Chapter Text
It started as all movements start, with a simple thought. A thought created by a single fight, but one that pervaded his mindset from then on.
He’d never been quick to anger, even as a bratty toddler. According to his mother, he was quite well mannered and decently behaved, if a bit of a gremlin. Obsessed with anything to do with heroes, and constantly bouncing off the walls, Izuku had been a fairly easily raised child. Inko was equally pleased with both how eager, and how quick, Izuku was to learn.
His obsession with heroes stemmed from All Might, as with most children. Inko herself admired the man, though found the hero lifestyle to be a bit hazardous for her to truly enjoy. She’d never been a violent person, but then neither was Izuku.
Even after he was diagnosed as quirkless, Izuku still seemed the same, though Inko could tell he was slowly closing off from others. Fortunately or not, he still acted the same with her, making it hard to tell just how bad things got, but it did mean he trusted her completely and didn’t act out.
Naturally, when she was called to the school because Izuku got into a fight, she was shocked. She’d raised him better than to start fights, but the way the principal talked, it was a matter of quirk discrimination, which… she knew how Izuku adored quirks, not even a bit of malice about it, despite his quirklessness. It sounded like a big misunderstanding, to her. Kids often didn’t realize the implications of what they said or did.
It was a misunderstanding, but it was not something easy to deal with, as she would soon find..
“If you don’t stop… I’ll stop you myself.” Izuku’s fist rose in a shaky stance, a mimicry of what he’d seen All Might do against one of his more durable enemies. In any other situation, it might have been adorable to see an eight year old attempt such a stance.
A small boy was behind him, maybe a year or so younger than Izuku himself, curled and holding his stomach, a bit of smoke still coming from his burned shirt where Kacchan had used his quirk.
“Heh. Still think you can be a hero, Deku? You’re useless, don’t get in my way!” Kacchan grinned viciously, and Izuku trembled, but stood his ground, just like All Might would.
“Better than being a villain!” Izuku spat, anger temporarily overcoming fear.
Kacchan’s face grew exponentially angrier, any hint of amusement gone in favor of rage. “What the fuck did you say DEKU?!” He roared as he approached, his aggression even stunning his lackies.
Even as an adult, Izuku still retained the small star-burst scar on his right pectoral.
Izuku refused to look at his principal, neither confident nor angry enough to meet his gaze. Kacchan got off with a slap on the wrist for accidental quirk usage, but him…
“Several students heard you call Bakugo a villain.” The principal, Iriyama, spoke, visibly straining to keep his cool. “We do not tolerate that kind of nonsense. No quirk is villainous, and you accusing him of it is a terrible thing to do.” The irony seemed lost on Iriyama, but Izuku was still too scared to call him out on it.
“He was bullying Borai!” Izuku explained hastily, flinching as he moved his new scar tissue a bit too suddenly.
“Bakugo has been an upstanding student since day one. You, however, have been consistently complained about. Being nosy about other students’ quirks, disrupting classes, and now picking fights with other students. I’m ashamed of you.” Iriyama’s voice was cold, and Izuku only looked down. “Even if he were bullying someone, it is not your job to get involved.”
“Then whose job is it?” Izuku murmured softly, slowly raising his head to meet the man’s eyes.
Iriyama’s stare remained just as cold. “The teachers, obviously.”
“Then why don’t they?” Izuku’s voice was not disrespectful, but it was clear the principal believed it was.
“I’m getting tired of your lies and your disrespect. You should keep quiet until your mother gets here to take you home.” Iriyama huffed angrily.
Izuku flinched and did as he was told, waiting for his mommy to sort this out. Surely, Principal Iriyama would listen to her!
No. He would not.
“Maam, I understand your son is quirkless, but we absolutely will not accept any sort of discrimination in our school. Taking out his frustration by accusing someone of being a villain is the sort of behavior that leads to that person becoming a villain. We take our no tolerance policy very seriously.” Iriyama sighed, not pleased to have to deal with this mess.
“I understand that, but I doubt my son would discriminate at all based on quirks, he adores them.” Inko explained patiently, though inside she was seething.
Iriyama refrained from rolling his eyes. He’d heard similar things before. Every parent sees their child as perfect little angels, even when confronted with the truth. At least Bakugo’s parents were reasonable about his quirk usage, accidental as it might have been. “I can appreciate it might seem that way, but children will often act very differently at home.” Iriyama sighed again, knowing what he would have to do. “I have little choice, the rules are very clear in this regard.”
“What do you mean?” Inko narrowed her eyes, heart beating just a bit faster. She had no idea what he intended, but it sounded like some sort of big punishment for Izuku, all over a schoolyard fight, of all things.
“I’m putting a comment on his permanent record.” Iriyama began. “He’s still just a child, but this will make sure future incidents are dealt with swiftly.”
“You can’t be serious! He’s only eight, this was nothing more than a schoolyard brawl, and he was the one who got hurt!” Inko scowled in fury. “He even has a scar from it!”
“Quirks are volatile when someone is under intense emotion, and children are intensely emotional. Bakugo is covered by the Accidental Quirk Usage Act.” Iriyama explained, trying to ignore his rising headache.
Izuku was silently trying to prevent himself from crying. He was not successful, but he was quiet about it.
“This is absurd, you want to give an eight year old boy a permanent black mark on his record because of a scuffle like this?” Inko stood angrily, every bit of her ready to pull this man’s eyes right from their sockets.
“I’m sorry maam.” He wasn’t. “It’s the law.” It wasn’t.
On the way home, the thought that kept running through Izuku’s mind, the thought that stuck with him for life, was a simple resolution. “If the rules don’t protect anyone, then I have to.”
Izuku’s schooling did not get better from there. Anger at Kacchan festered, even as he developed a slight friendship with Borai, the only other quirkless boy in the school. Borai wanted to be a lawyer one day, maybe even a politician, though as a twelve year old he had no idea what that truly entailed.
Izuku found himself getting between Kacchan and his victims fairly often, usually to his own detriment. Eventually, when others tried to act the same way, Izuku stepped in their way as well. Unlike Kacchan, though, the other kids had no chance to actually beat him, either too reliant on their quirks, or too scared of getting into trouble.
If not for Inko telling him he was in the right all the way back when he first got in trouble, he would have never thought of doing such a thing. Fortunately for both of them, the school was not actually able to put anything further on his record for such acts. The only reason they could original was the use of the term ‘villain’ allowing them to apply discrimination laws to his actions.
Still, despite no permanent marks going on his record, he received plenty of detentions and other reprimands. He became something of a bully hunter at the school. He still wasn’t exactly well-liked, but he was considered something more than quirkless, for once.
He never did beat Kacchan in a fight.
He’d come to wish he had.
Borai was thirteen when it happened. Izuku had grown strong, and was legendarily stubborn, but Borai was just a normal kid. A kid who got bullied as bad as Izuku, though he could do even less about it.
Kacchan had been particularly vicious, especially whenever Izuku wasn’t around. He wasn’t scared of him, of course, but he didn’t want to get distracted by the useless Deku, despite how fun it was to put him in his place.
Name calling, mockery, small teasings. They escalated as time passed, to fights and theft of personal materials. Borai was nowhere near brave enough to come forward with it, not after seeing how Izuku had been treated after the fact. He just wanted to get through school and live his life.
He’d never get the chance.
Every month, it seemed to escalate. It started with mockery, as it always does, before it went to physical violence.
Then came the spider lilies.
Izuku had comforted him, but Borai was already done.
Every day he woke up, he wished he hadn’t.
Eventually, he decided not to.
The image of his corpse dangling from a rope in Borai’s room would haunt Izuku till his dying day.
Kacchan stopped being Kacchan after that, when he mocked Izuku, when he finally came back to school. This was the first time Izuku attacked first in a fight. Izuku never knew, nor cared, whether or not Bakugo knew about Borai at the time.
After that, he redoubled his bully hunting, upped his training, and closed off more and more. Anger became the norm for him, except when he was at home, with his mother. She worried about him getting into fights, but after Borai’s death, she never complained again. She knew her son was hurting, but had no idea how to help.
One day, he had to ask her. “Why… Why can’t people just be kind ?!” They both ended that night in tears.
Inko started becoming more supportive after that, going even further to help Izuku train for UA.
As he saw it, his only chance to change things was to become a hero. A symbol for those who were downtrodden by the rules to look up to.
“Can someone like me become a hero like you?” Izuku, now eighteen, asked calmly. He’d clung to All Might by accident, but this was still a good chance to ask that question. The man had saved him from the sludge villain, and… Izuku had faith in himself, honestly, just… If All Might agreed, then he would know for sure.
Of course, when it was a stick figure, rather than the wall of muscle that was All Might, that he saw before him, he was understandably shocked. “Wha-”
“Yes, I am All Might.” All Might huffed as he sat down. “I’m trusting you not to go telling your friends this online. The Symbol of Peace has to be invincible, yeah?”
Izuku took a deep breath to calm himself, but nodded. “Yeah, I can imagine the chaos… Are you okay?”
All Might let out a chuckle, nodding. “This is the new normal for me.” He pulled the bottom of his shirt up, revealing a massive scar. Oddly enough, to Izuku it looked similar to his own, only infinitely worse. At least his was just superficial. That All Might was even alive with this kind of wound was… amazing. “I got in a bad fight about five years ago. I won, but got this as a prize.” He seemed wistful, almost as if there was something pleasant about that.
“I see. It had to have been a secret fight, then. The only big fight of the time was with Toxic Chainsaw, and he was a joke to you.” Izuku murmured softly, still somewhat numb from all the surprises today.
“Villains aren’t a joke, despite how easily I handled him” All Might chided. “As for your question.” He sighed, thinking back. The kid was obviously fit, and from what little he had seen of his notes, intelligent too. Other than that, though, he knew nothing about him. “I can’t say. The villains I personally deal with tend to be extremes. Even my rescues tend to be extremes, so it’s hard to say what the average hero deals with for me. That being said, I also don’t want to cheer you on, only for it to be the death of you.” All Might shook his head, wondering why that sounded familiar. “That said, even if you do become a hero, you do understand you’d never get past the top hundred, right? You’d have the quirkless thing boosting your popularity, people love an underdog, but you’d be unable to deal with the major threats, geared up or not.”
“I’m fine with that.” Izuku nodded solemnly. “I just want to help people.”
All Might cracked a genuine smile at that. “That’s a good mentality, but there are other ways to help people too. Police officers, doctors, lawyers, everything, really. No one thinks about the grocery store clerk, but where would we be without them?”
“Probably waiting on a broken self check out machine.” Izuku grinned hesitantly.
“Exactly! What I’m saying is that you don’t have to be a hero to help people. But… if you truly are dead set on becoming one, I can’t give you the answer you want. I’m sorry.” All Might’s smile diminished. He felt a bit bad about denying the kid, but he really could not handle another innocent death on his conscience anymore. He was just so tired.
“I understand. I… have to be a hero, though.” Izuku began, staring towards the sky for a moment in contemplation. “I want to become a symbol for people like me.”
“People like you?”
“Quirkless people. Mutant quirks. So called Villainous quirks. Anyone who is downtrodden because of society.” Izuku explained, clenching his fists. “I want to become a hero to fix things.”
“Why not a politician?” All Might rose his eyebrow.
Izuku chuckled mirthlessly. “Too easily attacked. I’d be fighting even more of an uphill battle. They’d try saying I want to make quirk laws even more restrictive out of jealousy. It’d be too easy to get people against me.”
All Might shrugged. He understood the idea, but politics was never his forte. He’d deal with villains and disasters any day. “Fair enough, I suppose. Still… I can’t tell you to go for it, but I wish you luck in whatever you do with your life. You seem like a good kid.”
Izuku beamed at him. “I’m sorry for taking up your time, though. I really don’t know why I latched on like that.”
All Might chuckled, rising to his feet. “It’s not too big a deal, kid. Just remember to keep this secret.”
“Of course!” Izuku saluted, forcing another laugh from All Might as he walked down the stairs from the roof.
“What the hell are you doing Deku?!” Bakugo roared even as the sludge villain tried pulling him back in. Izuku had gotten a good shot in with his bookbag, loosening the villain’s grip enough for Bakugo to shout that.
“I may hate you, but not even you deserve to die!” Izuku roared with equal ferocity, ripping Bakugo from the villain.
Unfortunately, the villain retaliated before either of them could get far, three massive tendrils of sludge slamming down towards them.
Izuku raised his arms to block the attack, a semi-useless action, as it would probably break his arms and then absorb him into the sludge anyway.
He opened his eyes when he only felt the wind from the attack, only to see the massive form of All Might standing before him.
“How ridiculous! I couldn’t support you, yet here you are, being more of a hero than anyone here! What a hypocrite I’ve become!” Izuku could tell that despite his words, All Might was smiling, and it was no act.
The heroes attempted to scold him, but he simply walked away, ignoring their prattling. If they wanted to bitch, they should have done something themselves. Since he didn’t actually have a quirk, he assumed he wouldn’t get in trouble. In reality, it was solely because All Might intervened, something he would come to learn later.
Training to get One For All was a hell of an upgrade to his previous training. While he was by no means out of shape, All Might’s training put him to the grinder in ways he had never imagined. By the end of it, the young man was easily the most muscular in his school.
Given his previous training, he managed to finish the beach two months early, giving him two months to practice with One For All. While All Might’s advice was rudimentary, it was accurate. Controlling One For All was all about the physical feeling that came with the power, something he was… not great at, if he were to be honest.
Still, after just a few broken bones (thank god for Recovery Girl), he had it down to 5%. Enough to do decently for the Entrance Exam.
On his way in, he tripped over a raised brick. About to brace his arms to catch himself, he froze in mid-air. “Wha?”
“Sorry, I just thought it’d be bad luck to fall before the exam!” He turned to face the speaker, and froze again, before smiling. He tried not to describe her as cute in his head, but the blush marks and brown bobbed hair did his heart no favors.
“Thanks. It’ll be hard enough without bad luck, haha.” He wiggled a bit, before she helped stand him up right and released her quirk.
“I’m Ochako Uraraka” She beamed at him. He was… certainly not used to such instant friendliness. “And you’re… Deku, right?”
He blinked. She must have heard it from Bakugo as he went by. As had been usual since the sludge incident, Bakugo did little more than call him Deku and whine about his general existence. It was much easier to tune out than explosions. “No, that’s just what Bakugo calls me. It’s an insult from when we were kids. It means wooden doll, or useless in that context.”
“Oh, wow. And he wants to be a hero?” She looked genuinely confused at that, and his heart only swelled further. “Well, I thought it was like Dekiru, or You Can Do It! Also, it sounds kinda cute.”
“Deku it is!” He was not simping, shut up.
He definitely was.
The Entrance Exam, so far, had been easy. The robots were made to be destroyed, after all, and even at 5%, his physical abilities were superhuman. Not quite as good as someone with a single focus, such as a super strength or super speed quirk, but definitely up there. More than enough to rip through the robots like tissue paper.
He’d racked up a good number of points just attacking the robots, but he’d had to spend some time helping others out. Why UA thought it was a good idea to have robots fight people who, legally speaking, weren’t allowed to test their limits, was beyond him. The end result was a lot of people getting in over their heads, overestimating their quirks.
Still, it’d been… fun, if he were honest. There was a catharsis to fighting, and when it was against unfeeling robots, it was guilt-free too!
It’d only been a problem when the Zero Pointer showed up.
Everyone else ran away, but once he heard Ochako… well, what was he supposed to do? Not break his right arm and both legs using 100% on the massive robot?
…Probably, but hindsight is 20/20.
The two became quick friends after that, exchanging numbers and talking quite a lot over the week between their exam and their acceptance letters.
Amusingly, they were both nervous about their own results, but totally confident in the other’s.
Izuku hoped UA would be different from his previous school, even if he had to deal with Bakugo.
“I’ve seen your record.” Aizawa, his new teacher, confessed. “I take quirk discrimination very seriously. You might’ve skated by before, but if I see even a hint of that nonsense now, you’re expelled. You have potential, but don’t think that means you can get away with that.”
Izuku stared at him, a spark of rage building in his chest. He was wrong. UA was just another institution where the strong ruled.
Better not be weak anymore then.
Izuku’s passive gaze turned to steel. “I see.” He knew there was no point trying to convince this man. When teachers made up their minds, that was it. There was no changing their minds afterwards, he had tried. At least All Might was in his corner.
“Take your place and throw your ball. And don’t break anything.” Aizawa sighed, knowing this would be a problem child.
Izuku nodded sternly, anger still flowing through his mind. He’d always been judged for shit outside of his control, and now even UA was doing it! He just… wanted to be a hero, damnit.
Izuku’s 10% burst throw was enough to surpass most of the other throws, only beaten by Yaoyorozu and Todoroki. He had to admit Todoroki’s quirk was insanely powerful, and Yaoyorozu’s was insanely versatile. They’d make a hell of a team, maybe.
The person in last place, however…
“Toru Hagakure. You’re expelled.” Aizawa spoke without emotion. “Everyone else, your syllabuses are in the classroom. Don’t be late tomorrow.” He walked away as the invisible girl began to bawl.
Aizawa didn’t like what he did. He knew it was horrible, but he knew he didn’t have a choice. The HPSC was clear, one person per class. Despite her physical failings, Hagakure was perfect for stealth. Perfect for the HPSC’s plans.
Time moved regardless, and no one saw Hagakure after that. Despite that, the fact that she was expelled left a rift between the students and their teacher. Then came the USJ.
Izuku breathed a sigh of relief as he finally got away from Recovery Girl. She wasn’t exactly mean, but she was a bit aggressive about his injuries. It wasn’t his fault everyone’s life was on the line! What was he supposed to do? Sit there and watch them die?
At least no one got hurt too badly, himself excluded.
As he walked into the classroom, he noticed how everyone seemed subdued, moreso than normal. They’d taken to being mostly silent around their teacher, none of them really trusting him after Hagakure.
“What’s wrong?” Izuku glanced around, before noticing a particular person missing from the room.
“Kaminari…” Jirou began to tear up. “He was arrested.”
“What?! What for?!” Izuku leaned forward, shocked at the very concept. They’d been defending themselves!
“One of the villains he fought… didn’t survive.” Jirou covered her face as she began to cry, Momo hugging the girl.
“But we were defending ourselves! They would’ve killed us.” Izuku felt… hollow. Why? Why would they allow this to happen?!
“Deku…” Ochako latched onto him, starting to cry herself.
Izuku would have cried as well, but anger was much more prominent than sadness for him.
He would feel like that for some time.
The Sports Festival ended up with Izuku winning, and befriending Todoroki in the process. His new cap of 20% made him too much of a force to be reckoned with.
The internships after the Sports Festival, however, were a very different beast.
Izuku glared at Stain, keeping himself between Stain and Iida. He was annoyed at Iida, but ultimately understood. If he’d had the chance to avenge Borai… Well, safe to say he empathized with his friend.
That did not mean it was at all smart to chase down a serial killer who had beaten his older and more experienced brother.
“Another fake?” The maddened murderer murmured menacingly.
“Call me whatever you want, I’m not letting you kill them.” Izuku felt that familiar feeling of rage build inside his gut. This man had hurt so many people, all over some ridiculous ideology… but was it so ridiculous? He shook the thought from his mind. Regardless of anything else, his friend was in danger, and this man was that danger.
“Interesting. You didn’t mention anything about capturing me.” Stain relaxed his stance, apparently interested now.
“I don’t have the authority to actually do that. Nor do I think I could.” Izuku frowned.
“So because the rules say you can’t, you won’t?” Stain clicked his tongue.
“No. Because it would be pointless.” Izuku huffed a laugh. “They’d just as soon ruin my chances to be an actual hero. I can’t fix anything without becoming one, so a short term loss for a long term gain.”
Stain eyed him, an unreadable expression on his face. “You are… an odd one. What’s your name?”
“Deku.” He grinned. He’d chosen that name for a great deal of reasons. For one, Ochako had redefined it to something he adored. For another, it meant every time Bakugo called him Deku, he was inadvertently accepting him as a hero, which had to sting for the exploding boy.
“Hmph. Strange. You might not be a fake, but I don’t think you’re a true hero either.” Stain shook his head. “I don’t want to kill you kid, so get lost.”
“Even if I weren’t a hero, I wouldn’t abandon my friend to a murderer.” Izuku shook his head in response, full cowl activating.
Stain smiled slightly, a scary sight. “Alright then.”
He rushed forward, becoming little more than a tornado of blades. Fortunately, Izuku was able to keep up relatively well, 20% being more than enough to outpace the older man. Still, it was nearly impossible to get a hit in, with the constant motion of blades. He’d noticed both Iida and Native were paralyzed, and had no idea if it involved a quirk, or if it was something as simple as a poisoned blade.
On the other hand, he also couldn’t use his full 20% against Stain. Otherwise his name might become literal.
The battle ebbed and flowed, neither side seeming to gain on the other, until Todoroki appeared, flooding the area with ice.
Izuku was fast enough to jump above it, something he assumed Todoroki knew. Or at least, he hoped Todoroki knew, because otherwise he hadn’t learned a damned thing.
“I got your text. Next time, send more info.” Todoroki… teased? It was hard to tell with his monotone voice.
“Next time I’ll be sure to ask for a text break.” Izuku sassed, a smile coming to his face.
“Another one…” Stain spat, spinning his sword in a circle to cut the ice.
With Todoroki, the battle shifted instantly, Izuku and Todoroki forming a wonderful team. With Izuku’s physical prowess, combined with Todoroki’s field-altering quirk, Stain was constantly on the backfoot.
Then he threw the knife, past both of them, and into Iida.
Izuku did not see where it hit, but heard the scream and the sound of steel on flesh.
In response, black tendrils spewed from his body in every direction, easily breaking through the ice and buildings nearby.
Stain, whether in pragmatism, or terror, fled immediately, leaving Todoroki to try to contain Izuku’s rampage.
Surprisingly, this was easily done, Izuku calming down once Iida stood up to help stop him.
The aftermath involved Native retiring as a hero, traumatized by how powerless he had been while three students had saved his life. Iida was outright expelled for hunting down Stain. Both Izuku and Todoroki received black marks on their Hero Records, despite not having licenses yet, for their unlicensed quirk usage. It almost seemed as if the police did not even believe they had actually met Stain.
The Summer Camp came, and Bakugo was kidnapped. Despite breaking himself to take down Muscular, Izuku got away with it because no one found what was left of him. Kota refused to explain why he looked up to Izuku so much afterwards. If Pixie-bob had used her quirk to hide Muscular’s remains, well, that was no one’s business but her own.
“If we start another fight…if we break the law…then we’re no better than the villains!” Tsuyu spoke to the class who had gathered in Izuku’s room, after Kirishima declared they should save Bakugo themselves.
“What the fuck did you say.” Izuku did not raise his voice, but the sudden burst of rage was palpable. The tension in the air prevented anyone from speaking, let alone moving. “Are you saying these laws are more important than lives?!” This time, he did raise his voice, a growl coming out instead of his usually calm voice.
Ochako stepped between the two. “Izuku…” She looked sad, but understanding. Somehow, her presence calmed him down enough for Kirishima to feel confident enough to speak again.
“Look, I’m not saying we start a fight, but I can’t sit here and do nothing.” Kirishima rationalized, trying to appeal to both Tsuyu and Izuku.
Tsuyu looked terrified, yet saddened. “I understand. I won’t tell the teachers, but I can’t get involved.”
Most of the class agreed, but to Izuku it didn’t matter. He’d do it alone if he had to.
Sure, he hated Bakugo, but what kind of hero would he be if he left it alone?
Everything went fine, until AFO himself appeared and began to battle All Might. Izuku was still coming up with a plan, when it happened.
Bakugo sent explosions in every direction, desperately trying to keep the villains away from him. Each of them was dangerous, even if the crazy bitch only had a knife. He didn’t want to risk it. The feeling of being helpless, at their mercy… It burned him.
All it took was one slightly stronger explosion, and one of the villains turned into a smear on the ground.
“Magne! No!” Blond Bitch yelled, suddenly increasing her ferocity against him. “You monster!”
Bakugo clicked his teeth. All the villains seemed to focus on killing him, now. They were no longer holding back to capture. Even Shigaraki, childish as he was, could not stand someone hurting his pawns.
Fortunately, before anyone else could get a lethal attack off, Izuku’s plan started.
Bakugo was rescued, but it made no difference. He was arrested for murder shortly after, to the protest of many both within the school, and in public. Needless to say, the HPSC was not favorable at the moment.
All Might retired, the last of his power used up to arrest AFO, but he started to dedicate his previously busy schedule to teaching, which helped with the class morale a bit. Not a lot, but… enough for the moment.
The License Exam went fairly well, all things considered. At least, it seemed that way to most. Izuku, however, paid attention. There were patterns among those who failed, discrepancies he could not figure out… at first. Then he realized it, and it broke whatever faith he had left in the system the HPSC set up.
Every failure from UA was either a mutant quirk, or one which could be seen as villainous. Tsuyu was devastated.
Not long after, Izuku managed to get an internship with Nighteye. Despite the man’s annoying insistence that he did not deserve One For All, Izuku managed to learn quite a bit, before the end.
In a brighter world, Izuku would have rescued a little girl and started his journey to truly become the number one Hero.
This is not that world.
“Hey there, are you alright?” Izuku knelt down with a smile, getting eye level with the girl who crashed into his legs. He’d always loved kids, they were far less… stupid about things, than adults.
She latched onto him, quivering. “Help.”
Izuku nodded, not needing any more information. There was a child. The child was scared. Protect the child. Simple.
“Eri, come on.” A voice called out from the alley she had run through.
Eri’s grip tightened, and Izuku understood immediately. Child abuse, or at the very least, a very… uncomfortable home life.
“Is she your daughter?” Mirio smiled, even as Izuku ran through possibilities in his head. Mirio likely already understood, but he needed to wait for an opening. Although…
“Hey, Eri” Izuku whispered, low enough that the man couldn’t hear. “Can you tell me what this guy’s quirk is?”
“His hands break stuff.” She managed to say, though she was still terrified.
Izuku nodded, looking back up to the man before him. Whatever the details, his hands were the source of his quirk, so…
“This is getting annoying.” The man sighed, reaching into his coat. In that instant, Izuku sprang into action.
20% was more than enough to outpace the man’s reaction time, Blackwhip binding his hands in the same moment as he revealed the gun from his coat. Mirio had only just started to move, but stopped upon seeing that Izuku had the situation handled.
“Wow, you reacted super fast!” Mirio grinned at his fellow intern. “He could’ve had the gun out.”
“Something just… told me to act.” Izuku murmured, ignoring the man’s shouts and squirming. “I’ll hold him till the police arrive.”
“Alright! Great job!” Mirio smiled, before kneeling down to see eye to eye with the girl, who was staring in amazement, tears of relief in her eyes. “Hey there. I’m Lemillion, and this is Deku. Your name is Eri, right?” The girl nodded. “That’s a wonderful name! Don’t worry about the bad man, Deku has him handled.” He ignored the man shouting about disease and filth to focus on the girl before him. “Did you live with him?” She nodded. “Well okay, we’ll fix that then! He’ll be going away for a long time, and you’ll be safe from him.”
While Mirio comforted the girl, Izuku frowned at the man before him. The weird bird-like mask was a strange addition, and he clearly had no sense of fashion, but there was something… else that really struck Izuku as odd. The man was forced into a spread eagle position in the air, hands grasping to touch something but failing. He was helpless.
It took a good ten minutes for the police to arrive. When they did…
“What the hell? Put your guns down!” Mirio shouted at the officers, who were aiming at Deku.
Eri ran behind Deku’s legs, but the officers did not lower their weapons.
“Drop the civilian!” One of the officers shouted. Izuku turned his head, and recognized him from the License Exam, one of the examiners.
“What.” Izuku stared at them, feeling cold. Why were they pointing their guns at him?
His eyes caught the smirks on the officers faces. The leader was from the HPSC, clearly, but… had he done anything to anger them? He hadn’t exactly laid low, but… He’d done everything right! This man was a villain, clearly! A child abuser! Why…
One of the officers fired, and something within Deku snapped.
All this time, every effort he had given to become a hero, and this… this was how the HPSC treated him? What the fuck.
Hagakure.
Kaminari.
Bakugo.
And now him… No.
He was done.
One For All was still at 20%, so the bullet was little more than a small sting, not even going into his skin. He glared at the officers, who seemed intimidated now that they knew bullets did not work. Fine.
It was clear, the rules would not protect people. So he would change them. He’d already killed Muscular, and he felt no regret from it. This was different, but… the HPSC had clearly done so much damage already. In his class alone, four lives ruined. Well. Make that three.
He was so tired, but beyond that…
HE WAS ANGRY
Blackwhip snapped the man’s wrists, earning a scream from him, but disabling whatever his quirk was. This caused more of the officers to fire, Izuku pushing Eri behind him as Blackwhip lashed out, piercing through each officer’s gun-holding-hand before they could react.
“Mirio. Take care of Eri.” It was a command, and Mirio stood at attention, the sheer determination in Izuku’s voice enthralling him for a moment.
“I hope you know what you’re doing…” Mirio hesitated, before grabbing Eri and running towards his agency.
“I hope so too.” Izuku murmured, before he burst off towards UA. If he made it in time…
Fortunately, he did, thanks mostly to his speed.
He did not pause for the gate or the dorm doors, launching himself onto what he knew was Ochako’s balcony. He didn’t know if she would forgive him, but he wrote a quick letter to explain what happened, using as few words as possible, before he gave a single hint on how to contact him. She’d give the information to their friends, and that way they would be safe. He just needed time now.
‘Ochako. HPSC Corrupt. Attempted arrest. Safe. Tell my mom.’
He hoped it was enough, because he knew the HPSC wasn’t stopping here. Whatever heroes were helping them, they would be sure to come after him sooner or later.
About a week later, his new phone, courtesy of his mother before his official arrest warrant, showed a single text from what he remembered was Ochako’s number.
‘I need your help. They have my parents.’
When that line appeared on his screen, he knew.
It was time for a revolution.