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Izuku Midoriya could say with one-hundred percent certainty that he was completely and utterly done with the day. It had started out normal, if normal meant doing his best to ignore the whispers around him while avoiding the legs trying to trip him. Sitting at his desk trying to ignore the new insults drawn on it.
He had known for a while, ever since that fateful doctor’s visit when he was four, that not everyone was created equally. In a world where over eighty percent of people around the world had superhuman abilities called quirks, to not have one was a social death sentence.
The day was almost over when Takashi-sensei announced to the whole class that Izuku was going to be trying out for UA, the top hero school in Japan. ‘That must be breaking some rule’ Izuku thought to himself as the class laughed amongst themselves. Everyone but Kacchan, who was giving him the deadliest glare Izuku had ever seen. It had only gone downhill from there.
“If you really want to be a hero, take a swan dive off a roof and pray for a quirk in your next life.” Kacchan’s words were still playing on repeat in Izuku’s head as he walked home. Distracting enough that he hadn’t noticed the villain with the sludge quirk.
A couple minutes of suffocating later and he was saved by his idol, the number one hero. Izuku had thought that maybe, just maybe, his day would finally be getting better. Sure, All Might was in a rush, and sure it wasn’t the best idea to grab ahold of him as he used his quirk to fly off, but Izuku needed to know.
“Could someone without a quirk become a hero like you?” Maybe if All Might, his idol, the number one hero, said he could be a hero, then maybe everyone else was wrong.
“No, you can’t be a hero without a quirk. It’s good to dream, but you have to be realistic. Maybe aim for being an officer or a doctor.” All Might leapt away, leaving Izuku alone on the roof. Kacchan’s words briefly played in his head again, taunting him. He shook his head, trying to ignore it all. There was a part of Izuku that knew even All Might couldn’t believe in him.
Izuku had thought that would be it for the day. But of course, that wasn’t how his day ended. Instead he walked into a villain attack, watching as Kacchan was being suffocated by the same villain that had attacked him moments earlier. Except this time, instead of All Might coming in to save the day, three other heroes were just standing around. Watching a child die. All because they ‘didn’t have the right quirks for the job.’
After what felt like hours, Izuku was finally able to continue on his way home. He’d helped as much as he could, up until All Might reappeared, and at first he was thanked for it, until Kacchan started screaming about him being ‘a quirkless Deku,’ causing the heroes to start scolding him for his recklessness.
He was almost home, ready to just go to bed and forget what had happened that day, when All Might appeared again. “Young Midoriya! What you did back there, while reckless, showed that you have a heroic spirit!”
Izuku was pretty confused, unsure how a ‘heroic spirit’ apparently made up for his lack of quirk.
“That’s why I have decided that you should inherit my quirk! That way you can be a hero just like me!” It seemed too good to be true. A quirk that could be passed on? It was certainly plausible, it felt like anything could actually be someone’s quirk after all.
Accepting All Might’s quirk would change Izuku's life so much. Not only would it help him become a hero, but his mum wouldn’t have to worry anymore. She only worried about his dream to be a hero because he was quirkless.
People wouldn’t hate him anymore. His quirklessness always drove people away, so if he had a quirk he’d finally be able to experience high school properly. No more trying to ignore the insults and slurs thrown his way, no more avoiding legs waiting to trip him. He’d finally have a clean desk. After all, most, if not all, of his problems stemmed from being quirkless.
Maybe, just maybe, Kacchan would finally be his friend again. Maybe Kacchan would stop calling him a ‘Deku,’ the nickname given to him after finding out he was quirkless. The alternative reading of his name, meaning useless.
Izuku had almost accepted the quirk, the very thing that would solve all his problems. But… What about the other quirkless people his age? Sure, there weren’t many quirkless people even remotely close to his age, but it would still be unfair to them if he did get a quirk.
What about future quirkless children? Izuku remembered how he felt when he had tried to find out if there had been a quirkless hero. Instead of role models, Izuku found statistics. He had always been a fast learner, learning to speak before his peers, so it was no surprise that Izuku knew how to read, even if it wasn’t much.
He had somehow stumbled across a youtube video talking about quirkless statistics. At four years old, Izuku learnt the harsh truths of the world. How he was going to be outcasted for the rest of his life. How ninety percent of quirkless people ended up homeless as no one wanted to hire them. How most quirkless people died before their thirties, suicide, hate crimes, and medical negligence being the most common causes of death.
If he accepted the quirk, how many more children like him would learn about their own mortality far too early in life?
“No thank you All Might. You may not believe I can be a hero without a quirk, but I have to try.” For his four year old self. For all future quirkless kids. Most people would’ve accepted All Might’s quirk without hesitation.
But Izuku was going to make a difference in the world, without a quirk. He would become a symbol of hope for all quirkless people around the world.