Chapter Text
Not all men. Are born equal.
Not all men. Are born equal.
Not all men. Are born equal.
Not all men are born. . . She can’t. . . She can’t do this anymore.
The mint haired girl stood on the grass of the playground floor, standing in front of her old friend. That girl was Izumi Midoriya, her hair mint green with black highlights, her face small and delicate, her hair reaching to her neck in a bob fashion, oddly wild and curly but somehow smooth going downwards. Behind her was Tsukiko Tsunade from her class, a small (yet taller than her) brunette. She didn’t know why Tsunade-Chan was bullied, she thinks it might have to do with her quirk though. Tsunade had the unique ability to cough out “liquid light”. She could regurgitate a substance that lit up in the dark. Compared to some of the people in her class it was a cool quirk. But Katsuki didn’t think so. . .
“Deku! Get out, the
real
heroes are playing. Go read a book or something!”
Katuski growled out, he genuinely didn’t want to hurt his friend. Sure. . . She might be quirkless, useless, and should stay out of his way. But it’s not her fault. She’s fragile. His Mom said so.
“K-Kacchan! Look a-at her, you’re hurting h-her!”
Izumi stuttered out as she put out her hands, feebly trying to still stop the blonde from hurting her classmate any further.
She can do this. She can do this. She’ll be the hero this time. She can protect Tsunade-Chan-
Her train of thought was derailed as she was pushed over and onto the ground. One of Katsuki’s lackeys, Tsubasa-Kun, used his dragon-like wings to quickly fly over to her and push her out of the explosive child’s way. An impressive feature due to him being a bit overweight, she honestly didn’t think that he could actually get off the ground. But it was a mean thought.
Mama says that mean thoughts aren’t nice.
She’s not mean.
Kacchan is mean.
Although Katsuki at this moment was anything but mean, at least to Izumi. Because right now, he. Saw. Red.
“You damn extra! You’re not supposed to hurt Deku!”
No one could hurt Deku, not anyone but himself. When he did it he was reminding her that she was lower than him. That she had to stay on the side and not be in danger. Without a quirk. . . You couldn’t be useful. You couldn’t be anything.
Katsuki’s hands sparked, little explosions the size of pennies being set off as he moved towards Tsubasa. Pushing him over like the winged-idiot did to Izumi. The black haired boy giving a hiss as he landed on his bottom. While this was happening Tsukiko took her chance and ran away, running from the playground and towards the Aldera’s Elementary School.
“Look what you’ve done now you idiot! Bright-Throwup just ran away, and now our recess time’s ended. Great job idiot.”
Katsuki and his gang left, Tsubasa-Kun eventually getting up begrudgingly while rubbing his behind as he joined the others. Izumi Midoriya, still on the ground, no longer dazed. But drained of any strength to get back up and join her peers in class. She didn’t get it. . . Why was Kacchan so mean? What did she ever do to him? Was it because. . . She didn’t have a quirk?
It’s not the first time thoughts like this have appeared in her head. Not the first time she’s been pushed around by others. Not the first time she’s tried to be the hero. . . Only to fail.
Fragile
She’s not fragile.
Weak.
She’s not weak.
Useless.
She’s not useless.
Deku
.
She’s. . . She’s not a Deku.
So why did everyone treat her like she is?
Midoriya Izumi was 12.
And her life was no better than when she was 5.
Still ridiculed, still bullied, still treated like she was some sort of piece of glass. She didn’t want this. This was unfair. She didn’t deserve this! Why did she have to be quirkless, why did she have to be useless! Why did-
A cough broke Izumi’s train of thought.
She’d been oddly sick lately. It was probably nothing. She noticed a few others were out sick these past few weeks as well. Probably the flu.
She sighed as she went back to flipping through pages of her notebook. School had just ended, it was quiet and oddly serene today. Nothing really important happened recently. No villain fights, no jeers or threats thrown her way today. Maybe life finally decided it had given enough punishment to Izumi for being quirkless, even though it was the universe itself who made her this way.
A small smile began to overtake her lips.
It was quickly wiped off as she flinched involuntarily, bright reds and oranges appeared in front of her, Katsuki slamming his hands on her desk as everyone had already left the classroom. She didn’t know why he even waited. Not like anyone was going to try and stop him if they saw him anyways. . .
“Deku!”
He drawed out the ‘u’.
“Don’t you think I see you writing in that shitty journal of yours! I thought I told you to knock that shit off. You’re only going to get hurt if you try to be a hero!”
She knew that somewhere in Katsuki’s words, he was telling the truth. That he was trying to protect her in some odd and twisted way. That somewhere deep down in that hothead of his he actually did care about her.
Although that calming thought was quickly ripped away from her, as he quickly ripped her notebook out of her hands.
She immediately stood up from her desk, trying to get it from him. But the difference in their heights was too great. Him standing at an average 5’5” for his age, while she stood at 4’11”.
Something else that wasn’t fair.
“Deku I told you-”
The blonde pre-teen put his hands on both sides of the notebook.
“-give it up!”
His oh so familiar quirk activating as it nearly incinerated the book itself. The smell of smoke and singed ink now permeating throughout the classroom. He gave a scoff as he threw it out of the nearby window.
She didn’t know what exactly happened there and then. Maybe it was because Katsuki had never actually harmed her directly, maybe it was because he never actually destroyed something so close to her. The notebook was something she could control, something she could be precise and make decisions about. And he just. . . Took that away from her.
She didn’t know what exactly happened there and then. But Izumi Midoriya.
Snapped.
“You know what!? Screw you Kac-K-Katsuki! I n-never want to see you a-again!”
She yelled out, trying to sound serious and hurt. Because she was serious and hurt. But the tears and sniffles probably didn’t help. She grabbed her messenger bag and ran out of the classroom. Her hot tears falling from her eyes and on her cheeks. She ran.
And ran.
And ran.
She didn’t look back. She didn’t want to look back. She didn’t want anyone but her Mama.
Mama. . . She could protect her. Sometimes she was too protective, doing things like keeping her inside of the house far more than she should be. Or keeping a close eye on her when she did go out. But that only meant she cared.
And that’s all Izumi needed.
Everything would be fine, she just has to get to her apartment and-
Her thoughts stopped. Just like it did several years ago on the playground, her train of thought completely derailed. There she saw it.
Her apartment in ruins, fires littering the rubble as police and firemen tried to keep the damage at bay. Helping people out of the ruins and such.
She walked closer to her- To what
was
her home.
“-did you hear? Apparently it was some powerful villain and All Might who did this-”
“-All Might apparently crashed through the building by accident, I think the villain might have-”
“-anyone inside died. I don’t really think anyone could’ve escaped that-”
Izumi shook her head. No. . . No this couldn’t be it. This couldn’t be what happened. This couldn’t be what was left!
“NOOOOOOO, MAMAAA!”
She ran towards the building, one of the heroes on-site grabbing her by her arm. Stopping her in her tracks.
“Kid! You can’t go over there- fuck- calm down already!”
She was pushed back, falling over a piece of rubble that was on the street, looking back up at the hero who was talking to the police, pointing at her. He was probably trying to tell them to keep her out of the building. T-To try and stop her from saving her M-
She can’t. She can’t do this. She can’t do this!
With everything too much to handle Izumi ran away. She ran. And ran.
And ran.
Izumi sat on a swing. Looking at the wooden chips of the park floor.
. . . She misses playgrounds with grass floors.
That’s such an odd thought to have at this particular moment, after seeing her home destroyed and her mother possibly. . .
It was such an odd thought at this moment.
Such an odd thought, that she didn’t even notice the man with white hair take a seat next to her.
“I’m sorry about what happened to your mother. That’s a terrible thing to have happened, truly.”
It wasn’t until he spoke that Izumi was finally broken out of her dazed state, her eyes coming back into focus as she looked up and towards the man. His facial features masculine, his nose sharp and pointed, yet when you got to his eyes they seemed oddly soft. Like they were trying to make her feel better.
“How did. . . You know that. . .?”
“I have a simple telepathy quirk. I can read the thoughts of those I pass by. And when I heard yours. It was impossible not to try and come to your aid.”
Come to. . . Her aid. Like a hero.
The man put his hand on her shoulder. A calm beginning to wash over her, spreading from her shoulder to the rest of her body. It felt like it did earlier today. Like nothing was bad. Like everything was. . . Peaceful. And serene.
“It was All Might who did that. Wasn’t it?”
“I-I-”
Izumi froze at those words, quickly focusing on the situation at hand instead of the odd sensation overtaking her. It wasn’t All Might’s fault! It was the villain’s! It was his strength, his damage. His fault. It was all his fault.
The calming sensation quickly turned into one of panic. Her anxiety rose as her eyes widened, something was wrong. She couldn’t. She couldn’t breath.
“All Might
is
the one who crashed through the building correct? It was
his
fight, it’s
his
fault.
He
killed your mother. It was
him
. The hero's of this society do not care for you, no one truly does.”
It was. . . It was the truth. Who would care about her? Why would they? It was like her negative memories and emotions began to surface and overtake her mind. The heroes. . . They didn’t really care. They just hurt who they want and get away with it. They all get away with it-
But Katsuki wanted to be a hero-
And he hurts us. He hurts us and he laughs while doing it. He doesn’t care about us. He hates us. Because we’re different, because we’re better than him.
“No home. No friends. . . No family. I can give this all to you. You can rise above these idiotic hero worshipers and become something incredible. Something better. Something truly heroic.”
The sensation inside of her quickly turned into one of warmth, her face blushing as she focused on the man in front of her once more.
He’s right. He’s right. He’s right.
It’s almost like her mind was on loop. She couldn’t get those words out of her head. Whenever she tried to rip herself away from them they would just pull her back, pushing the thought to the forefront of her mind. She didn’t want this. She didn’t want this. Someone please-
A cough quickly overtook her, she covered her mouth to be polite. Manners, even during right now, were important she guesses. But when she looks down there’s blood. Blood on her hand. An iron taste in her mouth.
She tries to look up at the white haired man once more. Before her world turned dark for Izumi Midoriya.
Permanently.
“- Just like with Shirakumo-San her body and mind have been-”
“- A watcher. A strategist. Her mind a complex puzzle already solved-”
“- She will protect Tomura. And if possible. Maybe supersede him.”
She opened her eyes. Her once forest emerald green, now a toxic and bright red. Her skin pale, but not so much as to be white. Her hair now an odd light mint blue, now matted against her head in an oddly natural way. Not the untamable mess it once was, it now reached her shoulders and covered one of her eyes. She tried to say something before she realized she sounded muffled. Her (new?) eyes looked down. Seeing some sort of respirator on her mouth, connected to something else. She looked forwards, screens beginning to turn on as keyboards rose from the side of the chair they were on. Positioning themselves in front of her.
“I told you. Once no one, now someone special. Someone incredible. Someone. Worthy of the name-”
She turned her head to look at where the voice came from, stopped as something stopped her from turning completely. Something was. . . Connected to her head? No. . . Her brain. She can feel it. Electricity. Knowledge. People’s information at her fingertips. Her eyes stared at the man- N-No. . . His name is Sensei. She will address him as such. He is her sensei. And she belongs to him. She is no longer Izumi Midoriya. She is now-
“Yukiko Shimura.”