Chapter Text
(●･ω･)ﾉ------------start------------
"Deku, someone as useless as you dares to take the Hero Course? And you're from U.A. High? Don't make me laugh! If you don't have a Quirk, just stay obediently behind this future hero!"
Bakugou arrogantly spoke in front of Midoriya, and everyone else felt that Bakugou was bullying him. But they couldn't blame him because the teacher had publicly announced Midoriya's high school application. A Quirkless person applying to U.A. High School's Hero Course was a huge joke.
Despite this, Midoriya frowned, seemingly unwilling to be ridiculed like that, but he wasn't actually hurt by Bakugou's words, because what Midoriya heard at that moment was—
’You want to be a hero without a quirk? Are you trying to get yourself killed?! You better behave yourself and stay behind me from now on, I'll protect you, you piece of trash!’
[Hey, Mr. Bakugou, don't you want to hear your true feelings? Is this a confession?]
With his telepathic abilities, Midoriya can hear other people's thoughts, and thus understands that Bakugou is just a stubborn tsundere.
It's a well-known fact that Midoriya Izuku has no Quirk. When he was four years old, everyone in kindergarten started to show their Quirks, but Midoriya Izuku was the only one who didn't show any.
From then on, people said he was a person without quirk.
But he didn't care, nor did he refute it, because he—
He learned to speak at 14 days old, learned to walk (in the air) at one month old, and helped her mother run errands for the first time at one year old.
Although he doesn't have wings, sweat made of nitroglycerin, or a personality that's half fire and half ice, he does have—
Psychics such as telepathy, telekinesis, clairvoyance, teleportation, and clairvoyance.
But if you ask him why he doesn't choose one to pretend to be a Quirk? Because it's too much trouble. He spends a lot of time and effort controlling each superpower to prevent them from getting out of control. If he had to pretend to use only one power, pretending to have no power at all would be much simpler.
The reason for all this is that Midoriya Izuku is truly quirkless. These superpowers don't originate from his quirk genes, they come from something more primitive, belonging to what people in the old days called psychics.
Ever since rumors started circulating that he was Quirkless, his kindergarten classmates have been constantly mocking him. At first, Bakugou was the same; he would come over and ridicule him at the drop of a hat. But over time, they noticed that Midoriya never argued back or struggled.
’Deku didn't even bother to refute it, he's really too useless.’
When Midoriya heard Bakugou's thoughts, he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed, but he didn't care...
But not long after, Midoriya noticed that Bakugou had started driving away anyone who tried to bully him. Whenever he saw someone trying to make fun of him, Bakugou would rush over and blow them away. It was a physical act, he used his explosives to blast them all away.
This would only earn him a scolding from the kindergarten teacher and the crying of the children, but Bakugou didn't care at all, he said confidently.
"Hmph! Those trash only know how to bully those weaker than them. I'm telling them, a strong person like me should challenge those who are capable!"
This statement left the teachers both amused and exasperated, unsure whether he was protecting Midoriya or just looking for an excuse to fight with the other students. However, fighting is ultimately wrong, so the teachers only punished Bakugou by not allowing him to eat snacks—a rather harsh punishment for a kindergartener like him.
When Midoriya was reminiscing about the past, Bakugou only saw Midoriya spacing out and thought that after all these years, he was still the same good-for-nothing.
"Hmph!!" Bakugou left when he saw that Midoriya didn't react.
Bakugou couldn't understand this person. Everyone was laughing at him, but he could just laugh it off and say it so easily.
"There's nothing we can do about it."
He should have just stayed obediently behind him and followed him, just like before. He thought Midoriya understood his situation and had never mentioned wanting to be a hero before, but now he suddenly said he wanted to take the hero course.
He didn't understand.
[Today is another peaceful day... just kidding.]
He had planned to walk home, but unexpectedly encountered an enemy. Fortunately, no one else was passing by. Midoriya thought to himself that it was fortunate he had superpowers. If he were an ordinary person without a Quirk, he would have died here today.
[So, is anyone here? I've been holding out with him here for five minutes. Is this some kind of secluded spot? Why hasn't anyone passed by?]
This mud-like enemy kept trying to invade his body through its openings, which sounded extremely perverse, so Midoriya use his telekinesis to create an invisible protective shield around his body.
"Damn it! Why can't I get in?!" the Sludge Monster said angrily.
Midoriya could use Instant Transmission to instantly return home, but he didn't want to leave the enemy wandering around nearby. So, he decided to obediently remain a "Quirkless" character and watch the enemy until someone else came to rescue him.
[But if no one comes soon, I'll deal with him myself.]
’Hmm? It seems to be here!!’
Midoriya heard someone else's thoughts, and that person quickly arrived. It was none other than All Might.
"It's alright now, young man! Because I've arrived!!!"
All Might smashed the Sludge Monster with a single smash and trapped the enemy inside a plastic bottle at incredible speed.
All Might glanced at Midoriya.
Great, it seems we've made it in time. This boy doesn't appear to be seriously injured.
[No, it was too late. If it had been someone else facing this enemy, I believe he would have been dead long ago.]
While mentally criticizing All Might, Midoriya's body betrayed him, as he pulled a notebook from his bag.
[That being said, seeing your idol in person is always exciting! Fortunately, I encountered the enemy today!]
Midoriya's face lit up with excitement, and he blushed with shyness as he handed over his notebook. "All Might!! It's so great to see you in person! Could you please sign this for me?!"
"Oh! You look great, kid! That's wonderful!" All Might took the notebook and signed it.
"Oh dear, I'm so sorry!! I dragged you into this while trying to defeat the enemy." All Might finished signing and handed the notebook back to the boy. "I usually don't make mistakes like this."
All Might struck a pose with his hand on his forehead. It has to be said, All Might looks incredibly cool no matter what he does. "Maybe it's because it happened so suddenly, and I was navigating unfamiliar territory?!"
"But thanks to you, I was able to solve it smoothly!! Thank you!!" All Might put the enemy in his pocket.
"Thank you so much for today!!" Midoriya gave All Might a big bow.
"Then I'll take this guy to the police station!" All Might prepared to walk away in a certain direction. "Hopefully, we'll meet again off-screen sometime!! Goodbye, kid!!"
Midoriya suddenly remembered something and said in a panic, "Hey! Wait a minute, All Might! I have something I want to ask you!!"
"I'm afraid that won't work!" All Might crouched down, assuming a charging stance. "Experts are always battling either enemies or time itself. Let's continue another day..."
"Please cheer me on!" All Might leaped into the air, his voice growing softer and softer.
All Might shot into the sky, but felt some weight on his legs. He looked down and saw that the boy from before had grabbed his feet.
"Let go!! This is way too enthusiastic!"
"No! If I let go now, I'll die!!"
⋯⋯
⋯
All Might took Midoriya to the rooftop of a building.
’Luckily, there's still some time. I can just say something to quickly get rid of the boy… ‘
[If you keep doing this, do you believe I'll cry in front of you?]
"Young man, ask me any questions you have, and I'll answer them to the best of my ability!"
All Might looked at the enthusiastic young fan, who took a deep breath, and asked seriously, "With such immense power, why did you choose to become a hero?!"
All Might was thinking, "Is this what you're asking?"
He recalled that many reporters had asked him this question before. "Because it's my responsibility. Since I have great power, I should help the citizens, fight the enemy, and maintain social security."
"With great power comes great responsibility, right..." That's not what Midoriya wanted to hear. "My mom seems to want me to help others more, but I don't want to be a hero..."
"Although I don't know what your Quirk is, judging from what you're saying, you must have a powerful Quirk, right?" All Might approached Midoriya and ruffled his fluffy hair. "No one said you have to be a hero to help others. You can be a police officer too. As for the kind of thing where you have to be a hero to maintain social order, leave that to me, All Might. A kid like you should just do what you want to do."
After hearing this, Midoriya suddenly understood, as if he had figured it out. He smiled at All Might and said, "Thank you, All Might!! I think I know what I should do now!"
"Well, young man, is there anything else you want to ask?" All Might asked.
Midoriya shook his head. "No, thank you so much for today!"
"That's good! Now that you have the answer, I really should go!" All Might removed his hand from Midoriya's, glanced in a certain direction, and suddenly coughed.
’Shit...it seems like there's no time left, it seems like it's too late…’
"All Might! Are you alright?!" Midoriya asked anxiously. He had heard All Might say that there was no time from the beginning, but he had never known what he meant by no time.
Suddenly, a cloud of white smoke billowed out from All Might's body, enveloping him completely. Midoriya cautiously observed the smoke. He didn't hear any other people's thoughts, so he knew it wasn't an attack from the enemy and wasn't nervous.
As the smoke cleared, he saw a thin figure there. Midoriya exclaimed in surprise, "All Might?!"
"That's right, I am All Might," the man said calmly. "I hope the boy won't tell the internet or the media about this later."
"Hmm... I won't." Midoriya swallowed hard. He hadn't expected All Might to look like this. "Why did All Might turn out like this?"
To be honest, All Might was quite surprised that the boy wasn't intimidated by his appearance. However, he had miscalculated the timing, which led to his true identity being discovered, so he decided not to hide it any longer.
After explaining, Midoriya felt embarrassed to bother All Might any further, and All Might thanked him for not making extensive publicity. And so, Midoriya watched All Might walk down the stairs.
[Although I feel bad that he was exposed because I stubbornly refused to leave this time.Next time, if there is a next time, I will definitely help go to All Might.]
As All Might was going down the stairs, he saw an explosion in the distance. He remembered that he was supposed to take the Sludge Monster to the police station, but he touched his pocket.
’Oh no, could it have gotten lost earlier?!’
[Ah… ]
Midoriya, still on the rooftop, also saw the explosion in the distance. Coupled with All Might's inner voice, he realized that it was his reckless behavior that caused him to lose the Sludge Belcher.
He ran to the scene of the accident, where a large crowd had gathered to watch.
"Oh my god, it seems there's a boy trapped on that thing."
’Why are all the heroes just standing there instead of going to save him...?’
"If All Might were here, that would be great."
’I pay my taxes so these heroes can just sit here and watch the show. Hurry up and save people!’
"I clearly heard from others that All Might was patrolling nearby."
’I feel terrible! Someone, please save me!!’
Whether someone's spoken or someone's inner thoughts, all of them were heard by Midoriya. It was clear that the last sentence was from Bakugou, who was entangled by the Sludge Monster.
Midoriya also saw Bakugou's pleading look. No matter how you look at it, although Bakugou was a bit sharp-tongued, he had been helping him get rid of people who wanted to bully him for years.
[How can you hide your psychic from being discovered? The answer is impossible.]
First, hiding in the crowd, you can use your telekinesis from a distance to slightly pull the Sludge Monster away from Bakugou.
’Suddenly, it feels like I can breathe again?’
Bakugou didn't understand why his breathing had suddenly become smooth. The discomfort he had just felt seemed to have vanished in an instant, as if it were a lie.
[Okay, kacchan is out of danger. Next step.]
After confirming that Bakugou was alright, Midoriya use telepathy to find All Might in the crowd and used his rewind ability to return All Might to his state a day earlier.
"It's ready now."
All Might heard what Midoriya said. He looked at the boy, unsure what the boy meant by "ready," but the boy nodded. The boy was the one who knew his situation best at the moment, and although he didn't know what the boy had done to him, he trusted him.
Bakugou was rescued, and All Might, having successfully recovered, defeated the Sludge Monster with a single Smash. Seeing that everything went smoothly, Midoriya felt he had repaid two favors: one for saving Bakugou's life, and the other for allowing All Might to transform immediately.
Feeling that things had returned to normal, Midoriya prepared to go home, as he still needed to think about his high school choices.
Bakugou spotted green hair in the crowd not far away. As he tried to approach, a swarm of reporters blocked his way, and some heroes stepped in to separate him from them. The bustling street was filled with people: spectators, heroes cleaning up the mess, and reporters eager to get firsthand material. The complex mix of emotions overwhelmed Bakugou's inner thoughts at that moment.
Midoriya took a less convenient route home, as it involved a long detour. This was a residential area, mostly inhabited by elderly people, making the entire street very peaceful, even their hearts were at peace. That's why he liked taking this route home.
Even on such a quiet road, Midoriya can immediately hear noisy people, such as All Might.
"I'm here!!" All Might burst out from around the corner.
Although he had heard that All Might was here, Midoriya was still a little curious. "Why is All Might here? Weren't you just surrounded by reporters?"
"It's not easy to escape the reporters' encirclement!! Why, you ask? Because I'm All Might, cough cough," All Might said dashing, but after two coughs, his dashing attitude seemed to come to an end.
"Anyway, young man, I've come here to express my gratitude, and also to make a proposal," said All Might, who had returned to his slender self.
"Huh?"
"First of all, I want to thank you for your help, young man. It was through that I was able to revert to my muscular form and save you. May I ask what your Quirk is?"
[Well, it's okay to say it.]
"My Quirk is Rewind, which allows me to revert things I come into contact with to the state they were in a day ago. That's what I just used to revert All Might to the state he was in a day ago, giving you the strength to return to your muscular state."
[Since this was used in front of All Might, it should be fine to only mention this.]
Midoriya thought to himself that this should be fine, since he wouldn't have much of a chance to see All Might again after today. But then he heard some unusual thoughts.
’If the rewind function were a little stronger, do you think it would be possible to return the eighth generation to his state five years ago?’
’Do you guys think the eighth generation will pass OFA to this kid?’
’But didn't they just say they didn't want to be heroes? Even if OFA passes it on to him, that boy doesn't necessarily have to, right?’
’But maybe the boy wants it! Eighth generation, you should ask them!’
’Everyone should stop now and observe the situation further.’
Even though there was no one around, some voices that didn't sound like they came from the neighborhood's elderly residents were emanating from here. Midoriya felt a rare chill run down his spine, but he seriously considered what they were saying.
What is OFA? Is All Might going to give me something? And importantly, the owner of these inner thoughts also knows about All Might's physical condition.
"Young man, do you really not want to be a hero?" All Might asked tentatively.
"Hmm, I don't want to... I want a simpler life."
It's true that the more unattainable something is, the more one desires it. If Midoriya were an ordinary Quirkless individual, he would undoubtedly want to become a hero to prove himself. However, he possesses psychics that ordinary people don't have, so right now he only wants to live an ordinary life.
It's ironic.
He wrote down the Hero Course at U.A. High School on his high school application because of something his mother said.
"Izuku, although your mother doesn't want your powers to be revealed, Izuku hopes that you can use your abilities to help those in need."
These were the words his mother said when she was teaching him not to misuse his powers. In this superhuman society, heroes are synonymous with helping people, so he unintentionally thought his mother wanted him to become a hero. However, after asking All Might, he realized that helping others doesn't necessarily mean becoming a hero. There are many unseen professions that also help others, which perfectly suited his desire to live an ordinary life without standing out.
So now he wants to be a lawyer!
The lawyer only collects evidence and talks a lot in court. After the case is over, people will only remember the result. Most people will rarely remember the lawyer's name. In addition, he has telepathy and can directly hear the thoughts of the criminal and the opposing lawyer, which helps him break down the opponent's psychological defenses. Aren't all these reasons very advantageous to him?
’It really won't work, Toshinori. You can't force him!’
All Might pulled a slip of paper from his pocket with a phone number written on it. "Alright, if you ever change your mind, kid, you can call me here, and I can help you with your training!"
[My idol is here to help me train?! But sorry, All Might.]
Midoriya took the note with trembling hands, his face beaming with excitement. "Thank you, All Might!! I wouldn't have enough to replace being able to exchange 50 years of my life for All Might's training!!"
This is really exciting, but when it's time to be serious, you have to be serious. "But I've changed my mind. Thank you All Might for wanting to help me, but being a hero is no longer my goal."
Midoriya returned the note. All Might, who had intended to try to persuade the boy again, saw Midoriya's sincerity and gave up trying to convince him, so he took the note back.
After watching All Might leave, Midoriya listened carefully to the whispers of others, confirming that there was no one else besides the elderly man nearby. Midoriya sighed, too much had happened today, and he just wanted to go home and rest.
He looked around again to make sure no one was watching him. First, he used levitation to lift himself 5 centimeters off the ground to avoid getting his shoes dirty after teleporting home. Then, he used teleportation to return to his room. This was the most convenient way to get home.
[Teleportation is definitely the fastest method.]
’Am I seeing things?! Deku?!’
After being teleported back to his room, Midoriya heard Bakugou's thoughts and reacted in about 0.3 seconds before teleporting himself back to his front door at top speed.
[Why did he come to my home? He hasn't been here since kindergarten! Ugh, I really didn't expect that!]
’I'm sure I didn't see anything wrong, that must have been Deku!’
Midoriya was now in a bind, Bakugou's inner voice confirmed that he had seen him. After thinking of a solution, Midoriya reopened his front door.
"Mom, I'm home!" Midoriya flashed his brightest smile ever. He had to pretend he had just returned home, so he deliberately shouted so that Bakugou in the room could hear him too.
"Izuku, you're back?" Inko walked from the living room past the entryway. "Katsuki came looking for you. I just sent you a message; I wonder if you saw it?"
[What? Oh no! So much happened just now, I didn't even check my phone.]
Midoriya took out his phone and saw that it was probably sent during his chat with All Might. It seemed that Bakugou had come directly to his house after leaving the reporters' entourage.
[Mom, it seems my powers have been revealed to Kacchan.] Izuku communicates with Inko directly through telepathy.
"What?!" Inko exclaimed in surprise, but realizing she had shouted too loudly and fearing she would attract Bakugou's attention. She changed her voice and asked Izuku quietly, "Izuku, how were you discovered? What are you going to do now?"
[Mom, I just accidentally gave myself away. If I can get away with it, maybe I can fool Kacchan too.]
"Yeah, Izuku, be careful." Inko looked at Izuku with concern, as if she were sending her son to war.
TBC.
——————————————————