Chapter Text
Do you ever look at a person and just wonder what’s going on inside their head?
There are very few people who wake up one day and say to themselves, “I’m going to be a villain who hurts people when I’m older.”
Villains are people, just like anyone else. Basically none of them actually want to be who they are. They’re pushed closer and closer to the point of no return by uncontrollable factors.
But at some point, they need to actually commit.
And the burden of choice crushes those beneath it.
“All men are created equal.” A well-known statement from the US Declaration of Independence, written by Founding Father Thomas Jefferson. As fourteen-year-old Izuku Midoriya walked home on his usual route and watched the news on his phone, he thought, What a sick lie.
The day was strikingly ordinary, so much so that it was unique. The weather, stocks, and other details that the green-haired boy was less concerned with than where his feet were on the pavement were the only topics the news could find to cover.
Instead of focusing on any current events, he reflected on the events that had taken place less than an hour beforehand, as they were the reason his face was so downcast.
“I’m sure that everyone here would love to get into the hero course with your impressive quirks,” the teacher exclaimed. Most of the class celebrated with the use of their quirks, except for two.
The first was Midoriya. The second was a blond with spiked hair, piercing red eyes, and an egotistical grin that spread across his mouth. His name was Katsuki Bakugo, given the affectionate nickname Kacchan.
The reasons for their lack of quirk use were different, but more accurately, they were basically opposite. Midoriya didn’t because he simply had no quirk, while Bakugo didn’t because his quirk was so much more powerful than any others nearby, and he simply believed himself to be above those surrounding him. He had no desire to partake in the activities of those perceived as below him.
Midoriya simply kept his head down and stayed quiet, as it was the best way to avoid any unwanted attention. Bakugo did quite the opposite. His feet resting on the table and head hanging off the back of the chair, he announced, “Teach, I shouldn’t be lumped in with these morons. I’m the next number one, while these extras would be lucky to become sidekicks for any hero in the bottom 10.” Hubris stained his proclamation. Hubris that Midoriya knew all too well.
The majority of the class shouted at Bakugo, very annoyed with the clear implication that the latter was above the former. The teacher proceeded to praise Bakugo on his impressive test results and theorise that he might actually get into UA, the most prestigious hero school in the country. The rest of the class looked on in shock, commenting that UA’s hero course only has a two-in-one-thousand acceptance rate.
The teacher then mentioned that Midoriya wanted to go to UA as well, a fact that he did not want people to know.
The quirkless boy buried his head into his forearms in a combination of embarrassment and fear. His classmates burst into laughter, as if Ms Joke had just entered the room. But he didn’t even process that because he was terrified of what Bakugo would do. And he had good reason to be.
The blond-haired teen slammed his hand into Midoriya’s desk and created an explosion, which was his quirk. The greenette recoiled, falling out of his seat. Bakugo hurled a volley of insults his way. “Are you really still gunning for that impossible goal, you useless Deku?! You don’t really think that you can do anything, do you? You’re worthless!”
Instead of trying a feeble retaliation, Midoriya just sat there, enduring, listening.
But that wasn’t the worst of it. Midoriya grimaced at the thought of what had happened after most people had left the classroom.
Midoriya attempted to put his thirteenth notebook full of analysis of heroes into his bag when it was snatched from his grasp by Bakugo. The hot-headed boy flamed the book in his hand as Midoriya adopted a look of despair. Bakugo then threw his notebook out the window into a pond below.
Bakugo and the other two tagalongs threw some plain insults as Midoriya's face remained unchanged. Bakugo threatened Midoriya not to apply for UA’s hero course, and Midoriya’s melancholy expression intensified slightly, but with some fear as well.
As the three teenagers left the room, Bakugo, leading the pack, stated, “If you’re really so desperate to be a hero, there could be another way. Pray to be born with a quirk in your next life, and take a swan dive off the roof of the building!”
Midoriya pondered his words. He didn’t know it yet, but this was one of the last of many nails in his coffin. He hadn’t been able to realise it, but he was hanging on by a thread.
And a pit of darkness awaited below.
As he sauntered through a dark tunnel, Midoriya was too distracted to notice the large pile of sludge accumulating from the grate behind him. It formed a quasi-humanoid shape before shoving Midoriya into its liquified body.
He tried to scream, but the sludge invaded his throat and prevented even a squeal.
“Yes, you’ll make a fine host,” the person of muck stated.
The teenager began to cry tears unlike any he’d felt before. For the first time in Midoriya’s life, he was genuinely terrified of death.
“Never fear—” bellowed a strong voice from outside the tunnel. “For I am here!” Midoriya would recognise that voice anywhere. The voice of the number-one hero, the Symbol of Peace, All Might. “Smash!” he yelled as a punch created a powerful gust of wind that destroyed the villain, and that’s when Midoriya passed out.
As he awoke, the reigning champion of heroes was standing over him, trying to get him to wake up.
“I thought you were lost for a second!” All Might said in his signature voice of power.
“A-All Might?!” Midoriya replied in utter shock.
“Indeed, young man!”
“U-h, c-can I have your autograph?” Midoriya opened his notebook to find that his request had already been fulfilled.
He wanted to ask his idol one more question, but All Might had already prepared to jump away. Before he could ask, the Symbol of Peace had done so.
But the quirkless admirer wasn’t going to give up so easily. He had just met the man whom he’d looked up to his entire life, and he was determined to ask his question. And as such, he grabbed onto the leg of the blond man as he jumped into the sky.
The number one hero hurriedly asked what he was doing and told him to let go. Midoriya retorted by saying that if he let go, he’d die from the resulting fall.
As such, they landed on a nearby rooftop. Midoriya closed his eyes and hesitated before asking his idol, “Can I become a hero, even without a quirk? I’m no one special; I have no abilities. Is it possible for me to become someone like you?”
The green-haired boy opened his eyes to see a skeletal figure before him. He recoiled in horror and disgust before accusing him of being a phoney imposter of All Might.
The Symbol of Peace assured him that he was All Might, explaining how he was terribly injured in a fight five years ago, and the injury had left him only able to be a hero for about three hours a day.
After seeing his injury, Midoriya flinched violently. All Might used this injury and the reveal that his smile was just to hide the deep fear inside to explain how it was likely not possible to become a hero without a quirk.
He then recommended a more realistic goal, such as a police officer or nurse. Both are still, of course, noble pursuits, but that broke the aspiring young boy. The thread that he held onto so desperately finally snapped.
Midoriya returned to his apartment, where he met with his mother, Inko Midoriya. She had always been the greatest person in his life. His father was working overseas, but Midoriya had never met him, not even over calls or messages. His mother greeted him joyously with a large smile. “Welcome home, Izuku!”
Midoriya tried to force a smile; All Might’s rejection and Bakugo’s suggestion still lingered in his mind. But it was futile, and his mother asked if something was wrong.
Midoriya had never told Inko about the bullying he had experienced since he was diagnosed as quirkless; he didn’t want her worrying about him. And that hadn’t changed today. So he simply said no and went to his room, declining her offer of dinner.
Inko was confused by this. She had made katsudon, his favourite food. Usually, he would’ve jumped at that. But she decided not to invade her son’s privacy and simply left him alone. However, the thought of why he could’ve worn that faux smile kept weighing on her conscience.
Midoriya lay on his bed and reflected on his life. His aspirations to become a hero. The devastation when he was found to be quirkless. The helplessness and resulting scars from bullying. His heartbreak from his hero crushing his dream. He just wanted it all to end.
In his room, he wrote a note addressed to his mother. At night, after he knew she was asleep, he carefully, quietly exited his room.
Midoriya avoided any creaking floorboards; he had memorised them long ago. He softly placed his note on the kitchen countertop before quietly exiting the house, being careful to keep all noise to a minimum.
As he meandered down the darkened, quiet street, Midoriya’s thoughts didn’t hesitate to kick him while he was down.
Kacchan’s been right this whole time; you never should’ve wanted to be a hero, Deku.
All Might simply told you a hard truth in the nicest way possible. You’re worthless.
You’re a useless waste of oxygen; the world would be better off without you.
Midoriya knew what he was about to do. He entered a building and walked up its steps before, after a few minutes, opening the door to the very rooftop All Might had crushed his dreams atop mere hours prior.
The wind only made his already unruly green hair more chaotic. Midoriya shivered from the intense cold, with the stars above shining a dim light. He made his way over to the handrails guarding the edge, his face soaked with tears. As he climbed over them, Midoriya muttered one sentence.
“Kacchan, I hope you’re happy with yourself.”
He leaned forward, letting himself fall into the darkness below.