Chapter Text
Izuku felt crushed when his idol told him that he couldn’t be a hero without a quirk. He didn’t know why he expected him to say otherwise, it’s not like anyone had, not even his own mother. Maybe he was right. He should just give up. He couldn’t be a hero, but maybe he could be helpful somewhere else?
Yeah right, as if they’d want a stupid deku like you.
Kacchan’s voice echoed through his head and realized that Kacchan was right. Even the number one hero had cemented it in his brain. He would never amount to anything.
He got closer to the edge of the roof where all might stood and gently touched the rail with the tips of his fingers, still mesmerized by the fact that he had held a conversation with his idol . And he had caused All-might to reveal his secret. Stupid Deku , he thought again.
He peered over the railing to the city below him. He saw the people down below and wondered what their lives were like. He looked at the pavement down below.
Jump, said Kac- the voice. Take a swan dive off the roof and pray for a quirk in your next life.
If Deku thought about it… really thought about it- Kacchan was right. He was quirkless. Useless. A waste of space. A waste of air.
Do it. Jump. Jump. He may as well listen. He slowly stated to take his red sneakers off and lay them on the ground. He looked to the edge. He felt bad, possibly traumatizing a passerby, but this was as good a chance he would get, and he might as well take it. Just as he was sitting down on the edge, he heard screams off in the distance, and along with that, tiny popping explosion sounds that he would recognize anywhere.
Oh no, he panicked. Kacchan.
He sprinted down the stairs to the alleyway he heard the explosions and saw Kacchan fighting for his life against the villain that had been captured by all might.
He swore under his breath, because it was his fault. I mean, it was, wasn’t it? If he hadn’t grabbed on to All Might and made himself realize just how useless he was, Kacchan wouldn’t be here in an alleyway with a villain. He looked around, and realized, to his dismay, that the heroes weren’t doing anything. Death Arms was doing anything. Mount Lady wasn’t doing anything. He looked around and also saw the skeletal form of his hero. All Might. He wasn’t doing anything.
Without thinking, he rushed in to save Kacchan. Tearing at the villains eyes, he actually seemed to have made some progress, and if Izuku died, well, he was already planning to earlier anyway.
“Get back kid!” yelled Death Arms, but Izuku couldn’t hear him. He was frantic, clawing at the villain with Kacchan, but he was also angry. Why weren’t they doing anything? Finally, the familiar feel of All Might’s power rushed past him as the villain was torn to pieces. The fight was over in an instant, and the passersby were already gawking at the stature of the number one hero. Kacchan was safe.
Katsuki watched as Deku- Deku, of all people- had rushed into save him, followed soon after by the number one hero who just sort of… appeared? Mount lady swooped in in here small form and pulled him away from the villain that was being cleaned up. He saw Deku get dragged away by Death Arms who was shouting at him about almost dying or some shit. Whatever. He didn’t need that stupid nerds help, he had it under control. Totally. He tried not to think about the rage he saw on Deku’s face as he tried to free him. If he wasn’t a useless Deku, and Katsuki wasn’t the best, he might have even been scared. Might have.
He tuned out Mount Lady’s praises and focused on Deku. Death Arms was still berating him about dying. In that moment he read Deku’s lips as he muttered, “Yeah, that was the point.”
Izuku couldn’t get a word in talking to Death Arms, so he listened to the hero berate him and headed home. He was not followed by a skeleton of a hero, and he was not offered a quirk.
Katsuki couldn’t really believe the events of what happened earlier, mostly in relation to his childhood friend. Why was he so angry? Did Katsuki really read his lips right? What happened?
Katsuki thought he probably knew the answer to at least two of those questions. He wasn’t likely to read lips wrong, as he’d been practicing it since he was four and got his quirk. And the only logical explanation for the last question was, well, him.
Izuku wandered the streets after he snuck out. While he was upset that he had to go through watching Kacchan almost die, he was glad he had been there to at least… well, do something. But, he needed to finish what he started. This time, he had his letters ready, and a plan of where to go. He hoped no one would try to stop him.