Chapter Text
“Please stop! You’re hurting me, Kacchan!” Midoriya cries as Bakugou and his posse beat him up in an alleyway. Midoriya shouldn’t be surprised, but why does Bakugou hate him? Why doesn’t Bakugou talk to him anymore?
“Shut it, Deku!” With a final kick, Midoriya can feel his skin tear open. He lets tears fall down his face, before turning towards Bakugou. Before he can open his mouth however, Midoriya is alerted to a new presence in the alley. An old hero, Faunaswap, walks towards the group and asks what’s going on.
“Deku here is quirkless! We’re trying to toughen him up!”
“Ah, is that all? I’ll be going!” Faunaswap walks away, leaving Midoriya crying on the ground, alone in an alleyway. The hero didn’t even try to stop them once he learned that Midoriya was quirkless, so why does it matter? He had thought the discrimination would get better, but now he’s just seen as weak and a burden. Midoriya closed his eyes to take a small nap, in too much pain to even consider getting up.
When Midoriya woke up, he went fishing for his phone. Seeing that it was now 7:49, Midoriya pushed himself up and towards the opening of the alley. It had been nearly 4 hours and the only person trying to keep in touch was his mom. Once he sent her a text confirming he was alright Midoriya started to head home. Midoriya started to dig himself into his thoughts, all the quirkless and idiotic insults filling his head. Why were people so mean to him just because he didn’t have a stupid quirk?
The walk to his house took longer than normal, mostly because his back hurt so much. Judging by the feel, Midoriya knew he’d have to have his mom help with fixing them. Note to self, he thought, don’t take that way home.
He then had a thought. If the heros wouldn’t help and by extension the police, then who would? Where do people turn to when they were pushed and shunned away from society? The only people willing to save him, Midoriya decided, were villains. The villains may not be the best of people, but that’s only because society refused to help them. Society, Midoriya thought, coming to a conclusion, needed to fall in order to save everyone.
Izuku Midoriya walked away from the brightly lit street and into a darkened alley.
When Midoriya woke up the next morning, his back screamed murder. A quick run-over of yesterday’s “adventure” told him that the best idea was to stay home. After all, a Pro Hero hadn’t saved Izuku, so what was the chance of a teacher doing so?
“Mom? Can I stay home today?” Izuku yelled across the house. He didn’t feel well enough to move, and the fact that his mom is the one to call in is a bonus too. Izuku knew something changed in him, whether that be mental or physical.
“Of course Izuku, but please take it easy! I don’t want you hurting yourself again!” Mom yelled back at Izuku. At least that cleared his day for researching. When Izuku woke up and opened his news app, he saw that Faunaswap was killed not long after he left Izuku. That either means Fauna had previous crimes, or someone was watching him. The article talked about the murder, and how it looked like the work of Hero Killer: Stain.
However, the more he researched Faunaswap, the more Izuku realized that Stain was totally justified to kill him. A statement made 4 years ago by Fauna’s ex-wife stated that he was abusive. Since Faunaswap was a pro hero, though, it was overlooked. In the same statement, Faunaswap’s ex stated that he committed tax fraud. Now, Izuku normally didn’t justify murder, but the dude kinda deserved it.
The small section that talked about Stain said that he had killed 11, and injured at least 17 to the point of retirement. Normally, Izuku would be petrified - what if he watched Izuku get bullied? - however, every single person who died or was injured all deserved it. Their crimes ranged from not saving people’s lives to destroying buildings and committing American felonies. Or, for the case of Endeavor, Izuku could find proof of at least 32 “accidental” villain casualties.
I wonder if this Stain guy takes requests? Izuku thought as he walked into the kitchen. He could smell bacon from his room, and his stomach led the way. Mom only made bacon when she had to work long shifts, so Izuku knew he’d have a majority of the day to himself.
A brilliant thought came to him then. Since no hero would save him, he’d have to know self-defense. Izuku would also need to learn parkour since most of the trouble came from being cornered on rooftops. With a new goal, Operation: Scar got started.
The first objective was learning how to do the basics. With a quick Google, Izuku was able to find 5 basics he needed to master if he wanted to get better. The first one was jumping over, so Izuku went to a park to practice without a chance of dying. With a quick goodbye to his mom, he set off towards a certain park buried in a forest. Here it’d be better since no-one would question why a scrawny 12-year old was jumping around without supervision.
Izuku quickly got that mastered, and moved on to the next item. By noon of overmorrow, Izuku had somewhat mastered the very basics of parkour and decided that he needed to take the self-defense classes now rather than later. When Izuku got home, he asked Inko for the classes. His reasoning was that he would no longer need to be handled like glass, and would be able to protect himself. It was a winning argument and the next week Izuku was learning how to block an attack.
Within the next four months, Izuku worked on his technic. He was even able to out-run Kacchan one time! Bakugou had cornered Izuku before he remembered that he could climb walls, leading to Bakugou screaming about ‘what kind of spider fucking is this shit?’ before running back to the safety of his home.
Suddenly school was out and it was summer break. Izuku’s birthday was the next day. Inko was talking to him about taking the day off and going to the local mall to get his presents. Izuku’s favorite part of the day, however, was when he’d watch his birthday tape his father pre-recorded before disappearing. It helped Izuku remember his father, and he’d always have something to look forward to.
Suddenly, it’s July 15th and Izuku is finally 13. It doesn’t make a huge difference, but last year his dad had mentioned a surprise today. After eating a quick breakfast Inko goes into her room and walks out with a new SD card, with the words ‘For Izuku’s 13th’ carefully written on the case. Inko takes the card out, puts it into her computer, and opens the new folder. Once she opens the video, the familiar voice of Hisashi Midoriya fills the room.
“Uh… hey Izuku! It’s me, yo dad. Okay, that was bad- Hisashi are you seriously messing with the camera still? We’ve gone through a million cards by now! [chuckles] I think I know what I’m doing! Anywho, Izuku, it’s now your 13th birthday! This year, Inko probably has a surprise- Honey, not on film! We don’t want to ruin it! Sorry sugar pea! Sorry about that bud [laughs] [chuckles] I’m glad we’ve come to a common ground hon. Izuku, be a good boy for your mother and I. I love you, see you next year! Izuku, my little kale, be the bravest you can this year. We love you! ”
The video ends with young Inko blowing a kiss to the camera and turning it off. Inko got up and pats Izuku on his shoulder. He also got up and started to follow her.
“Now I know I had it around here somewhere. Hisashi and I hid it so you wouldn’t find it prematurely. If I shove this box-” Inko removed a box marked with ‘ Gardening??? ’ before finding the package wrapped in packing paper1 and twine. “-Here it is!” She handed the package to Izuku, and they went to sit back down on the couch.
When Izuku opened the package, he saw a pack of colored pencils, a sketchbook, and a rare All-Might figurine he didn’t yet have. “Thank you, mom,” He manages to get out before he starts crying. A normal procedure, Inko starts crying with him. They can’t stay like this, though. They have to go shopping today.
Izuku was filled with excitement as he and Inko walked off of the train. He pulled Inko along as he rushed to check out the hero merch store. Izuku was rather interested in the newest All Might merch, so he went over and grabbed it while looking at the Miruko display. She debuted 7 years ago, but Miruko stuck in Izuku’s mind as a really cool hero. He was unable to find any serious crimes besides vulgarity, but everyone lets out anger in some way. Miruko let it out by defeating criminals and swearing, instead of domestic abuse and murder like some people.
Seeing that Izuku needed new shoes, Inko pulled Izuku away from the hero store and towards Treks. They reached the store and Izuku grabbed a new pair of his classic red hightops, and Inko sighed. Ever since Hisashi got Izuku his first pair of hightops he has defaulted to those shoes. The pair paid and walked out, heading to the food court.
Suddenly, a villain had appeared. Izuku saw the costume and froze in fear. It was Red Giant, a villain who could turn her entire body into hot fire. Somehow she had gotten through the sensors and was now wreaking havoc on the mall. People were screaming and calling for heroes to arrive on the scene. Izuku looked at Red Giant with fear, recognizing her as the missing Abe who couldn’t be older than 17. It was a pity she had to turn to crime.
Inko pulled Izuku from his frozen state. “Mom, I recognize her. We have to stop her before she gets hurt,” He said as he speed-walked behind Inko. “She’s barely 17, she’s still a technical minor. Please,”
Then, the heroes barged in. Leading them was Endeavor, that smelling bag of trash. He charged forward and punched Red in the face. She recoiled and retaliated with a fiery slap. Izuku could smell the burnt flesh from where he was standing. “Mom. Mom he’s about to use Prominence Burn. Mom, he’s going to kill Red,” Inko stopped walking. She turned towards Abe and decided to prevent death.
“Ah, my idiotic uncle, I can sense the heat roll off of you. Do you ever wonder what would happen if you felt the same?” Abe looked down from where she was floating, taunting Endeavor from a distance. She saw Inko running towards her.
“Miss! Miss you have to move! I don’t study heroes, but my son does, and he says that Endeavor will kill you, so please move!” She shouted as Endeavor finished preparing the attack.
“Prominence-”
“Lady!”
“Mom!”
“-BURN!” Endeavor shouted as he sent the wave of fire to Inko and Abe. The women both tried to dodge but were unsuccessful. Izuku ran over, ignoring the heroes’ warnings and the screams of pain.
He reached the bodies, seeing his mom was barely breathing. The sight of his mom made Izuku want to puke. The area of her body that was facing the fire was burnt away and charred. Izuku could make out her bone. The smell was nauseating. Izuku felt tears pouring down his face. Why did Endeavor of all people respond to the call?
“Izuku, please listen to me. Grab your things from the house and leave. Run. I don’t want you to go through the stuff I went through. I never got to know my birth parents. I was passed around the system. Please, leave. I know you don’t want to, but please,” Inko cried out as she took her last breaths. “I love you, Izuku,”
With the last statement, Izuku bowed his head and started sobbing.
“Izuku, right? She said your name was Izuku? Okay. You need to start going, otherwise, you’ll be taken by heroes. I’m sure my fuck-up of an uncle would not want to deal with whatever’s going on right here,” Abe told Izuku. He started wiping away his tears and held his mom’s hand. Taking off the ring, Izuku goes searching for Inko’s purse. He takes the metro pass and all the money from it before running out of the mall.
Taking the train home left Izuku with some time to think about what he’ll need. He could leave his notebooks there, but it’d be in his best interest if he grabbed some food before leaving. Izuku also considered a water bottle and a kitchen knife as he stepped into his neighborhood. He barged into his house and grabbed his backpack and emptied the contents.
Izuku then filled the backpack up with food and water, keeping the kitchen knife tucked away in the pocket of his cargo shorts. He also grabbed a hoodie, though it was July and nearing the hottest month of the year. Izuku keeps the card and money in his pockets, just to make sure he doesn’t lose them. With his preparations finished, Izuku leaves and locks the door, closing this chapter of his life.
It’s been nearly two months since Izuku ran away. It has also been two months since he had tested out of middle school. The test was surprisingly easy, invoking the proctors to ask whether he had a hidden memorization quirk or not. Izuku assured them that their prejudice was correct and he was, in fact, quirkless.
One thing Izuku didn’t expect was to experience loneliness. He assumed that he would be able to deal with it, seeing as he had no friends and the only person he was close to died. Instead, he found himself talking to the random stray cats that wander into the abandoned building he’s since called home. Izuku prays for one interact at least, but it never comes. He feels stuck, abandoned, and entirely lost. On the bright side, he doesn’t have to deal with bullies. The dark side is that the bullying functioned as his only interaction of people his age.
Sometimes, when he doesn’t feel like leaving, he’ll go to the creaky 3rd floor and watch as people walk by and talk. Izuku learns that barely anybody is still trying to find him. They stopped after the first month, meaning people most likely thought he was dead. It was a feeling that made his skin itch. Izuku missed talking to people, and that’s what he found most unusual.
Eventually, it turns to night time and Izuku leaves the building to get ramen.
On the same side of town, Kurogiri leaves the bar to get groceries. It’s much easier to leave during the night than the day, and there would be not as many people out. He also doesn’t have to memorize the grocery store layout, which is a plus. Kurogiri starts walking to the store.
Izuku doesn’t notice that he’s being followed until there’s a knife pressed against his throat and someone’s telling him to hand over all his money. When Izuku gives them his change from the ramen shop, he gets stabbed in his left shoulder. The pain is sharp but he doesn’t flinch, instead, he focuses on getting out his own knife that was… inside the house. Which means he doesn’t have it. Which means he had to bring fists to a knife fight.
The person went for another stab, this time landing in Izuku gut. There was more pain, and it was starting to become unbearable. They started to back away before Izuku pulled the knife out and went for them in turn. The knife ended up finding a nice, new home in Izuku’s attacker’s chest. He looked into their eyes as the light faded from their eyes. It was at this moment Izuku’s thoughts came back to him.
Holy fuck. Holy. Fuck. I just killed someone. They died, and it’s my fault.
You just killed someone. You are a terrible person. Mom would want you dead than have you as her son. Now you’re bleeding to death in an alley like the pathetic fool you are.
I don’t think it’s time to be pouty, self. Mom’s gone, and now this person is too. They attacked first!
Izuku didn’t notice his breathing had become sparse until someone laid a cool hand onto his shoulder. He looked up at a thick, black mist man with yellow eyes.
“Young man, are you alright? You’re bleeding an awful lot,” The man says. He helps Izuku up. Izuku tries not to ruin the mist man’s suit.
“I have… some stuff… at my house. Help me get there, mist man?” Izuku says as they start walking to the abandoned building. The man’s eyes widen at the sight of the rundown house. Izuku shoved open the door and promptly guided the man to the medic corner. It was a small area with all of Izuku’s medical supplies. The man sets Izuku down and lets him sew the wounds closed, then using a lighter he stole, cauterizes them to stop the bleeding.
“I would like to introduce myself. My name is Kurogiri. Since you do not have the best living conditions currently, would you like to stay with me?” Izuku widen his eyes in response. He’d just met Kurogiri and he was already trusted enough to be invited into the man’s home.
“The name’s Izuku Midoriya, and yeah, but can I get my stuff first?” Kurogiri nodded and Izuku, with the help of Kurogiri’s misty shoulder, gets up and hobbles over to the concrete slab he calls his bed. Izuku grabs his backpack, shoves his food into it, and zips the pack closed. With a nod to Kurogiri, they start walking to Kurogiri’s home.
“May I use my quirk to get us there faster?” Izuku agrees, and then the air pressure changes. With a small pop, he and Kurogiri are teleported into a dimly lit bar. The only other person there besides Kurogiri is a pale, skinny man with pale blue hair. He was busy playing Minecraft on a console. He turned around and faces the pair.
“Who the fuck are you?”
“Who the fuck are you ?”
“I asked you first!”
“Well, I asked you second, fucko,” Izuku says. The man grumbles and faces Kurogiri.
“Tomura Shigaraki, this is Izuku Midoriya. He was stabbed and was bleeding out in an alleyway,” Kurogiri explains the situation to Shigaraki as he moves to behind the bar. He pulls out two sodas and offers them to Shigaraki and Izuku. Izuku grabbed the soda and took a sip from it.
They have a somewhat pleasant conversation before the other TV in the corner crackles to life. Izuku and Shigaraki spin around to face it.
“Izuku, hmm? I haven’t seen him in years,” Izuku felt a chill creep up his arm. It wasn’t the fact that the man used his first name. It was the fact that he recognized the voice. Every July 15th, a tape was brought to the living room and watched. The way Mom used to talk about the man as if he died. Instead, he was here, with a mist man/Grillby ripoff and a nerd.
“Dad?” He managed to get out of his throat.