Chapter Text
Izuku sighed as he sat at the bar. He was half asleep while resting his head on his arm as Toga clung to him. She’d been like that since she joined the league.
For some reason, unknown to Izuku, she’d seen him and immediately stuck to his side. He’d decided not to question it and roll with the metaphorical punches, (though he could roll with physical ones too.)
“Akuma,” Izuku sat up to face Shigaraki, the so called leader of their group of misfits, “you have a couple of hours for your personal affairs. When you get back you need to rest up, we’ll have a long night.” Izuku nodded and untangled himself from Toga, who pouted and tried, only once, to tug him back down, when that failed she’d dramatically draped across the bar.
“Bye Akuma-kun!” She pouted
The teen nodded once in acknowledgment and stepped outside the bar's dark alleyway. He kept his mask on, a white mask with eye holes that now carried a faint sheen of red on it.
(Despite the rumors going on about him, he regretted every drop of blood that touched him.)
When he got far enough from the bar and away from cameras that would pick up his trail, he changed appearance. He took off his white mask first, revealing tan skin and big green eyes with an assortment of freckles. Then, he’d taken off his black hoodie which revealed a mop of dark green curls, and then his red gloves revealing scarred hands.
He hid the clothes in a cubby he’d created in the back alley, having used this part of the neighborhood many times to hide his alternate life. Now that he had removed anything that gave any indication of who he was and what he did, he started walking to go see his mom.
For several years she was the only person to give a damn about him. When he was four he had been diagnosed as quirkless, which was utter bullshit. Diagnosed, like he was terminally ill, he just lacked any mutated genes that everyone else had, he had an extra toe joint, that’s what separated him from everyone else.
Despite him still being a living human with feelings and opinions, people treated him like dirty gum stuck at the bottom of their shoes.
Everyone except his mom, that is.
She ensured he was always loved and cared for, and in return, he tried to make her life as easy as possible.
Unfortunately, Izuku’s life sucked ass and it got her to where she is now; Sitting in a hospital bed on life support.
Stepping through the hospital felt as it always did like all the air was sucked out of Izuku’s lungs. He hated the hospital, it just reminded him of how utterly alone he was.
The receptionist smiled, an American who’d recently moved to Japan a couple of years ago. Izuku gave a tired smile back and headed up to his mom’s room.
His mom’s room was on the third floor, room 315, ironically enough his own apartment number.
When his mother had been hospitalized and Izuku had no one to take care of him, he’d been declared independent. When he’d joined the league he started getting a salary. Said salary bought him everything he needed, nothing more, nothing less.
Technically speaking, he was always under the watch of the league. The apartment was under a fake name that Shigaraki’s sensei, All for One, used. The only places Izuku could go are school, the bar, the hospital on scheduled times, and whatever mission he’s sent on.
Sitting here looking at his mom reminded him of how his life had gotten to this point.
He’d been fourteen and to this day it had been the worst day of his life.
It felt like a long time ago when Izuku had wanted to be a hero. He idolized All Might, the number one limelight hero. He wanted to be All Might, a hero who always saves the day with a bright smile. Izuku wanted to be strong, so maybe he could defeat everyone’s demons, including his own.
Unfortunately, on the worst day of his life, he realized just how true the saying Never meet your heroes was.
“Hey, mom.” As usual Izuku talked, and Inko listened. He hoped she was anyway. “School is fine, still no friends but school is honestly too busy for that. Rent is being kept up with and I’m eating well.” He knew his mom would approve of the normal parts of his life, the dangerous life of Akuma? She absolutely wouldn’t, but it’s for her sake.
“What do you mean you can’t cover it? You’re supposed to insure health aren’t you?” Izuku muttered, hands gripping at his pants to keep himself from throwing a useless punch. After the week he’s had, he does not need: 'thrown in prison for assault' added to the long list.
“Considering your…” The man looked at Izuku up and down with distaste before continuing, “Condition, your mother’s life insurance was suspended. If she could give birth to a quirkless boy, she could give birth to other unevolved beings. What good would that bring anyone? No health insurance, no incentive to try and bring in new life.”
Izuku’s eyes widened.
His mother was there, dying in a bed. With no way to be treated, all because she gave birth to him?
‘There is no way to save her, is there.’ Izuku thought bitterly as he walked home.
He’d had a complete shit week. First Kacchan had told him to ‘take a swan dive,’ then his idol told him to give up on his dream shortly after being almost killed, then he got berated by heroes because he was doing their job to help Kacchan. The cherry on top of all of this is, his mother, his sweet, innocent mother, who’d never done anything to anyone, was violently attacked.
Four bullet wounds, two in one of her lungs, one through her femur, and one too close to the heart,
The hospital had contacted him after school letting him know she wasn’t insured so they’d need to stop treatment soon.
So, Izuku had gone to talk to who he’d thought insured his mother, just to find out because he’s quirkless not only has he damned himself, but his mother as well.
All of these thoughts spiraled as he found himself in a very bad part of town. He looked up, noticing how high a particular building was.
Izuku wasn’t sure what about him made everything in his life go to shit. No matter how hard he tried and hoped things would get better, nothing ever did. This week proved it would only get worse from here if anything.
He would be able to deal with everything though, the bullying, the discrimination, the constant struggle of needing to prove his quirk status doesn’t mean he’s useless, all of it. If his mother was there to hold him and encourage him, but she wouldn’t be. Right now, instead of being at home, she’s slowly dying from bullet wounds in the hospital.
If she was going to die, then so would he.
With a newfound determination, Izuku got up to the roof of the tall building he’d seen earlier. He thought about leaving his shoes, leaving a goodbye note, but who the hell would care about him of all people.
So he jumped and as soon he heard the sickening crack of every bone in his body breaking his vision slipped away and he saw nothing but white.
Until he heard voices and noticed there was something wet dripping onto his face, he stayed completely still.
“He’s breathing, the runt should be fine. Wonder where all this blood came from, he seems fine.” a voice said, sounding perplexed.
‘What does he mean I look fine? My arms and legs are bent unnaturally and my head was cracked open?’ Izuku thought.
Izuku was confused too because you’d think after jumping from a twelve-story building you’d be dead, or at least in pain, but Izuku felt fine if not cold.
It took him a moment to open his eyes and when he did he saw the drizzle that had been dropping onto his face.
“Kurogiri, take him to the base. He may be useful.” The scratchy voice said and the next thing Izuku knew his stomach felt it was dropping and he was inside what appeared to be a bar.
Izuku was shivering, though out of fear for what the two people wanted with him, he kept as still and silent as possible. He may try and see the good in everyone, but that doesn’t mean he throws caution to the wind, especially when he grew up quirkless and knows what monsters people can be.
“We know you’re awake. We have some questions.” The dry voice spoke causing Izuku to freeze.
How had he failed so quickly?
Izuku lay there for a moment contemplating if confirming the man’s suspition would get him killed or not, and overall if that’d be worth it. Honestly, the worst case scenario would be the man killed him, and how could Izuku try and avoid that when moments ago he was jumping off a building.
With his mind made up, Izuku sat up and looked at the man, still shivering. Well, the man was slightly generous. The guy wasn’t much older than Izuku, he was in his late teens or early twenties, but he could be mistaken for older with how dry his skin was.
“Where am I?” Izuku asked, his voice surprisingly steady. The man raised an eyebrow.
“That doesn’t matter right now. What happened to you?”
Izuku felt the need to scoff but thought better of it. “I…”
The first question Izuku couldn’t really answer, as he himself wasn’t sure. He’d been sure he’d died and up until recently though the man had somehow brought him back to life. Unfortunately, that didn’t seem to be the case. After jumping off a twelve-story building, Izuku thought, was sure he and anyone else who did so, would be deal or at least in an immense amount of pain. Instead, Izuku was just cold.
He was shivering harshly and his heart was beating so fast his chest almost hurt, not to mention how well he could suddenly hear and see everything. On top of everything, Izuku felt he could fight All Might and win, that could be the delusion and adrenaline talking though.
Everything was adding up to Izuku, no matter how much he didn’t want to believe it, it seemed he’d developed a quirk. Maybe it was some divine deity or common sense, or Izuku’s intuition, but he felt he should not tell the exact truth to whoever this man was.
“I was running away from some kids at my school, but they cornered me and well…” Izuku started, hoping he wouldn’t have to bring specifics, he was never good at coming up with stuff on the spot.
The man hummed and looked down at Izuku’s feet, specifically at the shoes he was wearing.
“You’re quirkless?” Izuku hesitantly nodded and the man grinned.
“Why were you down here? That school uniform is in the district over, you couldn’t have ran that far.”
‘Okay, maybe some truth would be helpful in this situation afterall.’ Izuku thought.
“My mom… she’s in a coma right now. She’s all I have and because of my quirk status, insurance won’t cover it. I don’t have anyone else so I can here to…” Izuku took a deep breath. “I thought I had already lost those people, but they caught up to me.” The man’s grin got impossibly wider and smehow more cruel.
“I’ll make a deal with you,” Izuku gulped as the man scratched as his neck in what Izuku could only describe as utter glee, “I work for a very powerful man. He has a lot of authority along with money. He could cover your mother’s medical treatment if you work for him and for me as my right hand man.” Izuku paused looking at the man.
“Who exactly are you? Who’s your boss?” The man stopped scratching at his neck to stoop down to meet Izuku’s eyes.
“My name is Shigaraki Tomura, my boss is someone who people refer to as, the Boogeyman of the underground. His name is All for One. I am his successor and the leader of the League of Villains.” Shigaraki introduced himself with such pride that it almost scared Izuku. As Shigaraki stood up he spoke again, “Of course, if you don’t your mother will die and you’ll be used for our cause in a more unconventional way.”
Izuku wasn’t sure what that meant, but suddenly he was angry. “Threaten me all you want, I don’t care. I don’t have much going on in my life, I’m a quirkless teenager, the majority of my life is sitting in a hospital dying.” Izuku’s anger turned to hot tears, “I don’t know what your cause is, but I’m sure I normally would be appalled by it.” Shigaraki grit his teeth, hand scratchy furiously at his neck. “But,” Izuku said with dismay, “I’m desperate.” Izuku’s green eyes met Shigaraki’s red eyes and as the teen took a deep breath he sealed his fate.
“Keep my mom’s treatment going, and I’ll work for your cause. Just help her.”
Izuku lost so much that day, but, he’d also gained things too. He’s gained people to care about him. Shigaraki couldn’t care less about him, but Toga and Twice seem to like him. Magne did too before she passed. Everyone else treats him like an equal, again, other than Shigaraki.
Not only did he gain people, he gained training. He’s strong now, he can fight, and he’s great with weapons like knives and even guns. After all, he never misses his targets.
Along with a team and training, he gained something he refers to as his secret. This secret is what healed him after his fall.
His secret, his quirk.