being a Hero!”
“I- I did!”
Technically not a lie, in that they don’t want to be a Hero in the professional sense- and as far as Bakugou is concerned, the other form of hero doesn’t matter.
(It… still stings to say it like that though.)
“So what’s the big idea?!” Bakugou demands. “Why are you trying to get into UA?!”
“I- just- I only plan on getting into the General Education course!” Izuku explains hastily. “I’m- I- It’s completely separate from- from the Hero course!”
“But you’re quirkless.”
No matter how many times Izuku has to hear it like that- to hear the word quirkless said like it’s something despicable- it still hurts every time.
“They- they took out that rule,” Izuku protests, “UA doesn’t stop people from taking the exam if they’re quirkless anymore…!”
“That doesn’t mean their standards are low enough to accept someone like you!”
That’s another stinger to the heart.
“Would both of you please sit down,” The teacher says, “You’re disrupting class.”
Bakugou gives Izuku one last hardened glare before turning and stalking back to his desk. Hesitantly, Izuku pushes themself off the back wall and walks to their own seat.
The teacher continues explaining what they’ll be doing in class today, as though nothing just happened.
Hmm. Yep. So, this is a perfect example of why Izuku has no intention whatsoever on being a Hero, in the professional sense.
It’s partly because of Bakugou; knowing that Izuku would have to deal with him every step of the journey, and what that would mean.
But it’s also about how people react to Bakugou, what Bakugou represents.
Despite not being heroic in the slightest, Bakugou is the perfect example of what Heroes have become. He’s powerful, he’s strong, and he always wants to win; and who cares what he does with that power in the meantime, as long as he keeps fighting and looking cool?
No one speaks up about how it’s wrong for him to treat Izuku the way he does because of their quirklessness. Because for the other students, that’s just how things have always been, and the authority figures have never once tried to change that.
“Both of you,” The teacher had said, because it’s never Bakugou’s fault, oh no. Never mind that he’s consistently the one starting things, and that it’s been that way forever.
Izuku doesn’t want to be a Hero; because they know that they’d have to fight tooth and nail to even make it in the front door, and to stay they’d have to fight even harder.
That’s not to say that they’ve given up or don’t have it in them to fight for it if they wanted to- it’s just that, when they think about it, they don’t really want to fight for a system that couldn’t care less about them anyway.
They’ll be their own hero. No Hero system required.
The rest of the day passes without much fuss, and before they know it the final bell rings.
As soon as they have the time to think about it again, Izuku pulls out their notebook and starts scribbling out notes about the Hero battle from earlier that morning- and about the new Hero who had appeared.
Admittedly, during class Izuku’s thoughts might have wandered to the Hero battle once or twice, and perhaps it gave them even more content to write down, but they wouldn’t admit to drifting off during class.
They have a lot to work with when it comes to the new Hero, but that’s how it is for all new Heroes- more specifically, all new quirks.
There’s plenty of thought to put into how it could possibly work, and what the most effective strategies for each possibility would be; then, what situations would give the most trouble because of her quirk, followed by the best solutions to said problems.
Izuku can’t wait to right down their thoughts, it’s really quite intere-
“Hey, Deku. We weren’t done talking earlier.”
Immediately, Izuku feels themself grow tense. Self conscious, they turn over their notebook so that the pages are face down. After a moment, they chance a glance upward, hesitant to move at all.
Bakugou glares down at them, and Izuku turns their eyes back to their desk to avoid his gaze.
“So, now that we have the time, tell me, what on Earth is it possessing you to think you should apply to UA?”
“I- well- it’s-” Izuku starts and stops, trying to think of what to say that would explain without making him any angrier, “I just… UA is a top school and so it offers a lot of opportunities afterwards, even outside of the Hero course-”
While Izuku is still avoiding looking at him, Bakugou has approached and without warning he grabs the notebook off the table, out from under their arm.
“Hey!” Izuku protests, “Give that back!”
“Hero analysis journal number thirteen,” Bakugou reads the front, then looks back to them with narrowed eyes, “I knew it. You haven’t given up at all, have you? You still want to be a Hero?”
“No! It’s not like that- it’s just a hobby, I-”
Bakugou brings his hands together, and with the notebook between them, activates his quirk.
Izuku stands up so abruptly that their chair falls backwards behind them, but they’re not fast enough to stop Bakugou from casually throwing the notebook out the window.
Notebook disposed of, Bakugou takes a step towards Izuku and grabs them by the collar. “Look. I don’t care whether or not your bullshit about wanting to get into UA just for the General Education course is true or not. Because even then you’re not getting in. If you weren’t listening earlier, the first part of my Hero Origin Story is where I’m the only person here to make it into UA. Not just ‘into UA’s Hero course’. Into UA. And you’re not gonna screw that up. Got it?”
Izuku’s mouth opens and closes, but they find themself unable to actually say anything.
Bakugou shakes them by the collar. “I said, got it?”
“Got it,” Izuku manages to say, nodding furiously.
He lets them go, shoving them backwards- Izuku stumbles a few steps and trips over their own feet, causing them to fall. Bakugou then says, “I’m letting you off easy for now. If I find out you’re lying to me, again, you won’t get off quite as easy. So you better keep this in that obnoxiously overstuffed head of yours.”
And with that, he’s leaving, door slamming behind him as he goes.
It’s only after the room has once again stilled and gone quiet that Izuku shakily lifts themself to their feet. Dazed, they look out the window to see where their notebook landed outside.
After a long beat where all they can do is stare out the window, unmoving, they will their feet to carry them down to the courtyard to go get it.
…
The whole way there they feel hollow, like their head is devoid of thought.
It’s when they arrive, pick up their notebook and look at how damaged it is, that the urge to cry finally sets in, a lump gathering in their throat and their eyes stinging.
It’s not giving up, They tell themself, that’s what they tell themself, but isn't it? They say that they don’t care about being a Hero, that they don’t want to be a part of the system anyway so they don’t care that it doesn’t want them. But is it the truth, or is it just what they tell themself so that they don’t feel guilty about the fact that they really are just giving up?
After all, when face to face with Bakugou, they easily crumpled and folded on threats alone. What’s to say they didn’t just convince themself to give up so they wouldn’t have to face him?
Izuku rubs at their eyes as the tears start to gather.
It’s times like this, where they feel like they’re just a coward. Like they’re- like they’re running away.
Even as they repeat their mental justification, as they repeat their “I’m not going to fight for a system that wouldn’t fight for me,” they feel like all they are is a coward.
One thing is clear though. Despite what they said in the classroom, when Bakugou was right in their face, they’re not giving up on UA. Whether it’s to prove that they’re not a coward, or- or to deny Bakugou the satisfaction of making them give up yet another thing just because he pushes them around. Either way, they’re going to UA.
Holding on to that bit of determination, they make a conscious effort to slow their breathing and calm down.
They look up to find that they’ve been walking their way home- mostly on an unconscious sort of “auto pilot” level.
They’re just glad no one else is around- if there had been anyone, Izuku isn’t sure they would have been aware of their surroundings enough to not walk in to any-
Izuku stops in their path, ears perked.
It’s… faint, distant, and they’re almost uncertain whether or not they really heard it or if they just imagined it.
And then, as they’re listening intently, they hear it again.
“help!”
Not even thinking twice about it, Izuku is already walking in the direction where they’re hearing the voice from.
They find themself following the shout to an alleyway, and as they skid to a stop just at the edge, they see a large pile of sludge.
And then the pile of sludge moves, and a pair of eyes narrow at them.
Izuku hesitates- they don’t want to just assume based on appearances that someone is immediately a villain-
Someone just barely struggles out of the sludge, makes eye contact with them, and shouts, “Help…!”
OKAY, YEP, IT’S A VILLAIN.
“Crap-” The villain hisses, “A witness…!”
Physically, Izuku feels themself freeze at being put on the spot like this, but their mind is racing.
Slime, slime, slime, what would counteract that?
Their eyes eyes flicker around the alley, at different items- a broom, a few rocks, a bucket of water, an empty can, a dumpster-
The sludge starts to move forward, towards them.
Breaking out of their frozen state, Izuku lunges for the first thing their instincts tell them- the bucket of water.
They grab it and just as the sludge is about to reach them, they throw the water on the villain.
“What the hell?!” He shouts in surprise; a beat later, the sludge absorbs all the water, and suddenly it’s a lot more fluid. Taking the villain’s surprise as an opportunity, Izuku swings the bucket itself and hits at one of the villain’s eyes.
He recoils backwards, letting the person trapped in the sludge to surface again, and this time now that they’re close enough Izuku grabs their arm and yanks on them.
With the sludge much less fluid now, the victim breaks free after just a moment.
After pulling the person out of the sludge, Izuku hesitates, not sure what their next move should be now- (honestly they weren’t sure this would work to begin with-) but the other decides for them as Izuku finds themself being dragged away from the sludge villain at a run.
“Come on! We don’t know if he’ll get back up!”
At that, Izuku snaps out of their surprise and makes a run for it as well. A good decision, because they can hear the sludge gurgling as it chases after the both of them.
“Stop right there, villain!” A voice yells from behind, a voice chasing the villain that’s chasing them.
The villain turns, and so does Izuku and the other student that they’re running away with.
“A Hero?!” The sludge’s warbly voice exclaims.
“Water Stream!” The Hero yells, preparing an attack.
“Not again-!”
The sludge villain is hit with a blast of water so hard that it sends the sludge splattering apart into different directions- and the same blast of water then proceeds to drench Izuku and the student they were running with (though luckily due to the slime villain slowing the stream down it didn’t do any kind of damage).
“Sorry about that!” The Hero, Backdraft, calls to them. “Are you both okay?”
Izuku glances to the person who was caught by the sludge villain first. They look rather disheveled from the initial attack, and despite being soaked in water they still have bits and pieces of sludge in their long, braided hair, and their glasses look fairly slimey.
Despite all that, they still respond, “Yeah, we’re okay now.”
“That’s a relief,” Backdraft sighs. “I’m sorry for losing track of the villain before, but I’ll contain him now that I’m here.”
The sludge villain seems to have been knocked unconscious by the force of the water thrown at him, and so there’s no struggle as Backdraft uses the water on the ground to make a stream that flows the slime towards him.
Izuku hesitates for a moment as Backdraft contains the villain, not sure if now is the time, but then their impulses win out as they ask, “Can I… can I get your autograph?”
They’re not picky when it comes to the Heroes they look up to- as long as they seem like the kind that overlaps with what it means to be a hero.
Backdraft looks at them, almost surprised by the request. Then he goes, “Ah, sure,” and takes Izuku’s notebook. Said notebook is, ah, a little damp considering it was in Izuku’s bag when they got drenched, and other than that it’s pretty scorched on the edges from the earlier conversation with Bakugou. But seeing that, Backdraft handles it carefully and signs the back page so as to not interrupt anything else in the notebook.
“Thanks!” Izuku beams.
With the sludge villain now fully collected, Backdraft says, “I have to be going now. Be careful, okay?”
Izuku watches as the Hero leaves.
An awkward cough sounds behind them, and Izuku turns to see the other student who was attacked by the sludge villain. “Um- I wanted to say- thanks.”
“Huh?” Izuku blanks.
“You… you really saved me there,” They elaborate.
“I didn’t do much,” Izuku protests, “I mean, the villain was unphased enough that he could chase after us, and it was really Backdraft who defeated him, so…”
“I mean, I guess that’s true,” They say, “But on the other hand if you hadn’t shown up when you did… I don’t know if I would have lasted long enough for Backdraft to be able to save me. So… I feel like I owe you thanks, too. How did you know water would work against him like that anyway?”
“I… well… I kind of… didn’t,” Izuku admits. “It was just a lucky hunch, I guess. I figured if the sludge diluted, it wouldn’t be as strong.”
“Well, it was a pretty good guess,” The other laughs. After a moment, they repeat, “So… thanks. You’re, like, my hero.”
Izuku looks at them, stunned.
“Sorry, that was probably… weird to say,” They mumble. Izuku opens their mouth to say no, they were just surprised, when the other continues, “Anyway, um… I should really get home and,” They look down at how they’re drenched and still half covered in slime, “Take a shower, probably.” After an awkward beat of silence, they go, “Bye!”
Before Izuku can even find the words to say, they’re running off.
…
…A hero, huh…?
Izuku feels a smile spread on their face.
They don’t want to be a Hero, not with how things are in the system. But, well… there’s a difference between a Hero and a hero. And you don’t need a licence to simply help other people when they need it.