Chapter Text
Midoriya Izuku knew that the world was unfair for the weak.
He was born like every other child, waiting for his quirk to come in.
But, it never showed itself to him because he never knew it was his quirk.
When he went to see the doctor, he did not have the double jointed pinky toe. But, the doctor didn't find (didn't even try) any visible traits. So, they announced him Quirkless.
After that his life was never the same again.
All the taunting and bullying never stopped.
One day, he got beaten blue so badly in the back alley that he went home really late, but he could somehow see everyone clearly in the dark and hear their twitches too.
When he arrived back home, after cleaning up his injuries discreetly, his mom freaked out.
He was annoyed about that. She never did anything to help him, she only made him feel guilty for being such a bad son (which was true, what son makes their mother sad because they were Quirkless?). Only apologizing, never helping.
But she did ask, how did he not get lost?
"I don't know mom, I could just see clearly." He sighed tiredly
"Really? Are you sure you didn't hallucinate?" She furrowed her brows worriedly, "Go to sleep after dinner young man, I will not allow you to hallucinate lies."
"O-Okay." He ate dinner that night, but it tasted like cardboard
Of course his mom didn't believe him, of course (although he never lied directly at her).
He only has himself , ha. At age ten.
He knew it was his quirk (he could feel it in his guts as he watched the bright dark ceiling). He knew . How could the doctor not know? He hates this. Even if he gets another diagnosis, it wouldn't even matter . His quirk isn't flashy . Basically he's still Quirkless because nobody would believe him, not even his mom did. Who would?
But his quirk would be so useful , it's perfect for Underground Heroics! He can patrol and spot crimes from a distance without any goggles. Imagine how great it would be for scouting in the night!
Underground Heroics would be a dream come true! He never did like how flashy Limelight Heroes tend to be. He didn't hate them really!
He still looked up to All Might. But, All Might never saved a random kid in the middle of the night! But it's the most important job, helping the most vulnerable!
So, he decided he would do his analysis on Underground Heroes instead.
And wow! There are so many amazing heroes!
Ms. Joke's quirk would usually be recommended for comedy, but it's really useful to distract villains! It's like an implemented distraction at all times! Midnight with her sleeping gas for ease of capture (although she is a middle ground Hero), Mr. Brave's ease of utility quirk, and Eraserhead!
Eraserhead basically fights quirkless! Because he only evens out the playing field, except against mutation types (like him!) And he still has to throw punches to apprehend them.
And so many other cool Heroes that never get the spotlight!
(And isn't that a shame?)
.
.
.
He shifted lazily as he sighed in his uncomfortable seat.
His analysis isn't half bad he thinks as he looks through the pages of his notebook, although it's creepy people said. (Sir Nighteye uses prediction and planning though, so it means he does analysis too! And he's not creepy, why is Izuku creepy? He's an outlier that's why . )
He stood up from his seat when the instructor called up his class.
Whatever , well he did pick up gymnastics last year because he was restless all day. (Maybe a side effect of his mutation?)
And after gymnastics, he even had a jog to keep himself fit.
But he was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice his feet moving further than usual.
Then he stumbled on a piece of metal.
He hissed as he shook his feet. As he looked around, he saw that he was in Dagobah Beach, the trash beach. He thought he heard his mom say once that it used to be pretty.
Hmm.. he saw a few useful metal pieces that could be used for a bo staff..
Well.. He guesses it was about time he got a new interest to analyze the heck out of.
"You can't be a Hero, Deku!"
"It's not like I want to be one anymore." He sighs tiredly, that was a lie he would rather die than do anything else
"WHAT?!" Katsuki screamed, "What did you say shitty nerd?!"
"I don't want to be a Hero anymore." He slid into his chair after throwing the spider lily away, "I'd rather get a more realistic job, Katsuki."
"Hah?!" Katsuki huffed uneasily, "I guess it's about fucking time you realized how fucking useless you are."
Izuku just decided to ignore the rest of their words and rechecked his homework to make sure he didn't get too many correct.
.
"Support Engineer? That sounds wonderful!" His mother exclaimed happily
Izuku just managed to smile hollowly. He doesn't know when his smiles started to hurt this badly.
"I'm sure you'll do amazing, honey!"
And she didn't even notice the lie.
So, he continued researching and needing less sleep the more he went along.
His gymnastics class was entertaining at best and repetitive at worst. He is the most flexible in his age group, which was ten and many older groups.
He could do flips and cartwheels without supervision. He thinks that they don't care if he falls wrong. After all, what could a 'quirkless' , useless Deku like him do anyways?
So, he began researching the support items that he saw. He made blueprints and went searching for the parts at Dagobah. It was pretty easy to look for them and they're still in good condition too! Why are people so lazy to recycle? Oh well, it makes his dream just a bit easier.
Izuku just picked up useful parts for his inventions and threw really useless items away properly to be recycled.
Though one night, during a hysteric research night, he came across the term Vigilante.
'..Vigilante is a person using their quirks illegally without a license. But, most of the time, they do Hero work, like saving people in vulnerable areas.-'
Well… a Vigilante huh? That's a thought to be had.
He doesn't know if it's a good idea or not, he can’t decide. But he does know that it's reckless.
His mother has started taking more shifts at her job. So, she wouldn't notice if he was prowling around.
(That hurt a lot, but it makes sense. After all what can she do with him anyways. He's always useless . Didn’t make the hurt go away though)
He made his own outfit. Made out of a suit (using a durable material he found and researched to replicate), cat ears (that are useful as a red herring, but also as a realisation of a dream that will never happen. He has mutations (of some kind of animal) that are not noticeable, but he wished he had them to prove it. Oh, they also make for protective headgear).
(He guessed that it was a cat mutation, maybe? It's what he likes to think it was.)
He wore contacts bought through his pocket money (he never spent it on anything really ever since he made his own notebook with metal hardcovers so it's quirk proof).
He made an untraceable calling device on his decorative ears too. His gloves are durable and useful for scaling walls, even if he could already do that without gloves (efficiency is greatly useful). His sturdy steel toed boots are also very useful to hit hard and land safely.
Lastly, is his bo staff that can unscrew to a sharp edge (for emergencies, because being a Vigilante means your morals are skewed. Anything to survive).
After repeating the Vigilante laws and its loopholes for the tenth time in the past five minutes, he finally opened the window and jumped onto the rooftops after closing it back.
He smiled at the scenery of Musutafu in the night.
(It's the first time his smile felt real since he found out about Vigilantes.)
At age twelve, Izuku jumped on the rooftops and rescued citizens, calling ‘anonymously’ for villain pick up, and calmed down the distressed civilian.
When they asked who he was, he just laughed and said, "Call me Black Cat, A Black Cat that brings misfortune on the bad."
Shouta was called in by Detective Tsukauchi for a hunt again.
Apparently, he's supposed to catch a Vigilante named Black Cat, who was involved in a bank robbery with hostages last week. The Hero that came to capture the villains was cocky, but thankfully Black Cat managed to call the officers while herding the hostages out while they were fighting the Hero (who was knocked unconscious).
“Black Cat?” Shouta blinks
“Yes, the citizens that were saved by him reported that he said his name was Black Cat, A Black Cat that brings misfortune on the bad.” Tsukauchi sighed
“That’s certainly a catchphrase.” Shouta could admit that it was at least catchy.
“Yes, I know." The man rubbed his temples, " Technically every report of his sighting never showed him using his quirk. So, what he’s doing isn’t technically breaking the law. Which is why we can not do a tailing on him.”
Shouta stared at the reports, “He?”
“Yes, the citizen reports said that he never hid his voice.” Tsukauchi sighed, “But, other than that we have no lead on his identity.”
Shouta nodded. Standard stuff.
“We called you in because your patrol route clashes with Cat’s once in a while.”
“Wait.. where does he patrol?” Shouta raised his eyebrow at the confused writing on the report
“Nobody knows. It seems random from a radius of 10 miles around the Musutafu area. But he always arrives on big time crimes though.”
“I’ll look out for him then.”
.
He didn’t think he’d meet the guy not long after, in an alleyway nonetheless, fighting a mutant type quirk user.
Black Cat had a black bodysuit with a utility belt and he was fighting the guy twice his size with his wits and regular bo staff.
What a headache.
Shouta watched from the distance with interest though since the guy seemed to have it handled.
“Give up, Black Cat.” The wolf mutant quirk user sneered
“I never give up, but I suggest you give up.” Shouta could hear him smirking, “Before it gets bloody.”
“What?!”
“I’m a ‘Vigilante’. My morals are on a thin gray line.” The kid laughed
What the fuck? That’s definitely a child .
The kid clicked something that made the cap of the staff break open, revealing a jagged edge.
Okay, that's enough.
“Huh?” The kid startled at his scarf snaking around the villain
“That’s enough.” He used Erasure on the kid
The kid just looked stunned before smirking and jumping on the fire escape and climbing up.
Shouta didn’t drink enough coffee for this kind of shit. He quickly tied up the villain, called for pick up, and climbed up the rooftop.
“Heya, Eraserhead!” The kid exclaimed, twirling the staff that wasn’t a murder weapon anymore
He sighed, “Are you the Black Cat?”
“Am I?” The kid laughed, “You’ll never know.”
“I’m assuming you are.”
“Sure. But if you are sure, why am I not, like tied up?”
“Cheeky brat.” He sighed, sitting beside the Cat, “Aren’t you scared of me?”
“Why should I? You’re notorious with not capturing Vigilantes that are helping areas.”
A long suffering sigh, “Why are you doing this?”
“Got nothing better to do.” The kid gave a cheshire smile, “‘Sides I think you gotta admit I’m pretty cute.”
“Brat.”
“C’mon! It’s common knowledge by now that you love cats.”
He sighed. That is true. “Aren’t you a kid? How old are you?”
“Bingo! Everybody calls me an adult. It’s an honor really, but like I’m not even hiding my voice!”
“Gee, I wonder why?”
“I wonder that too. It’s not like I’m professionally trained or anything either. I’m just scrappy.”
“That’s a very scrappy style you’ve got there.” He said sarcastically
“Hey, don’t gotta be mean like that.” The kid pouted
“How old are you kid?”
“Not old enough.” He blew a raspberry at him, “..I guess I can say I’m younger than your students.”
“Why are you answering?”
“Hmm.. I can’t exactly get arrested, Eraserhead. I’m not using a Quirk, am I?”
“You’re a Problem Child.”
“Thanks!” The kid scrambled up, “Wanna chat again, but I’ve gotta go. School’s in session in a few hours, I’m sure you’ve got a set of your own.”
“Shoo. Just don’t get in trouble.”
“Gee thanks! See you around, Eraserhead!”
.
Shouta really has a migraine now ever since the kid’s patrol lined up more with his own. It seemed like the kid was asking to patrol with him, not that he particularly cares (He definitely cares, the kid always seemed raring to go).
They stop for a chat everyday after their patrols and from that Shouta learnt that he made his own support gear (What the fuck?) and that he was a rarity in society.
Every time a detail got shared, Shouta couldn’t help but think, 'What the fuck, kid?'
The kid sounded so excited to share his own life with Shouta, like he never gets to (Where are his parents?). He mentioned that he does gymnastics and other stuff too.
But, never once does the kid mention school. Only in passing with a hollow chuckle or a quick dismissal.
Black Cat was an enigma. Really .
One night, after Shouta was done patrolling and craving sleep, he stumbled upon cheerful giggles, which was not something you stumble into much.
And what do you know?
He had to stumble into Black Cat while he was taking care of stray kittens. The kid has one of the most expressive faces ever, beaming like sunshine (Shouta had to consider using his goggles) while having his hood down. He had fluffy bushy hair, that Shouta couldn’t see the colour of in the dark, with the cat ears poking out the hair.
The kid was cradling the box of cats while cooing, “Alright, let’s bring you to a shelter, ‘kay? I’m gonna bring you somewhere safer. Can you sit still with me? Great. We’ll be there in a flash-”
“Black Cat?” Shouta calls out
The kid almost dropped the box, frantically looking around before seeing him, “Oh, heya, Eraser! Sorry, I was too busy cooing at cats, you get it don’t 'cha?”
He sighed, “Let’s just go to the shelter.”
“Oh.. sure!” Cat walks forward
“I wondered.. Why aren’t you trying for Heroics?”
“Well.. I am an agent of chaos.” He laughed, “Oh and I don’t have to do paperwork! Isn’t that fun?”
“Cheeky brat. I did every paperwork for every crime you stumbled upon.”
“That’s your own fault, isn't it?” He giggled, “You tried so hard to get into Heroics at Yueii, even through winning the Sports Festival! Which by the way was so cool, even if the other finalists were sore losers.”
“Now that’s something I can agree on. They were annoying.”
“What did they call your quirk again?”
“'Villainous'. And yours?”
“You’ll find out soon enough or not.”
“What?”
“You asked me why I’m not going to Heroics?”
Shouta nodded, “Not if. I’m not even old enough to attend any Heroics course.”
“What?”
“I’m only fifteen, Eraser! Catch up, won’t you? I’ve got ten more months to contemplate my life choices.”
“What the fuck, kid?”
“What can I say? ‘Sides I think you gotta convince me Heroics is worth it if you want me to join it.” The kid smiled before opening the door to the shelter
What the actual fuck.