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Can a quirkless person become a hero?
It seems like such a simple question. It seems to have such a simple answer to most people (no, in case you couldn’t guess). The answer wouldn’t change anything for Izuku anymore since he had a quirk now.
So why did it still mean so much to Izuku?
You might assume that the only time of note that Izuku asked his question to another person would be when he asked All Might. You would be wrong. Izuku had asked his question to various people over the years in various ways. He’d asked his mother in the best way his four-year old self could come up with. She’d said no in the nicest way she could come up with. He’d asked Kacchan. Kacchan had answered his question with a laugh and an explosion to the stomach. He’d certainly asked Pro heroes throughout his life and they’d all answered in various shades of negative. Really, All Might was nothing special for his answer. It was just… All Might is his hero, is the hero, and if All Might didn’t think a quirkless person could be a hero, then maybe everyone was right, and Midoriya should give up on his dream. All Might was special because he was the first hero Izuku had asked whose opinion and stance on the matter actually mattered to him. It had been Midoriya’s happiest moment in his life when All Might had changed his answer.
Except… he hadn’t really. All Might still didn’t believe that a quirkless person could be a hero, he just believed that he could train Midoriya to accept his quirk. At which point he wouldn’t be quirkless any longer, but instead the owner of one of the most powerful quirks to ever exist. And that stung to realize. So Izuku went along with All Might’s plan, since it was clear that Izuku’s dream could only be brought to reality in that fashion.
The second time Izuku asked his question to a hero whose opinion and stance mattered to him was when he asked Eraserhead. It was shortly after the Kamino Ward incident when Kacchan and Izuku were carrying out their punishment for their fight. Kacchan had just left to collect trash and before Izuku could bring himself to follow or stop and consider what he was doing he asked the question.
“Can a quirkless person become a hero?”
The look Eraserhead gave Izuku was searching, bewildered, and short. As was his answer.
“No. Heroics is far too dangerous a thing for those without potential. Without a quirk to protect themselves they would be at far too great a risk. Now, stop asking me strange questions and get to work.”
Izuku… wished he could say he was surprised, but he hadn’t forgotten just how close Aizawa had come to expelling him that first day. He hadn’t forgotten that for the first few weeks of school he had felt confident in his assumption that Eraserhead was no different than his teachers back in middle school. That Eraserhead, just like every other teacher Izuku had ever had, would prioritize the students with the greatest potential, the greatest quirks. While Izuku had been proven mostly wrong about Eraserhead’s priorities and was confident in the fact that Eraserhead would stand up for all his students, Izuku was almost pleased to find out his initial judgement of the man wasn’t completely off the mark.
Almost being the operative word. The justification didn’t quite balance out the stab of pain that his teacher would never have given him a second glance if he hadn’t received a quirk. But Izuku was used to that by now.
The third time Izuku asked his question to a hero whose opinion he cared about, he phrased it a different way. Because this was no simple hypothetical for this hero, this was a vital question that they must answer as surely as Izuku needed to when he was younger.
“You’re back to hero work too Ragdoll? With your quirk stolen I thought you might have to quit?”*
Her expression relaxed, her motions as cat-like as ever, Izuku believed for just one second that she would answer yes and shake the foundations of his world.
But alas, she didn’t.
“Not back in action per se. But I’ll be in the agency supporting the other three! Just call me the CAT-ministrative assistant!”*
Izuku deflated internally while everyone else around him nodded as if this made sense. As if this rescue hero who originally had a completely non-physical quirk would have been irreparably handicapped by her quirk’s loss was an undeniable fact. And really, it must be, because if this fully grown, optimistic, and accomplished woman didn’t think she was capable of being a hero without a quirk then what sane quirkless person could?
The fourth time Izuku asked a hero’s opinion who he actually valued was after Jakku. He was in his hospital bed just thinking (there was a lot to think about after all) while Hawks, who seemed to be equal parts Izuku’s guard and fellow patient/inmate, was reading something on his phone.
“What’s got you so down in the dumps, hatchling? The sun is shining, all your friends survived the battle, and you’ll live to fight another day.”
That was most certainly a positive take on their current situation. There were an abundance of issues and problems for Izuku to be thinking about that would dishearten him. There was All For One’s escape just to start. But that wasn’t what Izuku was thinking about. Or at least not anymore. He had in fact been thinking about All For One, but then that had led to thinking about how All For One was going to try to steal One For All from Izuku, which led to thinking about ways of preventing that from happening, which through a particularly desperate idea led to the idea of giving One For All away led to thinking about what Izuku would do to help if he was quirkless. And try as he might, there was never an occasion where thinking about the impossibility of being a quirkless hero didn’t make Izuku despondent.
All that to say, what with Hawks already knowing about All For One, the pain meds Izuku was on, and the turbulence of Izuku’s thoughts, the question just kind of dropped out of his mouth without him even intending it.
“Can a quirkless person become a hero?”
To Hawk’s credit, he didn’t seem thrown by this question, though Izuku would admit that it probably took a lot to throw Hawks and even more for him to show it. Instead, he stared at Izuku with a considering and fascinated look on his face. They sat there in the quiet aftermath of Izuku’s question for a few minutes, neither looking away. Izuku had little hope for his answer but couldn’t help but be riveted by the length it took Hawks to sort through his thoughts, considering how most considered the question so simple. Finally, the man spoke.
“No. But I assume you already know that. What I assume you don’t know is the reason why I think so. Here’s the thing kid. Clearly you already know that heroes aren’t as good and moral as they are supposed to be. Good. Some people don’t learn that their whole lives. Even the ones who are heroes themselves. You know the reason why that is? It’s because more than a force for good and justice, heroes are a product. They’re a message. Heroes tell the populace that everything is going to be fine. That a big, powerful hero will come and save the day. That they, that we, are different, because of what heroes do. That’s how we make money. That’s why we’re different from the police or the military. We’re a symbol. And a quirkless hero? Well, that would ruin the message that heroes send. If a quirkless person of all people could be a hero, then how are heroes any different than an ordinary person? You’d make the citizens feel guilty. You’d take away their excuses and expose their apathy and cowardice. They’d never accept you. The heroes would be no better. Here comes along a person telling them that they weren’t born special, that they aren’t right because they have might. No, the heroes would never accept you either. And the Hero Commission? They’d put you down the first chance they got. Can’t risk any destabilization to hero society can they? So no kid, a quirkless person could never be a pro.”
With that, the man searched Izuku’s face, looking for a sign Izuku understood most likely, nodded, and went back to fiddling with his phone.
It was all over.
Surrounded by the wasteland caused by the fight, Izuku rested.
Izuku rested, knowing that he was the one who won it all.
Izuku was the one who defeated All for One and Shigaraki. He was the one who beat them until they could fight no longer, successfully restrained and rendered harmless.
Izuku was the most powerful hero, the number one hero.
So why does Izuku find himself sitting on the debris, drained of all energy, still asking himself that question?
It’s only the sound of laughter that makes Izuku realize that he had asked his question out loud. It’s only the sight of All For One bent over and wheezing into a ventilator that makes Izuku realize who heard his question. It’s only the fact that All For One is defeated and knows about One For All already that makes Izuku stay relaxed and where he is.
Instead, he just watches the man laugh.
Eventually, the laughter comes to an end, and the man raises his face to where if he had eyes they’d be staring Izuku down with a big smile on his face. It’s creepy, but Izuku can’t find it in him to care.
“You know little hero, it’s not often I’m proven wrong. I’d thought that now that you’ve won, now that you’ve fulfilled your dream and become the next All Might you would be happy. But you aren’t are you? In fact, this wasn’t even what you dream really was, was it? Here I had you pegged for an All Might fanboy and true believer, who wanted nothing more than to live up to his legacy. But that’s not true. This whole time, this was just your back up plan!”
The villain breaks down in laughter again. Izuku is just relieved that the only people near enough to hear him are heroes who already know about One For All.
This time, when the laughter draws to close, All For One’s demeanor grows serious, like what he is about to say is of grave importance.
“Listen to me little hero and listen well. Yes, a quirkless person could become a hero.”
Despite himself Izuku finds himself riveted by what All For One is saying. The idea that this terrible excuse for a man seems to be the first person in Izuku’s whole life to give him the affirmation he was always searching for is soul-rending. But Izuku can’t bring himself to look away, to stop paying attention. It’s like a train wreck in progress and it’s Izuku’s unspoken dreams and fears that will lay dead at the end of it. So, he does as instructed and listens.
“You did not need a quirk to become a hero. You never did. Those who tell you otherwise are fools. For it is not just my brother’s quirk that brought you victory today, it was your cunning, your drive, and your unflinching resolve. None of that is dependent on your quirk. Midoriya Izuku, the hero known as Deku, you too could have been a hero.”
To hear those words after so long a time of suffering is almost too much. If there ever was a time that Izuku should cry it would be now, but he can’t bring himself to cry after all he has done. By now, they’ve drawn the attention of the surrounding heroes, all of whom watch on with grim or skeptical faces. Izuku tells himself that the man is lying, simply doing as he always does and causing whatever pain he can. But it doesn’t work, because All For One continues, the serious look slipping from his flace to be replaced by a taunting smile with a tone to match.
“I’m sure you don’t believe me. That none of you heroes believe me. That I’m just lying to inflict pain. But I’m not! That’s what makes it even better! I’m telling you a truth to cause you pain, because it is those ugly truths people don’t want to acknowledge that cause the most pain. I’m sure you’re still doubtful, but let me tell you a story.”
All For One pauses here and tilts his head back, as if he were looking off into the sky. As if he were looking off into the past. This time when he speaks, he speaks lowly, with a hint of sadness and another of reverence. His smile smoothes, and with his lips drawn to a line he seems considering. Izuku knows at this point all he can stand to do is wait for the end to come and the point to be made, for whatever All For One is doing feels inevitable.
“Once, a long time ago, when I was just a boy and to have a quirk was to be cursed, some people had decided I was the devil for the unnaturallness of my quirk and needed to be drowned. I fought and I thrashed and I yelled, but it did no good. No one was willing to save me. My brother tried his best of course, but he was sickly and weak, unable to do anything. There were others that were nearby and saw what was happening that I knew were quirked and did nothing. They. Just. Watched. Until one man, perfectly ordinary in every way, stopped them. He stood in their way and refused to move when they approached. When they shoved him down, he got back up. When they tried to go around, he cut them off. When they threatened him and promised to do the same to him after they finished with me, he only calmy responded. Worse, he reasoned with them. He called them by name, for we all knew each other, and told them to stand down. And one by one, they did. Until it was only me and the ordinary man. I thanked him of course, calling him my hero and offering to repay him, to give him a quirk so he could become fantastic. The man assured me that it was unnecessary, since any person who would be a hero needs only do what they can, for who they can.”
Izuku couldn’t tell you what All For One or the other heroes were doing at that point. The villain could be staring at him seriously as had earlier, or ignoring Izuku entirely. It didn’t matter because by then, Izuku had closed his eyes, to shield himself and consider all that was being laid bare. But more than that, he prepared himself for the final remark he was sure All For One was going to give, for Izuku couldn’t let himself shatter, not now, not when he finally knew the answer.
“That man was my hero and there never existed a man further from being quirked than him. So yes, a quirkless person is perfectly capable of becoming a hero. He need only try.”