Chapter Text
April 16th, 2007
The boy stared up at his ceiling, deep in thought. He blinked a few times, as his fan brushed his bangs into his eyes. The boy was young. Thirteen.. just a few months away from fourteen. He was a scrawny and mousy boy. Green eyes that rarely sparkled… green fluffy and messy hair that was always mistaken for a rat’s nest… little freckles that sprinkled his cheeks. And he was very boney. If you held his hand, you could feel his bones in his fingers.
But that wasn’t what made people hate him, no. It was that smile of his. His jaw could open much too wide and showed his forever perfect pearly white teeth. His gums were always visible, and they were bright red. His eyes, too. They were inevitable to shadows, giving them a glow. His pupils were lifeless and staring.
And his name was Izuku Midoriya.
Izuku’s life wasn’t easy. Not only was it that unsettling face of his, but he was quirkless. If you didn’t know, Izuku lives in a world with heroes and villains. Almost everyone had a ‘quirk’ these days. Quirks were basically super powers. They would be given to a child at the age of four. And Izuku was never given one. He was instantly an easy target to bullies. He was used as a punching bag almost every day. He tried to ask for help. But his teachers already avoided him enough, spooked out by his appearance. His mother didn’t love him anymore to help. His father was absent.
The best he was ever given was an ice pack and a “Just tell them to stop.” From his nurse.
Izuku sighed and rubbed his eye with his finger, and sat up, looking at his clock.
5:37 AM
“I guess.. it wouldn’t hurt to get ready just a bit early. I can’t sleep, anyways.” Izuku whispered to himself. He got off his bed which creaked loudly, and walked over to where his school uniform was hung.
It was more of a mattress, actually. His mother and him were rather poor, but had just enough to manage. For him, at least. His mother used most of her money on jewelry and pricey wine. Instead of an actual job, his mother discovered a social media app called ‘GlamCram.’ She posted wine and food reviews. Surprisingly, she blew up and she was paid with tips, follows, and likes.
Izuku buttoned up his gakuran’s jacket and finished putting on his pants. He opened up his door slightly, made sure his mother’s door was closed, and turned on the dim lights to their single room kitchen and living room. He walked over and opened their pantry. They barely had anything but instant noodles and some dry ingredients. Not counting his mother’s separate supplies. All that was in the fridge was leftovers and milk. So Izuku poured a glass of milk, and took a few bites of his mother’s leftovers from a fancy restaurant.
He didn’t bother taking a shower or brushing his teeth. For one, his teeth were magically always white and healthy. And two, his mother wasn’t fond of sharing anyways.
He made sure he had everything in his backpack, turned off his alarm, slipped on his red sneakers, turned off the lights, and headed out.
Normally, Izuku got up at 6 AM every morning, and took around twenty to thirty minutes to get ready. But this was okay.. he didn’t mind taking a longer walk. He looked at his flip phone, and saw that it was 6:42. School started at 7:15. Normally his walks could be.. ten minutes long. But he took a longer route, making it sixteen this morning.
It was a beautiful morning. The sun was still rising, the wind was warm, and the dew on the patches of grass glittered. Then, he entered the gates of his school. Aldera junior high. He watched people scurry into the gates, or lock up their bikes, or casually walk in. But almost all of them were with their friends. Izuku was all alone.
He switched his shoes as he stepped inside and went to his first period. Math.
He sat down at his desk, and happily sorted his things.
Note books there.. pencils here.. extra eraser right there!
He smiled to himself. Even though he was miserable, the smallest of things could make him happy. Even for just a moment.
“Oh, look who it is.. little scraggy boy!” Someone taunted above him. Izuku sighed and looked over at his former classmate, Katsuki Bakugou. Compared to Izuku, Katsuki was a god. Perfect eyes, perfect body, perfect smile, cool hair, cool friends, intimidating reputation.. etc.
“Good.. good morning, Kacchan.” Izuku whispered, trying to keep Katsuki from being aggravated. Kacchan, by the way, was a nickname Izuku made for Katsuki. Their mothers were basically best friends, so they forced Izuku and Katsuki to be the same. And it failed horribly. But the nickname stuck.
“We thought you would have dropped dead by now, Deku!” Again, another nickname that stuck. Except this one was an insult.
Katsuki cackled, and his ‘friends’ behind him followed, chuckling like idiots.
“Hah.. n..not yet..” Izuku mumbled, forcing a giggle. Please.. please just go away now.. He thought.
Thankfully the teacher had finally entered the classroom, making Bakugou and his goons retreat. For now.
“Okay, good morning..” She yawned. “You know the drill..” She mumbled, spinning her finger as a motion to move. The students took out their textbooks and opened to their page. Today was one of the days where all they had to do was read and jot down notes while the teacher graded past work.
Disclaimer: She played online solitaire.
Izuku fidgeted with his pencil between his two fingers, reading to himself. Math was never his best subject. He was just never able to catch on. And the teacher rarely helped out her students. But he was determined. Heroes sometimes used math like this on their missions.
And Izuku wanted to be a hero. So he could make people smile too! Maybe not as wide as him, though.. but the thought of being an idol to millions and the new symbol of hope just made him tremble in joy and excitement!
He was interrupted from his thoughts when a wad of paper hit him in the head. Curiously, he picked it up from the ground and opened it up.
We can see you barely standing these days, why don’t you go ahead and end your suffering?!
It read. Typical. Izuku scoffed and folded it up to pocket it. He continued to read and write, upset now. But he shouldn’t care. They were just.. dumb jerks! And they were just trying to make him sad so he wouldn’t be a hero anymore. So Izuku had to stay strong and ignore them. Even if it was hard.
Izuku finished math class. Pretty much the whole day was like this. As he walked by, people covered their noses and giggled. As he sat down, people called him names. Just like any day. It made Izuku mad, but he had to stay calm.
At lunchtime, Izuku stayed in the bathroom stalls instead of sitting in the cafeteria. He would have taken school lunch, but the last time he did that people threw food at him.
“Why do people hate me so much..” He whispered. “I can’t help the way I look! Or that I’m quirkless..” He sniffled. He wiped his nose and eyes with his sleeve and kept eating.
Scratch scratch
Izuku looked up from his food. “Is someone there?” He asked, a bit frightened by the scratching on the wall.
Scratch scratch
It kept going. Izuku got a little bit annoyed and opened his stall. There was nobody else in the bathroom. He even checked the other stalls. Nobody.
“Maybe it’s a rat or something.” He said. He sat back down, nervously looking around the stall. The scratching continued.
Izuku finished his final class of the day. The scratching seemed to follow him around. Even after he switched his shoes and walked home, the scratching kept going.
“Is there something in my ear?” He asked to nobody. He hurried home and checked his ears in his mirror in his bedroom. There wasn’t anything there. And it didn’t feel like there was anything in his ear. So Izuku tried to ignore it for the rest of the day.
It was difficult.
Izuku was reading quietly on his mattress, as the scratching continued. Suddenly, he just couldn’t take it anymore. He stood up and walked to the kitchen, where his mother was making a video about some fancy cheese or whatever.
“Mom,” He said, standing besides the camera. “I think there’s something in my ear, and I want to go to a doctor-“
His mother threw her fork at him.
It hit his chest, thankfully not the stabby part, and fell to the ground with a clatter. Izuku looked down in surprise, and instantly he regretting speaking. There was a rule his mother gave him. Never speak when she’s recording. But he didn’t even notice her setup.
“You stupid brat. Did you already forget my rule? Again?” She said. Izuku looked at her with wide eyes. “I-I’m sorry… I didn’t notice and I was scared, mom-“
“BE QUIET! And I told you to not make eye contact with me!” She furiously hid her eyes away with her hand.
Embarrassed and ashamed, Izuku looked away. But he was mostly hurt. “I’m sorry. Please don’t.. be mad..”
“That’s the third time you’ve interrupted my work this month. If it weren’t for me, we’d be on the streets! The least you could do is keep your head down and stay out of my way!” She huffed.
“Yes ma’am.”
“Go to your room.” She said.
“But-“
“GO!”
Izuku went back to his room, head in his hands. The scratching got louder. And now.. he heard knocking.
“Please stop..” He whispered. Izuku pulled his bed sheets over his head and sniffled.
He closed his eyes and begged to go to sleep. But it never came. Eventually his alarm clock went off once again. But he ignored it, and just simply stared at it as the knocking and scratching continued.
“Inko.. Midoriya.. Inko.. Midoriya..” Someone whispered. Izuku gasped and sat up, looking up from his covers. “Who’s there..?” He sputtered. But there was no one.
“Inko Midoriya.. Inko Midoriya..”
“Stop it!” Izuku cried.
The whispering, and scratching, and knocking.. it went on and on and on.
Am I going insane?! Izuku thought, absolutely terrified.
He grabbed his head and pulled his hair. “Shut up.. shut up.. shut up!” He gasped, rocking back and forth. Why was this happening to him? Make it go away!
…
It didn’t.
Everyday, Izuku could only hear the knocking, whispering, and scratching. It wasn’t just his mother’s name, but now Katsuki’s. He didn’t understand what was happening. And his mother wouldn’t help him. Nobody would.
Izuku was walking down the hallways, his eyes wide. He hadn’t been able to sleep. He just wanted it.. to stop. He looked out the window. He was on the top floor. Very high up. Maybe.. he could stop it. Right now..
“There you are, Deku!” Katsuki’s laugh rang in Izuku’s ears. “I haven’t seen you all day.. have you been hiding in the bathrooms again?” He asked.
Izuku stared at him, dead silent.
“Hey.. answer me, ugly.” Bakugou reached out to poke Izuku. And suddenly.. his wrist was grabbed.
Katsuki gasped a bit, startled. But he quickly played it off. “H..Heh! What, you trying to be scary now, Dek-“
His face was slammed into the wall with incredible force. He sputtered and grabbed his nose, staring at Izuku. Before he could speak, though, Izuku pulled Katsuki’s hair once again and slammed his face into the brick wall. Over.. and over.. and over again.
Izuku couldn’t help it. The punching.. and teasing.. and laughing.. was too much. And every time Katsuki’s face landed on the wall.. every time a tooth cracked.. and blood splattered.. some of that past pain was relieved.
Izuku dropped Katsuki to the ground. He gasped and wheezed, his face nothing but bloody pulp. Izuku placed his foot on Katsuki’s neck, and pushed pressure onto his neck.
Stomp.. and.. end.. it.. all.
Izuku raised his foot… and stomped.
It was like watching a chunk of his misery shrivel up right in front of him. He… smiled.
Students screamed and tried to restrain him, but he was fast. He ran. He ran faster than ever before. As he escaped, police cars were already zooming by. Izuku stayed hidden in the bushes and shadows.
It was a blur. He had.. murdered someone. And then.. ran away from the scene. And it felt.. great.
Izuku arrived home, the whispering and knocking and scratching continuing. He looked at his mother, finishing up another video.
Inko Midoriya.. Inko Midoriya..
“Mom,” He said, smiling. She glanced at him and grimaced, not noticing the blood. “What, freak? Why are you smiling?”
Izuku stepped forward. His mother had a thin wine glass and a fork with an empty plate infront of her.
“Mom.. I.. I hate you.” Izuku said, not taking his eyes off of hers. Without another word, he grabbed her wine glass and smashed it against her head.
“AAAAAAHHH!” His mother screamed, clutching her wound. “YOU BRAT!”
Before she could even attempt to defend herself, Izuku hit her with the glass again. And again. And again. Until he was holding just a piece of the handle. He grabbed the fork and lodged it into her eye for safe measure.
Blood. Was. Everywhere. On his hands and clothes and face and everything. His mother was drenched in it, and so was the floor.
Izuku panted. No more scratching. Or knocking. Or whispering. It was.. over. Finally over..
Tears streamed down Izuku’s face and his smile trembled. He was free. Not just from the sounds, but his mother. And Katsuki. And this.. house.
He packed his bags. This horrible building. Every inch of it he only had images of being beaten flash in his mind. He only stopped to take a three hour long bath, and he even went and ate all of his mother’s food and dumped her wine into the sink, wasting thousands of yen.
He pulled a hood over his head. He put his backpack on. And finally… left.