Chapter Text
It only took one simple sentence to erase any hope Izuku Midoriya had left for heroes and change his life forever. Before that, it had just been an ordinary Tuesday. Well, almost an ordinary Tuesday. That is if your ordinary Tuesday consists of nearly getting blown to bits by your best friend, being told to jump off a roof, and getting attacked by a sewer-dwelling villain made of sludge. So, maybe not a completely normal Tuesday, even for Izuku, whose Tuesdays were usually bad. It's not that they were worse than any other day of the week, it’s just that Izuku’s life had never been the easiest or the greatest.
Izuku always wanted to be a hero, even when he turned four and was diagnosed quirkless. No telekinesis, no fire-breathing, nothing. As upsetting as this discovery was on its own, what it meant for his future was much worse. His only friend decided he didn’t want to associate with a quirkless loser, and as if that wasn’t already bad enough, he started to pick on him for it, calling him names and pushing him around. It only escalated from there. By the time they reached elementary school, Deku was less of a mispronunciation and more of a way to mock him. The shoving became punching and the teasing grew unbearable. To make things worse, no one believed he could become a hero, not even his mother. The kids at school made fun of him for even thinking about it, calling him delusional, useless, and even suicidal. Through all of this, Izuku’s dreams of becoming a hero stayed with him. He kept them into middle school, but part of him knew, just like everyone around him, that he could never be a true hero without a quirk.
Even still, Izuku didn’t just want to give up. He began watching videos and reading books on different forms of self-defense. He stayed up late watching hero fights on the news and even managed to see some up close while walking home or running to the convenience store a few blocks away from his apartment. It was kind of scary, knowing he had villains that close to his home, to his mother . It didn’t help quelch his worries when he began noticing just how recklessly the majority of heroes fought. It was pretty obvious to Izuku that they weren’t all that serious about saving and protecting citizens. They were way more focused on defeating the criminals and smiling for the news channels, sometimes even endangering the people they were supposed to be protecting while doing it. After watching and analyzing a few more in-person fights, including one where a bystander had been unceremoniously slammed into a wall because of a hero’s forcefield quirk, it became apparent that they were just in it for the money and publicity.
That was probably when his faith in heroes first started to crumble. He’d been about 10 or 11 at the time, still not ready to completely give up on his dreams.
Maybe not all heroes are like that.
Maybe I could be the first.
Those were the things he tried to convince himself of year after year. Perhaps this was why when he was saved by All-Might, the number one hero, despite nearly dying and making a huge fool out of himself, he considered it a blessing from God. Surely All Might would be different. He wouldn’t give up on Izuku. He was the top hero! He was strong, selfless, and brave! He truly cared about those he saved! He wasn’t like the other heroes or the kids at scho-
“To answer your question, kid, no. You can’t become a hero without a quirk. It’s far too dangerous.”
Okay, God, I see how it is.
Izuku tried and somehow managed to keep the disappointment he was feeling off his face. All Might, or rather, Small Might, as he was currently speaking to Izuku in his true form which he’d learned about only minutes ago, placed a hand gently on his shoulder. Izuku simply nodded as he felt his last bit of hope and respect for heroes drain out of him. He couldn’t help himself from the thoughts that slowly crawled over his mind. Angry, betrayed thoughts.
He didn’t even hesitate, didn’t even give me a chance to tell him about my skills or my dreams.
He doesn’t care either, he’s just like the rest of them, those so-called heroes.
Quirkist a-
He stopped halfway through the thought, not wanting to internally curse at his favorite hero and also not wanting to believe it. Izuku knew, deep down, that he was at least a little right, that All-Might was somewhat quirkist. There were plenty of heroes who fought pretty much quirkless. Logically speaking, there was no reason that Izuku couldn’t become a hero, other than the fact that no one would let him. All Might, just like everyone else, had heard the word quirkless and given up on him.
Izuku had been so lost in his thoughts he almost hadn’t heard the explosions. It sounded like someone was setting off fireworks, but the sky was its usual blue with no sprinkles of color that might insinuate pyrotechnics. He opened his mouth and looked up from the stain on his shoe he’d been staring at to inform All Might, but the hero was already gone. Izuku didn’t waste any time following, running down the stairs of the building and out into the street. He didn’t stop running until he could feel the heat of explosions on his skin and hear the panicked shouts of bystanders in his ears.
What the…
He pushed his way to the front of the small crowd, his brain desperately trying to process the scene before him. Katsuki Bakugo, his incredibly powerful, incredibly rude, childhood friend turned bully, was being attacked by a villain. Not just any villain either, it was the exact villain that had come after Izuku earlier. He was right, the explosions weren’t fireworks. It was Bakugo, fighting back against the very same villain All Might had captured less than 20 minutes ago. It took Izuku a minute to figure out what exactly was going on, but once he did, he realized Bakugo was losing. His explosive palms did nothing against a villain with no physical body.
Izuku couldn’t help but feel like it was his fault. He had distracted All Might by grabbing his leg. He had bothered him with a question he already knew the answer to. He had given the sludge villain a chance to get away.
The only friend he’d ever had was going to get hurt because of him.
Maybe not just him. There were plenty of bystanders around as well. Everyone there was in danger. They could all get seriously injured.
That’s when he noticed the pros. There were a few he recognized from the news, including Kamui Woods and Backdraft. He calmed down slightly. Everyone was going to be fine. They would help Bakugo, right? They would calm down the crowd and help everybody to safety.
Wrong. The pros were doing nothing, barely making an effort to evacuate or even calm the civilians. Bakugo was going to suffocate. Those stupid heroes were going to watch him die.
Izuku was not going to let that happen.
His legs moved instinctively. He swung his schoolbag off his shoulder mid-run and raised his arm so he could throw it at the villain, remembering how Bakugo’s punches and explosions had no effect. The villain was made of sludge, after all. The only part of him that seemed solid was…
The crowd watched in astonishment as Izuku launched his backpack at the villain’s eyes with surprising speed and accuracy.
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Not long after that, All Might arrived. Izuku watched as he took down the villain once again, almost immediately putting him in police custody. A few of the pros, finally deciding to be useful, went around to collect bits of sludge that had scattered when All-Might punched the criminal. The rest of them got to work praising Bakugo for his bravery before eventually turning to him.
“What you did back there was super dangerous. You could have gotten yourself or someone else seriously injured. What were you thinking, rushing in there without a quirk to back you up?” Kamui Woods questioned.
A few other heroes were standing at his sides, looking disappointed and worried. Izuku resisted the urge to yell at them. It wouldn’t get him anywhere.
“I’m sorry, I just-”
He sighed, letting the words evaporate on his tongue. I just wanted to help. No one was doing anything, and he needed help.
“You’ve got to be more careful, kid.” The pro shook his head.
Izuku simply nodded before turning away and beginning the walk home, anger coursing through his veins. Careful, like how you were being careful? By standing idly by as someone dies? I don’t think so.
He knew he had done the right thing. He’d bought Bakugo the few precious seconds before All Might arrived. Izuku helped save him. He knew could do it, he could save people, but clearly, no one else agreed. If he wanted to save people, if he wanted to be a hero, it would have to be on his terms. Izuku wandered home, lost in his thoughts once again.
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Inko knew the second that Izuku got home that something was wrong. His usual smile had faded and he looked almost entirely lost in thought. This wasn’t uncommon for him, but something felt different this time. Inko took great pride in her instincts as a mother, they had never failed her before. Maybe it was because of what happened to Katsuki. She decided to make katsudon for dinner, her son’s favorite food, just in case something was off.
However short it took her to make the familiar dish, dinner was shorter. She tried starting up a conversation but nothing worked. Izuku simply nodded and hummed along with whatever she was saying, avoiding making any contributions himself. He didn’t mention his childhood friend’s near-death experience at all, and Inko was reluctant to bring it up. Eventually, he got up and left for his room with a thank you, his katsudon half-eaten and his eyes distant.
Inko hoped that she was wrong and that this was just temporary. She wanted her son to be okay, to go back to being his sassy, sweet, nerdy self, but she had a sinking feeling that something had changed permanently.
Later she would look back and wish she had done something more than just hope. '
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Izuku couldn’t stop thinking about it. Not his experience with All Might and attempt to save Bakugo, but his plan. He’d had it for a while now, just in case his original plan to become a pro hero fell through. Just in case everyone else had given up on him.
He’d realized today that the world had done that, had given up on him, and there was no way for him to be a hero. His mom, his classmates, the heroes, didn’t believe he could save people. Even if he tried, they wouldn’t let him. They had all given up on him, but there was no chance in hell he was giving up on himself.
It had taken him all of dinner to finally decide whether or not to go through with it. A little bit into dinner, he came to his decision. He thanked his mother for the katsudon and headed to his room, finally ready.
He’d execute the plan later tonight once his mother fell asleep. He hated that he was about to do this to her, but he didn’t see any other course of action, at least not one where he could save people.
He sighed and opened his closet, pulling out a large black backpack. Inside there was a very specific outfit, some cash, snacks, a decent amount of post-its, a red and blue themed pen, and a notebook.
Scribbled on the front of the notebook in black ink were the words Vigilante Plan & Analysis For The Future .