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Izuku Midoriya is a brilliant kid. At the age of eight he is already able to finish middle school coursework. Complex equations and most other things have never been too hard for the boy. Mother wanted him to be smart. He has to be smart. If he isn’t smart he isn’t going to be able to be a hero despite his quirklessness. If he isn’t smart he absolutely cannot be a hero. Then he can’t help people. So, when Izuku turns in his work one would expect that he would get perfect grades right? Wrong.
Izuku Midoriya is smart but some people don’t believe that. You see, his teachers never gave him full marks for his work. The kid knew this, he isn’t stupid. They probably have reasons for their unfairness. Most of the time they marked him down under the guise of cheating. To them there is no possible way that a quirkless kid would get every question after all. In their minds it was an impossibility, rather than trust in their student’s work they choose to mark him down either way. To them, lying to a quirkless student’s face is a small task if it keeps their perfect harmonious little quirk-run world intact. So Izuku is the one who has to deal with his world screwed over. Lucky him.
The teachers whisper to each other behind the impenetrable barrier that they call the teachers lounge. Their words slip through the cracks, conveying their fear. The words reach the ears of a small greenette standing just outside of the barrier, holding a tall stack of papers for one of them. He likes to be useful after all.
“How does he do it?”
“He cheated of course.”
“Really? because from what I have seen the usual signs of cheating on the boy. Are we sure he is actually cheating?”
“True, we have yet to see anything incriminating.”
“The kid must have cheated. There's no way that he is naturally that smart. I won’t believe it.”
“A quirkless kid smart? Ridiculous!”
“It's unsettling.”
“Creepy”
“I mean have you seen the kid? Something isn’t right with him.”
“Agreed”
“I’ve seen it too.”
“Have you seen his eyes? When they do the… y’know”
“Yeah..”
Izuku Midoriya is a smart kid. He knows what other people think about people like himself. He chooses not to think about it too much. If he does think about it it’ll only make him sad. Mommy doesn’t want him to be sad. Thesis sort of thing is a common occurrence for the kid..The kids at school tell each other their opinions loudly when they know he is in earshot just to make sure he knows. The teachers whisper to each other in the hallways when they think he can’t hear them. He absolutely can hear them but he isn’t supposed to eavesdrop on the teachers anyways. It’s rude and momma said he can’t be rude to anyone. So, he ignores the evidence in front of him. Anything to keep himself from breaking down.
Later that evening a little green boy crawled into bed, spending the rest of the night silently crying himself to sleep. No he didn’t. That's his business and his alone.
At least Kacchan has the decency to say everything to his face. A beating usually says plenty enough.
Izuku Midoriya isn’t liked by his peers. They tell him about his uselessness, or how much of a waste of air he is, or how much his presence sours their days. They only tell him these things though. After two years the physical beatings have gotten much better. Now that they have had a few years of practice, his classmates don’t need to use him for training as much. Sure, Kacchan still roughs him up from time to time. Especially when he has had a hard time at home or in his classes. But, the beatings were never quite as harsh as they were before.
It is kind of disheartening and relieving at the same time, to know Kacchan doesn’t need his help anymore. How else can he be useful to his classmates? Now he is just the quirkless weirdo who is also a loser and crazy instead of the Quirkless but helpful punching bag. No matter. At least he doesn't hurt as much anymore. Izuku has also gotten a lot better at treating his own wounds now. Now mom doesn’t have to worry about him coming home super beat up and untreated. Win win for everyone else.
Strangers tell stories of a little green boy who takes walks around the neighborhoods of Musutafu smiling politely and wandering aimlessly for hours wearing bright red shoes. A boy who shows up with different injuries often and looks content to just walk. As if he is escaping whatever injured him in the first place.
Izuku Midoriya’s shoulders and back hurt often. It’s understandable, considering how much weight he carries around under his many layers of wrappings. Sitting down at a desk that is not designed for his extra limbs doesn’t help either. Sometimes his wings will ache for freedom, bristling under his bandages. Sometimes they will ache with no abandon to spread out and take to the skies. To fly away and not have to worry about being useful or kind or smart. They ruffle and threaten to reveal his deepest secrets. Secrets that mom has worked so hard to keep under wraps. Tamed. Unnoticeable to people who won’t choose to look. His wings ache to stretch out after being pinned to his back for almost two years straight at this point. Such a long time to pin still growing wings. Too long.
Izuku Midoriya’s wings ache. They ache trapped behind layers of cloth. Sometimes he lets them loose. Only when mom isn’t looking of course. Sometimes he lets them out when he goes on walks. He keeps them hidden under his shirt though at least until he can get somewhere completely devoid of strangers. Mom would be upset if she found out. He doesn’t want mom to be angry at him. So Izuku only does this when he desperately needs it. Like when a classmate bumps into his back in the hallway, or when his wings start being extra itchy. Those days are extra hard for Izuku to keep his wings in check. No one can know just like momma said. No one can know. No one.
The people of Musutafu share stories of a wandering green child who seems to disappear at the drop of a hat. A kid who could be waving at you with a smile one second and disappearing into an alleyway the next. Among select circles he even has a nickname: Emerald. Landing himself as Musutafu’s latest pseudo-cryptid.
Inko Midoriya is a good mom. She takes care of her kid. She bathes it and makes sure it has clothes. She makes sure it is fed and that it has a roof over its head. Her sunshine will forever be her sunshine no matter what group turns him into something different, a freak. Sure, it can be hard to love a child that no longer is fully yours. Sure, it can be hard as a single mother. Sure, now there is extra work keeping the kid quiet. Keeping it hidden because no one can know how different the freak Izuku is. She loves her son no matter what he it may look like.
Inko Midoriya is a good mom. She doesn’t want her child to be taken from her. So when Izuku’s hair started bleaching and fading into pure white after the incident she started dyeing it back to green. Because she is in denial that anything has happened to her little boy. She was the one who caused it. It was her fault her little boy is a monster. A freak. Everything would be fine if she just keeps her sunshine alive. To keep her son hidden. Keep his changes unnoticed. Then no one would take him away. Then no one would take him it from her and he would be hers forever. Forever safe in her arms. If no one is suspicious no one will dig and no one will know what she did. Then everything will be right.
Inko's coworkers notice when she starts taking on a few more shifts at the hospital. Doesn’t she have a kid at home? She probably needs more money after her deadbeat husband left them both here to go to America. Inko’s coworkers worry about her, offering their assistance with her family situation. They offer food, support, babysitting, or anything else really. She refuses their offers every time..
Izuku Midoriya is a hungry boy. His muscles ache. His eyes are hard to keep open. Nowadays he is always hungry. He doesn’t get it, he has been eating fairly well recently, honestly more than normal. Ever since his classmates started backing down he has had more time to eat the lunches mom sends him to school with especially now that his peers aren’t actively trying to make him spill his lunch whenever he walks past them. Instead of feeling satisfied with a full stomach he constantly feels like there is a pit in his gut. A hole that still isn’t filled no matter what he tries. When at home, mom usually preps him snacks that he can eat while filling up his note for the future in his room. Izuku doesn’t really like bothering her; she already does so much for him. The snacks don’t sate his cravings in the slightest.
People on the street whisper about the odd young boy who walks through the streets alone until the late hours of the day. A kid who carries around a small messenger bag full of first aid supplies, eager to lend a hand and care whenever it is asked of him. Sometimes he helps even before you know what to ask for. A kind child who should be home with his mother at this hour. A kid who looks a little rough around the edges, a boy who looks unsettling at his core, like something is wrong with him fundamentally. They aren’t wrong.
Izuku Midoriya sees things that others can’t. Senses things deeper. He can always make out details that others miss. The small things that most wouldn’t spare a second glance. People who know the boy write it off as an odd kink in his personality. Strangers are grateful for it. This miraculous ability has driven Izuku to some interesting situations to say the least. Situations just like the one that he is in at the moment.
Today on his usual stroll Midoriya was pulled into action, bright red lacing a corner of his vision. Someone was hurting. Someone was panicked. Someone needs his help. The boy follows a trail of red through the alleyways of Musutafu heart pounding and legs pumping in time. Whoever needs help is badly hurt by the scent of their blood in the air. The image he sees when he finally arrives at the scene isn’t what he expects. He expects someone with open bleeding wounds not someone who looks perfectly fine albeit a bit purple. The purple guy is talking with someone else, an adult, who reeks of liquor in an area behind a well known club. Don’t ask Midoriya how he knows that the place is a club, he won’t answer you. The bird kid watches as the bloody teen is shoved to the ground as the alcohol man yells straight in his face. Izuku can’t quite make out the words that the man is saying, all he knows if that they aren’t pretty. Within a moment the man has left the teen heading back through the club’s back doors. He takes the awful booze smell with him leaving only the smell of long since charred skin and fresh blood in his wake.
Izuku can’t just leave the teen without any help. So, when the coast is clear he approaches the purple guy silently and a carefully as he can. The other guy looked surprised to see him even bit reserved at his approach. Soon enough the green boy is close enough to kneel down and offer his messenger bag to the injured party.
“Uhm can-can I help you mister? I’m pretty-pretty good at-at patching things up.”
“What’re you doing here kid?”
“Helping you.”
Izuku Midoriya was eight when he met Tou- Dabi for the first time. A teen who, much like his own circumstances, had been forced to go through things he hadn’t wanted to go through. It took quite a while to get him to open up. A few visits monthly did the trick. The visits were spontaneous and the green boy always found Dabi in harder to get to and more obscure places each time. Never in the same spot as last time. As it turns out Dabi is pretty easy to find, he always smells bloody due to the staples all over his body and the lingering essence of pain follows his every footstep. Like someone who should be dead but isn’t. Which to Izuku’s surprise was exactly the case. The guy began to open up after a few rounds of quirk related questions from the greenette. Dabi dyes his hair black to rid himself of anything that could trigger memories of his father. Endeavor. Of all heroes Endeavor is now Izuku’s least favorite.
Inko noticed her little sunshine randomly beginning to gather up all of its endeavor merch to throw it in the trash one random day. She asked it why and the only response she got was,” He deserves it.”
One day during one of their impromptu meetings Dabi flipped the switch and began asking about Izuku instead.
“Y’know after all I've shared with you about myself you haven’t told me much about you. What’s your quirk? Telepathy? Tracking? Theres no way that you would’ve been able to randomly find me week after week without something to let you know where I am.”
Izuku want rigid at the question he certainly wasn’t expecting it and had no time to prepare an answer. Instead he just blurts out the truth, unable to stop his mouth from saying the words.
“You smell.”
“What?”
“You smell like blood and burnt flesh really strongly”
“Huh, really... I don’t think I smell that bad.... is that your quirk?”
“Part of it I guess. You are also always in pain. So you basically are a walking beacon of red to me.”
“What does being in pain got to do with anything?”
“Because I can see when you are in pain, and where you are in pain. It leads me to you.”
“Empathy quirk then?”
“I have no idea. I’m not quite sure it even is a quirk.”
“What do you mean by that?”
The boy stiffens immediately. He shouldn’t have said that.
“I’m not- I’m not ready to answer that right now.”
The man is skeptical but clearly sees the kid’s discomfort.
“Alright Izu, I’ll let it drop. Any changes I need to know about for work?”
With that the conversation was flipped to information trading and the two spent the rest of the night comparing info they had gotten off the streets. Information on underground heroes, gangs in the area, anything of the sort. Information on new businesses popping up. New job opportunities. It's amazing how much you can get out of people by helping them randomly on the street. Dabi gets his information through one of his jobs as an informant to underground heroes and anyone else who asks of his services. Izuku only gets information because he is curious about one thing or another.
The meeting came to a close with the setting sun. Mother would be expecting Izuku home for dinner. He doesn’t want to make her worry. So, he leaves heading for home, treading paths lit by the light of the sunset. Everything around him bleeds into an orange hue as the last light of the day is swallowed by the horizon.