Chapter Text
The world is a cruel place.
It‘s not something Izuku is unfamiliar with.
After all, he lived to tell the tale.
He was 4 when he got told that he had no place in this world and his whole worldview shattered, turning bleak and gray.
A single word was enough for people to declare that he was useless, without worth, better off to die.
Quirkless.
It was a death sentence which the blurry doctor of his memories signed with neutrality on his face.
"You see, normally a child inherits either one of his parent's quirks or a combination of both. But the existence of an extra toe joint means that he likely doesn't have a quirk after all. He's quirkless", he explains in a monotone tone, pointing at the X-ray of Izuku's foot.
The All Might toy is the least of Izuku's worries as it drops to the tailed floor, something wet dripping on his hands - it takes him until they are out of the clinic and on the way back home in their car to realize that it he is crying - while his mother asks the quirk specialist if he was sure if there weren't any other tests they forgot. There weren't any.
He doesn't even remember how he got back home and started the video of All Might that day - "Fear not! Why? Because I am here!" - the whole memory rewritten by the way his mother storms into his room and apologizes frantically - I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorr- like a broken recorder on loop.
His lips are too weak to speak out in protest, to bring out the words he wished he should have said "That's not what I wanted to hear, Mum... Why couldn't you just believe in me? "
He doesn‘t think about the fact that his childhood friend was the only one who believed in him - in their dream to still become the best hero duo out there. How he was the first one to give the name Deku the meaning „You can do it“ before someone else could. How Izuku was the first one to betray him.
He's 6, rummaging through the streets at night - because sometimes he can't just sleep when they are self-doubt and self-hate swirling inside him, no matter how much his loved ones try to chase them out - when he finally finds out about the dark of this world, his view turning from bleak and gray to endless spots of black.
When he finds out that heroes weren't as good as they made themselves out when he first comforted the victim of a sexual assault.
The hero gripped the face of the woman harshly, a smirk on his lips - "Nobody will believe you" - while his other hand was about to explore her sides when Izuku's body moved on his own. How in irony an idol he once looked up to would later reference the same words.
"Mommy! Mommy!", Izuku bubbly exclaimed, bopping up and down on the ball of his feet, "Can we go home?"
The hero hesitates and lets go of the woman, taking a step back. For a moment Izuku is afraid he is gonna be the next victim.
It's the only chance Izuku needs as he goes up to the woman's side and tugs at her sleeve, peering her away from the hero with a firm but soft grip, despite the clog in his throat and the trembling ins his fists. Out of the alleyway, out of reac of the villain hero, only stopping when they reach one of the well-hidden park benches and the woman snaps out of her dazed state.
She falls around his neck, hysterically crying while whispering "Thank you" over and over again.
The memory continues to haunt him in his dreams. Yamiko's gratitudes blur with his mother's frantic apologies, while All Might and the hero's smile morph, coming together into a twisted caricature.
The hero's name Shiny - Quirk: Light Boost. Grants the user enhanced senses and boosted physical abilities while radiating a glowing light - is one he will not forget for a long time.
The next morning all of his All Might posters and hero merchandise are safely stored elsewhere, an acidic taste in his mouth - he buries that the reason is that he can't look at All Might without being reminded of the scene the night before and hyperventilating as a result - one Eraserhead poster being the only one left, leaving his walls completely bare.
It doesn't take long before he starts attending self-defense classes.
He will never forget the fear in Yumiko's eyes while she whipped back and forth like a child, tears streaming down his face. He never wanted to feel so helpless ever again. He never wants his nightmares to come true where the hero simply ignored him and continued and he could have done nothing - proving to everyone how useless he truly was, nothing better than an important bystander.
He was 10 when he with shock and disbelief realized that his desire, his flame to become a hero had completely died down.
His mother was naturally very surprised by this sudden decision - she doesn't know about the horrors he already saw.
„Why Izuku? I thought the lessons went well! You are the best from your course!", she exclaimed and looked worried. "Did somebody say anything to you?"
Inko had quickly realized that the words from that day had forever damaged a part of the trust she had with Izuku, more than she first wanted to admit - and she wanted, no she needed and had to make up for that mistake.
The lessons quickly grew to be Izuku's favorite part of the week and she noticed how a part of the light in his eyes returned, how it made him happy.
But she also noticed how he changed - how from one day to another - he had matured, hidden away from her.
"No", Izuku replied, eyes cold, "I just think I'm not fit for them"
She doesn't ask what happened to his once, bright and innocent eyes. Instead, she smiles and supports him, like he always wished.
That night Izuku cries himself to sleep, feeling relieved. She didn't question him. She only looked worried and surprised instead of being relieved of him dropping his dream. She didn't look disappointed. It takes years until he doesn't see red, burning eyes in his dreams anymore.
He was finally 14 when he realized that if he wanted anything to change - to not see heroes succumb to fame and numbers rather than saving people like they were supposed to - he had to turn the core of the problem. Eradicate the system and change the hero commission and government from within.
That's why when he turned 15, he took the General Education exam, not even bothering with the Business or Support Department, because if he wanted his plan to succeed he needed to stay under the radar for the time being.
After all a good underdog story was only successful if the underdog went unnoticed after all.
Izuku doesn't realize this but when their homeroom teacher announced the schools everyone was heading for - Katsuki for the hero department and Izuku for the general one, the first boy was eerily quiet. He had stared at Izuku and wondered when he changed so much. Where the boy went who wanted to become a hero with him as a kid, replaced by the boy with the cold, analytic gaze and the scoff whenever someone mentioned becoming a hero. He started completely moving on from Izuku and drifting away from him that day on.
Aizawa Shouta is a very logical, direct man.
He isn’t known to beat around the bush, much less to play down things or give out compliments like candies. There wasn‘t a single bone in him that was constructed for entertainment or moderating.
There was no reason for him why he had to accompany his husband for his yearly moderating job at the Sports Festival.
Not even talking about the fact that he had broken almost every bone in his body during the USJ Attack 2 weeks prior and was still bandaged from head to toe. Maybe that’s why Hizashi thought he could offer something now - can‘t say you don‘t have a single bone in your body for entertainment when 90% were broken.
Which is why he had no qualms about letting him know that there were a thousand things he would rather do than sit in the moderator booth for the Sports Festival. Like taking a nap. Or cuddling their cats in their quiet apartment, far away from the Problem Children.
(At that time he would have never guessed that this day would be the kickstart to many changes in the future - some good, some bad - and that he would be glad that he was here personally)
While he understands the school's board's need to look strong for the media and it being one of the few chances for hero students to get themselves out in the face of the large competition, he still doesn't like that Nedzu had gone ahead even without pressing back against it.
There are way too many eyes on his kids hell class - normally the first years went mostly unnoticed, the real contenders for attention being the second and third years - and too much pressure for them to succeed and achieve good results just because they had already been involved in a villain attack. They are barely 16 and 15 for fuck's sake!
The media will throw themselves at them like the sharks and vultures they are - the first few days had already shown as much.
Shouta lets out a sigh and leans back.
He wishes he could have ditched this day entirely, but he has to keep an eye on them - has to keep them safe. He already failed once.
The first event - an everyone-against-everyone qualifier like every year - went mostly according to his expectations. Bakugo and Todoroki had been contesting for first place - Todoroki eventually barely coming out on top - while the rest of his class trailed behind them. The majority of Class-B hung back - it wasn't too hard to realize their strategy - while he didn't like Vlad's teaching methods, he was glad Hizashi didn't call them out on it, the kids would need as much of a ledge as possible, considering his class had to learn early how to not hesitate - coming out a lot stronger out of it. The two general education and one support students in the lowest ranks were expected as well.
Shouta had almost cackled when Midnight announced the disadvantage of being in the first place, even though the Todoroki boy didn't seem to be too worried or bothered about it. With his quirk, he definitely had the advantage no matter what team he would be able to collect. It wasn't a surprise then that the teen was able to defend his headband for the entirety of the round - not even flinching at Bakugo's obscene screams and surprise attacks - while also collecting some few stray headbands here and there - or so Shouta thought.
Because as the last few seconds trickle down, Todoroki and Bakugo locked in a stalemate, nobody daring to move, the completely unexpected happens.
Right as the buzzer for the end beeps, a student with green hair and viridian eyes snatches the headband around Todoroki‘s neck with a swift move, catapulting his team up the first place - Todoroki's one million headband in his hand, despite the several other ones turned inside out around the boy's neck.
The silence that followed is eerie.
Until the entire stadium - with the addition of his husband, a quick flare-up of his quirk ensures nobody will burst their eardrums because of his quirk-induced scream - explodes in deafening cheers.
Shouta peers at the scoreboard with a raised eyebrow - Team Midoriya, huh.
While it wasn't unheard of for General Department Students or other students from different departments to advance to the Third Run - Shouta had managed as well after all - they normally were barely scraping by. Shouta doesn't think he has ever seen a General Department student - two, he corrects himself as he sees the gaping lavender-haired boy next to the leader of the first place team, in the first place of the second round in all of his teaching career. They normally didn't have the right or a good enough quirk for that or were shunned by the rest of the contestants, nobody willing to team up with them, leaving them to fend for themselves.
However, that doesn't seem to be a problem this time, considering Midoriya had teamed up with his classmate and a support student, the only trio among all the teams.
(Somewhere in a more secure and private part of the stadium, placed in the hero stands, a tall but sickly-looking man was splurging and coughing out blood in shock as he recognized the winner of the second challenge. The quirkless boy who had easily defeated the Sludge Villain a year prior and rescued the poor student who had been taken hostage - the boy that might have been his successor in another timeline, hadn't he turned his offer with fury in his eyes after stating that he was quirkless and didn't want to be a hero)
Even in the one-on-one rounds, the student continued to impress Shouta - the man has to admit that he thought that it was mostly due to luck that the boy even managed to get so far. However, Midoriya proved him wrong, easily breezing through the fights, not even breaking a sweat as he kept his opponents with precise and hard knocks of his bo staff at distance and with low and high blows and kicks at bay.
He managed to defeat every single one of the hero course students, not even giving them a chance of success or a moment to think.
Who the hell trained him for him to be so good?
He even managed to exploit Todoroki‘s weakness of overusing his ice as well - Shouta really has to talk with his student about his resistance to the fire aspect of his quirk - mostly staying on his right side, before forcing him near bonds and tricking him into stepping back, Todoroki slipping on his ice and falling down. After that, he even reached down to his opponent - despite normally ignoring his enemies before - and whispered something in his ear that made the usually stoic student suddenly burst up with flames.
But Midoriya wasn‘t even surprised like he expected that abrupt, out-of-thin-air reaction, and was quick to jump pack, escaping the flames gnawing at his skin without flinching.
However the flames quickly spluttered out and Todoroki nodded at Midoriya, returning to his previous behaviour.
Shouta just asks himself what mysterious things the green-haired student must have said to him for Todoroki to lose control and use his fire.
However, what was even more unexpected was the finale.
Bakugo is a very experienced fighter and good with his quirk - the only one of his students who didn't seem entirely dependent on it - but when he stepped into the circle and faced Midoriya it was like someone snapped the strings of a doll.
He was completely frozen, eyes vacant like he had seen a ghost.
Some more minutes passed where the silence continued to grow oppressing and then Midoriya must have said something because suddenly his student‘s eyes snapped more open, seeming more aware and he was quick to storm at the general department student.
It was a tense match, but Midoriya danced around the explosions with smooth movements and evaded every single one of them, making Bakugo more and more aggravated with each second.
And then Bakugo made a mistake, going for a bigger explosion and leaving his left side completely open, Midoriya quickly taking advantage of it as he took the brunt of the explosion to his shoulder without even flinching or grimacing - it was still unclear to Shouta how the boy could have such a high pain tolerance if he hadn't checked and that repeatedly, that the Problem Child really is quirkless, he might have thought it was the work of a passive quirk - before punching Bakugo into the gut, rendering him stunned. Not a single movement is wasted as Midoriya quickly takes him into a lock, explosions uselessly going off far out of reach, and presses one of the pressure points at the back of his neck, Bakugo collapsing into a heap.
And then it was done.
Midoriya won.
And he wasn’t even a hero course student. Yet.
When Shouta knocked on the classroom to Midoriya‘s homeroom and demanded him to come to Nedzu‘s office, he didn’t even look nervous or surprised when he raised his gaze from the material he was reading through.
Like he had expected Nedzu to ask him to come.
And wasn‘t that a scary thought? That, maybe all of this was part of a plan?
When they arrived, Nedzu was quick to open the door before even giving Shouta a chance to knock and offer them tea, which both of them accepted.
„So Midoriya, I‘m pretty sure you have an idea why you are here“, Nedzu begins and takes a sip from the tea.
Midoriya only frowns a bit and nods, before leaning back with the teacup in his hand.
„We want to offer you the option to switch to the hero course“, Nedzu reveals, and suddenly Midoriya bursts out in laughter, doubling down, still with his hot tea in hand.
Nedzu and Shouta exchange worried glances.
It takes a bit longer than they like to admit until the student calms down and takes a sip of his tea, still a smirk on his lips.
„Yeah, no not gonna happen", Midoriya snorts, wiping away a single laugh tear that ran down his face "No thanks“
That was a possibility that both Nedzu and Shouta didn‘t consider. Why else did he fight until he reached first place unless he was hoping for a transfer?
„May I ask why?“, comes the curious question from the mammal and Midoriya is quick to answer with a clear fake, but nevertheless innocent smile „Our ideals simply don‘t align"
The student doesn't even give them time to think or even answer that statement before excusing himself and getting out of the office.
„What an interesting human“, Nedzu murmurs, intrigued and Shouta can't help but feel a shiver at that.
It doesn't come to anyone's surprise when Nedzu extends an offer for private lessons to the green-haired student, which he was while reluctant, quick to accept, despite denying all further attempts to discuss a transfer into the hero course.
It takes until next year's Sports Festival for the media to get a chance to see last year's winner and speak to him.
Izuku takes it by storm, despite getting eliminated in the early rounds of the individual tournament.
However, upon finding out - after an eager year of waiting, that Izuku isn't even in the hero course there was a big uproar from the media.
Izuku isn't even surprised when he is stopped by multiple microphones and cameras upon leaving the stadium.
His left eye twitches as they practically harass him for answers. Damn fucking vultures.
„Midoriya Izuku, please tell us why you aren’t in the hero course yet! Is it because of your quirk status? Did UA deny you access to the-“, one reporter starts and Izuku stops them before they can spout even more bullshit by holding up his right hand. Instantly the reporters quiet down.
He leans forward to the microphones, not even able to hide his smirk when he sees them eagerly awaiting his answer.
„UA did offer me the transfer to the hero course. I declined“, is his short answer.
The reports instantly burst into protests, demanding to know his reasons or why he tried to win last year's festival then.
He can feel a headache seeping through and tries to keep his face neutral, not letting any of his anger seep through as he once again holds up his hand, the questions stilling.
„Last year was more of a personal challenge for me“, he carefully chose his words, but before he could explain further, a female reporter was quick to challenge him and interrupt him „Where this year students then nothing worth trying for, weren‘t they a challenge? Is this the reason you didn‘t go further than the second round of the last event?“
This prompted Izuku to share an almost feral , toothy smile, which made several reporters step back a bit.
„Of course not. The students obviously all have improved and become way stronger and there is only so much I can do after all“
Before they can continue harassing him, his smile drops into something more sweetly dangerous "And can I remind you all that the act of interviewing a minor without the guardian's permission is illegal?"
Izuku continued to gain media presence from then, drawing even more attention in the third year's Sports Festival, the general public clearly being interested in him and even going as far as opening up his own social media accounts, quickly wrapping all of Japan around his fingers.
Then several years after only some spare updates of him after he graduated, the new announcement spread like a storm.
Izuku Midoriya was going into politics.
And he was damn determined to change the whole society.