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To say Izuku Midoryia, 2nd year at U.A., was pissed was THE understatement of the century. Earlier that day he had to deal with overhearing some 1st years attacking another student that was Quirkless. Safe to say they were sent right to the Principal's office for that, while Izuku helped the younger student to their class and explained the situation to their teacher.
Now entering his class for homeroom, his classmates could tell that Izuku wasn’t in his usual good mood and the best choice of action was leaving him alone for now, seeing as if the resident sunshine boy was angry then it must have been something very serious. Taking his seat not talking or greeting anyone caused his classmates to become unsettled and worried, however before anyone was able to say a word Aizawa walked in and started homeroom.
Izuku didn’t think he could get angrier than he already was, that is until Aizawa announced the day’s lesson, the proper protocol for dealing with Quirkless victims of villain attacks. The reaction his classmates, even his friends had was something he wasn’t expected but he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t expecting it from some of them, but it still hurt to hear them be dismissive towards the Quirkless and it just made him angrier and angrier before he couldn’t handle it anymore.
SNAP
That was all that was heard as everyone stopped talking and slowly turned to Izuku to find that he had snapped his pencil. It was eerily quiet as everyone just looked at the green-haired boy as without a word he stood up and marched out the door. Leaving his classmates stunned and quiet. Snapping out of it Iida was about to call after him for just leaving class like that when Aizawa spoke up.
“Quiet. The rest of homeroom is a study period.”
Aizawa then proceeds to walk out of the classroom following Izuku.
Storming out of the building Izuku walked up to the closest tree and with a primal scream of rage punched it and kept up his assault until his anger died down and his knuckles were bleeding, tears falling down his face.
“Problem child, what was that?”
Wiping away his tears he shakes his head.
“Today is shit….”
Raising an eyebrow as Midoryia rarely ever swears. Taking the silence as a prompt to elaborate. He begins talking.
“On my way to class, I caught some first years attacking another student for being quirkless,” clenching his fists, “it just… It made me so angry! I thought U.A. would be different…. That I wouldn’t be faced with something from my younger years….when I saw the Quirkless student, Yuki Mizu I think her name was, I….I saw myself...powerless to do anything while my tormentors attacked and hurt me….. A useless nobody that couldn’t even protect himself….and it just… It made me so angry to feel that powerlessness again! Why!? Why do I still feel so powerless when I have such a strong Quirk?! And then to see that my classmates, the people I saw as a family after all the shit we went through with the League, have the same view of the Quirkless as everyone who hurt me as a kid? That just….I couldn’t handle it….I snapped….”
Aizawa was silent throughout Midoryia’s rant, how couldn’t he? He had come out to confront the kid cause he thought the kid stormed out for a different reason, but to hear the truth, he was speechless, gaining his voice.
“It’s alright, memories you’ve worked hard to suppress returned to you and you snapped, better to attack the trees then your classmates, problem child”
Izuku’s head snaps at Aizawa with a look of disbelief, his teacher, the notorious hardass Eraserhead, told him it was alright to break down? To let his memories get the better of him? Then the next thing Aizawa told him was even more of a surprise.
“Head back to the dorms problem child, you’re excused for the rest of the day, go rest, and before you try arguing that you’re fine, you’re clearly not, go rest, I’ll inform your other teachers and talk to the class not to bother you.”
Starting to feel numb once the anger fully leaves him, Izuku nods and heads back to the dorms.
Getting back to the dorms Izuku heads to his room, locking his door behind him and passes out on his bed.
Waking up around lunch Izuku looks at his phone to see all the messages from his friends, still upset over what happened earlier he ignored them all, opening his phone and going to a forum he hadn’t visited since getting One for All, Unity, a forum for Quirkless people to have a safe space to talk. Opening the forum he saw a few unread messages for him and decided to message two of his closest friends from the forum.
Hey Spade, sorry I’ve been gone for so long.
I had so much going on. :Veridian
Hey Nito, sorry I’ve been gone for so long.
I had so much going on. :Veridian
Looking through the forums to see what he missed, he felt his heart clench as he saw they had lost another 5 members. Getting a ping from the chat for Nitro he looked at the message.
Nitro: Big Bro!!! You’re alive!!! :D
I got so worried when you vanished for a solid year!
That’s so rude! How could you ditch your lil sis like that?!
Oh! And in recent news, I got into U.A.!
Support course just like I wanted!
Chuckling at her antics he responded.
Sorry about that Nitro, you must hate me for that
And congrats on getting in!
We might even run into each other in the halls! :Veridian
Nitro: Wait what?! You’re in U.A. too?!
What course did you get in?!
Hero course like how I always wanted. :Veridian
Nitro: :O
I’m so happy for you!
Wait… how hasn’t anyone on the forums heard about this?
I’m sure we’d all be hyped for the first Quirkless student
to get into U.A.’s hero course!
Oh… um… that’s kind of why I haven’t been on…
I.. kind of developed my quirk on the day of the exam? :Veridian
Nitro: …..Wat? How?!
Honestly no clue, my best guess is the fitness routine
I was strengthening my body enough to handle my quirk?
Kinda broke some limbs when I first used it, I’m just
lucky there were rescue points otherwise I wouldn’t have passed. :Veridian
Nitro: Wait… what does that have to do with not being on the forum?
Wait! Did you think we’d hate you if you suddenly developed a quirk?!
…. M-maybe? :Veridian
Nitro: Bro no!! We’d all support you! If anyone here deserves a quirk it’s you!!
Oh, thank you. :Veridian
Seeing that message Izuku put a hand to his mouth as he cried, happy that the person he’s come to see as his little sister supported him and still cared for him even if he did have a quirk now.
Nitro: Oh! Do you want to meet up after school? I witnessed something amazing
Plus, I want to meet my big brother IRL!
With a smile, Izuku tells her he’ll be happy to meet her after school.
Waiting in the tree he’d be meeting Nitro at Izuku looking through his little side project, The Dōkutsu Network, to see how everything was going. It’s been a year since he formed the organization with the help of the other founding members the organization has been going strong and has grown immensely, with most members being common civilians, be it those with strong, weak, villainous Quirks, or even the Quirkless. As he looked through the updates from the members he noticed the first year from earlier today walking towards his tree, narrowing his eyes as he watched Yuki Mizu approach and pull out her phone.
Nitro: I’m here where are you?
His eyes go wide when he realizes that Yuki Mizu is Nitro the younger girl he always saw as a little sister, and suddenly a wave of anger at those other's students that picked on his little sister, without realizing he let out a growl in his anger spooking the younger student, taking in a deep breath to calm down he dropped down from the tree in front of her scaring her into falling backwards. The pair stared at each other before Mizu spoke up.
“M-Midoriya? What are you doing here?”
Gaining a mischievous smirk.
“Dunno Nitro, you tell me”
Her eyes go wide.
“V-Veridian?”
Chuckling at her.
“Yup! Gonna be honest, I didn't see this coming!”
Snorting she sighs.
“Welp, I was going to tell you that one of U.A.’s Big 4 saved me from some bullies earlier today, but I guess you already know that don’t you?” she teasingly asks
Chuckling, he gives her a wide grin.
“Yeah guess I do, guess I’ve gotta make sure that the rest of the school knows that you and any other Quirkless student are my protection, after all those in the know would know that I can be so much worse then Nezu when it comes to protecting my hoard”
Snorting she shakes her head.
“If I didn’t know any better I’d think the late Quirk you developed was a dragon type, but I do know better, especially since it’s common from your dad’s side to be born with dragon-like traits even if they don’t result in a quirk or have nothing to do with one, right?”
“Mhm, Dad said it had something to do with his bloodline, apparently it’s been a trait that’s been there long before Quirks appeared”
“Fair enough, so aside from your new quirk what else has been keeping you busy?”
“Oh I’ve been working on a side project, it has nothing to do with school, it’s more of something to invest time and energy in when to keep my mind off school when needed”
“Oh that’s fair, care to tell me what it is?”
Thinking for a moment he nods
“But not here, lets head back to my dorm and I’ll tell you there, I’d prefer to have my side project as secret as I can for now”
Agreeing with him the two head back to his dorms to continue their talk in his room.
Izuku couldn’t be happier that the hero course had an extra two hours after school than he did now. The last thing he needed was Iida complaining about him bringing a younger year that’s not even in the hero course into their dorms, and then complaining more about the said student being a girl and taking her to his room, nor did he need Mina making assumptions that weren’t even close to true.
Making their way to his room Izuku closes the door and flops onto his bed with a groan.
Raising an eyebrow Yuki looks at him.
“So you gonna explain?”
“Right sorry, so have you heard of the new vigilante network?”
“Oh um yeah, The Dōkutsu Network, right?”
“Yeah, well um, the Network might be the side project...”
Looking at him with wide eyes and a gaping mouth.
“WHAT?! HOW?!”
Sighing he explains.
“Yuki, you know how society treats us, it doesn’t matter how much we have to offer, society just looks down on us as if we’re less than human, and I want to change that! This Network is the first step in that if people can realize that Quirks aren’t what matter then they’ll realize that the way our laws and society are structured is why we have so many villains and not enough heroes! Yuki I was so close to the edge, if it wasn’t for someone choosing to believe in me I’d either be dead or I’d turn to Villainy to get the change I desire! I’ve had to manipulate so many people to get to where I am right now, and honestly, I’d lie if I said it didn’t feel good, but my goal hasn’t changed, and to get the change I desire being a part of the broken system is more effective.”
Yuki silently listens to him before speaking up.
“I want in.”
He nearly chokes on his spit. “W-what?”
“I. Want. In. Viridian you’re my big brother, if you truly believe this is the way to fix this broken system then I’ll support you, but I want to do so by your side” the looks she gives him is one that lets him know she won’t take no for an answer. Sighing in exasperation
“Fine, I’ll talk with the inner circle, and I’ll set up a meeting for you to meet the others.”
Grinning in satisfaction he nods.
“Perfect! I should be heading back to my dorm now, see you later bro!”
Next Day
Walking into class and taking his seat Izuku, looking up at the board at the front of class there are two simple words on written that catch his attention
VIGILANTE NETWORKS
The classroom was buzzing in chatter about that and speculations on what Aizawa would be talking about today. When Aizawa finally stepped into the classroom he took his spot in the front.
“As you might’ve seen from the board behind me we will be talking about vigilante networks today, specifically the more dangerous type of network. Now before we start can anyone tell me what the most dangerous type of vigilante is?”
Yaoyorozu, being the ever studious student, raises her hand and speaks when Aizawa nods at her to talk.
“The most dangerous vigilante would be one that interferes with Hero work, and doesn’t see the consequences of their actions.”
“Wrong, anyone else?”
That seemed to shock most of the class before Iida raised his hand.
“Would the most dangerous kind of vigilante not be the kind that sees the consequences of their actions but disregards the laws and interferes in Hero work?”
“Wrong again, anyone else?”
Sighing as he sees where Aizawa was going with this and knew none of his classmates would get the right answer, Izuku raises his hand and nods to talk.
“The most dangerous vigilante is the one that legally isn’t a vigilante, therefore they’re untouchable by law in regards to the vigilante act of XX/XX/22XX.”
“Correct, thank you Midoriya.”
Seeing the confused looks of the students, Aizawa elaborates.
“The most dangerous vigilantes are those that can’t be convicted of vigilantism. Now, there are two groups of people this act doesn’t apply to, who can tell me the two groups, it’s alright if you only know one of them, however, you’ll need to be able to explain why.”
Uraraka was the next to put up her hand.
“One of the groups would be Mutant types wouldn’t they? As they can’t be charged with using a quirk when their quirks alter their appearance and they aren’t able to deactivate those changes cause it’s a permanent one.”
“Close but there’s more to it, can anyone expand on what Uraraka said?”
Ojiro raises his hand next.
“For Mutant types it’s circumstantial, it’s mostly subtle or mundane mutant types. Someone with wings while someone with an extra set of legs or arms wouldn’t be. The person with wings would be charged because they would be able to fly, while the person with an extra set of existing limbs wouldn’t be as the extra limb aren’t able to sway a fight as heavily in their favour.”
“Correct, thank you Ojiro. Now can anyone tell me the other group that can’t be charged with vigilantism?”
There was dead silence as most of the class was trying to think of who that second group is. After another few minutes, Aizawa sighed as it appeared they couldn’t find the answer, and as he was about to give them the answer he sees Midoryia’s hand raise.
“The second group that can’t be charged with vigilantism is the Quirkless.”
As soon as those words left his lips Izuku watched as there was an uproar from his class.
“What?!”
“He’s got to be joking right?”
“There’s no way someone can be dangerous without a quirk.”
Trying to hide his anger Izuku sat in silence, looking at Aizawa trying to send the silent message.
“Correct. The second group of vigilantes that the vigilantism act, as is, does not apply is the Quirkless ones. The reason for this is that, as is, vigilantism is defined by illegally using your quirk to do hero work without a licence. Now to how this ties to the subject, we’re going to be talking about. If the most dangerous vigilantes are the ones with very subtle mutant quirks or with no quirks, then that goes to say that the most dangerous vigilante network are the ones that are made up of such members.”
Pressing a button on the remote at the front the board opens to show a screen showing the image of a Leviathan cross that bleeds into an eye with an Ouroboros as a pupil and behind it was a cave.
“This is the symbol of the largest and most dangerous vigilante networks, this group only appeared less than a year ago but they’ve already snowballed their way onto the scene. What makes them so dangerous is that whenever a member is caught, no charges ever stick, they know exactly what they’re doing, and the leaders of the network are completely unknown. No one knows what they look, or sound like, nor do we know what their names or quirks if any are. They have connections in the underground and the hero network. Some of you might know them as the organization known as The Dōkutsu Network. The exact number of this network is unknown, but it is suspected to be in the thousands.”
That seemed to shock most of the class into silence. Over a thousand members in only a year? And no one knows who the leaders are? That was a frightening idea for the newly Class 2-A. For Izuku however, it gave him an idea of how much was known about his pet project. He might not have expected it to grow as massive as it had, but he couldn’t have hoped for anything better. If he wanted the change he wanted this network was the way to do it, by showing the extent of how fundamentally broken society had become through this network, the quirkless populace would be acknowledged as to be just as capable as anyone else, or at least that was his hope anyways. He knew very well that this could just as well blow up in his face and everything he worked so hard for would be lost. However one can’t invest in the future without a few risks.
The meeting between his inner circle and Yuki went swimmingly, they accepted her wholeheartedly. After the meeting, Izuku decided to move his plans forward faster. He needed to get the government under his thumb if he wanted changes in the laws that he wanted, not to mention he’d need to gain more influence than the Hero Committee if he wanted his hold to withstand them, cause they would fight back any change made, Izuku knew that well enough. The first was to establish a government party and then was to gain the favour of other parties. Once he had those two things the rest would fall right into place. A sadistic grin etching onto his face Izuku put out a notice on The Dōkutsu Network line for updates to and from members.
OPERATION: PRINCEPS VIRIDIS IS A GO!
Satisfied with his order, Izuku falls onto his bed to rest, a sadistic grin still etched onto his face, and a manic chuckle rumbling in his throat.