Chapter Text
Kacchan looked at him, a fierce expression in his eyes, “If you think you’ll have a Quirk in your next life… Go take a swan dive off the roof.” Kacchan and his friend laughed, the noise rang in the room, a cadence.
He looked down at the old notebook in Izuku’s hands. On the front it read ‘Hero Analysis for the Future. 13!’
“What’s this?” Kacchan grabbed the notebook, “Hero analysis. For the future. Hah like you’ll ever become a hero.” He laughed. Looking down at Izuku, ruby red eyes meeting emerald ones for a second before moving back to the book in his hands.
He read it, and read it, and read it. His eyes moved quickly across the pages, reading Izuku’s work and then he would flip the pages, his moves became quicker and quicker, until Izuku wondered how much of the page he was actually reading.
He looked up at Izuku, a disgusted look drawn on his face.
“What the hell is this, Deku?” his words oozed with aggression.
Well, I’m screwed, was all Izuku could think. He could hope, hope Kacchan hadn’t seen the pages on him. But he knew bye his reaction he had.
“W-well, its m-my, um, n-notebook.” Izuku stuttered.
Kacchan set off a set of explosions, encasing his book with burns, “Wait, n-no!”
He threw the notebook out the window.
“Do any creepy shit like this again and your notebook won’t be the only thing out of the window. Got it?” Izuku nodded, a single tear running down his cheek, “Fucking creep.” Kacchan and murmured before walking out with his friends, leaving Izuku alone.
Izuku stood and collected all his things, putting them in his old, yellow backpack. He slowly made his way out of the classroom, making his way down the stairs. He walked around, the now deserted school. Once he found the exit he le
ft. But he didn’t walk to the gaits. He walked around the back off the school, looking for the window his book was thrown from. The area was dark for shade and old blossoms littered the ground.
He found his class window and – oh just his luck- he thought. His book had landed in a fishpond. The inhabiting Koi fish were nibbling his book. When he picked the book up, he looks at what sate it was in. The ink had smudged and ran, making the words only just readable. The edged were damaged, whether that was from the fish or Kaccans Quirk, Izuku did not know.
He wanted to cry.
He wanted to cry so bad. All his work, hours upon hours, spent on this book. It was all gone. In a matter of minutes all his work had been destroyed and thrown in a pond.
But heroes do not cry. All Might does not cry. Heck there weren’t any pictures of him without his signature smile. So, Izuku thought, I won’t cry.
The wind whipped his untameable hair in every direction it could, his dark green curls becoming tangled. He mentally groaned, this was going to be so much work to untangle later.
He thought about not crying. It would be hard but doable. But the smiling and laughing bit seemed impossible. He was a quiet kid, mostly because making noise meant people saw him, and people seeing him meant getting beat up. But even before he was diagnosed Quirkless, he was shy. Maybe if he practiced smiling it would become more natural. The he’ll get in UA and become the Number 1 Hero!
“Ha, ha, ha.” He said, walking into a tunnel. He imitated All Might’s laugh and smile.
“Ha-” a loud clunk cut him off. He span his body around. Behind him stood a towering figure. Its body seamed to be made of a green sludge liquid and the only solid thing Izuku could see were the mouth and eyes, “-ha…ha.” He finished.
The villain lurched forward, Izuku could do nothing but watch. The villains green body wrapped around Izuku’s small frame. The sludge was ice cold, but before Izuku could even register that, it was crawling down his throat. Before he knew it, he could no longer breath.
Izuku was panicking. He knew heroes don’t panic, but he was still panicking. He began to claw at the sludge surrounding his mouth, trying to get just one particle of air to breath. But it didn’t work.
“Calm down kid.” The villain said, “This’ll only hurt for a moment longer then there will be nothing to worry ‘bout ok.” The villain said almost tauntingly.
Izuku let his arms fall. Those words. ‘Nothing to worry about’. Izuku would love that. Would love to escape his life. The constant bullying, the hurtful words. And hey, it meant no one would have to worry about him either. He mentally chuckles. I say that like anyone worries about me. He thinks.
The last time he saw his mum was his thirteenth birthday. He can remember the day vividly. Waking up expecting presents and finding a note isn’t necessarily memorable on it own, no. but the note… that’s something he’ll never quite forget.
“Good job kid.” The villain praises him, “We’re almost the-”
“I AM HERE!” A voice exclaims.
“Ah shit.” The sludge villain swears.
Then it all goes black.
----
Ring. Buzz. Ring. Buzz.
Izuku groans, turning in his bed to turn off his alarm. He looks at the time. 5:30!!! What the hell past Izuku?!
Oh wait.
It’s his birthday! He sits up in bed. He usually gets up at 6 because he has to leave at 7 for school. He lives and hour walk away and likes to be early just to make sure he will be on time. So on his birthday he gets up earlier so he can open the presents his mum gets him, even if its only one or two because of how much she spend on hospital visits. Usually, on his birthday his mum wakes up a little earlier than him to make a nice breakfast. But usually he can smell it, today he cant. Weird. The other thing is that the house is silent.
Izuku stands up, slowly making his way to his closet, and grabs his uniform. He pulls it on and walks out of his room, entering the pitch-black hallway. The house is silent, all but his breathing and footsteps. What is going on?
He walks into the living room. One lamp is lit. Ok this is weird, right? He makes his way to the lamp and under it sees a note. Its folded neatly and on the front, it says ‘Izuku’. Was money really so tight that his birthday card was lined paper?
He grabs it and slowly opens each fold, until a note is revealed.
‘Dear Deku,’ it starts.
‘I would say something like, I’m sorry, or ‘it’s not your fault its mine’, but this is your fault. You cost me so much money every month just in hospital bills. All of that because you wont stop playing rough with Katsuki. And your Quirklessness plays a role in this too, Your filthy lack. I’m not going to wright a whole letter explaining myself to a Null but the main idea is, I’ve move to America with Hisashi and don’t want you to contact me
I hope this is a good enough birthday present,
From Midoriya Inko.’
What…
“Mum?” he calls out.
This is all a joke. She’ll jump out and hug him and say happy birthday and how much she loves him.
“Mum, please this isn’t funny.”
He shouts till his throat is soar. Then he realises that it isn’t a joke. And he cries till he sleeps, ending in a massive headache and a day off school.
Was it all because he was Quirkless?
---
His conscience slowly re-joins him. He feels light taps on his cheek and slowly peels back his eyelids.
His eyes widen as much as they can in his state, when he sees All Might, the number one hero, smiling down at him.
“Ah, good your awake.” he says in a cheery tone and a slightly to loud voice, “Thought we lost you there.” He jokes.
Izuku kinda wishes that he were lost, but he can always do something later.
“Apologies for getting you caught up in my fight.” All Might apologises, “But on another note, thanks for helping me catch this villain.”
“A-all M-m-might!” Izuku stutters, partly from shock and partly from just waking up to his idol slapping him after passing out.
“Yes, it is me! I am here!” He shouts, “and I have contained the villain.” He holds forward a plastic bottle that is filled with a green sludge.
Izuku flails around for a second, looking for his backpack, but it is nowhere to be seen. He sees his note book on the floor and reaches for it, “I, ah , c-can I have y-your Signat-”
He cuts himself off. ALL MIGHT ALREADY SIGHNED HIS BOOK!!!
“Thank y-you, T-thank you!” Izuku beams
“You’re welcome.” All Might responds, “Now I must bring this villain to the station.”
“w-wait, I need to ask y-you something.” Izuku says.
“You can ask me on my blog, a hero fights not only villains, but also time.” Izuku deflates in disappointment.
“It’s i-important.” He replies.
“Thank you for your support!” wait, no, I need to ask a question, Izuku thinks.
Izuku doesn’t fully realise what he’s doing until he’s 200 feet in the air and holding onto All Might’s leg. Looking down he can see the whole of Musutafu bellow him. From this height it looks so small.
“Hey now, I love my fans, but this is a bit much! Release me!”
“I-i-if I l-let go now… I’ll die!” Wait a second, All Might has the right idea. A fall from this hight ought to kill me.
“I suppose you are correct.” Before Izuku can do anything, All Might has an arm around him.
They fly for a little longer and land and a very, high roof.
Izuku catches his breath and tries to fix himself, after flying the fast, his hair is swooped back, and his face feels weird. He looks up and sees All Might walking away.
“Wait!” Izuku shouts.
“Young boy I don’t have tim-”
Izuku interrupts him, “Even without a quirk, can I still be a hero. Can someone without a Quirk… Be a hero like you?”
“Quirks are- oh I really have no time- oop.”
Izuku doesn’t look up and see what is left of his idol, instead he keeps talking, “Because I’m Quirkless people always pick on me, well that might not be the only reason but still. My dream is to become a hero, because I think helping people is the best thing someone can do. The way you save people, always smiling, I want to be just like y- ahhh,” Izuku looks up and sees someone who looks almost like a skeleton standin
g right where All Might was. There clothes are baggy on them and there hair is similar to All Might’s, but instead of to stands in the air, they sit in front of his face. “A-are you a-an i-imposter?!”
“No, I am All Might.” He answers the question, “before you ask, I got badly injured 5 years ago by a villain and now I can only do 3 hours of hero work a day,” he lifts his shirt to show his scar, “I got this badly injured with a Quirk. Whether you have a fearless smile or not doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. If you don’t have a Quirk you can’t become a hero. You won’t be strong enough. Never. If you really want to help, do something simple, not even a police officer will fit your kind. So no, Quirkless people cannot become heroes. I am sorry but be realistic kid.”
What. I thought he would say ‘you can do anything if you smile!’ or something. But this… this is nowhere near what I expected. This really sets it in stone then? I really can’t be a hero.
“I’m sure someone will let you down if you knock. Bye kid.”
Before Izuku can say anything, All Might has already jumped away, obviously using the last of his strength. Izuku just stands for a minute. His dream… is unrealistic.
The dream he’s been trying to achieve his whole life is… unrealistic. The words looped around his head. The entire speech. Every word, the movements of the lips, even the breaks for air. Was he really just being delusional. His whole life.
In the distance an explosion echoed to the roof of the building. Explosions, ones that are all to familiar to Izuku. He walked down the building; the door already being unlocked. He looks down at his phone 16:06. It’s only been like an hour since he left school. He began to walk home, if you can really call it that.
After his mum left, she kept paying for the apartment, a year later and the only things Izuku still needed to pay for were; clothes, food, hygiene products and his schools supplies and note books. He was still broke.
He continued walking, wondering what he would eat, knowing it was either chicken instant noodles or curry ones. He didn’t realise he stopped till he looked up. A crowd. They had formed around what looked like a fire, but without much more looking Izuku could see it was much more. Pollice tape stopped people from going into the area with fire. He looked more and saw pro heroes standing around, talking. Then he saw it. the sludge villain he had been saved from no less than half an hour ago, was holding someone captive. He was holding Kacchan captive. Izuku locked eyes with the boy, the red eyes not showing the regular aggression but something else, it was him asking for help.
His legs began moving. Oh god what was he doing? Izuku had to think, and fast, or two kids will die today. He looked at the villain, any attack would go through him, but he must have a solid point, a base. he looked. His eyes caught it, the villain’s mouth and eyes. He practically ripped his backpack off, throwing it at the villain, but he wasn’t fast enough. He knew any air would help. He was happy enough, at least it gave Kacchan a better chance at living. A rush of air ran past him, causing his hair to fly up, he then felt a firm grip holding his shirt. A second later there was cheering. Izuku looked up to see All Might, in his muscle form, holding him up.
A few minutes, and a lot of lectures about ‘being responsible.’ Or ‘not jumping into a heroes fight.’ Later Izuku was walking home. He had a lot to think about. What was his new goal going to be. He can’t really be a hero, even the Number 1 said so, so what now?
As if on auto pilot he unlocked his door, kicked off his shoes, relocked his door, and made his way to the kitchen. His stomach growled. He was really hungry. He looked in the cabinets, finally finding the one with his store of noodles. He reached in and pulled one out at random. He looked in his hand at the curry flavoured noodles. One of his favourite flavours. He put the kettle on and went to his room. There he changed into some joggers and a hoodie. Back in the kitchen his water was done and he pored it into his noodles, swiftly grabbing the cup and retreating back to his room. Placing his cup of noodles on his desk, he turned on his laptop. Sitting in his chair, he started typing.
‘Alternatives for hero work, Quirkless.’
He typed quickly. A blank page popped up. He sighed. He retyped.
‘Hero work alternatives.’
A full page popped up. An AI response said things about police force or doctor. But two caught his eyes. Detective and Underground hero. Now when Izuku had asked All Might (Small Might?) All Might, might have assumed he meant limelight heroics. But Underground was a different story. No one knew about Quirks, so they did not matter. But if he couldn’t even apply to hero schools, per government regulations -laws are just so stupid- , then what could he do?
He grabbed his fork and started to slurp his noodles. How does he do it then. He looked at the time on his laptop, 6:23, so he knows he has plenty of time. No one would notice if he skipped school either, and then it was the weekend, so he had plenty of time. Izuku read article after article, reading Detective and Underground hero stories, one after the other. Soon the sun began to rise. Izuku was confused so reached for his phone, only for his alarm to start buzzing. 6 AM! When did that happen? Was all Izuku could think. He knew he wouldn’t survive school today, not after trying to help Kaccan, so he slipped into bed, still in joggers and a hoodie. God it had been a long day/ night and he hadn’t realised, but all he wanted to do was sleep.
Izuku woke up again at 3pm, after a needed nap. He stood up, feeling the tiredness fall away. He waled out to the hallway, grabbing a pair of clothes and towel before. Reaching the bathroom, he striped and reached for the shower, turning the handle to the perfect temperature. He waited for the water to warm up before stepping into it. the stream of water rinsed away the dirt from his hair and body. After cleaning himself and making sure the conditioner was fully out of his hair, he turned the water off and stepped out. He grabbed his towel and began to dry himself. Then he got dressed.
Walking into the kitchen, he grabbed a glass of water, realised how thirsty he was, and drank five more. he grabbed the last snack-bar he had and walked back to his room. When he turned the light on, he was met with the Number One’s face everywhere. It genuinely angered him. He started taking it down. Every poster and figure ending up in a random box he had. A spare bedding and room clearing left his room feeling bare. He had a bookshelf with his schoolwork and hero analysis books, his bed, his desk, and one plant. His room was plain. And it made Izuku feel happy.
He pushed the box of hero merch to the side and returned to what he was doing last night.
Migrating to his desk, and plopping back on his chair, he turned his laptop back on. Happy to see that a sleep deprived him had kept the tabs open. One of the was really important. I said that the police had hired aspiring heroes before, giving them a chance they had not had. It’s usually for the limelight’s who had no other choice, but Izuku had other reasons. After researching last night, he realised a lot of stuff. Two of these many things being 1: hero work isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Its not fun like heroes say, things like the media put to much pressure on you. That's where underground comes in. There have been cases of police and detectives helping an underground hero become one. That was part of his plan.
2: Izuku had realised that he wouldn't do good in limelight heroics. he always wanted to be like All Might, but now he knows he doesn't, he can do things like training that would work with underground heroics.
So he saw another opportunity, and decided to try take it. Trying to become a detective and/or an underground hero. Izuku knew he was pretty smart, the only reason he wasn’t top of the class was because teaches marked him down, so he had one qualification. He was also pretty good at analysis. He had been doing it since he was five, and had practically perfected it, having thirteen note books as proof.
So, he decided, tomorrow I will start my plan.
He could only hope it would go well.